Rotherham Rawmarsh Community School teacher banned from profession over ‘inappropriate’ contact with pupils

Mr Ogley, aged 38, was banned after a Teacher Regulation Agency professional conduct panel heard how he sent inappropriate emails to girls he had taught and followed them on Facebook, ignoring advice to stop from his bosses at Rawmarsh Community School.

The panel ruled allegations that he gave a pupil at Rawmarsh, called ‘Pupil A’, unsupervised one-to-one revision sessions; sent inappropriate emails outside of school hours; gave her a lift in his car on one occasion or more; and hugged her were all proved.

It also found allegations that he made friends with one of his former female pupils at his previous school, Brookfield Comprehensive School, on social media after moving to Rawmarsh were proved.

He had worked at Brookfield from 2014 until 2017, and befriended ‘Pupil C’ on Facebook in or around November 2018, before using it to send her inappropriate messages including the discussion of her weekend plans, asking her to meet up for coffee, complimenting her figure, and messages that her boyfriend was a ‘lucky man’, or words to that effect.

One message at Rawmarsh stated: ‘Hello lovely, How’s your evening? Just thought I’d say hi and that if you need any help with options I’m here for you. Think I will wear my blue tie tomorrow [smileyface emoji].”

Mr Ogley was suspended pending an investigation into his conduct in December 2018, but resigned from the school in February 2019. On March 8, 2019, a disciplinary hearing took place in his absence. The school determined his behaviour constituted gross misconduct and he was summarily dismissed.

Mr Ogley admitted that, in or around November 2018, he had befriended Pupil C on Facebook, a year after he had left his teaching post at Brookfield Comprehensive School.

Banning him, Sarah Buxcey, decision maker for the secretary of state for education, said in her report: “This means that Mr Mark Ogley is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.

"Furthermore, in view of the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, I have decided that Mr Ogley shall not be entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.”