A former headteacher has been banned from teaching after a professional conduct panel concluded she dishonestly changed her school’s term dates to accommodate a cruise holiday, while also misusing a school-funded vehicle for personal trips, including a family holiday to France.
Joy Ballard, the former headteacher of Ryde Academy on the Isle of Wight, was found to have engaged in unacceptable professional conduct and conduct that brought the teaching profession into disrepute following a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) hearing.
The panel concluded that Ballard acted dishonestly by altering the school’s 2023-24 term dates to fit around her personal travel plans. It also found she repeatedly used a school-funded vehicle for private journeys, including commuting to work and taking the Peugeot 5008 on a family holiday to France.
As a result, the Secretary of State for Education has imposed a prohibition order preventing Ballard from teaching in schools, sixth forms, youth accommodation and children’s homes in England. She will be able to apply for the order to be reviewed after two years.
The misconduct findings followed a lengthy investigation into her leadership at Ryde Academy, where concerns first emerged in March 2024. Ballard retired from the school in August 2024 before the case was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency.
The panel found Ballard had admitted all of the allegations before the hearing, including that her conduct amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and behaviour that could bring the profession into disrepute.
Changed School Calendar To Fit Cruise
One of the most serious findings centred on changes to the academy’s term dates during the 2023-24 academic year.
Evidence presented to the panel showed the autumn term was extended until Monday 18th December 2023, while the start of the spring term was delayed until Wednesday 3rd January 2024.
The panel concluded those changes were made so Ballard could complete a cruise holiday that did not return until 3rd January.
Witnesses told the hearing Ballard had openly discussed changing the calendar because of her holiday, while the panel also heard evidence that she had joked about the decision during a staff meeting.
The report found the revised calendar created what witnesses described as a “Bitsa week”, with pupils expected to return for just a single Monday before the Christmas break. Evidence from senior staff suggested attendance suffered as many families chose to begin their holidays early, with the panel hearing the school never fully recovered from the decline in attendance that followed.
The panel ultimately concluded Ballard had altered the dates to accommodate her personal travel arrangements, describing the decision as dishonest and lacking integrity.
The report also found she was not present at school for the full day on 3rd January 2024 because she was returning from the cruise. The hearing accepted evidence that she arrived after the school day had already begun, meaning she was unable to fulfil her responsibilities as headteacher on the first day of the new term.
The panel ruled that absence also demonstrated a lack of integrity because she had knowingly booked a holiday that prevented her from being at school for the start of term.
School Car Used For France Holiday
The investigation also examined Ballard’s use of a Peugeot 5008 purchased using school funds.
The vehicle had been approved to reduce the cost of transporting pupils to alternative education provision across the Isle of Wight, replacing expensive taxi journeys.
Instead, the panel found Ballard regularly used the car for personal journeys over a two-year period, commuting to work, driving it at weekends and evenings, and taking it on a family holiday to France during Easter 2024.
Evidence included ferry booking records showing the vehicle’s registration was used for a crossing from Portsmouth to Caen, while investigators also found photographs of the car displaying the required UK identification sticker and headlight adaptors following the overseas trip.
The panel noted Ballard initially denied taking the vehicle abroad during the school’s internal investigation before later admitting it had been used for the journey.
Witnesses also described frequently seeing what became known around the school as “Joy’s car” parked outside her home and at public houses.
When the vehicle was eventually returned to the academy it had covered around 22,000 miles. The panel concluded that figure was difficult to reconcile with its intended purpose of transporting pupils on the Isle of Wight.
Although Ballard argued she believed she was permitted to use the vehicle personally, the panel rejected that explanation, pointing to trust policies stating school assets should not be used for personal benefit except in very limited circumstances.
The investigation also examined several purchases made using school funds, including camping equipment, a karaoke machine and televisions.
The panel accepted that each item had originally been bought with school-related intentions. However, it concluded they ultimately delivered limited benefit to pupils because they were either poorly planned or never properly utilised.
Camping equipment, including tents and inflatable mattresses, had been purchased for what Ballard said would become outdoor learning experiences and activities for pupils.
However, the hearing found there had been no clear plan for how the equipment would be used. Ballard herself later described the project as “a disaster” and “a waste of taxpayer’s money”.
Similarly, a karaoke machine purchased using the school’s rewards budget was found to have seen little use after it arrived, while two televisions bought as part of a school gym project were eventually raffled off after never being installed.
Although the panel criticised those spending decisions, it stopped short of finding they had been dishonest, concluding instead that they represented poor financial judgement rather than purchases made for personal gain.
The hearing also found Ballard failed to follow the academy trust’s procedures for handling cash collected at school events and fundraising activities.
Evidence showed money was sometimes stored in her handbag rather than the school safe, while banking procedures were not consistently followed.
The panel described the arrangements as chaotic and said they created unnecessary suspicion among colleagues, although it did not conclude Ballard had personally benefited financially.
‘Not A Rule Follower’
During the hearing, Ballard accepted responsibility for using the school vehicle for personal purposes but maintained that, aside from that issue, she would not have acted differently.
She told the panel: “I am not a rule follower, I like going against the grain to benefit the kids.”
The former headteacher also received extensive support from former colleagues, pupils and parents.
Around 50 character references praised her leadership and commitment to disadvantaged children, while witnesses described her as an inspirational leader who had transformed schools and changed young people’s lives.
The panel acknowledged Ballard’s achievements throughout her career.
It noted that Ryde Academy achieved Good Ofsted ratings during her leadership after previously being judged to require improvement or be inadequate. The hearing also recognised her work on the Channel 4 documentary Educating Cardiff while leading Willows High School, along with her Pearson Teaching Award and evidence that she had improved attendance, GCSE results and pupil numbers during her career.
Despite those accomplishments, the panel concluded they did not outweigh the seriousness of the misconduct.
It found Ballard had repeatedly placed her own interests ahead of her professional responsibilities by using school resources for personal benefit and changing the school calendar to accommodate a private holiday.
The report also concluded that parents and the wider public would find the behaviour concerning if they became aware that a headteacher had used their position in that way.
In its decision, the Secretary of State said: “The findings of misconduct are serious as they include a headteacher behaving in a way which was dishonest and lacking in integrity.”
Although the panel accepted Ballard remained a capable educator who had made a significant contribution to education over many years, it determined that maintaining public confidence in the profession required a prohibition order.
The teaching ban takes immediate effect, although Ballard can apply for the order to be reviewed after two years.
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