Bangor headteacher faces tribunal

A headteacher who has led his school for more than two decades has appeared at a tribunal to deny allegations that he treated teachers unfairly.

Neil Foden, headteacher at Ysgol Friars in Bangor, denied six counts at the Education Workforce Council’s (EWC) fitness to practise hearing in Ewloe.
He is accused of treating a biology teacher unfairly in March 2016 by starting disciplinary proceedings against him after the teacher removed a child from class over his “disruptive behaviour” during a test and put him in a back office area.
The pupil’s mother wrote a letter of complaint but the teacher, who was referred to as Person D, was never interviewed directly over the affair, the tribunal heard.
He was given a warning which was later quashed on appeal, and the disciplinary process was alleged to have been unwarranted and/or disproportionate at the tribunal.
The teacher claimed Mr Foden was looking to “pressurise” him after he made whistleblowing complaints over erroneous submissions of exam results by his department boss.
Under cross-examination by Jonathan Storey, acting for Mr Foden, Person D said he made the whistleblowing complaints in 2014 because pupils had been “awarded an exam pass” and he was initially concerned it was an “administrative error”.
However, he said the evidence had been moved for the five pupils concerned.
He added: “The evidence had been removed from a computer file. It had taken a year and a quarter for the exam board to be told.”
Person D said he and two other concerned teachers were not interviewed about the exam concerns until “four to six months later”.
He added: “This should have been done immediately.”
He said he had been scored “extremely highly” before the whistleblowing complaint, but was passed over for promotions and new roles afterwards.
It was also alleged that Mr Foden told a prospective employer in October 2016 that there had been a case and/or allegation of malpractice against another teacher (Person B), but didn’t say that the person had been cleared of the allegation.
There were another four allegations relating to his alleged treatment of a third teacher (Person E).
Mr Foden was said to have singled him out for disciplinary action in April 2014 after the cancellation of a school trip to Fulham Football Club.
It was alleged that, in the same year, Mr Foden referred to him as “Baby Face” to the school’s chair of governors.
He was also alleged to have told the chair of governors in 2014 that Person E’s career was ruined and/or finished and that he would never teach again.
The tribunal heard that Mr Foden is also alleged to have prejudiced the school’s governing body by telling one of its meetings that Person E was “known to the police”.
The hearing continues.

By Jez Hemming – Local Democracy Reporter