School chiefs were deciding today whether to sack a disgraced head teacher.

Governors of Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Cuckfield, are meeting to determine the fate of Bob Shepherd, who was convicted on Friday of downloading gay child pornography from the Internet.

Shamed Shepherd was suspended from the school last year during the police investigation. Paul Goldfinch, chairman of governors, refused to comment on whether Shepherd would be sacked, but said he felt sorry for his wife and family.

Shepherd, a 52-year-old father-of-four, of Whitemans Green, Cuckfield, faces a potential jail term when he is sentenced on March 14. The school refused to comment, but parents said they were sickened by Shepherd's activities.

Elaine Mahoney, 24, whose daughter, Annabelle, five, attends the school, said: "If he comes back to school, I will take my daughter out. The school hasn't really said much, which I think is a bit off considering he was the head teacher."

Parent Tonya Berry, landlady of The Wheatsheaf, Cuckfield, said: "We are hoping that he gets what he deserves. But I feel sorry for his wife and family." Pictures of the sexually explicit material were so disturbing they reduced a court usher to tears.

A police spokesman said: "This prosecution was the result of a professional and sensitive investigation by the Weald Division child protection team. "Police would urge companies and parents who have computers with Internet access to purchase software which is available to prevent users accessing such material."

Meanwhile, vital parts of Holy Trinity's work were strongly attacked in an Ofsted report, which said its greatest weaknesses were in "school management".

The report covered a visit by inspectors in September last year, when acting head Gillian Pedersen was trying to pick up the pieces after Shepherd's departure. It exposed "ineffective or non-existent policies and guidance for important areas of school life", including pupil behaviour and staff appraisal.

But it said about a sixth of teaching was very good and general standards in core subjects were much higher than the national average.

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