A disgraced teacher who was convicted of fraud after using school funds to buy football equipment for his private coaching business has been spared being banned from his profession.

Stephen Restarick, former Maidstone Grammar School PE teacher, was given a suspended jail sentence last year after admitting defrauding the school out of more than £6,000.

Teachers are invariably banned when found guilty by a National College of Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) panel of allegations against them.

But in a rare move, after a disciplinary hearing in Coventry, an NCTL panel pulled back from calling for a ban, saying it would deprive the public.

The hearing came in the wake of the 45-year-old’s conviction at Inner London Crown Court of fraud by abuse of position over a three-year period to 2014.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for 18 months, ordered to carry out unpaid work, and to pay costs of £1,000 and £6,250 compensation. He had taken over £6,000 of school funds to pay for equipment for his own company.

The father-of-three, from Sutton Road, Maidstone, was acquitted of three counts of witness intimidation after three people were sent an envelope containing a psalm, a picture of Traitors’ Gate at the Tower of London and a white feather – a symbol of cowardice. A further charge of stealing photocopying paper was withdrawn.

In a 5,000-word judgement, the panel said his behaviour breached standards, however since sentencing he had continued teaching and moved to a London academy where he was trusted to handle a £30,000 budget.

The findings continue: “The panel has taken into account Mr Restarick’s written submissions in which he states that he regrets his actions and how he let down those for whom he was a role model.

"Mr Restarick also states that his performance and reputation as a teacher and leader was very good up until the events that led to his conviction.

"He has always been a hard worker, working during school holidays for the football school and building an exceptional PE department that was the ‘envy of neighbouring schools’.”

In recommending he should not be struck off, the report said: “The panel was struck by Mr Restarick’s openness and desire to remain a teacher, in that it would be ‘too painful to imagine life without teaching, it’s in [his] blood’.

“He demonstrated a real sense of empathy towards pupils because of his own wrongdoings and having to ‘make them right’.

The panel noted from Mr Restarick’s oral evidence that he is using his experiences of the criminal proceedings as a teaching tool to positively influence pupils’ behaviour.”

Giving the final decision on behalf of Education Secretary, Justine Greening, on whether he should be allowed to remain teaching, Alan Meyrick, NCTL deputy director said he had taken account of the panel’s comments and the “great insight” shown by Restarick.

He added: “A prohibition order would prevent Mr Restarick from continuing that work. A prohibition order would also clearly deprive the public of his contribution to the profession for the period that it is in force.”

The hearing was also told that last year, Restarick successfully completed the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership.