A Hertfordshire headteacher has been banned from the profession after making prohibited purchases costing more than £260 from her school's bank and Amazon accounts.

Kanchana Vanhove, who was headteacher at Wareside Church of England Primary School, is now prohibited from teaching indefinitely at any educational establishment in England following the decision by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA).

Between November 2018 and May 2019, she was accused of spending £603 from the schools bank and Amazon account on personal items, which she denied.

The hearing found it proved that she spent £261.85 of school funds on items for herself, including £60 on outdoor lights, £44 on two croquet sets and almost £30 on plastic cocktail glasses.

She was also accused of submitting inappropriate and unauthorised expenses claims totalling £1,113, which she again denied.

The hearing found that inappropriate claims totalling £667.84 had been made, including £230 at M&S Food and £144 on a Squarespace subscription.

The TRA hearing found that Ms Vanhove was authorised to spend up to £2,000 without the need for the governors’ approval, and could authorise a transaction or an expenses claim of up to £2,000 using school funds as the sole signatory.

In August 2018, an Amazon account for the school was opened using the name and bank account of a member of staff. In September 2018, Ms Vanhove requested the account be changed to the school bank account to enable the purchase of items for educational purposes.

The only computer that had access to the account was in the office of the staff member who set up the account - witnesses in the hearing said that Ms Vanhove had the account password.

Ms Vanhove denied the allegations against her and claimed she "I did not order much" and, "I was not a regular user of the Amazon account".

In May 2019, a staff member made a disclosure under the school’s whistleblowing policy regarding concerns relating to the potential misappropriation of school funds by Ms Vanhove.

Due to those concerns, the matter was referred to Hertfordshire County Council’s Shared Internal Audit Service. The findings of the audit led to an investigation by the council's Shared Anti-Fraud Service.

Ms Vanhove was suspended on June 28, 2019, and she then tendered her resignation on December 9, ahead of a disciplinary hearing on January 15, 2020.

At the hearing, the panel decided to dismiss Ms Vanhove from Wareside.

Deciding her fate, TRA decision maker Sarah Buxcey said: "I have given very careful consideration to this case and to the recommendation of the panel in respect of both sanction and review period.

"In this case, the panel has found some of the allegations proven and found that those proven facts amount to unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.

"The panel finds that the conduct of Ms Vanhove fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession. The findings of misconduct are serious as they involved a finding of dishonesty and misuse of school funds for personal gain.

"For these reasons, I have concluded that a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest in order to achieve the intended aims of a prohibition order.

"I have gone on to consider the matter of a review period. In this case, the panel has recommended a two-year review period.

"This means that Ms Kanchana Vanhove is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. She may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not until April 17, 2026, two years from the date of this order at the earliest."