Norfolk headteacher Jordan Risebrow banned from classroom

A professional conduct panel ruled that Jordan Risebrow, 51, used "unnecessary contact" during the incident, which happened while he was in charge at Hemsby Primary School.

The panel was told that the boy had been brought in from the playground where he had struck another pupil and was lying on the floor refusing to move.

Mr Risebrow picked him up under the boy's arms and carried him to his office.

It was one of three incidents relating to the headteacher's behaviour which were raised with the Teaching Regulation Agency panel, which assesses whether staff are fit to teach. The others related to his time in charge at Henderson Green, in Norwich.

One involved him slowly tipping a chair on which a child was sitting, causing the pupil to gradually slide off.

The other was a bizarre encounter in which he smacked a colleague's hands when he became irritated about a Harry Potter poster being damaged as it was taken down.

The panel hearing was conducted last month in Mr Risebrow's absence after he declined to engage with the proceedings.

The panel heard that the Hemsby incident came after the boy had been brought in from the playground by another teacher.

The teacher who brought the pupil in from outside told the hearing that while the boy was lying on the floor "he was not distressed and was satisfied he was not a danger to himself nor to anyone else".

She said her intention was to talk to the pupil until he had calmed down, and that he had displayed this behaviour in the past.

But Mr Risebrow intervened, carrying the child to his office "without the pupil's feet touching the floor".

The teacher claimed she had attempted to speak to Mr Risebrow about the incident subsequently, but he "avoided the subject" each time.

After leaving Hemsby, Mr Risebrow took on the headship at Henderson Green, which is run by Heart Education Trust.

Here, the panel heard, he "flipped out" after a colleague accidentally tore the corner off a Harry Potter poster he had in his office.

The incident came while the colleague was removing the door of his office because it was being replaced.

The report reads: "Witness A said that he started to prepare to take the door off.

"In the process of removing a Harry Potter poster from the door, he tore a corner off the poster.

Witness A said that, when Mr Risebow saw this, he "flipped out".

He said that Mr Risebrow screamed like a child and then ran over towards him waving his arms in the air "like a chimp".

The panel was told Mr Risebrow then smacked his colleague on the back of his hands "causing reddening and a stinging sensation which lasted for about a minute-and a-half".

The panel also considered a third incident, again at Henderson Green, which saw Mr Risebrow tip a pupil off his chair.

A witness told the hearing the pupil was sat on a soft chair hugging his knees appearing "frustrated and angry".

The witness reported seeing Mr Risebrow "pivot the chair" to cause the child to slide off it.

He said: "Mr Risebrow span the chair away at an angle of approximately 45 degrees and then tipped the chair.

"Witness C said that Mr Risebrow did this at a slow speed to slide pupil B off the chair, rather than fling him off."

The witness said he thought the headteacher's actions were "absolutely unnecessary", although he did not believe Mr Risebrow intended to harm the child.

The panel ruled that Mr Risebrow's actions "amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession".

The panel's report said that Mr Risebrow had a "previous unblemished career" - but that he should be banned from the classroom for two years.

He wrote that Mr Risebrow had "breached a reasonable force and touch policy, the purpose of which was to safeguard the wellbeing of pupils".

The academy trust declined to comment on the case.

Mr Risebrow's union, NASUWT, did not respond to inquiries.