A teacher at a prestigious girls’ boarding school has been banned from the classroom after pupils were accidentally shown his YouTube search history – containing terms including ‘girls in thongs’.
James Hindson was teaching a geography lesson at £45,000-a-year Moreton Hall School in Shropshire when he clicked on the YouTube search bar, causing previous searches linked to his account to appear on a large classroom screen.
Pupils reported seeing terms including ‘teen bikini haul’ and ‘girls in thongs’ during the lesson on May 7 last year, a misconduct panel was told.
Hindson, 69, who was also a church warden, was struck from the teaching register for two years after admitting unacceptable professional conduct.
The Teaching Regulation Agency heard how pupils raised concerns after the search terms were shown during the lesson.
The married father of three was dismissed after a school IT investigation revealed ‘common themes of searches being for teens in little clothing, teens engaging in athletic activity, or relating to sexual activity’ between 2021 and 2023.
Mr Hindson told the investigation that he had accidentally shown his previous searches while attempting to find a YouTube clip for use in a lesson about global trade.
He did not deny making the searches – which included ‘teens having sex’, ‘teens stripping’ and ‘teen first time sex’ – and said they had been conducted at home.
James Hindson was teaching a geography lesson at £45,000-a-year Moreton Hall School in Shropshire when his YouTube search bar was shown to pupils
Panel chair Alan Wells said: ‘The searches were consistently focused on teenagers, with repeated reference to “teens”.
‘The panel placed weight on both the volume of searches and the extended period over which they were undertaken, which demonstrated a sustained pattern of behaviour rather than isolated incidents.
‘The panel considered it highly relevant that Mr Hindson was teaching secondary-aged pupils at an all-girls’ boarding school and that the subject matter of the searches closely reflected the age group of the pupils in his care.
‘The panel also noted that some of the search terms were displayed during a lesson and, whilst it accepted that Mr Hindson may not have appreciated that his personal search activity could be linked to, and accessible through, his school account, and that he had not deliberately shown the search terms to pupils, it nevertheless considered that he bore responsibility.’
The panel ruled that Hindson’s conduct was sexually motivated and found his actions fell ‘significantly short’ of the standards expected of teachers.
In mitigation, regulators heard evidence of Hindson’s contribution to education, in which he was described as ‘dependable and hardworking’.
In written submissions, Hindson said he was ‘ashamed’ of his behaviour, and ‘the harm it has already caused to a number of students’.
The panel agreed he had shown remorse but said his prohibition was needed to maintain public confidence in teachers.
Signing off on the ban, civil servant Marc Cavey said: ‘I am particularly mindful of the finding in this case of a teacher using sexually themed search terms focused on teenagers over an extended period, as well as allowing some of those search terms to be displayed to his pupils, and the negative impact that such a finding is likely to have on the reputation of the profession.’
Hindson is now banned indefinitely from teaching in any school, sixth-form college or children’s home in England and Wales. He cannot apply for the order to be set aside for two years.
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