Former teacher Liam Radcliffe caught with indecent images

Liam Radcliffe, 37, was handed a lifetime prohibition order after a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) misconduct meeting, that was held in private, on August 9.

He was working at Whitcliffe Mount, A SHARE Academy, in Cleckheaton at the time.

Radcliffe joined the secondary school in January 2019 and was promoted to assistant headteacher at some point during his time there.

The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to possessing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child and an extreme pornographic image or images portraying an act of intercourse or oral sex with a dead or alive animal at Leeds Magistrates’ Court on January 6 last year.

At the time he was living in Cottingley.

A spokesperson for the SHARE Multi Academy Trust confirmed the offences were committed outside of school and students were not involved.

A full statement from the group said: “We welcome the decision by the Teacher Regulation Agency to permanently ban Mr Radcliffe from teaching.

“The offences he committed make him wholly unsuitable to work with children and young people in any capacity.

“We want to reassure parents the offences were committed outside of school and Whitcliffe Mount students were not involved.

“We fully supported the police with their enquiries, suspended Mr Radcliffe as soon as we were made aware of the allegations and dismissed him from our employment at the earliest opportunity.

“We were first made aware of the allegations when the police arrested Mr Radcliffe on 11 May 2022 and suspended him immediately.

“We remained in regular contact with the police, as they conducted their investigation and dismissed Mr Radcliffe in October 2022, as soon as the police advised us we would not compromise their enquiries.

“Parents and students will no doubt share our shock at the offences of which Mr Radcliffe was convicted.

“We will provide support to anybody who feels they have been affected by the news.

“Our staff are committed to keeping our students safe and share our deep concern that a former colleague was capable of such depraved behaviour.”

Whitcliffe Mount, A SHARE Academy, in Turnsteads Avenue, Cleckheaton (Image: Google Street View)

West Yorkshire Police were first alerted to Radcliffe’s activity between January 5 and 6 in 2022.

The force received information as part of another investigation, relating to a WhatsApp conversation where Radcliffe had requested and received indecent images of children.

Radcliffe’s conviction related to one Category B indecent image of a child and an extreme pornographic image which portrayed, in an explicit and realistic way, a person having sex with a live dog, according to court records.

The court handed Radcliffe a custodial sentence of 24 weeks, suspended for 24 months, according to a report from the TRA meeting.

It also included a requirement to register with the police for seven years and he was made subject to the sex offenders’ notice.

Radcliffe was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and up to 30 days of rehabilitation.

The 37-year-old was absent from the TRA meeting but provided a signed statement of agreed facts and admitted to being convicted for the two sexual offences.

The report said: “His conduct ran counter to what should have been at the very core of his practice as a teacher with a duty of care towards children.”

It added that Radcliffe was in a “position of trust and responsibility” as an assistant headteacher and “his behaviour was inconsistent” with this position.

There was a strong public interest consideration in banning Radcliffe from the profession “in the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils and the protection of other members of the public”, according to the report.

Radcliffe had been promoted to an assistant headteacher position, but the panel found there was no further evidence he had demonstrated exceptionally high standards in both personal and professional conduct or had contributed significantly to the education sector.

There was no evidence to suggest his actions were not deliberate or that he was acting under extreme duress.

Radcliffe accepted responsibility for his actions and cooperated with the TRA but there was no evidence of insight and/or remorse, according to the report.

The Secretary of State agreed with the TRA’s recommendation and issued a prohibition order in relation to Radcliffe, without a review period.

This means Radcliffe is banned from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England, and will not be able to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.