Head of school for excluded pupils held after ‘drunken row’

 

The headteacher of a school for excluded pupils was arrested after allegedly getting into a drunken late- night row with a colleague at a train station, it has emerged.

Katrina Mann, 49, principal of a teaching centre in Dagenham for students expelled from other schools, was held by officers with fellow teacher Darren McCarthy, 38, outside Barking railway station after missing the last train home.

The pair have been charged with being drunk and disorderly in a public place and using threatening words and behaviour.

A spokesman for Barking and Dagenham council said they had both been suspended from work pending the outcome of the court case and a disciplinary investigation.

The pair, who denied the charges at Redbridge magistrates’ court last month, will be tried by magistrates in Havering on March 27. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 12 months’ jail or a £10,000 fine.

Ms Mann, who lives in a large Victorian property in a quiet road in Hornchurch, Essex, and Mr McCarthy, who lives in a flat in Walthamstow, were both released on unconditional bail.

When contacted by the Standard they refused to comment about the alleged incident in Station Parade late on January 26. But a friend of the pair said: “It’s all been blown out of proportion and as a result the school is having to operate without two dedicated members of staff.”

The Barking and Dagenham Tuition Centre, in Arden Crescent, has been praised by Ofsted for being “extremely successful” at getting previously disaffected students back into education.

The vast majority of its 226 11- to 16 year-olds have histories of poor attendance at mainstream schools. All have special educational needs, including social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The centre also offers the borough’s nine secondary schools respite places for pupils at risk of permanent exclusion.

A spokesman for Barking and Dagenham council said: “Ms Mann and Mr McCarthy are both on special leave pending court appearances and disciplinary investigation.”

A spokesman for the teaching centre refused to comment.

The case continues.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in