Head banned for altering SATs paper before Ofsted review

A headteacher of a Rochdale primary school has been banned from the classroom indefinitely after admitting doctoring pupils’ SATS papers.

Jeremy Morgan, 62, who was headteacher at St John’s RC Primary School claimed to have altered the Year 6 test papers in a moment of ‘sheer madness in 2014.

His actions led to a whole group of children’s Key Stage 2 results being annulled after exam regulators found many of English and maths answers had been changed.

Mr Morgan initially denied tampering with exam scripts , but then accepted he had ‘deliberately made changes’ a few days before his disciplinary hearing.

In a statement read out to a disciplinary panel, Mr Morgan said he ‘must have acted on impulse by making some frenzied changes to answers on pupil papers’.

Mr Morgan claimed his actions had been a ‘sub conscious last-ditch attempt’ to protect the school from an imminent Ofsted inspection.

Mr Morgan, who had been a teacher since 1974, then claimed to have a ‘limited’ recollection of amending some scripts, having been under ‘immense stress’ at the time.

Yet a National College of Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) panel said Mr Morgan’s explanation was not credible.A report of the hearing said:

Mr Morgan was found guilty of unacceptable professional conduct and struck off indefinitely.However, the panel said Mr Morgan could seek to have it lifted after five years.

Mr Morgan, who had been a head at St John’s since 2001, retired from the school in 2014.