A teacher at a private school for children with special educational needs has been banned from the profession after admitting to sending naked pictures to a vulnerable pupil.

Megan Lanning began working as a performing arts and music teacher at fee-paying Ripplevale School and College in Rochester in January 2018.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) launched an investigation into her behaviour after she told the school’s safeguarding team she had inappropriate feelings towards a student.

At a professional conduct panel hearing, the 36-year-old admitted to engaging in an inappropriate relationship with the student, referred to throughout as Pupil A, and had been communicating with them outside of school hours.

In a witness statement made on February 21, 2024, Pupil A stated the pair had their first phone call on February 8, 2024.

They said: “For some time they were just generally catching up and talking about what they were up to and a little bit about their feelings for each other.”

Pupil A added they had four to five calls with the teacher and that they also spoke via text.

In a statement sent to the headteacher and the safeguarding lead, Ms Lanning said she often spoke with the pupil on the phone during the evening and they also communicated via email and Instagram.

During the hearing, she also admitted to sending one or more images of herself to Pupil A “in a state of undress and/or engaging in a sexual act”.

In their witness statement, Pupil A said they had received pictures of Miss Lanning with no clothes on.

The teacher admitted to sending two pictures to Pupil A – in the first she said she was “half naked showing her boobs” and in the second she did not have leggings on and “her bottom half area was covered with her hand but this could possibly be seen as her performing a sexual act”.

She added she did not receive any pictures from the student and did not ask for any. She also provided one or more gifts to the pupil.

In their witness statement, Pupil A said they had developed feelings for Miss Lanning emotionally, and the teacher had told them she felt the same.

Ms Lanning, who was not present at the private meeting but who provided a signed statement of “agreed facts” said she and the student were both feeling very “wrapped up in one another”.

In her written submissions, she added: “I remember at the time I just wanted to give [them] all of me and wanted [them] to think I was amazing.”

The panel concluded Ms Lanning’s conduct was conduct of a sexual nature, as the comments about having feelings for the student and the pictures she had sent to them were “by their very nature sexual”.

She was found to be involved in several breaches of the Teachers’ Standards and was as a result deemed guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.

The panel considered Ms Lanning’s conduct could potentially damage the public’s perception of the profession.

In a written statement dated from January of this year, Miss Lanning stated that if she had more self-awareness to help her understand her thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, it would have guided her towards making better choices and she “feels sick” every time she thinks about what she did now.

She stated that it was not something she would ever think of doing again, and the consequences of what she did have been “so hard to bear”.

The teacher admitted to acting selfishly and with impulse and has since been in engaging with therapy to help her work through her problems.

Ms Lanning admitted sending Pupil A naked photographs was not a good idea and she realises her actions have repercussions for the reputation of teachers.

She added she was “disgusted and repulsed” by her prior actions and feared it “coming out” in the press.

The panel considered a character witness from a former colleague of Ms Lanning, who worked with her between 2017 and the time of her dismissal, and otherwise described her as a “person of integrity”.

They said: “I can confidently say that she is a person of integrity, she is kind and responsible.

“I never had any concerns about Megan’s conduct when working with her, and whilst I was very surprised to hear about her actions, I do not believe she would have engaged in this type of contact with someone that still attended the college, and have no doubt that she would not act in this way again.

‘...this was an unforgivable lapse of judgment involving a vulnerable individual and an abuse of trust on behalf of Miss Lanning’

“On the occasions that I have seen Megan since we have stopped working together she has shown great remorse and regret, and in disbelief of her own actions”.

A spokesperson for Ripplevale School and College, which charges fees for day pupils between £29,450 and £45,000, said: “The safety of our pupils is our overriding priority.

“As soon as a concern was raised about this member of staff in February 2024, she was suspended, and we immediately informed the relevant authorities, including the Local Authority Designated Officer.

“Following a disciplinary hearing in March 2024, she was dismissed on the grounds of professional misconduct.”

The mixed independent school which also has campuses in Broadstairs and Deal, says the case was then referred to the TRA.

The education regulator’s panel has today (April 25) published its findings in which it considered the public interest weighed heavily against allowing Ms Lanning a review period.

It made an immediate recommendation to the Secretary of State that she should be the subject of a prohibition order.

The panel stated: “[We] considered that Ms Lanning had shown both insight and remorse into her conduct, and in particular noted that she had in fact self-reported the conduct.

“However, the panel formed a view that the conduct which had been found proven was at the more serious end of the potential spectrum, and whilst the panel did consider that this was an isolated incident, it considered that this was an unforgivable lapse of judgment involving a vulnerable individual and an abuse of trust on behalf of Ms Lanning.”

Ms Lanning has now been banned from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.

Due to the seriousness of the allegations, she will also not be entitled to apply for restoration of her eligibility to teach.