Teaching assistant assaulted two pupils
A TEACHING assistant has admitted assaulting two vulnerable children after being caught on CCTV dragging them across a classroom.
Christopher Colgan, 27, said he ‘overreacted’ during an altercation with a girl, 12, and boy, 11, in a specialist unit for challenging pupils at a Tameside high school.
The youngsters, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had locked themselves in a ‘chill-out’ room shortly before the incident on January 9. Colgan was sent to coax the youngsters out of the room but CCTV footage showed him physically assaulting the youngsters.
Colgan, of Hillside Avenue in Atherton, initially denied the offence, pleading not guilty to two counts of assault by beating at an earlier hearing.
The two youngsters were ready to give evidence at a trial at Tameside magistrates court when he changed his pleas to guilty at the last minute.
Karen Saffman, prosecuting, told the court: “Clearly the aggravating features are that Colgan was there in a position of authority and trust.
“These are two vulnerable children who attend that school because they have needs that need to be assisted. Yes, they were being challenging, but they certainly did not deserve to be assaulted.”
CCTV footage played in court showed the girl and boy sitting on a sofa before the altercation with Colgan who had been called after they locked themselves in the room.
Liz Ridgeway, defending, said Colgan previously had a good record – and had been asked to defuse the situation because he mentored the girl. Colgan was concerned a window had been smashed by a hammer left by builders in the room. He thought the tool would be a safety risk to any pupils in the chill-out room at the time, the court heard.
Once he had unlocked the door, he went in and the two youngsters told him to ‘ **** off.’ It was at this point Mr Colgan ‘over-reacted’ and assaulted the pupils. Mrs Ridgeway said: “The defendant accepts he didn’t deal with the situation the way he should have done.”
Colgan, the most junior teaching assistant on duty that day, claimed he had not been offered adequate training for his role or had any backup from the school that day.
The court heard that he was not suspended from the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons, until four days after the assault. The girl suffered an arm injury while the boy was unhurt, the court was told.
Colgan, who has since stopped working at the school, will be sentenced at the court on November 21.