Walsall special school teacher struck off after exchanging private messages with former pupil
A primary special school teacher in Walsall has been banned from teaching after giving her phone number to a pupil and asking him to 'delete' messages between them.
Ms Kaodi O'Loughlin Campbell, aged 34, has been barred from teaching after a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) misconduct panel found that she had been sending inappropriate messages to a vulnerable pupil.
The panel accepted that she had been "motivated by a desire to support" the pupil but heard she had been dishonest in attempting "to cover up what she had done".
Ms O'Loughlin Campbell met the pupil, referred to as Pupil A, whilst working at Elmwood School, in Rushall, Walsall, a special secondary school for children with social, emotional and mental health needs, between September 2021 and May 2022.
However, after leaving the school and finding another job at a different primary school, the two began communicating on social media in January 2023 and became friends on Snapchat.
Communication continued between the two for most of the year, with Pupil A disclosing the conversations to officials in October 2023.
A multi-agency investigation was launched.
