Ms Emma Houlihan

Introduction

Ms Emma Houlihan is a former teacher of English at The King’s School in Grantham, employed there from 7 June 2021 to 27 January 2023. Her career ended after she admitted an inappropriate, sexually motivated relationship with a pupil, Pupil A — phoning and messaging him, sending inappropriate images of herself, and kissing him on the school premises — then lying to her employer about it. On 4 March 2024 the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) prohibited her from teaching indefinitely, with a five-year review period.

Background Information

The relationship came to light when Pupil B reported to a staff member his concern about a relationship between Houlihan and Pupil A. Pupil A confirmed that after he had turned [redacted in the published decision] he asked Houlihan if she wanted his mobile number, which she accepted; the two then exchanged messages via her personal mobile. The school investigated and Houlihan resigned.

Houlihan had been arrested on or around 3 December 2022 and, on 21 December 2022, was convicted at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court for failing to provide a specimen for analysis. She was fined £1,100 and disqualified from driving for 17 months. She did not inform the school of the arrest or the conviction, contrary to the school’s employment manual, which treated failure to immediately notify it of any investigation, arrest, charge or conviction as gross misconduct.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Admitted misconduct. Ms Emma Houlihan admitted the allegations in a signed statement of agreed facts considered by a Teaching Regulation Agency panel. The panel found proved that between September 2022 and January 2023 she engaged in and/or developed an inappropriate relationship with Pupil A — phoning him, sending text and Snapchat messages, sending inappropriate images of herself, engaging in inappropriate conversations, kissing him on the school premises, and phoning him whilst she was drink driving — that this conduct was of a sexual nature and/or sexually motivated, that she provided false and misleading information about the relationship to the school, and that she failed to disclose her arrest and conviction, dishonestly and lacking integrity. She was convicted on 21 December 2022 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court for failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

The panel found that Houlihan admitted phoning Pupil A on his personal mobile more than once, and Pupil A described at least two occasions she had called. Screenshots of her text messages showed conversations with a pupil of an inappropriate nature, in which she stated she missed him and asked him to stop being “tempting”; Pupil A described conversations that were “adult in nature” and an exchange of “intimate messages”. She admitted sending inappropriate images of herself, described in the school’s investigation as including Houlihan wearing lingerie. She admitted kissing Pupil A on the school premises; Pupil A described a first kiss in her classroom after school — which he made after she ‘goaded it’ — another he described as ‘pre-planned’, and a third in her classroom. He also described a call from Houlihan early one morning as she drove, drunk and upset; she had been pulled over for drink driving.

On or around 24 January 2023, Houlihan told the school she had “never sent images or kissed a student”; three days later she admitted both. The panel found the ordinary person would have considered this dishonest, though it accepted she may have panicked and did not maintain the false position for long. On the drink-driving conviction, the panel found the offence did not itself breach the Teachers’ Standards but that she had a professional obligation to disclose it, and the ordinary person would have considered her failure dishonest. It found all six allegations proved, amounting to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, noting the conviction carried no imprisonment — indicating the offence was at the less serious end of the possible spectrum — and no criticism of her teaching proficiency.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found Houlihan’s conduct fell significantly short of the standards expected of a teacher, breaching the Teachers’ Standards on proper boundaries and safeguarding and the safeguarding provisions of Keeping Children Safe In Education. It found her behaviour — a sexual relationship with a pupil developed through her position as a teacher, marked by continued messaging over months, dishonesty and a lack of integrity — was outside that which could reasonably be tolerated, and that public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if it were not treated with the utmost seriousness. It recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect, but with a five-year review period, reasoning that Pupil A was over [redacted in the decision] at the time and had not been taught by her, that she was a relatively newly qualified teacher considered vulnerable, and that a review period would let her demonstrate insight and any steps taken to address her behaviour.

Current Status

On 4 March 2024, decision maker David Oatley, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited Houlihan from teaching indefinitely; she cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. He accepted the panel’s five-year review recommendation, finding a shorter period insufficient given the seriousness of the findings, the dishonesty and lack of integrity, and the absence of evidence of insight and remorse. She may apply for the order to be set aside, but “not until 2029” — not an automatic right; if she applies, a panel will consider whether it should be set aside. Without a successful application, she remains prohibited indefinitely. The order takes effect when served, with a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The prohibition order ends Houlihan’s teaching career for at least five years and potentially for life, at a stage when the panel described her as relatively newly qualified. Her resignation from The King’s School in January 2023 preceded the regulator’s findings, but the published decision attaches a permanent, searchable record to her name: a sexually motivated relationship with a pupil, dishonesty toward her employer, and a conviction for failing to provide a specimen, with a £1,100 fine and 17-month driving disqualification alongside. The panel found she had a previously good history, but that no evidence was provided of insight, remorse, or steps since January 2023 to address her behaviour — the absence Oatley weighed in declining any shorter review period. Any return to teaching depends on a successful application to set the order aside no earlier than 2029.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Ms Emma Houlihan” — source