Mr Thomas Hadley

Introduction

Thomas Hadley taught design and technology and ran forest school sessions at Gresham’s Preparatory School in Norfolk from 1 September 2016, having previously taught at Wells-Next-the-Sea Primary and Nursery School. The misconduct that ended his career took place outside school: a Teaching Regulation Agency panel found that while he was an adult Scout Leader and member of a shooting club he had engaged in sexually motivated conduct toward Person A, a young person under 18 whom he had known as a family friend and driven to activities. Hadley denied the allegations, declined to attend the hearing in November 2023, and was not represented. The panel found the central allegations proved and three later ones not proved because Person A had turned 18 by then. On 27 November 2023 he was prohibited from teaching indefinitely, with no review and no entitlement to apply for restoration.

Background Information

Hadley was a class teacher for years 1 and 4 at Wells-Next-the-Sea Primary and Nursery School from September 2014 before joining Gresham’s. Person A’s family had known him for years; Person G told the panel the families became friends through a scout group that Person A joined, in which Hadley became a scout leader, and both were members of the same shooting club, to which he used to drive her two or three times a week, often with no one else present. Person A told the panel that scout leaders had obtained parental consent for him to transport her, but the Scouts’ own code of conduct, the Yellow Card, states: “Do plan activities that involve more than one other person being present, or at least within sight and hearing of others. Do not plan to be alone with a young person”. A scouting witness said parental consent could not override that, and that the movement discouraged lifts altogether. Hadley was arrested on 14 February 2019 on suspicion of sexual assault and released under investigation; in June or July 2019 police took no further action and the case passed to the Local Authority Designated Officer. He resigned from Gresham’s effective 18 October 2019, a disciplinary hearing on 4 February 2020 considered whether he would have been dismissed, and the matter was referred to the TRA on 24 March 2021.

In September 2022 Hadley told the TRA he had no intention of attending any hearing: “I have left the profession and the affect [sic] this process has had [REDACTED] is not worth the chance of clearing my name of these lies”. He later wrote that he wanted only to see the end of “this traumatic experience”, that he had started a new career, and “I do not wish to be contacted about this topic again.” The panel found he had waived his right to attend and proceeded in his absence, noting his solicitor had come off the record in May 2022.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations and findings. The findings in this section are those of a Teaching Regulation Agency professional conduct panel, which reported proving them on the balance of probabilities at a hearing held in the teacher’s absence. Mr Hadley denied the allegations, attended neither the hearing nor, in person, any part of the proceedings against him, and was not represented; the allegations were not admitted.

The core incident dates to a shooting lesson in or around 2015 or 2016, when Person A was under 18. During a break, alone with Hadley in the clubhouse, she said she wished she had a better figure; Hadley replied “Oh no you’ve got a nice figure; you’ve got nice sized boobs”, and then “I reckon they’re a nice handful” before leaning across and groping her breasts, saying “they’re a nice handful in my hands”. She said he then brushed his hand up her back as if about to undo her bra, that she froze, covered her chest with her arms, and defused the situation by suggesting they shoot again, and that he drove her home afterward. She told no one at the time except to say she did not want to go to the club alone again, and after the incident she practised shooting less and avoided being alone with him. In oral evidence she confirmed there had been skin-to-skin contact. The panel found Person A credible — her account consistent across her 2019 police statement, its witnesses, and her hearing evidence, without embellishment — and found the comment, touching and back/bra particulars proved, together with the allegation that in or around 2015 or 2016 he discussed his personal and sexual relationships with other females to her during car journeys. All of this was found sexually motivated.

Three 2017 allegations failed on age, not credibility. The panel accepted Person A’s evidence that Hadley offered her a back massage at a shooting competition in August 2017, that he got into her bivvy at an October 2017 scout camp despite having his own and tried to “spoon” her, and that he later added her on Snapchat and asked for nude pictures — but she confirmed in oral evidence she had turned 18 by the time of these events, so the panel was unable to find them proved, the allegations being tied to her being under 18. Person A told the panel she never gave Hadley permission to touch her.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The panel found Hadley breached the Teachers’ Standards and his duties under Keeping Children Safe in Education, which applies to all under-18s a teacher encounters, not only pupils; though the conduct occurred outside education, it found he abused his position of trust and disregarded his safeguarding obligations, and that offences of sexual activity and sexual communication with a child were relevant. It concluded he was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. His failure to self-refer after a 2017 message from Person G about his conduct weighed heavily: the panel found it implausible that, safeguarding-trained at both school and Scouts, he had not understood the need, and called his explanation that he thought the message concerned a “donkey bite” horseplay unlikely. His mitigation — an apology for naivety and dropping his professional guard — was rejected as inadequate: he had sought to discredit Person A and shift the blame onto her, and a text calling his conduct “silly daft mistakes” minimised it. The panel noted the proven matters were at the lower end of the possible scale but serious because sexually motivated, and found insufficient evidence of insight or remorse to assure it he would not abuse his position again.

Current Status

On 27 November 2023 decision maker David Oatley confirmed a prohibition order with immediate effect, finding the panel’s recommendation of no review period necessary to maintain public confidence. Hadley 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 from the date it is served, with a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of notice.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The ban ended Hadley’s teaching career formally: he had resigned from Gresham’s in October 2019 during the criminal investigation, police took no further action in mid-2019, and by the time of the hearing he had left the profession and started a new career, telling the TRA he did not intend to return. The prohibition order now makes any return impossible, and the lack of a review route removes even the deferred mechanism other orders carry. The panel observed he had ability as an educator and positive pre-employment references, but held that these were outweighed by the exploitation of a position of trust and the discomfort his conduct caused Person A, which affected her participation in activities she had a particular interest in.

Sources

• Teaching Regulation Agency, “Teacher misconduct panel outcome: Mr Thomas Hadley” — source