Durham teacher who sent photo of pupil's underwear banned

Owen Lowrie worked at Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School in Durham for three years

A "sexually motivated" primary school teacher who hugged pupils and sent pictures of a child's underwear to someone has been banned from teaching.

Owen Lowrie, 40, also allowed children to sit on his knee and picked them up without consent, the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) said.

He taught at schools in Durham and Sunderland and admitted unacceptable professional conduct.

The TRA said he lacked remorse and posed a "real risk to children".

'Sexualised conversations'

Concerns were first raised about Mr Lowrie's interactions with girl pupils when he worked at Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School between September 2017 and April 2020, the TRA's misconduct panel said.

He was spoken to by the school but continued having "inappropriate physical contact with female pupils", the TRA said.

The TRA said between June 2018 and May 2019, Mr Lowrie:

• Hugged and held hands with one or more pupils

• Allowed one or more pupils to sit on his knee

• Held one pupil's hand and stroked another's hair

• Held hands with pupils at a school disco

• Carried a pupil with an injured foot in a so-called fireman's lift with his hand going beneath her skirt

• Picked up one or more pupils without their consent and then told them not to mention he had done so

In January 2020, he had "sexualised conversations" about girls aged between six and nine with someone on social media and sent the person a picture of a pupil's worn underwear, the TRA said.

He also "caused or allowed" the person to send him one or more Category C or low-level indecent images.

'Mountain out of molehill'

He left Cheveley Park to work as a Year 5 teacher at Grange Park Primary School in Sunderland from April to October 2020.

He was arrested by Durham Police in September 2020 amid accusations that he was "engaging in sexualised conversations online relating to children", but no charges were brought, the TRA said.

Mr Lowrie was suspended upon his arrest and resigned a month later.

One witness told the TRA's misconduct panel that Cheveley Park did "not ban hugging children" but it "boils down to the appropriateness of the hug, with regard to where the children are hugging you on your body".

The witness, who worked at the school, said when they challenged him about his behaviour, Mr Lowrie would try to make them feel they had "made a mountain out of a molehill".

'Appalled'

The misconduct panel said it found Mr Lowrie's actions to be "calculated and sexually motivated", he lacked remorse or insight and presented a "real risk to children".

The panel recommended he be banned from teaching which was agreed to by Sarah Buxcey, decisionmaker for the Secretary of State for education.

Ms Buxcey said he would be "prohibited from teaching indefinitely" in England and "due to the seriousness of the allegations found proved", he would not be allowed to apply for the "restoration of his eligibility to teach".

Amy Goodwin, headteacher at Belmont Cheveley Park Primary School, said: "We were appalled to learn of the nature of the police investigation which led to Mr Lowrie's arrest some months after he had left the school.

"As the report outlines, a number of concerns were raised during his time at our school.

"These were responded to in line with our well-established procedures and after taking advice from local authority safeguarding leads."