Paedophile row Darwen headteacher fights to save career (From This Is Lancashire)

Paedophile row Darwen headteacher fights to save career

7:30pm Friday 20th November 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

A HEADTEACHER is fighting to save her career after getting a convicted sex offender to carry out work for her school.

Kathleen Tyson was sacked from Holy Trinity CE Primary School, Bank Top, Darwen, in 2007.

Now she has been accused of ‘unacceptable professional misconduct’ by the General teaching Council, a regulatory body which monitors the conduct of teachers.

If found guilty Mrs Tyson could be struck off the teaching register.

A hearing was told Mrs Tyson was friends with the sex offender, referred to only as Mr A, and was aware he on the sex offenders register for indecently assaulting a boy and possessing indecent images of children.

But she still allowed him to provide services to the school on four occasions, the GTC was told. The GTC was told that Mr A was given images of pupils to create a school prospectus cover for Mrs Tyson.

However, in a statement to the GTC, Mrs Tyson said he did not go onto the premises when the school was open.

She said allowing Mr A to work for the school ‘was a mistake I will never forget for the rest of my life’.

“I just did not see how disgusted and appalled other people would be, even though he had no direct involvement with children,” she said.

“I can no see there is no place for a convicted paedophile to be involved in anyway with a school, and as a headteacher I should have severed all links with him immediately after he pleaded guilty."

The GTC was told that in 2005 Mr A was sentenced to prison after he indecently assaulted a boy. He was also found to have 391 indecent images of children.

His work for the school included repairing a television, moving furniture within the school using a recruitment agency, with which Mr A was a consultant, and helping design the cover of the school prospectus and website homepage.

Mrs Tyson faces allegations she engaged Mr A to provide services to the school knowing that he had been convicted of sex offences and was not allowed to work with children.

She is also accused of failing to notify the council or the school’s finance department that she had called on Mr A’s services.

The case was adjourned for a later date.