Daniel Reynolds
Introduction
Daniel Reynolds was an assistant headteacher at West Earlham Junior School in Norwich, where he had worked from around 2018 and carried responsibility for safeguarding. He ran government-funded holiday activity camps at the school, completing their funding applications and arrangements himself. An audit found he had submitted false claims for payment, and in November 2023 he was convicted of three counts of making/supplying articles for use in fraud, receiving a suspended prison sentence. In August 2025 a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) professional conduct panel found the allegation against him proved, and on 2 September 2025 the decision maker acting for the Secretary of State prohibited him from teaching indefinitely.
Background Information
Reynolds joined West Earlham Junior School around 2018 as Assistant Headteacher, with responsibility for safeguarding. Holiday activity camps took place at the school in Summer 2021, Christmas 2021 and Easter 2022, held under a government-funded programme administered locally by Norfolk County Council in partnership with schools and third party providers; Reynolds completed the funding application and arrangements for the camps. In April 2022 the council’s Education Finance Team raised concerns about apparently irregular transactions in the school’s accounts, and the Norfolk Audit Service was instructed to investigate. Reynolds was suspended in June 2022, his employment came to an end in October 2022, and a referral was made to the TRA in February 2023.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Fraud against the school’s holiday camps.
The audit concluded that Reynolds may have acted dishonestly by submitting false or misleading claims for payment. Its findings included misleading the head teacher as to the status of the camps, providing false statements when requesting payment of purported expenses, providing false or fabricated documents to the school and the council whilst under investigation, and misappropriating or selling property rightly constituting School property obtained in relation to the camps.
The allegation stated that on or around 23 November 2023 Reynolds was convicted in Norfolk Magistrates’ Court of three counts of making/supplying articles for use in a fraud. The panel found the particular proved on a certificate of conviction from Norwich Crown Court recording the conviction on 24 November 2023; at the sentencing hearing on 1 February 2024 he was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, 300 hours of unpaid work and a 10 day rehabilitation activity requirement. Reynolds admitted the facts of the allegation and signed a statement of agreed facts on 20 March 2025.
At the sentencing hearing the judge commented that Reynolds had honestly and successfully run holiday activity camps in the Summer of 2020, but that when he ran them again in 2021 he “saw a gap in the accounting procedure which he dishonestly exploited to fund his [REDACTED]”. As an example, the judge described Reynolds invoicing the school for a Christmas event despite a local hotel having provided the food free of charge as a charitable donation, and described the false invoices as “utterly bogus”. The judge described his culpability as “high” and his actions as having “a measure of sophistication and planning over time”, with the fraud “sustained over a number of months” and involving bogus invoices; the loss the Crown could prove was £8,520.
Like the sentencing judge, the panel considered Reynolds’ actions to be an “egregious breach of trust reposed in ..[him] by the School” and “an abuse of a position of trust and responsibility”. The panel found him in breach of the Teachers’ Standards, on honesty and integrity and consistently high standards of personal and professional conduct. The camps were for children at the school, making the conduct relevant to teaching and working with children; on pupil safety, the panel recorded: “The panel did not consider that Mr Reynolds’ actions had a potential impact on the safety or security of pupils or members of the public.” The panel found the allegation proven.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The decision records no press coverage; the TRA proceedings were considered on the papers without a hearing at Reynolds’ request. The panel found a strong public interest in maintaining public confidence in the profession and in declaring and upholding proper standards of conduct. Among the aggravating factors it listed that “There was a measure of sophistication and planning over time including the use of bogus invoices.” and that “The fraud was sustained over a number of months.” Mitigating factors included his previous good character, his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity, his admissions, remorse and engagement with the TRA process, his completion of the 300 hours of unpaid work and payment of the proceeds of crime order, and community contributions including a Humane Society certificate for saving a life and a local foodbank he set up. The panel recommended a prohibition order with immediate effect. Marc Cavey, deciding on behalf of the Secretary of State, imposed the prohibition order on 2 September 2025, stating: “I am particularly mindful in this case of a senior teacher abusing their position for financial gain and the negative impact that such a finding may have on the reputation of the profession.”
Current Status
Reynolds is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England. The panel recommended a three-year review period, but the decision maker disagreed, judging that “a two-year review period is sufficient and appropriate”. He may apply for the prohibition order to be set aside, but not until 5 September 2027, two years from the date of the order; this is not an automatic right, and any application would be considered by a panel. Without a successful application he remains prohibited from teaching indefinitely. The order takes effect when served, and he has a right of appeal to the High Court within 28 days of notice.
Impact on Their Career/Life
His employment at West Earlham Junior School ended in October 2022, before the TRA proceedings began. The criminal sentence also included a proceeds of crime order, which he paid. The panel acknowledged that his work on school inclusion for pupils, including those at risk of permanent exclusion, and his providing activities at the camps “was of note”, but found that the seriousness of the offending behaviour that led to the conviction was relevant to his ongoing suitability to teach. At the time of the decision he was studying psychology and working in an NHS role assisting undiagnosed adults and their families.