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Teacher who shared personal history during sex education lesson gets reprimand
Дата публикации: 17-07-2026 16:16:58
Claire Townsend spoke about her sexual past and also joined a WhatsApp chat containing pupils
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Claire Townsend spoke about her sexual past and also joined a WhatsApp chat containing pupils
17:16, 17 Jul 2026
A Cardiff secondary school worker who sent inappropriate messages into a group chat with pupils and spoke to a sex education class about her personal history has been given a reprimand. A professional standards committee found Claire Townsend's messages to a WhatsApp group and discussion of her having sex with an older boyfriend to be isolated incidents as it imposed a reprimand on her teaching registration.
This week an Education Workforce Council (EWC) panel heard allegations about Miss Towsend's conduct while working as an unqualified teacher at Willows High in Tremorfa.
Townsend was found to have broken school safeguarding rules and EWC guidance by sharing her personal phone number to join the group chat of some of her pupils on the social media platform. She was also found to have shared unnecessary details of her personal history in a sex education class.
A parent alerted headteacher Chris Norman to the WhatsApp chat, which led to the school's safeguarding lead Michelle Mackintosh asking Townsend whether or not she was in it.
She initially denied being a member of the group, then said a pupil had added her.
Screenshots show that when a pupil messaged the chat saying “I touch myself”, Townsend responded with: “I am here guys but honestly I’m not going to get offended by any of your messages, I know it’s just banter etc... and to be honest, someone has to do it! Have a good summer all. x”
On another occasion, "very late at night" and during the summer holidays, Townsend wrote: “I’m still here guys!! To be honest 80% of what you send I do not understand, I won’t get offended so carry on doing what you're doing and I’ll just watch!!!! x”
Case presenter Lee Bridges told the panel earlier this week that Townsend joined the school as a teaching assistant in 2009 before moving into an 'unqualified teacher' role in 2016. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here
She was placed on a support plan in 2022 and the panel heard there were concerns about her inappropriately raising her voice at pupils in class.
In July 2024 she attended a meeting to discuss her progress with deputy headteacher Kelly Bubbins, who noted at the time that there had been "some improvements" with Townsend's tone of voice towards pupils.
Five days later Townsend gave her number to a pupil so she could be added to the WhatsApp group. Townsend attempted to claim this was so that she could share a video from the school's "genius hour" programme, which is aimed at empowering youths to "make a positive change in society".
The panel did not accept this to be the truth. Townsend was in the chat for around a month between July and August 2024.
Alongside the group chat allegations and discussing her sex life at the age of 15 with an older boyfriend, the panel also found that on one or more occasions between March 2023 and June 2024 Townsend shouted and/or raised her voice at pupils in class when it was neither required nor appropriate.
It was also found that the learning support worker referred to pupils as “lovely”, and/or “darling” while sanctioning them; and/or told pupils that she would give them demerits and/or send them to the alternate provision centre when this was not warranted.
It was also claimed that between March 2023 and June 2024, on one or more occasions, she spoke to one or more pupils inappropriately, in a tone that was described as either frustrated, sarcastic, patronising or confrontational. This claim was not upheld by the panel.
Townsend was neither present nor represented at any stage in the hearing.
The committee concluded on Friday that closing the case without making a disciplinary order would not be appropriate given that the panel had found that "Miss Townsend had breached professional boundaries".
In mitigation, the panel considered that Townsend had lack of judgement and that there was no evidence that her conduct had seriously affected learners. The committee considered there was no risk or evidence of harm to the pupils as a result of her behaviour.
The panel also considered that once Miss Townsend had left the WhatsApp group chat, she did not seek alternative platforms to communicate with pupils in relation to sharing personal information. There was only evidence of this occurring on one occasion.
The panel concluded that as Miss Townsend had already been subject to a school investigation, a fitness practice process and given the passage of time, the committee was satisfied that Miss Townsend has learnt an important lesson, and thus it was unlikely that there would be any repetition of the same or similar conduct.
Chairman of the committee, Steve Powell, said: "This was not a case in the committee's view where there was an ongoing risk. The committee is satisfied the public interest would be best served in Miss Townsend being allowed to return to the profession.
"In this case the committee was satisfied that the imposition of a reprimand is sufficient and necessary for the protection of learners and for public maintenance of the confidence in the education professions and the regulatory process.
"The reprimand marks the fact that Miss Townsend‘s behaviour was unacceptable and must not happen again. It will remain on the register for a period of two years and will be disclosed to an employer or prospective employer as part of the pre-employment checks."
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