Andrew Lear

Introduction

Andrew Lear is a former instrumental music teacher who worked for the Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust (NMPAT) in Northampton, teaching across several primary schools from September 2006 until January 2020. In March 2021 he was convicted of three counts of possessing indecent photographs of children, and in July 2023 a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel found the allegation against him proved. On 19 July 2023 Marc Cavey, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited him from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. He is therefore banned from the classroom for life.

Background Information

Lear was born on 19 January 1968 and held teacher reference number 0563981, with TRA reference 19019. He was employed by the Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust in Northampton as an “Instrumental Music Teacher”, a role he began in September 2006 and in which he worked across several primary schools, a position the panel confirmed fell within the TRA’s jurisdiction. The decision records no earlier disciplinary proceedings or warnings against him, so the 2020 police discovery was the first professional conduct issue of his long career working with primary-age children.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

On 8 January 2020, police found Lear in possession of indecent images of children, and he was suspended from work the following day. A police interview took place on 13 January 2020, after which he resigned from his position and a referral was made to the Teaching Regulation Agency.

Nearly fifteen months later, on 31 March 2021, he was convicted at Northampton Magistrates’ Court of three separate offences of possessing indecent photographs of children, contrary to section 160(1), (2A) and (3) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988: ten Category A images, nine Category B images and three Category C images, all possessed on 8 January 2020. He was subsequently sentenced at Northampton Crown Court to four months’ imprisonment on each offence, to run concurrently, suspended for a period of 18 months, with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement also ordered. The court additionally imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order put in place for seven years. He had pleaded guilty at his first hearing in the Magistrates’ Court.

The regulatory process moved on the agreed-facts route. On 17 November 2022 Lear signed a statement of agreed facts in which he made full admissions to the offences, and in advance of the meeting the TRA agreed to his request that the allegation be considered without a hearing. The notice of meeting was dated 4 May 2023. The panel — Paul Millett as lay chair, teacher panellists Jackie Hutchings and Louisa Munton, advised by legal adviser Jermel Anderson — convened on 17 July 2023 on Microsoft Teams, with neither the presenting officer, Louise Murphy-King, nor Lear attending. He admitted the conviction of a relevant offence.

The panel reviewed the PNC record, the memorandum of conviction, the court transcript and the police disclosure, found the allegation proved, and held that the offending was a relevant offence. It found his conduct breached the Teachers’ Standards on upholding public trust, treating pupils with dignity and observing proper boundaries, safeguarding pupils’ well-being and not undermining the rule of law, and that it was a clear breach of the principles in Keeping Children Safe in Education. Within the sentencing judge’s remarks, the panel noted, specific mention was made of the “persistence of offending” undertaken by Lear, which demonstrated the severity of his conduct and its incompatibility with what is expected of a teacher. The sentence of imprisonment, albeit suspended, was indicative of the seriousness of the offences.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel identified a strong public interest in the protection of pupils and the public, the maintenance of public confidence in the profession and the upholding of proper standards of conduct, taking the view that public confidence would be significantly undermined should Lear be able to remain in teaching. It weighed mitigation — counselling directly relevant to his offending, cooperation with the TRA, the signed agreed statement of facts and his guilty plea — but found that “There was no evidence that Mr Andrew Lear’s behaviours were not deliberate.” Prohibition was held proportionate and appropriate, the public interest outweighing Lear’s own interests, and the panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect. On review, it found that, “by definition, the possession of indecent images of children amounts to serious sexual misconduct”, and concluded that a review period would not be appropriate.

Current Status

By a decision dated 19 July 2023, decision maker Marc Cavey prohibited Andrew Lear from teaching indefinitely, endorsing the panel’s recommendation on both sanction and review period. He cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. No review period was attached: in view of the seriousness of the allegation found proved against him, Lear is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach, making this one of the most severe outcomes available under the regime. The order took effect from the date on which it was served on him, and he had a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days from the date he was given notice of the order.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Lear’s teaching career, which had spanned roughly fourteen years across Northamptonshire primary schools, ended with his resignation in January 2020 and is now permanently closed: the indefinite prohibition, with no review period and no route to restoration, bars him from any teaching role in England for life. The criminal consequences run alongside the regulatory ban: a suspended sentence of four months’ imprisonment, a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The panel acknowledged his counselling and cooperation with the regulator but found the nature and seriousness of his offending to be a significant factor outweighing those mitigating features.

Sources

• Department for Education, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Andrew Lear” — source