Staff at Cardinal Pole school could face disciplinary action

Staff at Cardinal Pole Catholic School in Homerton could face disciplinary action following a report into claims teachers were ordered to fiddle students’ assessment results, it emerged last week.

A spokeswoman for the school confirmed the investigation, commissioned in November following allegations made by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), had now been finalised.

But the governing body would not release the findings to avoid prejudicing any action the new executive headteacher, Geraldine Freear, may decide to take.

Independent investigators were called in to examine allegations that teachers at the lower school in Victoria Park Road were ordered to falsify assessment results to show Ofsted inspectors that pupils had made progress.

The former headteacher, Katherine Hartigan, has already resigned following the inquiry, but staff members fear further jobs could go.

“We want to know the timeframe in which these decisions will be made,” said Mark Lushington, Hackney’s NUT spokesman.

“We can’t have members with a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.”

The governors also refused to let the findings of the report be read by parents and the public.

The school spokeswoman said: “The report has been finalised and presented to the chairman of governors who commissioned it.

“There are three recommendations arising from the report that he has accepted and asked the executive headteacher to action.

“The first recommendation relates to personnel, the second to the school’s assessment procedures and the third to clarifying leadership roles within the school.

“We are not releasing the report as it may prejudice the actions that the head may wish to take.

“However, staff and students can rest assured that our new executive headteacher is very clear about the recommendations that have been made and will be acting on these as a priority.”