Headteacher of secondary school in Harlesden is suspended
Richard Kolka has been suspended from his role - Credit: Archant
Richard Kolka has been removed from his post at Newman Catholic College
The headteacher of a struggling secondary school in Harlesden has been suspended from his post.
Richard Kolka was removed from his role at Newman Catholic College in Harlesden Road, by the school’s chair of governors, in consultation with the Diocese and Brent Council.
A source told the Times the action was taken following a complaint by a member of staff about his conduct, however a council spokeswoman said concerns had been raised over ‘management issues’ at the school.
She added: “This is a neutral act and should not be seen as a pre-judgement of the issues by the governing body. Nor does it imply any guilt or wilful misconduct on the part of the suspended employee.
You may also want to watch:
“The school, Diocese and council are unable to comment on the details of the suspension or on what, if any, action may need to be taken in the future. It would be inappropriate to do so until the governing body have considered the issues and any possible disciplinary action has been completed.
“Staff, parents and carers have been informed of the actions taken and appropriate support for the school has been identified to ensure the best possible education and care continues to be provided for the pupils.”
Most Read
- 1 Brent Council worker Vithun Illankovan on his time in The Circle
- 2 Drekwon Patterson killing: Five men arrested in dawn raids
- 3 Homeless in Brent, Covid and Ramadan support
- 4 Brent mother of murdered schoolboy Quamari urges public to report knife crime
- 5 QPR boss Warburton praises hard-working Dykes
- 6 Lessons from the Covid pandemic: we need a revolution!
- 7 Wembley Stadium wins approval to hold more events
- 8 Six years ago today, it was knocked down - next week the Carlton reopens
- 9 Brent arts organisations awarded over £1m in Covid recovery funding
- 10 Brent Council to issue water bill refunds to council tenants
Mr Kolka joined the school, formerly known as Cardinal Hindsley, in 2004.
The boys’ school could be forced to become an academy following a series of poor GCSE results.
Last year only 39 per cent of pupils achieved the five A* C grades, including maths and English, falling below the government’s benchmark of 40 per cent.
Mr Kolka said at the time: “We will have to see what the future holds, you do hear about failing schools being made to become academies and that is something we would have to address if it came to down to it.
“Our aim to continuously improve and we wouldn’t necessarily rule it out, any decision has to be one that benefits everyone.”