Norwich woman in court for applying to be driving instructor

Former bus driver Fathema Farjana, 32, was reported to police after a DBS background check revealed she was subject to a 10-year prohibition on being employed in certain roles.  

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told she had been placed on the barred list in 2019 after she received a caution for causing unnecessary suffering to a child. 

The order bans her from being employed in jobs working with children or vulnerable adults aged between 18 and 24. 

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Prosecutor Lesla Small said when interviewed by police she had claimed to be unaware of the prohibition or that it would cover work as a driving instructor. 

The mother-of-two told officers she had not received any letters confirming the ban and that she had since moved from Ilford in London to Norwich.

Former bus driver Fathema Farjana was fined at Norwich Magistrates' Court (Image: Newsquest)

Farjana, of Templemere in New Catton, pleaded guilty to seeking to engage in regulated activity from which she was barred between January 1 and April 19 last year.

Richard Mann, mitigating, said: “This is a really unusual case where she has come up to Norfolk seeking a better life and being a former London bus driver she applied to work as a driving instructor. 

“She did check the requirements for the job before applying and thought that there would be no problem.”

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He told magistrates her 2019 caution had related to briefly leaving her young child at home while she moved her car but that “unfortunately child neglect is a trigger offence and as a result she is barred from certain jobs”.  

"That she would be deemed a risk to children never entered her head. Had she known she would never have applied for this job," he added.

Magistrates fined her £80 and ordered her to pay costs of £32.