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A teacher who sent indecent photographs of himself to a pupil under the age of 18 has been banned from teaching. Cornelius Jansen Van Vuuren taught at Barclay Academy in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, between September 2019 and June 2023.
The secondary school discovered he had exchanged inappropriate messages and photographs with a student between the ages of 13 and 17, and dismissed him in June 2023. A police investigation led Van Vuuren to be convicted of causing or inciting sexual activity with a female aged between 13 and 17, involving an abuse of a position of trust.
The ex-teacher pleaded guilty and was sentenced in June 2024 to a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 24 months. He was also made to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and handed a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Van Vuuren was banned from teaching by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, on August 8, 2025. A report from a panel meeting by the TRA said he sent two unsolicited indecent photographs of himself to the pupil, and asked her to do the same.
It also referred to a message in which he asked the teenager "So grab your a*** then on Monday?" This message was put to him at his police interview.
During the pupil's police interview, according to the report, she commented: "He said he would come and collect me and take me back to his and get me all kinds of naked."
The TRA continued: "The panel found that Mr Van Vuuren's messages reflected a manipulative and coercive disposition, indicating his clear intent to abuse his position of trust. The panel observed concerning suggestions that he had formed an inappropriate interest in the pupil for some time, as evidenced by her police interview in which she described him frequently staring and winking at her.
"The panel was concerned by the unknown means by which Mr Van Vuuren had obtained this pupil's mobile phone number, contrary to the standards of personal and professional conduct, for which he had provided no explanation that it had seen.
"The panel noted the apparent severity of Mr Van Vuuren's exploitation of this child, the seriousness of his conduct and the potential for his conduct to escalate into physical sexual behaviour within the school building." The report also described how the panel had not seen any evidence of insight or remorse from Van Vuuren.
Now that the ban is in place, Van Vuuren is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children's home in England. He will not be given a chance to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.
A spokesperson for Barclay Academy said: "We thank the panel for their time and welcome their decision. When we were informed of this behaviour in April 2023, we reported it to the police and LADO [local authority designated officer] immediately and dismissed the individual.
"We commend our former pupil for their bravery in coming forward - we will continue to prioritise safeguarding to ensure pupils feel safe, respected and supported at all times."