Birmingham Teacher Struck Off for Inappropriate Snapchat Contact with Vulnerable Pupil
A Birmingham primary school teacher has been permanently banned from the classroom after admitting to sending inappropriate Snapchat messages to a vulnerable pupil she met while working at a special school. Kaodi O'Loughlin Campbell, 34, was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct by the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA).
Supply Teacher Role at Special School
Ms O'Loughlin Campbell worked as a supply teacher at Elmwood School in Rushall, Walsall, between September 2021 and May 2022. Elmwood is a special secondary school catering to children with social, emotional, and mental health needs. During this period, she met the boy who would later become the subject of the misconduct investigation.
At the time of the incidents, she was employed at Ferndale Primary School in Great Barr, Birmingham. Concerns about social media contact between the teacher and pupil were first raised in January and May 2023.
Snapchat Messages and Cover-Up Attempts
The TRA professional conduct panel, which met in January 2026, examined evidence showing Ms O'Loughlin Campbell had sent her contact details to the boy and they became friends on Snapchat. They exchanged multiple messages between January and March 2023.
Key messages included:
- "Make sure you delete all the messages from here" (February 2023)
- Instructions not to save her number under her name
- "Add me back on Snap" (March 2023)
- "Delete these messages"
When initially questioned by school officials in November 2023, Ms O'Loughlin Campbell denied messaging any pupils on Snapchat after leaving Elmwood School in May 2022. She claimed her interactions with pupils were "always formal." However, when presented with screenshots of the messages, she admitted to sending and receiving them.
Admissions of Misconduct and Dishonesty
The teacher admitted to all allegations against her, including:
- Inappropriate communication with a former pupil
- Knowing the pupil was vulnerable
- Breaching professional boundaries
- Being dishonest about the contact
- Attempting to cover up her behaviour
In one message to the boy, she wrote: "I ain't trying to move to you like that. I ain't a pedo. I just think you're a lovely person and I want the best for you."
Professional Conduct Panel Findings
The TRA panel found that while Ms O'Loughlin Campbell had not acted with malicious intent and there was no evidence of direct harm to the pupil, her conduct "amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession."
David Oatley, the decision maker from the TRA conduct panel, stated: "In my judgement, Ms O'Loughlin Campbell's lack of full insight into her breach of professional boundaries and dishonesty, and how she would act differently in future, means that there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour and this puts at risk the future wellbeing of pupils."
Prohibition Order with Review Possibility
The panel recommended an immediate prohibition order, banning Ms O'Loughlin Campbell from teaching indefinitely in any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation, or children's home in England. However, they included a two-year review period, stating this would give her "enough time to reflect fully and develop her insight."
She cannot apply to have the prohibition order set aside until January 29, 2028, at the earliest. The panel acknowledged she might make a positive contribution to education in the future but emphasized the need to maintain public confidence in the teaching profession.
Mr Oatley added: "I am particularly mindful of the finding of dishonesty in this case and the impact that such a finding has on the reputation of the profession. In my view, it is necessary to impose a prohibition order in order to maintain public confidence in the profession."
