Teacher who blew whistle on head's bonuses suspended

A WHISTLEBLOWER who exposed a state school head's £130,000 bonuses has been suspended, the Standard can reveal.

Sir Alan Davies, head of Copland Community College in Brent, is facing an investigation by the Audit Commission amid claims that almost £1million was paid in bonuses to senior staff over seven years.

Hank Roberts, formerly head of geography at the school, sought protection as a whistleblower when he spoke out about the payments this month. But Mr Roberts was told at the weekend he had been suspended over a disagreement about an unrelated letter, which he dismissed as "trumped up nonsense" intended to "gag" him.

Unions at the school are expected to consider a strike ballot over the issue as two other members of staff - both union representatives - have also been suspended.

Mr Roberts works full time as a union official but still has a formal contract with the school. He said he had been accused of electronically appending, without permission, a junior union representative's signature to a letter objecting to Sir Alan's plans to turn Copland into a privately-backed trust school.

But Mr Roberts said it was "a secretarial error" which he had no part in. Mr Roberts has submitted a dossier to the Audit Commission and Schools Secretary Ed Balls outlining the bonus payments and a series of other allegations. Sir Alan also employed three family members at the school, according to Mr Roberts. The Audit Commission has begun examining Mr Roberts's evidence but Mr Balls's Department for Children, Schools and Families has not yet responded.

When the payments were first revealed, Mr Balls said he supported paying state headteachers bonuses for achieving results. Sir Alan has admitted taking home "about £310,000 to £320,000" including bonuses over the past two years but believes he is worth it. He said when he first joined about 20 years ago the school was earmarked for closure, but results had improved year on year.

Chairman of governors Dr Indravadan Patel said Sir Alan had "turned Copland school into one of the most successful inner-city comprehensives in the country. We believe that Sir Alan is worth every penny." Last year, Copland scored one percentage point higher than the average London school in achieving the GCSE target grades.

Sir Alan said he had taken legal advice before suspending the three members of staff and insisted that the suspensions had nothing to do with the controversy over the bonuses.

"We have been investigating the unauthorised use of a member of staff's name and signature in correspondence," Sir Alan said.

"This has been ongoing since 4 March when it first came to light. Three members of staff have been suspended. This is a serious offence and a meeting has been arranged for this week with the members of staff and their representatives.

"We have taken advice from our solicitor on how to proceed. It is considered so serious that suspension is necessary to carry out a proper investigation. It is not related and has nothing to do with recent press about the school."