THE headteacher of a school which sacked a teacher for incompetence has admitted she did not follow her own dismissal policies.

Former hairdressing tutor Kathleen Fellows, known as Kate, was sacked from Tudor Grange Academy Worcester in January 2010 after just one term at the school in Bilford Road.

The school says the 62-year-old was sacked because she was a poor teacher, and could not teach the BTEC course in hairdressing.

She was dismissed during a meeting with headteacher Clare Maclean while off work with stress caused by her problems at work.

Mrs Fellows claims she was not properly supported while a teacher, and her concerns over health and safety went unheard, as reported yesterday.

On day two of the tribunal in Birmingham, Mrs Maclean was asked by the tribunal chairman to what extent the two-stage staff capability review procedure already in place at the school had been followed.

Mrs Maclean replied: “It wasn’t. There’s an informal stage before a formal stage.

“First I would ask the line manager to begin supporting the teacher, but if there wasn’t progress I would ask for a meeting with a union representative present and say ‘we’re now entering the informal stage’.”

“These procedures are very stressful for staff because it feels very formal, even at the informal stage.”

Mrs Maclean was asked what her personal expectations would be if she was failing as a teacher, to which she replied: “I would expect to go through the informal stage.”

She was asked [by the chairman] why she had not “extended to Mrs Fellows the method with which you yourself would expect to be treated”. Mrs Maclean replied: “We could see there was no progress, and even with a teacher with minor capability issues it takes a long time to get them to an appropriate level of performance.

“I had students who wouldn’t have the chance to do the course again and Kate was never going to be able to do the job.

“Therefore, I acted swiftly.”

Asked by Thomas Rochford, representing Mrs Fellows, when Mrs Maclean had decided to sack his client she replied that she spoke to her personnel team and “took the decision there, and then.”

Mrs Fellows was then invited to a meeting at the school in January 2010, and sacked.

The tribunal heard that since taking over in September 2009, the academy had sacked nine staff members due to their “incompetence”.

In its latest monitoring report in January this year, Ofsted praised the “very strong leadership” of Mrs Maclean saying their were “clear policies and procedures in place” at the school.

The tribunal continues on Wednesday, June 1.