Maidstone teacher who browsed pornography whilst working fired

A teacher from Maidstone who browsed pornography during teaching hours has been fired.

David Chidlow, 59, accessed the website 74 times during his hours working as a teacher at Maidstone Grammar School - switching between his live lessons and the website.

The business and economics teacher has been banned from the profession for life.

It follows a professional conduct panel who met virtually and in private to discuss the case.

Mr Chidlow admitted whilst teaching pupils using MS Teams on his school laptop, he was simultaneously browsing profile of females on the same laptop.

He also saved images of females from the website on his work laptop.

He was also found to have engaged in 'sex chats' on the adults website using the school laptop, and whilst in charge of teaching pupils online.

Also, he deleted his internet history on the laptop to hide any material he had accessed.

The panel decided the conduct of Mr Chidlow fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.

It also took into consideration that no pupils were physically present at the time MrChidlow was accessing pornographic material and engaging in sex chats.

However, the panel noted that pupils were present remotely as Mr Chidlow was engaging in this activity whilst teaching classes online.

It was decided that Mr Chidlow is banned from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.