View source for Mary Macdonald

{{For|those of a similar name|Mary MacDonald (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}


'''Dame Mary Beaton Macdonald''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|DBE}} (born 29 July 1950; née '''Skinner''') is a British schoolteacher and former headmistress who was made a [[Order of the British Empire|Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] in 2005 for her work turning around the failing Riverside Community Primary School in [[North Shields|North Shields, Tyneside]], where she spent thirteen years.

==False Allegations==
In 2005, the same year she was knighted, Dame Mary was falsely accused of assaulting a pupil at an assembly rehearsal.
<blockquote>Two mothers turned up, obviously very angry, and one of them accused me of slapping her child… Obviously I quickly denied it; it was too ridiculous for words. I hardly knew the child or the parent. It was a child in our early years section. I didn't know anything about the incident - I hadn't been anywhere near the early years area during the practice assembly, which is when the parent said something had happened. It appeared that the child had behaved badly and lashed out at other pupils and staff. A nursery nurse had held her on her knee throughout the rehearsal to keep her under control. "I think this mother was annoyed that someone had seen fit to discipline her daughter and she was determined to make trouble for the school", according to Dame Mary.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article1749941.ece ''Times Online'' coverage of scandal]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, timesonline.co.uk; accessed 8 April 2016.</ref></blockquote>

The two mothers refused to leave until they learned the police were on their way. The police and the [[Local Education Authority]] (LEA) completely exonerated Dame Mary. Outlandish rumours and innuendo began circulating that Dame Mary had kicked the child all around the school hall. Some of these were overheard by a bureaucrat who reported the hearsay to another division of the police. Soon, calls for her resignation were being made. Ultimately, dame Mary was found to be totally innocent.{{POV statement|date=March 2023}}<ref>[http://www.familieslink.co.uk/download/july07/greedy%20lawyers%20promote%20false%20abuse%20claims.pdf "Teachers say greedy lawyers promote false abuse claim"], familieslink.co.uk, 5 May 2007.</ref>

Dame Mary holds that schools should have the right to sue parents who make false allegations against staff and to exclude pupils who do the same. She has worked with the local authority to improve protection for teachers.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6623607.stm Coverage of Dame Mary's damehood], bbc.co.uk; accessed 8 April 2016.</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.rm.com/Generic.asp?cref=GP955644 "Putting fun back into the curriculum", MP3 audio]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Mary}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Women school principals and headteachers]]
[[Category:Schoolteachers from Tyne and Wear]]
[[Category:British people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Heads of schools in England]]


{{UK-academic-bio-stub}}