A science teacher at a Catholic girls' school in Liverpool who encouraged pupils to send her 'affectionate' emails has been indefinitely banned from the profession. Jennifer Farron was excluded from teaching after a disciplinary panel found that she fostered a culture in which students felt able to contact her during the night and express affection towards her.
Background of the Case
The 34-year-old teacher was employed at St John Bosco Arts College in Liverpool from September 2017 until her suspension in June 2024. The investigation revealed excessive communication between Ms Farron and two students, including one pupil who emailed her at 2:14 am to say that New Year's Eve was 'the worst 24 hours of their life'.
Ms Farron was also found to have deleted emails relevant to the allegations and asked her students to delete them as well. In the 90 days prior to the allegations being made in June 2024, she had sent 79 emails to one pupil and received 80 in return. Those exchanges included the student telling Ms Farron that they 'missed' her during the school holidays.
Additional Allegations
Ms Farron was also alleged to have encouraged a student to get a tattoo like hers or visit her partner's cafe outside of school hours. The Teaching Regulation Agency found that the communications outside of work effectively blurred a professional relationship with a more personal one.
The panel considered that Ms Farron had fostered a culture whereby pupils felt they were able to send emails to her during the night, expressing affection towards her. She appeared to be discussing personal issues with them and was found not to have taken appropriate action to safeguard vulnerable pupils.
Emails sent to and from pupils via their school accounts to Ms Farron ranged between 2:14 am and 11:13 pm. She admitted all the allegations against her, but those relating to the tattoo and cafe were not proved by the panel.
Teacher's Response
Ms Farron told the panel that with the benefit of hindsight, there were things she would do differently and she should have sought further help from her colleagues. She also said it saddens her that anyone might think she would do anything other than safeguard a child.
Ms Farron has been prohibited from teaching indefinitely in a decision handed down on 11 May 2026. She can apply for the prohibition order to be set aside but not until May 2029, and she has a right of appeal at the High Court.
