History teacher encouraged teenage boy to smoke cannabis with her
A history teacher encouraged a teenage boy to smoke cannabis and drink alcohol with her, a panel has found.
Charlotte Doman, then 32, was a history teacher at William Edwards School, a secondary in Grays, Essex, when her inappropriate contact with the boy began.
In messages the teacher sent to the pupil, referred to as Pupil A by a Teaching Regulation Agency panel, she called him 'little duck' and told him she loved him, the hearing was told.
She did not attend her misconduct hearing, but in written statements said the 'little duck' nickname was 'not romantic' and said that she was 'letting (Pupil A) know that someone cared about his existence' in telling him she loved him.
Ms Doman, now 34, sent dozens of messages to Pupil A between April and May 2023, including one where she said: 'You're not even legal or an adult or anything. Like, am I taking advantage of you? Some days it feels like you're taking advantage of me lol.'
In messages seen by the panel, she told him 'YOU have all the control in this relationship' and also said 'Love that you're still ignoring me. I'm gonna go get f----- up'.
She also told Pupil A details about her sexual relationships, the panel found, saying in an Instagram message: 'One night I ended up with three different guys.'
The 34-year-old admitted she encouraged Pupil A to drink alcohol and smoke cannabis with her, and said in a statement: 'I am unsure why any of this occurred. I certainly don't behave like this myself. I drink alcohol less than once a month and never to excess, and I've never taken drugs.'
She made comments about the pupil's appearance and messaged him saying: 'I literally go get waxed every eight weeks for no one to appreciate it', the hearing was told.
The panel heard Ms Doman encouraged Pupil A and his friends to 'pull sickies' on a day she was off school, and at least once invited Pupil A to spend time alone with her.
'Are you and the boys going to be okay if I have to be off sick? You could always pull sickies and we'll all just game at mine all day,' she said in an Instagram message to Pupil A.
The teacher admitted she had sent Pupil A messages outside of school hours and sometimes in the early hours of the morning, and acknowledged she told the pupil to 'remove all trace' of her from his phone on May 22 that year.
Ms Doman denied that her conduct was sexually motivated and said she saw Pupil A as 'like her child', but the panel ruled on the contrary.
The panel said it did not see any other reason as to why Ms Doman discussed her past sexual experiences, problems in her relationship and a graphic sexual extract from a book 'other than if it were in pursuit of sexual gratification or in pursuit of a future sexual relationship'.
'The context of the majority of messages... did not imply that Ms Doman just simply saw Pupil A like her child,' the panel said.
The panel ruled Ms Doman's behaviour had a 'seriously damaging' impact on Pupil A, his parents, the school and its wider community, and that her conduct 'had the potential to influence Pupil A in a harmful way'.
Ms Doman was facing 'difficulties' in her personal life at the time, the hearing was told, but the panel ruled that she 'did not show sufficient insight in respect of the impact her conduct had on others'.
In a written conclusion published on Wednesday, Marc Cavey, on behalf of the Secretary of State, decided Ms Doman should be banned from teaching indefinitely, subject to a five-year review period.
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