Head teacher used school cards for personal gain

Ian Carroll misused cards linked to schools including Rookhope Primary

A police officer turned head teacher used school payment cards for his own gain, a misconduct panel has found.

While executive head of three County Durham schools, Ian Carroll used cards to book hotels and train tickets for family members and buy fuel, a Costco membership and an Apple pen.

The panel found other allegations unproven, but said Mr Carroll's misconduct had brought the teaching profession into disrepute.

The inquiry will next decide if his actions amount to serious misconduct.

'Deliberate deceit'

Mr Carroll presided over three of County Durham's most remote primary schools - the now closed Rookhope Primary in Weardale, Forest of Teesdale, near Barnard Castle, and St John's Chapel, near Bishop Auckland.

He resigned in 2019 in the wake of suspicions over his use of procurement cards and had denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Carroll, who was absent from proceedings, introduced procurement cards to the schools, but went on to use them dishonestly in an act of "deliberate deceit", the professional conduct panel concluded on Friday.

An investigation began after staff spotted purchases on payment logs that would not have benefited the school - including train tickets for Mr Carroll's family members and personal charges for fuel, oil and taxi fares.

Former colleagues of Mr Carroll's told how he had used their signatures to approve payment logs they had not witnessed, a move described as "lacking integrity" by the panel.

The inquiry was told the "turning point" in the investigation was when he submitted the same set of receipts for train tickets to two of the schools.

'Calculated and deliberate'

Witnesses described Mr Carroll as a "domineering" character who used bullying behaviour and intimidated junior staff members who confronted him over transactions they felt would not benefit pupils at the tiny schools.

He misused cards belonging to Rookhope Primary and Forest of Teesdale, but not from St John's Chapel, which was in deficit.

Sherelle Appleby, the presenting officer for the Teaching Regulation Agency, said: "At the time, the other schools had spare funds. This decision was planned, calculated and deliberate."

The panel found Mr Carroll's conduct fell "significantly short" of the standards of behaviour expected of a teacher.

It concluded he was guilty of "unacceptable professional conduct" that could bring the teaching profession into disrepute.

However, they determined that some of the allegations he faced - such as misusing the cards to pay for a TV licence and making payments on iTunes - were unproven, as they could have been for the benefit of the school.

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