Grammar school teacher ‘browsed porn whilst he taught class’
David Chidlow viewed profiles of women on an unauthorised website 74 times during school hours
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Your support makes all the difference.A grammar school teacher has been fired after looking at pornography while teaching a class.
David Chidlow, 59, viewed profiles of women on an unauthorised website 74 times during school hours when he worked at Maidstone Grammar in Kent.
The former business studies and economics teacher for GCSE and A-level students admitted to switching between the live lesson and the website repeatedly on Microsoft Teams.
A disciplinary panel was told that in February 2021, the school’s monitoring software had flagged the keywords “I take my life” from a staff member's school device.
These keywords prompted an investigation which uncovered that Mr Chidlow had been accessing an adult pornographic website on his school laptop in February and March 2021.
He was also recorded deleting the adult website from his internet history.
Mr Chidlow, who had been at the school since September 2018, further admitted in the recent hearing that he sought images and was actively communicating via email with females on the pornographic website for sexual gratification.
It was revealed in the hearing that remote monitoring of the teacher's laptop had been undertaken by the school without his knowledge. After the school's investigation, a formal disciplinary hearing took place in May 2021.
Last week the panel concluded that Mr Chidlow be dismissed for gross misconduct.
The panel said that the teacher “had demonstrated some insight into his actions” but did not believe that he “expressed remorse” in respect of either the pupils, the school or the teaching profession.
He was found guilty of unacceptable professional misconduct, with the panel recommending to the secretary of state for education he now be banned from teaching.
Sarah Buxcey, who made a decision regarding the issues on behalf of the education secretary, said that a prohibition order would be “proportionate”.
She said: “In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order to maintain public confidence in the profession.
“I am particularly mindful of the finding of dishonesty in this case and the impact that such a finding has on the reputation of the profession.
“I have gone on to consider the matter of a review period. In this case, the panel has recommended that no provision should be made for a review period.”
A review period gives a judge a set amount of time to challenge the decision made by the public body.
Ms Buxcey added: “Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Chidlow shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.”
Maidstone Grammar School has been contacted for comment.