School secretary told to pay back £22k or face jail

A primary school secretary who stole £22,500 has been told she will be jailed unless she pays the money back.

Charlotte Pearce, 45, resigned from Ysgol Gymraeg Cwm Derwen, in Oakdale, in 2018 when an investigation into overspending on school supplies was launched.

Pearce, of Llwyd-y-Berth, Caerphilly, used the school’s Amazon account to order items delivered to her home and stole from a school fund set up to help deprived pupils. The court was told how the mother-of-two created fake invoices for school trips that didn’t go ahead to cover her theft. She even charged the cost of a skip hire, used for a house renovation, to the school and wrote cheques to herself.

In August this year she was sentenced to 16 months in jail, suspended for 18 months, after admitting fraud charges. She was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of community work.

The court was told she was a woman of previous good character with no previous convictions.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ysgol Gymraeg Cwm Derwen headteacher Kathryn Matthews said: “The school has suffered a direct financial loss from the budget and private fund because of this crime.

“This has affected the school’s ability to fund essential items and staffing levels have been reduced to make savings in the budget. Savings have been made to claw back potential losses and the impact on children’s learning experiences.

“The defendant was responsible for the private fund and the theft of the money has taken those experiences away from the children. Every penny has to be carefully planned so the children’s high standard of education can be maintained and so the financial loss will have the least impact on staff and pupils of the school.”

At a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, December 20, Pearce, who owns three properties with her husband, was told she had to repay the £22,500 she stole within six months – or face a 12-month sentence.