A Dudley A primary school teacher who engaged in a “101-day Snapchat streak” with a child has been banned from teaching for life. Ashley Nixon, 31, sent sexually explicit photos to two former students and asked one of them for an illicit image.

He was employed at Peters Hill Elementary School, Brierley Hillat the time of the allegations. He was suspended from the school in October 2021 following allegations that he communicated with former students of the school on social media.

A Teaching Regulatory Agency misconduct panel heard that Nixon regularly communicated with the two men, sending them explicit photos. The panel ruled that his actions constituted “serious misconduct” and banned him from teaching for life.

LEARN MORE: Shameless Birmingham couple’s drug shed was next to primary school

“101 Day Snapchat Streak”

He worked at Peters Hill between 2016 and 2022. In September 2021 he was interviewed by West Midlands Police following allegations he sent inappropriate messages to two children.

The investigation was closed without further action in March 2022, but the matter was referred to the TRA in October. The panel heard that the two children had become “friends” with Nixon on Snapchat.

He developed a “101-day streak” with one child, referred to as Child 2 during the hearing. This meant they sent each other a picture or message every day for 101 days.

The panel also received photographs of the call log between another child, referred to as Child 1, and Nixon, which noted “17 video or audio calls from or to him over a four-day period.” He told the hearing he “reluctantly” agreed to a request to exchange numbers with Child 1 during a football match because he did not want to “upset” them.

He acknowledged it was “inappropriate” to be in contact with the children, but said his communications were always “appropriate in nature”.

One child was shown the image of a “man lying on his stomach, showing bare buttocks.”

The panel examined allegations that Nixon sent illicit photographs and videos to the two children. The panel heard how Child 1 was shown a “photo of a man lying on his stomach showing his bare bottom” as well as a video “showing a pair of boxers being opened” – which she knew both come from him.

Child 2 told police that Nixon had sent them three or four different photographs of his buttocks on different occasions, the committee heard. At the start of the hearing, Nixon admitted to sending a photo of his buttocks and a video of his genitals to Child 1, but maintained that “he did it by mistake.” He denied sending explicit images to Child 2.

Regarding Child 1, Nixon claimed the messages were intended for an adult friend. He claimed to have “rushed” and clicked on the name of the intended recipient. But the panel did not admit that he sent the messages inadvertently, saying he was a “powerful Snapchat user” who was “aware” that he had minor children as friends on Snapchat.

The panel also noted that the photograph and video should have been sent separately, making it “implausible” that Nixon would be “reckless enough to send two inappropriate images to the wrong recipient.” The panel also found Nixon guilty of sending explicit photos to Child 2, adding that it was “more likely than not” that he also asked them to send him a “picture” of their buttocks.

The panel also found Nixon guilty of inviting the two students to “see his new house.” None of them were present.

Mr. Nixon showed ‘limited insight or remorse’

After concluding that all allegations were proven, the panel ruled that Nixon’s actions amounted to “both a failure to maintain appropriate professional boundaries and inappropriate contact.” His messages were “inherently sexual in nature” and his conduct fell “significantly below the standards expected of the profession,” the panel members decided.

Although it had heard “positive comments” from Nixon’s character references describing him as an “honest” and “dedicated” educator, the panel believed that he had demonstrated “insight or limited remorse” for his actions, meaning there was a risk of repetition. . The panel, on behalf of the Secretary of State, decided that he should never be allowed to teach again.

Nixon was banned from teaching on October 29, 2024.