Sacked dinner lady was wrong about 'bullied' girl, headteacher tells tribunal

The headteacher at a school where a dinner lady was sacked for telling parents their daughter had been bullied told an employment tribunal today that "an inappropriate game" had gone too far". Deborah Crabb, head of Great Tey primary school in Essex, said the boys who had tied the seven-year-old to a fence with a skipping rope had been taking part in a game called "prisoners and guards" and that the girl was playing the part of a dog. Carol Hill, 61, was dismissed for "gross misconduct" last September after being accused of breaching confidentiality regulations when she told the girl's parents she had been bullied, the tribunal in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, heard. The school disputes Hill's claims that she was wrongly sacked, that she was not given a correct notice period and that her rights to freedom of expression under European law were infringed. Crabb said she had dealt with a number of the boys involved after another member of staff found the girl tied up. The boys missed part of their lunch break and their parents were informed. The girl "skipped off" after having a compress applied to her wrist afterwards and seemed happy, she told the tribunal. "In my view, this incident was not one of bullying but was an inappropriate game that had gone too far," Crabb said. She claimed that by speaking to parents outside school, Hill had breached confidence and brought the school into disrepute. The dinner lady then spoke to a local newspaper reporter after being suspended pending an investigation, the head said. Crabb said she recommended that governors dismiss Hill for "gross misconduct". The tribunal continues.