Headteacher at £3,000-a-year Christian school struck off for hitting five-year-old pupil
Nuttall Street, off Kingsland Road, where the school was based (Photo: Emma Bartholomew) - Credit: Archant
A headteacher who hit a five-year-old pupil at a private £3,000-a-year Christian school has been struck off from teaching.
Amos Johnson, 58, and Faith Johnson, 48, ran Mustard School from a church hall in Nuttall Street, Hoxton, teaching up to 44 children aged two to 11.
But it was shut down in January 2015 after Hackney Council received allegations corporal punishment was taking place at the school.
Ofsted had deemed the Mustard School “inadequate” following a series of inspections.
A professional conduct panel at the National College for Teaching and Leadership found Mr Johnson “used inappropriate behaviour management methods”, and had hit one or more pupils “on one or more occasions”.
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The pair admitted failing to ensure the school was clean or that the playground was safe.
They also acknowledged they hadn’t ensured an adequate teacher-to-pupil ratio, or that staff were properly qualified.
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Mr Johnson “retains a deep-seated attitude towards controlling behaviour of pupils which is harmful; in particular [the panel] was concerned about his justification for chastising a five-year-old pupil physically,” said the report.
The panel expressed concern they did not acknowledge the seriousness of their actions.
Mrs Johnson, the school’s proprietor, was banned from teaching for at least three years, while her husband has been struck off for life.
Mustard School opened in 1997 to “educate children with sound academic standards and in the way of the Lord”.
