A child care worker has been struck off after he was accidentally recorded on a mobile phone calling a vulnerable child a “thick c***”.
Peter Fitzsimmons faced a string of charges at the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) in Dundee, during a hearing held on July 11 and 12.
The shocking slate of charges included numerous expletive-laden rants against one child in his care at the Portland Street vulnerable housing centre in Edinburgh, in August 2015.
Among the charges proven at the hearing were his repeated uses of inappropriate and obscene language, including “b***ards”, “f***”, “f******” and “c***” – and saying “poof, f*** off you bent b***ard.”
He also shared a cigarette with the child, encouraged them to steal the food of other residents in the home and badmouthed his colleagues.
And it has emerged that he was caught out by a six-hour recording “inadvertently captured on a mobile phone” which was provided to night shift workers by Portland Street.
The recording was then discovered by another colleague – who reported him to senior management.
Two transcripts made from the recording were then used as evidence against Mr Fitzsimmons – proving the majority of the charges.
The proven charges include him referring to a vulnerable child as a “c***” twice.
In one instance he said: “What’s your arithmetic like? Adding up and that? 78.3 multiplied by 968.71. Come on you thick c*** you should have it now 83 hundred 722.8931, piece of pish”
And he colluded with the resident to lie to other staff about the fact that he had let them stay up all night – saying “Dinnae be f****** mentioning that you were up all night” and saying another individual had “f****** dobbed me in last time”.
And he told them: “I’ve f****** smoked since I was nine like a f****** chimney.”
He also made “derogatory comments” about the apparent criminal convictions of colleagues to the child.
And he encouraged the kid to steal the ice cream of another child, telling them: “We’re as well scoffing it as he is no gonna f****** eat it. You’d think he’d have the sense to take it f****** with him.”
In their findings report, the SSSC said that the transcripts of the recording “tended to support the allegations made”.
They also took into consideration a letter in which he stated that he “did not contest any of the charges”.
Explaining their reason for striking him off, they wrote: “The language used and nature of the comments manifestly failed to represent a positive role model
“There was also a serious concern about the fact that you had displayed a complete lack of insight or regret into your own behaviour and had conducted yourself very deliberately, seeking to justify it as a legitimate aspect of your practice.
“There was also a concern that your conduct appeared to demonstrate a more fundamental incompatibility between your character and attitude on the one hand and a career in social services work on the other.”
Four charges were not “adequately supported” by the evidence – including claims that he did not ensure the child was in their room by midnight and that he finished his shift without telling his colleague.
