A-levels teacher defends giving pupil explicit books: ‘They’re young adults’

A-levels teacher defends giving pupil explicit books: ‘They’re young adults’ Fiona Simpson taught A-level photography at a £51,552-a-year school, which caters for pupils with special educational needs - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in A private school teacher who gave a vulnerable pupil books containing images of sex, drugs and nudity defended her actions by saying A-level students are “young adults”. Fiona Simpson taught A-level photography at the £51,552-a-year Burlington House School in Fulham, west London, which caters for pupils with special educational needs. The books she had provided to a pupil were Diary by Corinne Day and Emotions & Relations, which contained images of drug use, oral sex, a naked man and a blood-splattered bedroom. In a response to a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) conduct panel, Ms Simpson said: “As far as allowing students to access specific books, I absolutely do not believe in censoring the arts. “These are not primary school children; they are young adults.” She added: “They should definitely know about the history of photography and the key figures within it.” She avoided a teaching ban despite the panel saying her explanation was “misguided”. The panel said the use of the artists was not inherently inappropriate, but that the concern “is about the apparent disregard for the needs of a vulnerable pupil”. It added: “There was no evidence to suggest there was any material supervision, support or contextualisation provided in the directed research to these highly graphic images. “It ought to have been readily apparent to Ms Simpson that providing this material in such an unstructured fashion to a vulnerable pupil came with significant risk to their wellbeing. “There was no suggestion that Ms Simpson gave any consideration to this risk or explored how it might be best to approach such sensitive imagery with other professional colleagues.” Ms Simpson, who joined the independent school in November 2022, was also found to have tapped the pupil on the bottom with a book or magazine. CCTV footage showed her swinging the item towards the pupil as they walked ahead of her, the panel wrote. She said the contact was unintentional and was a gesture encouraging the pupil to return to class. But the panel concluded the contact was “inappropriate” and “entirely unwarranted”. She also took an unwell pupil to a cafe during school hours, which the panel ruled was a safeguarding failure. Burlington House School dismissed Ms Simpson during her probationary period in March 2023 and referred her to the TRA in June. After a hearing in October 2026, the panel found Ms Simpson guilty of unacceptable professional conduct. But it recommended that she should not be banned from teaching, saying her misconduct was at the “lower possible end of the spectrum”. The panel said there was no evidence Ms Simpson had developed insight into her behaviour and warned there was a risk it could be repeated. But it concluded that publishing its findings would alert any employers to the risks and allow schools to put appropriate supervision in place.