Special school student 'thrown out of classroom and lifted foot off the floor' by Shropshire teacher

A professional conduct hearing was told the incident, at Woodlands School near Wem, happened just weeks after Terry Cripps began working there in early 2019 on a temporary contract.

Mr Cripps, from Oswestry, accepts removing the boy, identified as Pupil A, from the room in order to avoid disruption to his class, but denies that his feet would have left the floor.

Opening the hearing on Monday, Paul Wakerley, presenting the case on behalf of the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA), said Mr Cripps had used excessive force resulting in the child landing on his back in the corridor.

The panel heard another child, Pupil G, who should not have been in Mr Cripps’ classroom, was present at the start of the lesson causing a disturbance and refusing to leave.

Some time later she moved to the door to let three other pupils – including Pupil A – into the room. Mr Cripps removed Pupil A and then locked the door to prevent him re-entering.

Mr Wakerley said CCTV footage of the incident was viewed by then-head of the Wem site Julia Taylor, who is now overall headteacher of Woodlands, which caters for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.

Mr Wakerley said Ms Taylor’s testimony was that it was “quite clear” from the footage that Mr Cripps had lifted Pupil A at least a foot off the floor.

She described it as being “a deliberate action rather than an accident”, and said it was done “with no concern for the child’s safety”.

Two other staff members who witnessed the incident first hand also said the boy – described as being “small for his age” – was lifted a foot off the floor.

Mr Wakerley said: “That, we say, is not an appropriate act in the circumstances and never could be.

“Even if physical contact was called for, what was shown on the CCTV as seen by Ms Taylor could have been described as reasonable force.

“It was, we submit, unacceptable professional conduct.”

Then-headteacher Robin Wilson, who also viewed the CCTV footage, reported the matter to Shropshire Council, which referred it to the TRA.

An internal investigation at the school did not result in Mr Cripps being suspended.

Jim Denham, Mr Cripps’ representative from teaching union NASUWT, said the fact the CCTV had been overwritten within weeks of the incident was a “serious weakness” in the case against Mr Cripps.

He added: “He does accept that he may have made some misjudgement. With the benefit of hindsight, he is prepared to accept that perhaps the level of force was excessive.

“It was a very difficult, very stressful situation in which split-second decisions had to be made. He believed he was using a reasonable level of force to diffuse the situation.”

Giving his evidence to the panel, Mr Cripps said he had used restraint techniques which he was trained in to remove Pupil A from the classroom – while Pupil G, a large girl, used the door “as a battering ram” against him.

However Ms Taylor told the hearing that she did not recall seeing Pupil G near the door at that point in the footage.

Ms Taylor also said that Mr Cripps was not permitted to use physical force as he had not been trained in the school’s approach, as he was only a temporary member of staff.

Asked whether his actions could have resulted in Pupil A’s feet leaving the floor, Mr Cripps said: “His feet never left the floor. That was news to me that I was told two or three days later.

“There was a staff member present and eight students. If they had seen that, they would have kicked off.”

The hearing continues.