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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Eric McGowan

Ayrshire nursery worker issued with warning after grabbing child's face

An Ayrshire nursery worker who grabbed a youngster's face has been issued with a warning.

Violet Paterson was involved in two incidents involving separate children dating back to 2019.

The Scottish Social Services Council determined that Paterson was found to have held one child by the arm and shouted in their face.

She grabbed the wrist and face of another child and shouted at them 'you have to listen' - or words to that effect.

Both incidents occurred at St Mark's Primary School Nursery Class in Irvine while Paterson was employed there as an early years practitioner by North Ayrshire Council.

The SSSC decided to place a warning on her registration for two years.

The care watchdog said her behaviour was serious and fell short of the standards expected of social service workers.

But they noted she had been employed in the sector since 2000 with no reported concerns regarding her practice before or after 2019.

A report which detailed the incidents in June and December 2019 said: "You held a child by the arm and shouted at them in response to them hitting your arm rather than dealing with the situation in a calm manner. Your actions placed the child at risk of emotional harm.

"You also grabbed the wrist and face of another child and shouted at them. Your actions placed that child at risk of emotional and physical harm. Because of your behaviour these children may be reluctant to interact with staff positively in the future.

"Social service workers are often faced with challenging behaviour from children within a nursery setting and scenarios such as the ones you were faced with will likely occur regularly.

"Your actions demonstrate a loss of self-control when faced with challenging behaviour.

"The behaviour displayed is serious and falls short of the standards expected of social service workers.

"The behaviour also has the potential to damage the reputation of the social services profession. A finding of current impairment is necessary to maintain public confidence in the social services workforce and the SSSC as an effective regulator."

They concluded: "We wrote to you on February 8, 2022 to tell you we wanted to place a warning on your registration.

"After explaining the consequences of not asking for a hearing, and recommending you take legal advice, your legal representative has been in contact with the SSSC to advise you no longer wish for the case to be heard by a Fitness to Practise Panel and that you consent to the warning."

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