A FORMER primary school teacher has been banned from teaching after sending sexually inappropriate messages to former pupils.

A teaching misconduct panel found Ashley Nixon, a former class teacher at Peters Hill Primary School, Brierley Hill, guilty of “unacceptable professional conduct.”

The panel found Nixon had had “inappropriate contact with one or more children”, via telephone and social media and had sent sexually explicit images and videos.

The former teacher admitted to sending a sexually explicit video and a picture of his bottom to a child, known as Child 1, but said it was an accident and the message was intended for an “adult female friend.”

He denied sending any further explicit material to Child 1 or to a second child, Child 2.

He also denied accusations he invited the children to his home.

Nixon admitted had had added the two children on Snapchat and Instagram after obtaining their phone numbers at a football match in August 2021, saying he gained consent from a person linked to Child 1.

He accepted that this was inappropriate contact but maintained his messages were always appropriate.

Nixon was interviewed by West Midlands Police on September 29 2021, two days after the school was informed of the accusations.

He was suspended by the school that October.

The police later closed their investigation with no further action in March 2022. The case was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) in October the same year.

The panel heard that, in a witness statement given to police, a person linked to Child 1 said she saw the child’s phone light up with a Snapchat notification at around 5.15am on September 27 2021.

Knowing the Snapchat conversation would disappear once opened, she took a video of the message on her own phone.

She said the content made her feel “physically sick” and confronted Child 1 about the messages, one of which was an image of Nixon’s bottom and the other a sexually explicit video.

Child 1 said they had received one similar image before, of Nixon’s “bare bum but standing.”

The person also told police Child 2 had said they had been sent similar messages from Nixon.

Despite the police investigation being dropped, the panel did not accept Nixon’s argument that he sent explicit messages to Child 1 by accident, nor his denial of the allegations relating to Child 2.

The panel found him to be an “experienced Snapchat user” who was not “reckless” enough to send two separate messages to the wrong person.

They believed, on the balance of probabilities, he sent one or more explicit images to Child 1 and/or Child 2.

Both children were former pupils of Peters Hill Primary School. They were “still of school age” when the incident occurred.

The panel were provided with photographs of the call log from Child 1’s phone which showed 17 video and audio calls to and from Nixon over a four-day period, including Snapchat video and audio calls, a phone call and FaceTime call.

The panel heard he maintained a continuous messaging “streak” of 101 days on Snapchat with Child 2.

The panel found all accusations against him proven and said this was misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of teaching standards.

Nixon has been banned from teaching indefinitely in England.

Simon Duncan, headteacher at Peters Hill Primary School, welcomed the panel’s verdict.

Mr Duncan said: “Peters Hill Primary School provides our pupils with a happy, caring, and most importantly safe learning environment.

“We are therefore pleased that the findings in the prohibition order will ensure that this individual, whose employment with the school ended several years ago, will be prohibited from working with vulnerable people in the future.”

Nixon will not be able to apply to have his eligibility to teach restored.