A PRIMARY school headteacher has been suspended and an investigation launched amid allegations about the way national tests on pupils were carried out.

Dozens of children could be left without their key stage test results if the investigation finds the exams were not properly conducted.

The governors of St Paul's CE School, Hoddlesden, decided to suspend Philip McDermott after a claim that procedures had been breached during administration of the standard assessment tests.

Pupils aged seven and eleven completed the key stage one and two national tests in maths, science and English this week.

But the tests may not be marked if they are found to have been wrongly administered, according to a spokesman for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.

A QCA spokesman said: "We have been notified about the irregularities. The tests will be sent to us and examined carefully for evidence such as unusually high-scoring answers, very similar answers and tampering with the scripts.

"If we find evidence of maladministration and the results are unreliable, they will be annulled. It would be unfortunate for the children because they would not get any scores.

"They can't retake the tests, so there would be a hole in their records."

The QCA hopes to complete the examination by the end of June. A spokeswoman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said there would be a full investigation followed by a disciplinary hearing for Mr McDermott, but was unable to say how long the investigation would take.

She said: "Lessons have not been affected and the school will remain open as usual. The Qualification and Curriculum Authority, which assess test results, has been informed and will scrutinise test papers."

Mr McDermott was also suspended for over a month in 1996 after an alleged incident involving the disciplining of a boy. He was questioned by officers from the Lancashire police's family protection unit but the case was dropped because of insufficient evidence.

The headteacher's management was criticised in last year's Ofsted report. Inspectors said teaching was usually good and pupils had positive attitudes to learning but the leadership of the school was unsatisfactory.

The inspectors said: "Some working relationships within the team, particularly between the headteacher and deputy, are unsatisfactory.

"This has undermined the effectiveness of leadership and management and led to a loss of confidence in the school by some parents."

The Ofsted report also said the school's management had suffered because many of the governors were new to the job.

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