A council been investigating allegations that children at a school, whose head teacher was last month convicted of assaulting a pupil, have been treated inappropriately.

School governors will shortly have to decide whether or not to suspend Mrs Marjorie Evans who was last month given a suspended jail sentence for slapping a 10-year-old pupil.

Her case, backed by the teaching union the NUT, is set to go back to Court of Appeal later this month.

Monmouthshire County Council in Wales said that any decision relating to Mrs Evans' future employment was a matter for the school's governors.

A spokesperson for the council said the governors were now waiting until after her appeal is heard, before making a decision.

But the council has also pledged to investigate and deal with new issues of concern at the school.

The council said it was "very concerned" by new claims that children have been mal-treated.

The Director of Education, Phil Cooke, said: "The council understands that this matter will be of real concern to parents with pupils at the school and the local community. I would like to assure them that the council is determined that these issues will be fully investigated.

"I can assure parents that at this point the allegations that have now been brought to my attention do not contain any suggestion of inappropriate sexual behaviour of adults towards children but of inappropriate physical handling and emotional responses to children."

The school cannot be named for legal reasons but is said to specialise in the teaching of children with behavioural difficulties.