Mr Matthew Kelly

Introduction

Matthew Kelly is a former teacher at Beckfoot School in Bingley, West Yorkshire, where he taught from September 2013 and was later promoted to Assistant Faculty Lead, and he is now banned from teaching for life. Between September 2019 and January 2020 he engaged in 560 email exchanges with a pupil referred to as Pupil A, of which only 22 were purely academic; 139 took place at weekends or during holidays and 170 after 9pm at night. A Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel found all ten allegations against him proved, including that he downloaded Category 6 images of children in conduct it found sexually motivated, and that his contact with Pupil A demonstrated elements of building an inappropriate relationship. On 4 December 2023 Marc Cavey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State, prohibited him from teaching indefinitely.

Background Information

Kelly joined Beckfoot School in September 2013 and was later promoted to Assistant Faculty Lead. From around September 2019 he acted as an academic support for Pupil A, a sixth form pupil. On 27 January 2020, two sixth form students raised concerns about Kelly exchanging emails with Pupil A late on a Friday evening; the school appointed an investigator, interviewed Kelly on 7 February 2020 and referred him to the Teaching Regulation Agency on 14 February 2020. He resigned on 29 February 2020 and was interviewed by police on 17 March 2020. Kelly was neither present nor represented at the panel’s hearing.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Admitted in part, found proved in full. Kelly admitted the email allegations in a signed statement of agreed facts, but stayed away from the hearing; the panel proved every allegation, including the image downloads and the searches for Pupil A online.

Between September 2019 and 25 January 2020, Kelly and Pupil A exchanged 560 emails, of which only 22 were purely academic, with the remainder categorised as entirely personal or of both an academic and personal nature. One, sent at 20:21 on 16 January 2020, was headed “seems I can’t even turn the radio on, without being reminded of you…”; another shared a definition of Pupil A’s name that spoke of wanting to keep her safe and love her more than anything in the universe. On the night of 24/25 January 2020 the exchange ran for around three hours into the early hours, began with a “wink” emoji and included Kelly counting the pints he had consumed; the panel concluded he was under the influence of alcohol. Kelly admitted these allegations, and that they amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute, in a statement of agreed facts signed on 30 July 2021.

He made no admissions on the remaining allegations, which the panel went on to find proved. It held that he had inappropriate conversations with Pupil A about his personal life, alcohol and his marital relationship; that he failed to inform the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead about the interactions despite regular safeguarding training; and that he permitted Pupil A to retrieve a confiscated item, directing her to where it was kept. On 30 September 2019 he emailed Pupil A a photograph of a lottery ticket with the message “OK. If this wins, we’re sharing it!”. On 6 February 2020, after the school’s investigation had begun, he made over 30 Google searches relating to Pupil A, including searches for her Instagram and Facebook accounts.

The forensic examination of Kelly’s devices by West Yorkshire Police identified Category 6 images of children — described in the police report as images which, whilst not illegal, could indicate an interest in the sexual abuse of children or be borderline on a decision regarding age; three showed females performing sex acts who appeared to be of pre-teen age. Kelly had confirmed in police interview that no other person had access to the examined devices, and the panel was satisfied the images had been downloaded by him, that the downloading was sexually motivated, and that his conduct toward Pupil A demonstrated elements of building an inappropriate relationship. It found all ten allegations proved. No criminal charges were pursued.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found Kelly’s conduct breached the Teachers’ Standards on upholding public trust, observing proper boundaries and safeguarding pupils’ wellbeing, and amounted to misconduct of a serious nature that fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. It noted his written submissions, in which he expressed his deepest regret, said he had no intention of bringing harm to anyone, wished he had never been asked to mentor the student, and stated that he would never allow himself to be in the same position again and had learnt an extremely harsh lesson. The panel was not persuaded: it found no evidence that his actions were not deliberate, no evidence that he had acted under extreme duress, and did not accept that he had been isolated in supporting Pupil A. Although he appeared to have had an otherwise good record, there was no evidence he had demonstrated exceptionally high standards or contributed significantly to the education sector. It recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect and no review period.

Current Status

On 4 December 2023, Marc Cavey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education, prohibited Mr Kelly from teaching indefinitely, following the panel’s virtual hearing on 27 to 29 November 2023. Cavey endorsed the recommendation of no review period, citing the seriousness of the findings and “a lack of evidence that Mr Kelly has attained full insight into the impact of his behaviour and the risk of repetition that this gives rise to”. The order means he cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. In view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved, Cavey further decided that Kelly shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach. The order takes effect from the date it is served on him, and he had a right of appeal to the King’s Bench Division of the High Court within 28 days of notice.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Kelly’s teaching career ran from September 2013 to his resignation on 29 February 2020, ending shortly after his promotion to Assistant Faculty Lead. The prohibition order is indefinite and, unlike most, carries no review period, so he cannot even apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach; the ban covers every school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation and children’s home in England. In his submissions he said he would be devastated if he were unable to teach again and pointed to the positive impact he felt he had on many students, but the decision maker gave less weight to his contribution to the profession given the seriousness of the findings and the absence of evidence of full remorse or insight. No criminal charges were brought against him.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Matthew Kelly” — source