Superhead Dame Mo faces wait over future of career
Dame Mo Brennan was today facing a two-week wait to hear her fate after being found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct.
Mitigation was today being heard in the case of the Barr Beacon school headteacher. The Teaching Agency yesterday found her guilty of altering attendance records at Hillcrest school in Netherton, Dudley.
She was found guilty along with colleagues Shelley Derham and Linda Westwood. A conduct panel heard that "inappropriate alterations" were made to attendance registers for some pupils at the school, where Dame Mo was headteacher, between 2004 and 2007.
Panel members will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, who will decide whether the three teachers, all of whom now work together at Barr Beacon in Aldridge, should be banned.
A prohibition order could be imposed within two weeks, enforcing either a lifetime ban or a temporary ban.
The panel ruled that the three teachers, all of whom now work at Barr Beacon, had acted "dishonestly". Dame Mo has denied all allegations and was today boosted by support from governors at Barr Beacon.
During the hearing, the panel heard some disruptive pupils were told to stay at home ahead of GCSE exams instead of being permanently excluded.
But, it was claimed they were marked in records as being "educated off site" or on "study leave" to give an authorised absence. Dame Mo said the practice would mean pupil records would not be stained as they tried to get a job or college place.
