AN AFTER-SCHOOL worker has been struck off after sumo wrestling with her boyfriend in front of young children.
Nicola McDonald, a registered social worker, engaged in “horseplay” with her partner while she was the manager of the after-school club at Flora Stevenson Primary School in Edinburgh.
The mum-of-two donned a sumo suit and “inappropriately” grappled in front of children as young as five.
She also swore at workmen, stole from petty cash and claimed almost £300 that she wasn’t entitled to.
Ms McDonald, who worked at the school from November 2008 to April 2013, has been removed from the register by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) after all 23 charges against her were proved.
The ex-manager abused her position by keeping school iPads at home for her children to use, letting her kids use the club mobile phone and even buying equipment using club funds.
She also listened to loud dance music in the club office during working hours, purchased a rucksack using club money and allowed her children to attend the club when they were not entitled to.
Forge
She went as far as to forge statements of fees for her children to say that she had paid for them to attend the club, when she had not. The fees amounted to several thousands of pounds.
On one occasion, when the children were watching a DVD, she smacked her own child’s bottom in front of everyone when they refused to leave with her.
Another charge found proven was that she told a workman to “f*** off” when he entered the canteen hall of the school.
There were also several instances when Ms McDonald falsely claimed expenses, including £8.98 for a taxi fare for a “club meeting” on a Sunday – when there were never meetings on a Sunday.
She also claimed twice for a lunch meeting, and even claimed £247.60 for a planned lunch outing with children which she was not entitled to.
She was dismissed from her position as Manager on April 25 2013 for “gross misconduct”.
The fitness to practice hearing was held by the SSSC in Dundee earlier this month.
Serious
The panel struck Ms McDonald off the register after agreeing her misconduct was “very serious and deliberate” and “fundamentally incompatible with being a social service worker”.
They also found that there was a “lack of real insight or regret” from Ms McDonald throughout the hearing.
They determined that she failed to treat colleagues with respect and failed to work openly and cooperatively with them, and decided that the most appropriate course of action would be to remove her from the register.
The Flora Stevenson Primary School is located on Comely Bank Road in Edinburgh. After school care is provided for children aged five to 11.
Their website states that staff are “trained in Child Protection and committed to providing the highest level of childcare”.
