Bristol teacher banned for shaking baby causing brain damage

A teacher who was jailed for shaking a 43-day-old baby causing brain damage has been banned from the profession indefinitely.

Jonathan Sinfield was teaching at Wellsway School in Keynsham at the time and was sentenced in June 2022 at Bristol Crown Court after admitting causing grievous bodily harm and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in March 2022.

Sinfield, now 31, was looking after the child as a nanny in Bath when she shook the child, the court heard.

He initially reported that the child became ill and hit his head on a couch. He later claimed that he had let the child fall from a height of about 1 m (3.3 ft).

Medical experts said that because of the nature of the injuries, it was more likely that the baby had been forcibly grabbed and shaken, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Teaching Regulation Agency’s (RTA) professional conduct panel has now removed Sinfield without any possibility of review.

His report said Sinfield still maintains he was wrongfully convicted.

“The commission noted that the offenses occurred outside the educational setting and did not involve students or other school staff,” it said.

“However, after considering all the facts of the case, the panel decided that Sinfield’s convictions were relevant to teaching, working with children and working in an educational setting.”

The report said the judge’s sentencing remarks referred to Sinfield’s state of mind at the time, which “may have been a contributing factor”, but there was no evidence his actions were accidental.

It said: “The commission concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that Sinfield was acting under extreme duress.

“The commission noted that there was a lack of evidence of remorse on Sinfield’s part.

“The court found that this was an incredibly serious conviction for which he received a custodial sentence.

“The commission was of the view that Sinfield still sees himself as a wrongfully convicted man and that this was evident in his letter to the TRA.”

Sinfield started working at the secondary school in 2015 and did not attend the conduct hearing and was not represented.