Former West Exe Head Tribunal

A former head teacher of an Exeter Technology College, who was paid a salary three times more than the average head,  will appear in front of a professional conduct hearing today.

The hearing by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) will consider if Steve Maddern, the former head of West Exe Technolgy College, is responsible for bringing the profession into disrepute.

Steve Maddern, who resigned as head teacher of West Exe Technology College in May 2012 received national attention after it emerged that he was being paid £152,000 per year, around £10,000 more than the Prime Minister.

Mr Maddern’s wife, Beverly, was also employed as a deputy head of the school for £82,000 per year. An average Head Teacher's pay at the time was £55,000 according to the National Association of Head Teachers.

A report into the school by the Local Education Authority (LEA) criticised the ‘naiveity’ of the school’s governers by allowing Mr Maddern to be to be “too closely involved in key decision making processes” which “resulted in the significantly higher than normal pay structure of the senior leadership team and particularly that of the Executive Headteacher at the time of the review.”

The report also found that the school’s decision structure: “established a culture which ethically is not sound and publicly is unacceptable to the extent that it has compromised professional standards expected of school leaders, trust of the staff and public and brought the reputation of the College into disrepute.”

The report ordered by Sue Clarke, Devon County Council's head of education, was made public by the Council as it concerned the spending of public money by public employees.

The report also triggered an 11-month criminal fraud investigation into Mr Maddern by Devon and Cornwall Police who concluded that there were no grounds for prosecution.

The NCTL hearing will run until Thursday (10 April) and could see Mr Maddern prohibited from teaching.