Head who wangled huge pay rise banned Dishonest teacher got colleague with poor eyesight to sign off a 20% wage increase

AHEADTEACHER got his salary increased to almost £110,000 by getting a colleague with poor eyesight to sign off a whopping 21 per cent pay rise.

David Bishop-Rowe has been banned from teaching indefinitely after carrying out a dozen dishonest practices at Sutton School and Specialist College in Dudley.

His deceptions at the school for pupils with special educational needs included undeclared private consultancy work, wrongfully claiming additional salary payments, false claims for lunchtime duty and failure to pay VAT on a digital piano for his personal use.

Bishop-Rowe, who led the school between 2002 until he resigned in 2014, did not appear in person when all the allegations were found proven by a professional conduct panel of the National College for Teaching and Leadership.

In the academic year 2013-2014, he procured the salary rise without the governing body’s approval on the grounds that he had taken on additional responsibilities, taking his pay from £91,612 to £110,850.

The document was signed by ‘Individual B’, who “had poor eyesight” and “didn’t know what she was signing”, according to the panel’s report. Another colleague described the increase as “absolutely disgusting” in a witness statement.

Among a catalogue of complaints, the 61-year-old was also found to have been carrying out work for his company, Education Development Consultancy Limited, for the equivalent of two school days a week, without having informed the school’s governors.

Payments totalling around £28,000 were paid into the company’s account for work he carried out, rather than to the school.

Bishop-Rowe also carried out consultancy work as an associate of the University of Wolverhampton without permission.

He received payments totalling £47,000 for additional salary that was supposed to reflect revenue generated by the school at a time when it was not receiving any such sums of money.

Bishop-Rowe made a statement of mitigation to the hearing, expressing “some apologies and regret” but giving no real insights into his behaviour, the panel found.

Alan Meyrick, on behalf of the Secretary of State, prohibited BishopRowe from teaching indefinitely with no entitlement to re-apply.

It was the end of the former head’s long career, which had included coming runner-up in the education category at the Dudley Civic Awards in 2006.