Liverpool Headteacher stole from two schools after racking up £100,000 credit card debt
A disgraced headteacher has been jailed for stealing more than £15,000 from two primary schools in Liverpool.Neil Metcalf, 51, from Childwall, earned £80,000 a year but started stealing after maxing out his credit cards, racking up a debt of £100,000.
Metcalf worked at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School and Our Lady's Bishop Eton Catholic Primary School in Mossley Hill, Liverpool.
He was previously described as "precisely the sort one would want in leadership in a school", motivating students and inspiring confidence.But he was abusing his trusted position to steal money from the two schools after building up a huge debt.
The 51-year-old, of Jubilee Avenue in Childwall, Liverpool, sent the money in the form of cheques to his unsuspecting stepson, with instructions to transfer the money into his personal bank account once the cheques had cleared.
He made six fraudulent payments of £1,800 each, totalling £10,800, from St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School between September 2017 and May 2022.He made three fraudulent payments of £2,160, £250 and £2,280 from Our Lady's Bishop Eton Catholic Primary School between September 2022 and September 2023 - adding up to a grand total of £15,490. He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of position in Liverpool Crown Court last month.His offending was discovered when the finance officer at Our Lady's Bishop Eton noticed an unusual invoice made out to a company called "School Fit" and "J. Neil".
She asked Metcalf about the payment, and he told her it was for "health and safety".
Prosecutor Callum Ross, at court today, August 19, said: "The officer recalled how Neil was the surname of the defendant's stepson, who was called Joseph. That made her suspicious.
"She then googled School Fit as a result of her concerns and could find no information on that company at all. The VAT number was also invalid."
Mr Ross said Metcalf - who earned £80,000 a year as a headteacher - had committed "an abuse of a position of power and trust and responsibility".
He said: "Where St Anthony's is concerned they say the money could have been put to better use. It was not an insignificant amount of money for a school which relies on resources to further the children's education.
"Bishop Eton states they unfortunately had to employ an interim headteacher for half a year at a cost of £33,500 while the school was also having to pay the defendant's wages until June 2024, when he resigned. They cancelled plans to buy pupils' iPads due to the cost."Oliver Saddington, defending, said Metcalf had committed the fraud after maxing out his credit cards and spiralling into £100,000 of debt.
He said: "At 51 he's mortified he found himself in the dock at a crown court. He has enjoyed a positive career dedicated to teaching children in Merseyside and supporting them to achieve their best."Former colleagues regard him as professional and precisely the sort one would want in leadership in a school. Former students say he gave them confidence in their abilities and was motivational and kind."Sentencing Metcalf to 15 months in prison, judge Mark Ainsworth said: "It's clear that you were an excellent teacher and you were an effective leader. Plainly as a headteacher you had a particularly high position of authority."He added: "I fully accept these convictions will bring an end to your professional career and while it may be you can serve the community in the future, it will not be as a teacher, and certainly not a headteacher."