Milton Keynes headteacher who shouted at pupil and carried him to his office is found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct

A former Milton Keynes primary school headteacher who shouted at a young pupil and then carried him to his office has been spared a ban from teaching.

Kieran Salter, who was head of St Mary’s and St Giles Church of England school in Stony Stratford, was however found guilty of by a disciplinary panel of both unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

The majority of cases that go before the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) result in teachers being banned. But in the case of Mr Salter it was decided that publication of what he had done would be sufficient punishment.

He worked at the school from September 2011 to January 2019, when he resigned following the incident.

He was accused, among other things, of displaying inappropriate behaviour towards a vulnerable pupil in October 2018 by shouting at the pupil and then picking him up and carrying him to his office.

The panel’s newly published findings say that Mr Salter admitted he was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct in the way he had acted towards the pupil.

The findings say that shouting at the pupil was “clearly, not an appropriate technique to deploy towards a vulnerable pupil.”

As far as carrying the pupil was concerned, Mr Salter had told the panel that he “bent down and scooped him up” and had then “carried him to my office.”

The panel said that “by his own admission, this was inappropriate physical contact and force that amounted to inappropriate behaviour” towards the pupil.

However, after considering the case and whether Mr Salter should be banned from the country’s classrooms, they said he had taken full responsibility for his actions and had made very early admissions of what had happened.

He had also reflected carefully on the matter, said the panel.

They said his behaviour took place during a brief loss of control while under particular stress and that he had acknowledged and accepted responsibility for not recognising or managing the situation better.

Making the final decision on behalf of the Education Secretary, on what should happen to Mr Salter, TRA senior decision maker, Alan Meyrick said: “In this case, I have placed considerable weight on the panel’s comments concerning the clear evidence of both insight and remorse.

“In my view, a published decision, in light of the circumstances in this case, satisfies the public interest requirement concerning public confidence in the profession.”