Mark Raven
Introduction
Mark Raven was a Teacher of Science at Taunton Preparatory School in Taunton, where he had worked since 2007. Between around [REDACTED] 2023 and [REDACTED] 2024 he exchanged thousands of private Microsoft Teams messages with a pupil, gifted and accepted items, and sent inappropriate messages to a second pupil, without referring himself to the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead. A professional conduct panel of the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) found every allegation proved, and on 11 August 2025 Sarah Buxcey, deciding for the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited Raven from teaching indefinitely with a 2-year review period.
Background Information
Raven commenced work at the School on or around 1 September 2007 and undertook the Boarding House Tutor role on or around 1 November 2021. The conduct surfaced through parents: on 11 and 12 January 2024 the School received two parental complaints describing “weird” behaviour between Raven and Pupil A. On 16 January 2024 the School met with Raven to explain the concerns; the next day it searched the Teams messages, suspended him and reported the allegation to the Local Authority Designated Officer. An investigation report followed on 31 January 2024; after a 7 February 2024 disciplinary hearing, Raven ceased employment at the School on 8 February 2024. The School referred him to the TRA on 16 February 2024.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Thousands of messages, gifts both ways, and no self-referral to safeguarding.
The panel considered the allegations at a virtual meeting on 6 August 2025, held without a hearing at Raven’s request after he signed a statement of agreed facts admitting every allegation. Between [REDACTED] 2023 and [REDACTED] 2024, approximately 2,000 messages were exchanged privately between Raven and Pupil A via the School’s Microsoft Teams platform; the investigation found he had sent 655 of them. Asked how many he thought had been sent, Raven replied “Loads.”. The panel found the “content was not sexual in nature, they were overfamiliar and did not relate to school work or home work”. Messages he was asked about included “get here and clean my bike” and “there is some aero here for you”; his response was “In the black and white of it, that’s a no – it’s not appropriate.” The panel also found that agreeing to help Pupil A get out of a class “encouraged Pupil A to be dishonest and to miss these classes”.
Raven also messaged Pupil A outside school hours, the earliest at 05:59am and the last at 10:08pm; asked whether he had messaged only within school hours, he stated “No – I did it outside of that time.”. He gifted Pupil A a [REDACTED] and/or a [REDACTED] and accepted an [REDACTED] and/or [REDACTED] and/or [REDACTED] from the pupil. Asked “Did you give Pupil A a [REDACTED] from your fridge on [their] birthday?”, he said yes, presenting it as a reward meant for other pupils too; “The panel did not find this explanation particularly convincing.” He also wrote to Pupil A: “tell me what you might like for your birthday, maybe i [sic] can get it from staff as thank you for your help/positivity on the [REDACTED]”. The panel found the gifts gave the perception of favouritism.
A second allegation concerned Pupil B: between [REDACTED] 2023 and [REDACTED] 2023, Raven sent the pupil 59 messages, and Pupil B agreed the messages “were a little “chatty””. The panel found that a joke he had sent — “[REDACTED] need to be careful in temperatures like this” — “was more akin to a message that would be sent between friends, rather than a message between a teacher and a pupil”. Finally, from [REDACTED] 2023 to [REDACTED] 2024, Raven did not refer himself to the Designated Safeguarding Lead, despite the Code of Conduct requiring staff to raise “’low level’ concerns (those that do not meet the ‘harm’ threshold)”. The panel found all allegations proved; while noting the messages “were not overtly sexual or predatory in nature”, it found the conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The decision is a regulatory record and documents no press coverage; the concerns it records came from parents and the School. The panel found a strong public interest in safeguarding pupils, noting that “public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mr Raven were not treated with the utmost seriousness”. Raven admitted the allegations but “did attempt to justify his actions by advising that they all took place on the School computer during his working hours”, and the panel found that he had not shown “a real understanding into his behaviour and why it was not appropriate.” Weighing his lack of remorse and insight, the panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and “a review period of 2 years”. Buxcey imposed the order on 11 August 2025.
Current Status
Raven is prohibited from teaching indefinitely. The order states: “This means that Mr Mark Raven is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.” It carries a 2-year review period: “He may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not until 13 August 2027, 2 years from the date of this order at the earliest. This is not an automatic right to have the prohibition order removed.” Buxcey agreed with the panel: “I agree with the panel and have decided that a 2 year review period is proportionate for the misconduct found proven in this case and to satisfy the maintenance of public confidence in the profession.” Raven has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of notice of the order.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The prohibition order ends Raven’s career at Taunton Preparatory School and bars him from teaching in England. The panel found that at present “Mr Raven’s behaviour was incompatible with being a teacher”, while noting the messages “were not overtly sexual or predatory in nature” and that he “should have an opportunity to learn from his actions, and to return to teaching in the future, should he wish to do so” — but only through the review process after 13 August 2027. Buxcey gave considerable weight to the absence of full insight or remorse, finding it meant “there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour”.