Parents furious at head's possible return

By John Hill on May 1, 2008 9:00 AM |

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ISLE of Dogs parents will fight to block the return of a headteacher accused of putting one of her pupils in a store cupboard.

Cubitt Town Infants School head Nikki Daly was arrested in May last year following the incident last March, but was found not guilty by a crown court in February this year.

She still faces an internal inquiry over the case, but news of her possible re-instatement has enraged parents. A group of mothers began collecting signatures outside the school gates last Thursday.

Dawn Hanmore has two children at the Manchester Road infants school as well as two more at the attached junior school.

She said: “We don’t want her back. We should get a say in what happens. We tried to put banners up but were told to take them down.
“If you leave your kids at school in the morning, you want to be able to walk away and know they’re safe.”

Ms Daly, 53, of Bow, was suspended following the incident, with Jacqueline Gale taking up the post in her absence. Ms Daly denied charges of cruelty to a person under 16 at Thames Magistrates Court last June, and was found not guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on February 19 when the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence against her.

The 350-pupil school is now conducting its own inquiry along with Tower Hamlets Council. A spokesman said: “We can confirm that a member of staff at Cubitt Town Infants School is suspended from duty, dating back to an incident that occurred last year.

“The Crown Prosecution Service are not proceeding with this case, and the matter is now being dealt with by the school and the local authority.”