A HIGHLY regarded head teacher has resigned from one of the two primary schools she was in charge of after St Helens Council began an investigation into its recruitment procedures.

Executive head Kirsty Haw stepped down from the position at Merton Bank Primary School after concerns were raised over the process that led to her husband, who is also a teacher, being conditionally offered a job there, sources have told the Star.

It is understood he never actually took up a post there.

St Helens Council confirmed an investigation took place and that Mrs Haw has resigned from her role at Merton Bank, as has the school’s chair of governors, Stephen Sykes.

Neither St Helens Council nor the governors would say this week what the results of its investigation were or whether any wrongdoing was found.

Mrs Haw remains in charge of her other primary school, St Mary’s and Thomas Primary School in St Helens, where she has been backed by her employer, the Anglican Archdiocese of Liverpool.

A St Helens Council spokeswoman confirmed she left Merton Bank last month.

She said: “A governance review was undertaken by the council regarding management issues at Merton Bank primary school.

“Both the chair of governors and the head teacher have since resigned. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

The Star put a series of further questions to St Helens Council, which took more than a week to respond, before a statement was issued on Wednesday that read: “In relation to the resignation of the head teacher and the previous chair of governors, which followed the investigation, this is a matter for the governing body who have informed us today that they do not wish to comment at this point.”

Mrs Haw is regarded as one of the country’s leading school heads and was appointed at Merton Bank in June 2008 where she was tasked with addressing the failing school’s “legacy of underachievement”.

She swiftly transformed the school and in 2011 Ofsted returned to rank the school as outstanding.

St Mary and St Thomas’, on Barton Close, also achieved top marks in 2008.

Last year she was made a National Leader in Education to work with schools enduring difficult circumstances and has previously been invited to the House of Lords to discuss how she has turned schools around.

Mrs Haw declined to comment about the reasons for her leaving Merton Bank.