Headteacher who misused funds banned from teaching

Ian Carroll had denied allegations of misusing procurement cards

A police officer turned headteacher is now banned from teaching after using school payment cards for his own gain.

Ian Carroll was head of three County Durham schools when he used cards to book hotels and train tickets for his family and to buy fuel, a Costco membership and Apple pen.

He has "expressed no remorse", according to an outcome report issued on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education on Tuesday.

Mr Carroll has been banned from teaching in England indefinitely.

'Taking advantage'

Earlier this month, a misconduct panel found Mr Carroll guilty of several allegations relating to his dishonest use of procurement cards, which are used to purchase items on behalf of schools.

The panel heard Mr Carroll made a string of purchases that were of benefit to himself and his family and of no use to his schools.

He was executive head of three of County Durham's most remote schools at the time: the now closed Rookhope Primary in Weardale, Forest of Teesdale, near Barnard Castle, and St John's Chapel, near Bishop Auckland.

While he presided over all three, the schools otherwise operated completely independently - a position, the report said, that allowed Mr Carroll to "take advantage".

Staff raised concerns over his conduct after spotting purchases on payment logs that would not benefit pupils, including train tickets for his family members and personal charges for fuel, oil and taxi fares.

His former colleagues described an "intimidating" and "domineering" figure as they gave evidence saying he had also used their signatures to approve payment logs they had not witnessed.

The turning point in the investigation came when staff from Rookhope and Forest of Teesdale discussed the issue and realised he had claimed the same personal expenditure from both schools, "in the hope the other would not find out".

Staff at Rookhope Primary became suspicious of Mr Carroll's behaviour

Mr Carroll, who was absent from proceedings, had denied the allegations and said the continuance of misconduct proceedings had been "extremely damaging" to him.

The report said he had not "demonstrated insight", adding: "Instead, his remarks indicated his chagrin at the personal consequences of regulatory action...

"He has expressed no remorse for the upset he caused to those who he worked with and who were impacted by his actions.

"His representations stated that 'had any financial errors been made, I would have been quite willing to have made a personal repayment in school, if the matter had been drawn to my attention'.

"The matters were drawn to his attention, and yet he delayed making repayments and in some cases did not make the required repayment at all."

No remorse

Despite having implicated them in his dishonest acts, Mr Carroll showed disregard to his colleagues, the report added.

It went on to say that his failure to demonstrate remorse or insight was a "significant factor" in the panel recommending a teaching ban.

Mr Carroll is now prohibited from teaching in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.