Manchester school teacher who slapped pupil banned from classroom for at least three years

A teacher who slapped a primary school pupil before "repeatedly" lying about it has been banned from the classroom for at least three years.

Angela Bryer, 60, struck the boy who had been brought to her by a teaching assistant after "misbehaving in class" on the left side of his face, at St Edmund's RC Primary School in Miles Platting, north Manchester.

The teacher, who had been working at the school for 18 years at the time of the incident in May 2019, then told the boy's class teacher and one of his parents the physical contact had been an accident.

She also wrote the claim in an entry in the school's Child Protection Online Management System (CPOMS), used for safeguarding.

The truth only came out a month later when the teaching assistant gave a statement confirming the boy's version of events.

Details of the incident involving the teacher and the boy, referred to as Pupil A, have been disclosed in a report by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

The TRA has now issued a prohibition order meaning Mrs Bryer is unable to teach for at least the next three years.

The panel said it had: "reached the conclusion that Mrs Bryer understood that the incident was not accidental, however, subsequently lied to both Pupil A’s class teacher and Pupil A’s parent about that fact and recorded a false entry into the school’s CPOMS system at the end of the school day."

In the TRA's report, detailing their decision and reasons, the panel said Mrs Bryer accepted a police caution for common assault arising out of the incident.

She resigned from her position at the school in September 2019.

Mrs Bryer also wrote to Pupil A and his parent apologising and acknowledging she "was not brave enough to tell the truth."

The panel said the teacher, said to have an "exemplary" previous record, had "expressed regret for her actions" and had said the pupil didn't suffer any "significant harm."

The panel said it "recognised that all teachers can make mistakes, however, teachers are expected to be role models for children and that includes an expectation of basic honesty."

Mrs Bryer admitted unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

The panel added: "If the truth of the incident had not come to light, it is likely that Pupil A may not have been believed about any future incidents."

Mrs Bryer’s actions, it said, may also have damaged the faith which not only Pupil A but Pupil A’s parent had in the school system.

The panel concluded: "As an experienced teacher, Mrs Bryer should have been aware of all of these potential consequences but instead chose not to tell the truth which was a serious lapse of professional judgment."

The panel said it was "satisfied that the conduct of Mrs Bryer fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession" and that "public confidence in the profession could be seriously weakened if conduct such as that found against Mrs Bryer were not treated with the utmost seriousness when regulating the conduct of the profession."

Mrs Bryer has now been prohibited from teaching at any school, sixth form college, youth accommodation or children’s home in England indefinitely. She can apply to have the order set aside but not until September 2025.

St Edmund's RC Primary School declined to comment.

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