POLICE are investigating after a teacher at a Chester school was told to stay at home.
A staff member at Blacon High School has been suspended to allow time for complaints made by parents to be investigated.
The reason for the suspension has not been made clear but Cheshire police have confirmed they received a complaint of assault made by a member of the public in relation to an incident on Tuesday, March 2, at the Melbourne Road school.
A Cheshire Constabulary spokesman said: “At 10am on March 3 Cheshire Police received a complaint of assault by a member of the public in relation to an incident that took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 2, at Blacon High School.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are now being investigated.”
Staff at Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC), as the local education authority, said suspension was not in itself a disciplinary measure.
CWaC spokesman Ian Callister said: “We can confirm that a member of staff from Blacon High School has been suspended to allow investigations into complaints made by parents.”
Meanwhile, in an unrelated announcement, letters have been sent to parents informing them of the departure of headteacher Mark Edwards who began his post at the school last September.
Mr Callister added Lynne Fox, headteacher of the former Cheshire Oaks High School, Ellesmere Port, has replaced Mr Edwards as acting head. It is not clear whether Mrs Fox’s current position as acting headteacher will be made permanent.
CWaC spokesman Ian Callister said: “A letter has been sent to parents explaining how former headteacher Mark Edwards, has decided, in consultation with the local authority, to leave the school and pursue his career elsewhere.”
He added: “Lynne Fox is a very highly experienced headteacher who as of Monday, March 8, has taken on the role of acting headteacher for Blacon High School.”
Mr Edwards, who was head teacher at Rhyl High School, is originally from Blacon but left the area when he was seven. He took over from Ella Brett.
Living in Trefnant near Denbigh, he has taught in some of the most deprived areas in the country, including five years in a Leeds high school, where he oversaw a £30m regeneration programme.