A former executive headteacher of a Manchester primary school has been struck off after “excessively assisting” pupils with their SATS.
The Manchester Evening News reports that Michael Beresford was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct after admitting to helping students at Oasis Academy Temple (formerly the Temple Primary School) in Cheetham Hill with their SATS in May 2018.
Some pupils were told how to answer questions and to correct wrong answers, while others taking a reading test were allowed to read the passages from the papers before the exam had started.
Mr Beresford told a professional conduct panel earlier this month that while he had no specific memory of the incidents, he recalled “coming away from desks blushing as if I knew I had done something wrong”.
It was ruled that his actions showed “disregard for the significant potential risk to the pupils’ academic future” and caused “damage to the school” in terms of its reputation.
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite support from parents and former colleagues – who described him as a “role model” – Mr Beresford was banned from teaching indefinitely.
A teacher has been banned after being found guilty of aiding pupils with their SATS work / Credit: Google Maps
Allegations initially arose following conversations between pupils and staff at the school, and Manchester City Council was asked to investigate the claims and pass its findings on to the Standards and Testing Agency (STA).
ADVERTISEMENT
A total of eight allegations were made against Mr Beresford, and all but one were upheld by the panel.
In a statement, the panel said: “The academic achievements of pupils are at the heart of the teaching profession [and] Mr Beresford completely undermined these fundamental principles.
“The panel recognised the level of responsibility that came with his position as executive principal and Mr Beresford’s role in improving standards in the school, rather than undermining them, [so] accordingly, the panel made a recommendation to the Secretary of State that a prohibition order should be imposed with immediate effect.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr Beresford could apply for the prohibition order to be set aside – but not until 2023.
Featured Image – Google Maps
News
TfGM apologises after two weeks of major tram disruption across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Trams have finally resumed running in Greater Manchester following two weeks of major disruption across the Metrolink network.
Tram services have resumed across the Altrincham, Eccles, and Trafford Park lines this morning (Monday 2 November) following the completion of major track replacement work between Trafford Bar and Deansgate-Castlefield, while maintenance and renewal work also took place on the Eccles line and in the city centre during the planned closure.
Engineers replaced around 4km of track on what is said to be one of the ‘busiest and most complex’ sections of the Metrolink network.
The new track will allow further speed restrictions to be lifted, as according to TfGM, around 100,000 journeys are already benefiting from journey time improvements delivered through previous phases of work every day.
It all forms part of the next phase of the ongoing £150m investment into Greater Manchester’s tram network in a bid to make it ‘safer’ and ‘more resilient and reliable’ for years to come.
✅ This morning, tram services have resumed on the Altrincham, East Didsbury, Eccles, Manchester Airport and Trafford Park lines.
We thank customers for their patience and understanding while these works took place.
↪️ A small service change remains in place through the city centre until the end of service on Wednesday 4 November.
Until then, trams on the Bury – Altrincham, and Victoria – Manchester Airport lines will divert via Exchange Square. Customers may need to change trams to reach Shudehill or Market Street.
👉 Find out more: https://t.co/Vm08ZEDUq4
With services now back up and running, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has issued a statement apologising for disruption.
Ian Davies, who is the Network Director for Metrolink at TfGM, commented: “This was an essential piece of engineering work on one of the busiest parts of our tram network and will help keep services safe, reliable and fit for the future.
“We’re sorry for the disruption and I’d like to thank passengers, residents, and businesses for their patience while we got on with the job.
“The upgrades mean customers will benefit from smoother journeys and allow us to lift further speed restrictions on this section of the network. It will help speed up our journeys and improve reliability for everyone who uses our network.
“Completing work of this scale on time is a significant achievement and I’d like to thank everyone involved for getting it done safely and efficiently.”
Featured Image – TfGM
News
Only two arrested after day of ‘peaceful’ protests in Manchester city centre over the weekend
Emily Sergeant
Only two arrests were made following a day of far-right protests and counter demonstrations in Manchester city centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the day passed ‘peacefully’, with smaller numbers of people arriving than expected.
‘Significant’ police resources were in place throughout the day (Saturday 31 October) in order to safely facilitate the demonstrations – which saw an estimated 400 protestors and counter protestors gather around the Albert Square area of the city centre.
The police say they ‘attempted’ to work closely with organisers to ensure people could protest safely, all while wider disruption was kept to a minimum.
Increased ‘stop and search’ powers under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 were put in place in the city centre to help keep the public safe, but the vast majority of people both sides caused no issues for officers.
Only two people were arrested, but they were later released without charge.
One man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, and one male counter-protester was arrested on suspicion of robbery following an incident unrelated to the events.
“Our policing operation was designed to balance the right to peaceful protest with the need to keep the city centre safe and moving for everyone else,” commented Assistant Chief Constable, Mark Dexter.
“We also have had to ensure our plans were flexible and resilient so that any ‘flash protests’ in other areas of the city could be dealt with quickly, to minimise disruption and risks to safety in our communities. This plan continues into the remainder of the evening.
“As a result of extensive preparation and the work of officers and partner agencies throughout the day, both groups of demonstrators were able to exercise their rights safely, and we saw no significant disorder.”
The Manc -
29th July 2021 
