Gravesend teacher banned for life over sexual crimes and child abuse images

A primary school teacher who was caught talking in a “sexual nature” to someone he believed was a young girl has been officially banned from the teaching profession. Thomas Page, also known by the alias Thomas Watson, was previously sentenced in 2023 to a suspended prison term for this offence, along with convictions for owning child abuse images. The 37-year-old was arrested in 2021 while working at Whitehill Primary School and Nursery in Sun Lane, Gravesend, after an undercover police operation. He believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old girl, but in fact, he was conversing with an officer. His phone was seized, and data analysis revealed he was part of a group chat where indecent images of children were downloaded. Page was sentenced to eight months in jail, suspended for two years. Following this, a misconduct hearing held by the Teaching Regulation Agency in January 2025 found that he had talked in a sexual manner and described sexual acts he intended to perform on a girl he believed was underage. The panel noted that he had been working at the school since 2011 and was suspended in 2021. The hearing revealed that he had been in possession of 35 Category A indecent images, 17 Category B, and 77 Category C images. He was placed on the sex offenders register and subjected to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years, ordered to undertake 150 hours of unpaid work, and pay costs of £600. His sentencing and misconduct findings led to an indefinite ban from teaching, with a statement emphasizing the importance of safeguarding and the serious nature of his offences. The panel also noted that Page had a previously good history but showed no evidence of remorse or insight into his actions.