School chief who said he 'hoped Ofsted inspectors would go under a lorry on black ice' and sent vile messages is banned from teaching

Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am - sign up to our new Morning Mail newsletter for FREE See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 14:22 EDT, 4 September 2026 | Updated: 14:50 EDT, 4 September 2026 A school chief who said he hoped Ofsted inspectors would 'go under a lorry on black ice' has been banned from teaching. Lee Hessey - who oversaw six primary schools as chief executive officer of The Forge Academy Trust in Nottinghamshire - also called parents who complained about him 'scrotes, vermin and pond life'. A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel found Hessey, who was also a headteacher, labelled parents from his schools as a 'low life', a 'stupid cow', and a 'bonkio parent' in a series of text messages found to be derogatory. The messages, spanning from September 2022 to April 2023, allegedly used inappropriate and discriminatory language, with the panel concluding Hessey's behaviour as potentially 'impugning a person's mental health'.The panel said if parents became aware Hessey referred to them in that way, 'public confidence in both the individual and the wider profession would be damaged'. It was also found Hessey sent a message to a colleague saying: 'Ofsted. I hope they all go under a f****** lorry in some black ice tomorrow morning just in time for Christmas. 'Complete set of sh**bags.'The panel described the message as 'wholly inappropriate'. They said: 'The panel found it wholly inappropriate to express the hope that Ofsted inspectors would die in a road traffic incident and to describe them as a 'complete set of sh**bags'. Lee Hessey allegedly used inappropriate and discriminatory language toward parents, and said he hoped Ofsted inspectors would 'go under a lorry on black ice' Hessey - who oversaw six primary schools in Nottinghamshire - called parents who complained about him 'scrotes, vermin and pond life''The language was abusive, offensive and far removed from the standards expected of a headteacher.'In a further message to a colleague, Hessey said: 'Buckingham Palace will be a lim city soon', found to be a derogatory reference to Muslims, while in another he said: 'A coloured character. Surprise, surprise.' The panel also found a message which Hessey said 'Bongo Bongo land' as an offensive and racist expression directed towards black or African people. References made to 'Tourette shoulder twitching' by Hessey were perceived as mocking a disability.Hessey became chief executive officer of the trust on September 1, 2016. An initial complaint about his behaviour was issued to the trust in 2023, which included an allegation regarding his actions toward a pupil while acting as interim headteacher at a school during the 2021 - 2022 academic year.The panel found there was no evidence to suggest Hessey's actions were not deliberate or he was acting under extreme duress. It said: 'Even if the tone of the messaging group was, at times, encouraged by others or reflected a culture of inappropriate 'banter', Mr Hessey was the most senior person in the group.'He was the CEO and interim headteacher, and was expected to set the standard. The fact that others did not challenge him did not lessen his own responsibility.'However, the panel said there was 'substantial evidence' of Mr Hessey's positive contributions to schools in deprived communities and he had achieved 'significant improvements'.It did not suggest an indefinite ban - but this was ultimately overruled by a senior TRA official acting on behalf of the Education Secretary, who said a prohibition order was 'proportionate' and in the 'public interest'.Hessey has been banned indefinitely from teaching in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.