A New Zealand teacher who taught physical education in the United Kingdom has been struck off the New Zealand teaching register for serious misconduct, having formed an inappropriate relationship with a student.
Lana Marsom, a fully registered teacher since August 2014 was employed as a PE teacher in the United Kingdom from September 2015 to March 2017.
She coached a 17-year-old female student in netball. The student, who has permanent name suppression is described as Student E.
In December 2016, the Director of Sport at the school raised concerns about the amount of time the two were spending together.
In the evidence presented in the decision by the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal , Ms Marsom and the student exchanged messages via phone and the student also visited Ms Marsom's home on two occasions.
Some of the text messages were of a sexual nature - Ms Marsom saying to the student on one occasion that "she feels kinky" and that she "feels all funny inside when she sees her".
After the student was reported missing by her parents on February 4, 2017, Ms Marsom helped locate her.
Because police had been called, they inadvertently found the messages between the student and Ms Marsom on the student's phone.
The teacher was subsequently arrested and issued with a warning. She was also dismissed from the school and returned to New Zealand in March 2017.
The case was referred to the Teacher's Council in New Zealand who found Ms Marsom had committed serious misconduct and cancelled her registration.
In their findings, the Tribunal said, "We are satisfied that the respondent’s conduct reflects adversely on her fitness to teach. It is also of a nature that brings the teaching profession as a whole into disrepute when considered against the objective yardstick that applies."
Marsom accepted her conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and that it may bring the profession into disrepute.
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