A teacher who completed a student’s coursework and swapped pupils’ work for those in line to be moderated is being allowed to remain in the classroom.

Dean Hay was handed a conditional registration order by the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) despite being found guilty of doctoring students’ coursework that was about to be assessed by moderators.

Last week, Mr Hay admitted to completing Certificate of Personal Effectiveness coursework for a student and placing it in their folder so it would appear as their own while teaching at Francis Combe School in Watford in 2008.

The science teacher was also found guilty of moving work from students’ folders and placing it in the folders of other pupils who had been selected for moderation.

Mr Hay admitted “facilitating” the changing of names on coursework, as well as photocopying students’ work to be placed in the folders of pupils to be assessed by moderators. He also supervised students to produce coursework for their fellow pupils whose coursework had been chosen for moderation.

Mr Hay was even found to be responsible for staging photographs and including them in students’ folders, passing them off as evidence of tasks being completed.

However, Mr Hay denied that he only allowed those students who were selected for moderation to come in to school and do extra work. He said the offer was open to all his students.

In a hearing, the GTC said that although a reprimand was too weak a punishment, a registration order of one year was sufficient as Mr Hay had shown a “genuine expression of regret”.

The GTC said: “We are satisfied that Mr Hay has insight into his failings and that there has been a genuine apology. Mr Hay has a previous good history and was the most junior of three members of staff who appear to have been involved.”

Mr Hay will be prohibited from carrying out any assessment or monitoring of pupils’ work for public exams without supervision. He is not currently teaching, but he will be required to notify any prospective employer of his order before taking on another teaching role.