A panel found she made derogatory comments about staff, pupils and a parent
Woodland Community Primary School in Heywood(Image: Google)
A former primary school headteacher who called one child a “fat slug” and another “f***** ugly” has avoided a ban. Nicola Brogan was head of Woodland Community Primary School in Heywood between September 2011 and December 2019.
Two anonymous complaints were made raising complaints about her behaviour, resulting in a referral to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA). The TRA panel found last month that she made derogatory comments about staff, pupils and a parent and it deemed these comments were “highly likely to create an uncomfortable and negative working environment”.
The hearing found that Ms Brogan referred to a male member of staff as “Captain Camp” in reference to his sexuality, referred to someone else as a “fat f***” in a text message, called a child a “fat slug” in another and said in a group chat another pupil was “f****** ugly”.
Ms Heywood also asked a fellow staff member: “Would you s*** her for an outstanding?” in reference to an ongoing visit from an Ofsted inspector. Mrs Brogan admitted making this comment and gave detailed evidence about the context, saying it was made flippantly to relieve the tension and stress that staff were experiencing but the panel regarded it as inappropriate.
The panel also found she called a parent of Scottish heritage a “f***ing Jock” and that she called a staff member a “fat cow”. Additionally, she referred to one pupil as a “wimp” and said another had “no personality” in a group chat with the senior leadership team, the panel heard.
It concluded the conduct of Mrs Brogan – which concerned “abusive and inappropriate” comments about staff, pupils and a parent – was “very serious”. There was a significant weight of evidence that this behaviour had a “seriously negative impact upon the working environment of the school”, it found.
The TRA report said: “The working culture at the school at the material time was at times negative and hostile. Some pupils and some staff members were clearly not always treated with respect by Mrs Brogan.”
The panel concluded Mrs Brogan’s actions amounted to unacceptable professional conduct, but it said that not recommending a prohibition order was a “proportionate and appropriate response”. Ruling on behalf of the Education Secretary, Sarah Buxcey said the panel was led to believe that Mrs Brogan had worked for many years at the school without complaints prior to the allegations which came to light in November 2019. She also said Mrs Brogan deserved “considerable credit” for leading the school out of special measures.
Ms Buxcey wrote: “I have also placed considerable weight on the finding of the panel that ‘the panel also considered that, given her experience and prior good service, there was every prospect that Mrs Brogan would be able to make a contribution to the education profession in the future’.
“I have given weight in my consideration of sanction therefore, to the contribution that Mrs Brogan has made to the profession. For these reasons, I have concluded that a prohibition order is not proportionate or in the public interest.”