Matthew Hindle was also accused of asking the pupil to remove her clothes on a video call while he was teaching at a Greater Manchester school
06:00, 28 Oct 2025Updated 06:31, 28 Oct 2025
Tottington High School(Image: MEN)
A former teacher who ‘engaged in sexual activity with a former pupil’ while working in Greater Manchester has been banned for life. Matthew Hindle, 36, started the ‘inappropriate’ relationship with a pupil in 2017 while he was a music teacher at Tottington High School in Bury.
In the years that followed, he was accused of asking the ‘vulnerable’ pupil to remove her clothes on a video call, inviting her to his home and engaging in sexual acts with her when she was still under 18 years old. The allegations – most of which were denied – were all found to be ‘proven’ by a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel.
Mr Hindle’s conduct was investigated by Oulder Hill Leadership Academy in Rochdale after his new employer received an allegation from a member of the public in 2020. He resigned in 2022 shortly before a referral was made to the TRA.
It followed a previous investigation into Mr Hindle’s conduct at Tottington High School – which was launched after concerns were raised about his ‘familiarity’ with the pupil – found that ‘none of the text messages’ they exchanged at the time were ‘inappropriate’.
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However, a professional conduct panel hearing concluded last month that Mr Hindle should be banned indefinitely for teaching.
The panel found that, between 2017 and 2021, Mr Hindle engaged in ‘inappropriate conduct’ with a pupil deemed to be ‘vulnerable’.
According to a TRA report published after the hearing, the pupil was not enrolled in Tottington High School for most of this period.
During the hearing on September 22 of this year, the panel looked at text messages that Mr Hindle and the pupil sent each other – the majority of which were exchanged after the pupil had left Tottington High School, but while Mr Hindle was still working as a teacher.
This included messages the panel was ‘particularly concerned’ about in which Mr Hindle appears to invite the pupil to send indecent images of herself on Snapchat to him – although the teacher denied sending the message, claiming his account had been hacked.
The panel said that the messages exchanged between Mr Hindle and the pupil do not expressly confirm that a sexual act took place but concluded that it was ‘more likely than not’ that the pair ‘did engage in intercourse and/or sexual acts on one or more occasion’.
This was, in part, because the pupil was able to describe what Mr Hindle’s bedsheets looked like with the panel finding her explanation ‘more plausible’ than Mr Hindle’s who claimed that it was ‘common knowledge’ in his class that he had bedsheets with glitter on them.
Mr Hindle admitted to a ‘flirtatious’ relationship but denied that his conduct was ‘of a sexual nature and/or sexually motivated’.
But the panel found his denials lacked ‘credibility’ and concluded that the allegations against him were ‘more likely than not’ to be true.
The exchange of messages while the pupil was enrolled at Tottington High School was described by the panel as a ‘clear breach of professional boundaries’, while Mr Hindle failed to maintain ‘proper boundaries’ by continuing to message the pupil after she left.
The TRA report states that the allegations of sexual activity with the pupil took place in the months after she left Tottington High School.
It said: “Mr Hindle’s relationship with [the pupil] began whilst she was enrolled at the school and after only a few months it developed into a sexual relationship whilst she was under 18 years old.
“The panel found that in the circumstances this behaviour was harmful to [the pupil]. For these reasons, the panel was satisfied that the conduct of Mr Hindle amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. Accordingly, the panel was satisfied that Mr Hindle was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.”
The panel concluded that Mr Hindle should be prohibited from teaching indefinitely which means he cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children’s home in England. In addition, he cannot apply to restore his eligibility to teach.
In a TRA report on the outcome of the professional conduct panel hearing, David Oatley, who made the final decision on behalf of the government, wrote: “In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession.
“A published decision, in light of the circumstances in this case, that is not backed up by insight and remorse, does not in my view satisfy the public interest requirement concerning public confidence in the profession.
“For these reasons, I have concluded that a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest in order to achieve the intended aims of a prohibition order.”
He added: “Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Hindle shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.”
A spokesperson for Tottington High School said: “We are aware of this historic case concerning the individual actions of Matthew Hindle and the outcome of the Teaching Regulation Agency panel primarily concerning serious incidents after Mr Hindle left Tottington.
“All investigations found there was no sexual relationship during the pupil’s time at our school. We have continued to proactively engage with all organisations and agencies throughout.”
A spokesperson for Oulder Hill Leadership Academy said: “The safeguarding and wellbeing of our pupils is our highest priority.
“The offences in question took place at the predecessor school, Oulder Hill Community School and Language College, and the school where the individual was previously employed.
“Shortly after the first allegations were received in July 2020, Oulder Hill Community School and Language College opened an investigation. Subsequently, the member of staff was ordered to work from home and has not returned to the school since.
“The school referred the individual to the Teaching Regulation Agency and has fully supported its investigation. The individual has not worked in the school since it became Oulder Hill Leadership Academy and joined Star Academies.”
Tottington High School Academy has been approached for comment.