LAURA HAMBLIN

TEACHER BANNED FOR SENDING SEXUAL MESSAGES TO PUPIL

A former deputy head teacher at a special school has been banned from the profession after she was found to have sent sexual messages to a child on WhatsApp.

Laura Hamblin, 40, was an English teacher, deputy head, and a safeguarding lead at the school in Herefordshire.

In March 2024, she was arrested on suspicion of sexual communication with a child, for which she later pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence.

A Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel has now banned her from teaching indefinitely.

Hamblin was employed by the school in June 2017 and resigned on 30 September 2024, about six months after her arrest.

She admitted at Gloucestershire Magistrates' Court that she had sent WhatsApp messages and voice notes of a sexual nature to a child in March 2024.

The TRA panel heard how there were '1,500 pages of chat' between Hamblin and the pupil concerned, which the judge described as 'damaging' to the pupil.

The sentencing remarks, referred to by the tribunal panel, detailed her being in a position of trust with the vulnerable child and engaging in inappropriate communication that escalated to full-on sexual fantasy exchanges over about three weeks, with the last week of messages being particularly explicit.

The judge stated that Hamblin was motivated to facilitate contact by acquiring the child's phone number, and that her actions caused significant harm, including re-entering the student’s education after the incident, which was disruptive and embarrassing for the pupil and his family.

On 14 November 2024, she received a suspended sentence at Gloucester Crown Court, along with a rehabilitation activity requirement, an unpaid work requirement, a restraining order, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and a 10-year registration requirement on the sex offenders register.