AN EX-HEADTEACHER who dialled up £951 worth of calls to adult chatlines on his school phone and signed cheques payable to himself and his wife has been banned from the profession.

Jonathan Twidle, who led two primary schools in the North-East, admitted to using school credit cards to pay for hotels, restaurants, alcohol, household groceries and even dog food.

A disciplinary panel found the 53-year-old guilty of unacceptable professional conduct after being presented with more than 500 pages of evidence detailing financial irregularities and a raft of allegations against the former head.

The Teaching Regulation Agency heard Mr Twidle resigned from a primary school in Norton, Stockon, following an internal financial audit, before joining a Sunderland primary which he was suspended from.

During his nine years at Crooksbarn Primary School, Stockton, from the year 2000, Mr Twidle used a corporate Blackberry mobile phone to call premium-rate adult entertainment services.

The panel heard some calls were made in school time and he initially failed to pay for the private calls due to an “oversight”. Following an investigation by Stockton Borough Council, Mr Twidle reimbursed the authority £951 for the calls.

The 53-year-old resigned from the Stockton school in 2009 before being appointed headteacher at the Willow Fields Community Primary School in Sunderland in September 2011.

Staff there raised concerns over financial mismanagement and alleged nepotism under Mr Twidle, and he was suspended as the council investigated the claims. He resigned the role in September 2016.

The panel sitting in Coventry earlier this month were told by Mr Twidle’s legal representative that he denied ever showing favouritism to his wife, who was also employed at the school.

Panel members agreed that they could not rely on “anonymous hearsay” that Mr Twidle had employed his wife on a full-time contract and promoted her ahead of other staff members. They found the claims not proved.

However, the former head admitted that while at the school, he signed cheques payable to his wife and made personal transactions charged to the school business manager’s credit card.

It was also proved that Mr Twidle allowed his wife to leave a school group trip for one hour so she could accompany him on a visit to their son’s school, which jeopardised risk assessment and staff to pupil ratio.

School funds were used by Mr Twidle to pay for childcare and h also leased a vehicle for personal use at a cost to the primary.

On behalf of the Secretary of State, the Teaching Regulation Agency considered all allegations made against the 53-year-old, as well as praise for his work.

One stated: “Mr Twidle has a long history of being able to effect change and progress, particularly in areas of deprivation and it would be nice if the panel could take into account the positive impact he has had on many children's lives.”

The panel were also urged to consider that during his time in Stockton, Mr Twidle was credited for boosting Crooksbarn Primary from Good to Outstanding under Oftsed standards.

Chair of the panel, Rob Allan, said: “Mr Twidle has expressed some regret for his conduct, but has demonstrated very little understanding of his actions or their consequences.

“Despite being given every opportunity by the panel, he did not provide any evidence that he has addressed his significant failures in financial management.”

He added: “Mr Twidle has been responsible for dishonesty in relation to the mismanagement of public funds, including for his own benefit, over a significant period of time.

“The panel's view of the seriousness of the dishonest conduct at Willow Fields High School was heightened by Mr Twidle's knowledge of the financial audit at Crooksbarn Primary School.”

It was agreed that his actions between the year 2000 and 2016 had been “deliberate” and “dishonest” and he was immediately prohibited from teaching indefinitely.