Deputy head who left disabled pupil alone at a theme park so he could go on a rollercoaster four times is struck off
Michael Davies, 39, has been removed from the teaching register for two years following the incident in 2014
A deputy headteacher who left a disabled child alone in a theme park has been struck off.
Michael Davies, 39, abandoned a 10-year-old boy with spinal problems in Oakwood Theme Park in Wales because he was ‘too short’ to go on the Megafobia rollercoaster.
A disciplinary hearing heard how the former teacher went on the ride four times leaving the lad, who has a metal rod in his back, to “practise measuring his height”.
The Cardiff hearing found Davies, who taught at Caerau Primary School in Bridgend, guilty of unacceptable conduct and removed him from the teaching register for two years.
Davies had sensationally claimed that the allegation was a “conspiracy” against him and said the headmaster at the school was having affairs with some of the staff members.
He said: "I came out as a gay man when I was 25. Before, I was living a lie. I will not lie again."
However, committee chair Jacquie Turnbull said Davies had a “lack of appreciation of the seriousness of his actions”.
She said: “One of his pupils did not pass the height test which would enable him to go on the ride. In any event, it would not have been appropriate for Pupil A to go on the ride as a result of his physical condition.
"It was simply a matter of good fortune that other members of staff were present.
"There was a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of his actions and their consequences.
"He believed himself to be a scapegoat for other issues which existed in the school."
In the professional hearing, fellow teacher Julie Roche, who is now deputy head of the school, said she witnessed Davies leaving the child at the entrance for the ride.
She said: “Mr Davies told the pupil he was too short to go on the ride and said he should stay where he was to practice measuring his height.
"Michael Davies then left the pupil and went to queue for the ride.
"I do find it concerning as a parent. I wouldn't want my child unsupervised in a theme park.
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