School finance manager jailed for stealing £70k and leaving pupils without 'essential resources'

Wendy Gill

A school finance manager has been jailed after abusing her position to steal tens of thousands of pounds – leaving pupils without key resources.

Wendy Gill, 61, transferred more than £70,000 of school funds into her personal bank accounts over a six-year period, while employed at Bramcote C of E Primary School.

Nottingham Crown Court heard she was the school’s business manager and, amongst other things, had responsibility for managing staff payroll, ordering supplies and administering the school’s bank accounts.

Prosecutors said she was a “well-liked” and “trusted” member of staff who repeatedly abused her position by transferring school funds into her own accounts.

Gill’s offending came to light in 2022 when governors discovered the school was projected to be in a deficit of £21,158 – more than three times the figure Gill had indicated to the head teacher.

The school subsequently became subject to a financial investigation by the Local Authority, which led to further serious financial discrepancies being uncovered.

A police investigation was launched and Gill was suspended on 20 June 2022. The court heard she resigned seven days later.

Detectives analysed Gill’s bank statements and discovered £70,581.51 had been fraudulently transferred from the school’s accounts into three accounts belonging to Gill between April 2016 and June 2022.

In a police interview, Gill admitted the allegations against her. She stated she had reasons for committing the fraud but was not prepared to discuss what those reasons were.

The court heard pupils had to go without “essential resources” as a result of the financial strain Gill’s actions placed on the school’s budget. At one point, the school’s parent–teacher association had to step in and buy reading books.

Gill, of Stanton Road, Ilkeston, went on to plead guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday (10 September), the school’s headteacher Sarah Meredith read out a statement that outlined the impact of Gill’s criminality.

Mrs Meredith said: “The biggest impact of all has been on the children of the school. We now know that due to the deception and selfish acts of Mrs Gill, the children over a number of years have missed out and suffered from being unable to access essential resources.

“I feel deeply that depriving our children of this money is totally abhorrent. For years as a school we tried our very best to give our children, as our school motto advocates, ‘Life In All its Fullness’. However, we were given constant reminders from Mrs Gill that the budget was ‘tight’ and we should ‘be careful’ with our spending. This is advice that we all took on board and as a result limited our spending.

“She was trusted by everyone and we all believed that the advice she gave us was in the best interests of the school, while the children were always at the centre of her thinking. Her mantra was that ‘We’re the best!’. However, in June 2022 our trust and perception of her was completely shattered.”

Today’s sentencing hearing heard Gill felt “utterly ashamed” and is selling her house to pay back the money she stole.

Jailing Gill for two years and one month, Recorder James Bide-Thomas said: “Everyone at Bramcote School feels betrayed. It was plainly a close-knit community as shown by the number of people who have attended court to watch you be sentenced.

“There was no money for new computers, new toys and there was a limit on the number of pencils and glue sticks that could be purchased.

“Funds to maintain buildings were not spent in that fashion, leading to the deterioration of those buildings.”

Following the sentencing, Police Staff Investigator Marie Slater, of the Beeston CID department and who led the investigation, said:

“Wendy Gill was a well-liked member of staff and had good relationships with school staff, governors, parents and children.

“She was trusted implicitly but betrayed the school in a manner that caused immense shock and emotional distress.

“Her deception and selfish acts deprived children of essential resources and left the school struggling to balance the books, putting jobs at risk.

“No doubt Gill would have continued had the school not worked out what was going on and reported the matter to police. 

“I hope that the sentence given to her today shows the seriousness with which such a massive abuse of trust and position is taken and I hope that it is a deterrent to anyone else thinking of committing similar offences that it is simply not worth the risk – you will get found out.”

The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham also released a statement following the sentencing. It said:

“The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and Bramcote C of E Primary school are relieved this very challenging time is now over. This has been a deeply painful time for the members of the school, but they are recovering well. A bright future is ahead for the staff, pupils and the whole school community. 

“Throughout the investigation the Head and staff have been exemplary in their support for the police and the work they had to do, and Nottingham County Council and the diocese are pleased to see justice has been seen to be done.

“The whole school now faces the future with renewed hope.”