January 14th 2025.
After a thorough investigation, it has been determined that Mike Turner and Simon Constantinou, two esteemed educators at a special educational needs school, have been found guilty of unacceptable conduct. This unfortunate event has resulted in their banning from teaching, as a panel has deemed their use of school funds to be improper and unethical.
Turner, who took on the role of head at River House School in Warwickshire in 2000, was joined by Constantinou as deputy in 2004. However, it has been alleged that over the course of more than a decade, the two men abused their positions and misused a stunning £250,000 of school funds. This alarming discovery was made by an employee who joined the school in March of 2015 and raised concerns about potential financial irregularities. As a result, an audit was requested to further investigate the matter.
In light of these allegations, Constantinou, who is now over 70 years old, was suspended in May of that year. Turner, who is also now 70, chose to retire just three months later. Their actions were brought to the attention of the Teaching Regulation Authority the following year. The findings against Turner included accepting an overpayment of £36,000 in the form of a "Recruitment and Retention" allowance, which was approved by the school's governing body in 2005. However, it was discovered that Turner continued to receive this same amount every year until the audit began in 2015, which raised serious concerns.
During the hearings, it was revealed that Turner had entered into a "procurement contract" between 2010 and 2015, providing £180,000 worth of IT services to his own school. This contract, which ultimately benefitted him personally, was not approved by the school's governing body and was found to be in violation of EU rules. Additionally, it was revealed that Turner had authorized excessive and unnecessary claims for overtime payments and mileage expenses for Constantinou, totaling £174,419 and £21,000, respectively.
In response to these allegations, Constantinou claimed that the overtime payments were for additional work related to students' behavior and staff well-being. However, the panel found that he was not entitled to receive these payments, as it fell under the responsibilities of his role as deputy headteacher. Furthermore, the amount of time he claimed for, up to 10 hours per week, was considered to be "beyond credibility" by the panel.
It is worth noting that both Turner and Constantinou are now in their 70s and are believed to no longer be working in the education field. Although they were previously charged with conspiring to commit theft, those charges were dropped in 2018 after a police investigation. However, the Teaching Regulation Authority has found both men guilty of unacceptable professional conduct, with the verdicts and details of the hearings being made public in a report released by the Department for Education on Monday. This serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining integrity and ethical practices in the education system.
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