Ex-teacher banned for life over 'unacceptable conduct'

A FORMER teacher who “engaged in sexual activity with a child” has been banned from educating for life.

- BY JOSEPH TIMAN

Matthew Hindle, 36, started the “inappropriate” relationship with a pupil in 2017 while he was a music teacher at Tottington High School in Bury.

In the years that followed, he was accused of asking the “vulnerable” pupil to remove her clothes on a video call, inviting her to his home and engaging in sexual acts with her.

The allegations - most of which were denied - were all found to be “proven” by a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel.

Mr Hindle’s conduct was investigated by Oulder Hill Leadership Academy in Rochdale after his new employer received an allegation from a member of the public in 2020.

He resigned in 2022 shortly before a referral was made to the TRA.

It followed a previous investigation into Mr Hindle's conduct at Tottington High School.

That was launched after concerns were raised about his “familiarity” with the pupil.

It found that “none of the text messages” they exchanged at the time were “inappropriate’

However, a professional conduct panel hearing concluded last month that Mr Hindle should be banned indefinitely for teaching.

The panel found that, between 2017 and 2021, Mr Hindle engaged in inappropriate conduct with a pupil deemed to be vulnerable.

According to a TRA report published after the hearing, the pupil was not enrolled in Tottington High School for most of this period.

During the hearing on September 22, the panel looked at text messages that Mr Hindle and the pupil sent each other - the majority of which were exchanged after the pupil had left Tottington High School, but while Mr Hindle was still working as a teacher.

This included messages that the panel was “particularly concerned” about in which Mr Hindle appears to invite the pupil to send indecent images of herself on Snapchat to him.