Mr Carrick Tanton

Introduction

Carrick Tanton taught computer science at Hayesbrook School in Tonbridge from 1 July 2019 until his dismissal in October 2020, which followed his arrest by Kent Police over indecent images of children being accessed from his home. Tanton did not contest the case against him: the Teaching Regulation Agency agreed to his request that the allegations be considered without a hearing, and he provided a signed statement of agreed facts admitting both the conduct and that it amounted to unacceptable professional conduct or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. A panel meeting held privately on 18 December 2023 found both allegations proved, and on 21 December 2023 the decision maker prohibited Tanton from teaching indefinitely, with no review period and no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

Tanton joined Hayesbrook School as a teacher of computer science on 1 July 2019. On or around 12 October 2020 he was arrested on the basis of information that an IP address linked to his home address had been used to access indecent images of children. The school suspended him on or around 13 October 2020 pending investigation and dismissed him on 16 October 2020, three days later. He was interviewed by police and admitted accessing such material. The TRA’s published decision records no conviction or caution arising from the arrest; its findings rest on Tanton’s admissions in his statement of agreed facts, signed on 29 November 2023, and his statements to police, supported by a detective constable’s witness statement and the police crime report. The decision does not name the school’s pupils or suggest any conduct toward them; the case concerns Tanton’s private conduct and its incompatibility with classroom work.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Admitted findings. The findings in this section rest on Tanton’s own admissions: he provided a signed statement of agreed facts, dated 29 November 2023, and admitted both the facts of the allegations and that they amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and/or conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

Allegation 1 was that, while employed at Hayesbrook School between 1 July 2019 and October 2020, he accessed indecent and/or inappropriate photographs and/or videos of children on one or more occasions. Tanton admitted this, and in interviews with police went considerably further, admitting he had been accessing such images once a week since he was a teenager, although sometimes with large breaks of time. The panel found the allegation proved on his admissions and the supporting police material.

Allegation 2 was that this conduct was of a sexual nature and/or sexually motivated. In his agreed facts and police interview Tanton confirmed he used the dark web to view pornography more generally, initially admitted looking at images of a person looking young, perhaps around 16, and masturbating to what he saw, and later admitted accessing indecent images of extremely young children. He also confirmed he did so secretively, while his partner was in bed. The panel concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that a reasonable person would consider his conduct in regularly and routinely accessing indecent images or videos of children secretively and over a sustained period of time was sexual in nature and sexually motivated, and found the allegation proved.

On characterisation, the panel found breaches of the Teachers’ Standards on public trust, proper boundaries, safeguarding and statutory duties, plus breaches of Keeping Children Safe in Education and of Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018) on the duties of people in positions of trust. It found the behaviour associated with the offence of viewing indecent images of children relevant, noted the conduct took place outside the education setting but would affect how he fulfilled his teaching role, and found him guilty of both unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found the conduct deliberate, calculated and motivated, with no evidence of duress and no evidence it was out of character; Tanton’s own admission was that it had gone on for years on a weekly basis. It acknowledged he had expressed some insight, including through his admissions to police and a statement to the panel, but found he expressed no remorse, and noted that although the police report suggested he had sought help to address his behaviour, no evidence of this was presented. The police report detail was striking in the panel’s summary of the offending: it involved a focus on very young children, regularly and over a sustained period. Weighing the public interest in safeguarding pupils, public confidence and proper standards against Tanton’s interests, the panel found prohibition proportionate and appropriate and recommended it with immediate effect, with no review period: it found him responsible for viewing indecent images of young children, over a prolonged period and on a regular basis.

On risk, the panel noted that although Tanton appeared to demonstrate some insight, it was not satisfied there was no risk of repetition — and he said as much himself in his personal statement: “there is no reasonable way to say, with 100% certainty, that I – or any person having committed such offences - does not pose a risk to children.”

Current Status

On 21 December 2023 decision maker Sarah Buxcey confirmed the order. Tanton is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. Because of the seriousness of the allegations found proved, he is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach; the order takes effect when served, and his right of appeal to the High Court ran for 28 days from notice. Buxcey accepted the panel’s reasoning that no review period was sufficient here given the seriousness of the findings, the lack of full insight or remorse, and the risk of repetition.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Tanton’s school career lasted under sixteen months, from July 2019 to his dismissal three days after suspension in October 2020, and the prohibition order forecloses any return permanently. The panel had no evidence before it of his abilities as an educator and could not conclude there was any interest in retaining him in the profession. Because no review period was allowed, he cannot apply to have the ban revisited; the published advice treats any activity involving viewing indecent images of children, even one-off incidents, as a case where the public interest weighs against offering a review period, and Tanton’s admitted conduct was the opposite of one-off.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Carrick Tanton” — source