A teacher has been censured by a disciplinary panel for sending messages of a sexual nature using school equipment.

Christopher Perry admitted to engaging in “unacceptable professional conduct”, which included sending an email to someone not connected with the school, stating: “I require you to be dressed as a school girl with white knickers”.

However, he was spared being struck off because he had a “good history” and his actions were “not so serious as to justify prohibition”.

Mr Perry, who used to teach at St Francis School in Walsall, was accused of sending “emails of a sexual nature to one or more members of the public” using school equipment in late 2016. The messages were sent to people unconnected to the school.

He admitted to a professional conduct panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership that he had sent a series of inappropriate messages, including:

• “I like a good book, good film, watch the cricket, do something romantic, make love.”
• “I have always wanted to see you standing naked full length in a mirror with your beautiful hair flowing off your shoulders, smiling at me.”
• “I require you to be dressed as a school girl with white knickers.”
• “You will kneel in the corner of the room, facing the wall while I set up my laptop.”
• “You will be required to perform acts upon me live on [online chat site] Omegle.”

In another message, Mr Perry said: “The pictures stay on my laptop under a secure password, encrypted so no-one can get them baby. They are for my eyes only.”

Unprofessional conduct

Mr Perry received a “direct management instruction” to stop sending personal emails from school equipment, but then continued to do so. He admitted to sending one further message of a sexual nature after he had been told to stop.

Mr Perry admitted that his behaviour “amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute”, and the panel judged that he had fallen “significantly short of the standards expected of the profession”.

However, the panel concluded that his conduct was “not so serious as to justify prohibition from the profession”.

It felt there was “a strong public interest consideration in retaining the teacher in the profession, particularly given that no doubt has been cast upon his abilities as an educator or his ability to make a valuable contribution to the profession, and his previous good history”.

“He has fully accepted responsibility for his poor judgment and has shown genuine remorse for his actions,” the panel’s decision notice adds.

No criminal behaviour

The panel also noted that his conduct did “not seriously affect the education or wellbeing of pupils”, did not involve a serious abuse of his position and did not involve sexual misconduct or criminal behaviour.

It said the publication of its adverse findings were “sufficient to send an appropriate message to the teacher… and meets the public interest requirement of declaring proper standards of the profession”.

The education secretary’s representative accepted the panel’s recommendation that Mr Perry should not be struck off.

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