A former playgroup manager who “betrayed” parents and children by stealing more than £8,500 in charity funds has avoided jail – but been ordered to pay back every penny.
Kerry Norris, 50, syphoned off donations over almost three years while running Monkton Under Fives near Ramsgate, using the cash for personal items including sun loungers, wine and debt repayments.
She admitted theft by employee and appeared for sentencing on Thursday at Margate Magistrates’ Court, which heard her life had “spiralled out of control”.
During a previous hearing, prosecutor Dylan Bradshaw told the court: “It’s a distressing case as she was the manager of an under-fives playgroup which raised money via charity events.
“Over a period of three years, she was in charge of the finances of the charity and used the funds for her own purposes and spent it on various things.
“She diverted the funds without caring as her life spiralled out of control.”
The thefts took place between August 2021 and April this year.
Norris, of Drift Road in Aylesham, near Canterbury, originally admitted the charge in November but disputed the estimate that she had taken more than £11,000.
A special hearing was set to determine the total amount, but the Crown Prosecution Service later accepted her basis of plea that the true figure was £8,569.27.
Magistrates had previously been told the sentencing range was either a high-level community order or up to 36 weeks in custody, and ordered a full pre-sentencing report to consider “all options”.
When Norris returned to court on Thursday, she was handed an 18-month community order, told to complete 120 hours of unpaid work, and attend 20 rehabilitation sessions.
She will repay the stolen £8,569.27 at a rate of £200 a month.
Following the initial hearing, a committee member at the playgroup, which is run as a charity, said: “It’s a bit of a tragedy, stealing from parents and children.
“It’s charity money that she stole. She was our manager. We felt very betrayed and upset.
“We don’t have sympathy for her. I hope she has learned her lesson.”
The committee member also revealed the theft had a serious impact on the group’s future, with some families withdrawing their children as the scandal unfolded.
“At one point we thought we might have to close,” they said.
But they added the group, which cares for up to 12 children and was rated “good” by Ofsted in 2023, had since bounced back.
“We have picked ourselves up and are doing really well now,” they said. “We’re thriving.”
