Nursery boss stole cash raised for kids to give her own 'a good Christmas'

Katie Cooper, 41, a mum-of-four took over £2,000 from Paper Moon day nursery, in West Bridgford, which was intended for a sensory bed and instead spent it on her own children

A nursery manager stole money raised for a sensory bed for children to give her own kids "a good Christmas", a court heard.

Katie Cooper, 41, a mum-of-four took just over £2,000 from Paper Moon day nursery, in Compton Acres, West Bridgford. She used the company credit card to withdraw cash including while on holiday, later claiming she had mixed it up with her own one.

Annabel Lenton, prosecuting, said Copper was made the manager at Paper Moon, at The Clock Tower, in 2022 and on November 6, that year, the nursery held an Autumn Fayre to raise money to pay for a sensory bed. The prosecutor said: "The defendant even sent out a WhatsApp message to the nursery school group thanking everyone for their hard work and confirmed the amount raised.

"She took the £237.67 home to count but when she was questioned by the business manager she said it had raised nothing. The business manager then looked into the company credit card and discovered withdrawals including one in Scarborough where the defendant was on holiday. When she was challenged about it she said it was 'a mix up' with her own credit card."

Miss Lenton said evidence also showed Cooper, of Melton Mowbray, letting herself into the nursery "at a time she did not need to". She said the credit card statement was further examined and it was discovered that the defendant had spent £1,849.15 on it making a total of just over £2,000 which she took from Paper Moon, reported NottinghamLive.

Rawaid Javed, her barrister, told Nottingham Crown Court: "Shame, guilt, she knows what she's done is quite frankly disgusting. She's betrayed the trust to buy food for the children for her own benefit.

"She is mortified by it but there is a significant background to it. Her marriage of 12 years had come to an end and she had been in that relationship for 16 years. There are four children aged six to 14 and she caught her husband having an affair and that brought the relationship to an end."

"She could not afford to pay the rent on the family home and the children were already struggling. To say she was devastated is an understatement. She blames herself for all of this, describing herself as 'an emotional wreck'. She got into a new relationship, he was unemployed and that meant another mouth to feed."

"As Christmas approached, she was desperate to give them all hope and she hoped that by giving them a good Christmas she would take away some of the pressure. She is now in full-time employment at a residential home in Leicester, her employer is fully aware of today and has provided a character reference."

Cooper pleaded guilty to fraud and has no previous convictions of any kind. Recorder Penelope Stanistreet-Keen handed the defendant a nine-month jail term, suspended for a year, with 80 hours unpaid work.