5 days ago
'Sexually-motivated' teacher told school pupil 'you're mine little duck'
Charlotte Doman, 35, worked as a history teacher at William Edwards School in Essex when she started to contact a pupil outside of school on social media and sent "inappropriate messages", according to a teaching panel
A "sexually motivated" teacher who confessed her love to a pupil and told them "you're mine, little duck" has been banned from teaching. Charlotte Doman, 35, worked as a history teacher at William Edwards School in Essex when she started to contact the boy - referred to as Pupil A - outside of school on social media and sent "inappropriate messages", according to a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel.
Ms Doman, then 32, sent dozens of messages to Pupil A between April and May 2023. In one, 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."
She provided her mobile number to the pupil and told him she loved him on Instagram, writing: "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".
Ms Doman 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 woman 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." The teacher also sent photographs of herself, including her tattoos.
Ms Domain admitted to calling the pupil her "little duck", writing: "You're mine, little duck." She later recognised this was "inappropriate. "
The former teacher even confessed her "love" to the student and told them to "get use to it".
She wrote: 'I'm going to keep telling you I love you even though you don't like it because you need to know people love you. I don't care if you never love me or say it because love isn't meant to be selfish. It's not how it works. So get used to it.'
The teaching panel concluded "the findings of misconduct are serious as they include a teacher engaging in sexually motivated and inappropriate communications with a pupil."
The report read: "The panel recognised that there was no prompting or encouragement by Pupil A for Miss Doman to disclose details in respect of her sexual experiences or relationship. The panel did not see any other reason as to why Miss 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 panel therefore determined that Miss Doman's conduct was sexually motivated".
A parent of a pupil raised concerns with the school on May 24, 2023, in response to her alleged conduct at the time, prompting them to make a referral to the Local Authority Designated Officer on the same day.
After the school commenced an investigation, Ms Doman was suspended from her duties and resigned from her position at the school on June 20, 2023.
Simon Bell, Headteacher of William Edwards School, said they were "appalled" by the actions of the former staff member. He confirmed the school took "robust" actions to address the incident.
Mr Bell told The Mirror: 'We are appalled and deeply disappointed by the actions of this former staff member, who was immediately suspended and went through a disciplinary process which resulted in her leaving our employment shortly afterwards'.
'The safeguarding of our students is always our top priority, and we took immediate action when concerns were raised, including referrals to a number of external agencies including the Local Authority Safeguarding Team, Essex Police, the Disclosure and Barring Service and the Teacher Regulation Agency.'
'We are reassured that our robust safeguarding processes allowed us to act swiftly to address the concerns and welcome the Teacher Regulation Agency's decision to ban them from teaching in the future.'
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.
