A science teacher who took indecent images of himself on school premises during working hours has been banned from the profession.

Benjamin Lillicrap, who worked at The Abbey School in Faversham, Kent from July to November 2023, admitted to taking pictures of his genitalia during school hours.

In November 2023, during an unrelated police investigation at the school, officers found multiple indecent images of Mr Lillicrap’s genitalia that had been taken on the school premises.

He was then suspended by the school, which held an initial investigation meeting, followed by a formal disciplinary hearing.

When asked directly, “Have you taken any pictures of your penis during school time?”, Mr Lillicrap said that he had and they were meant for a private individual.

He stated that no children were in the room when he did so.

Mr Lillicrap apologised for taking the photos on school grounds but said: “It was never anything that was meant to come to light”.

Following the disciplinary hearing, he was dismissed for gross misconduct in February 2024 and the matter was referred to the Teacher Regulation Agency.

A professional conduct panel found that Mr Lillicrap engaged in inappropriate and/or unprofessional behaviour and that behaviour was conduct of a sexual nature and/or was sexually motivated.

A report said: “The panel found that Mr Lillicrap’s behaviour showed no regard to safeguarding of students, or the potential risk of students, colleagues and / or members of the public finding him taking images of his genitalia when on school premises.

“The panel found that this was not an appropriate way for a teacher to behave and he failed to observe the boundaries appropriate to his role as a teacher.

“The panel also noted that students have the right to be educated in a safe environment and that teachers have a duty of care to ensure that this is the case. By behaving in this way Mr Lillicrap did not provide a safe environment for the students.”

The panel found that Mr Lillicrap’s actions constituted conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute and that his conduct fell short of expected standards.

They said he “was wrongly focused on his own sexual gratification rather than on his teaching responsibilities”.

He was banned from teaching indefinitely.