A former East Lothian nursery worker has been given a warning after they were found to have been drinking alcohol while on shift.
Morag Anne Todd has been given a warning as well as additional conditions after she was found to have poured vodka into her water bottle while looking after children.
A review into Ms Todd’s actions found that while working at Pear Tree nursery in Haddington, she had been caught drinking on two separate occasions.
The first, on August 16, 2021, found there to be evidence that the nursery worker had poured vodka and tonic water into what appeared as a water bottle, before consuming it on shift.
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The second occasion, on August 30, Ms Todd again poured vodka into her bottle that had been taken from the nursery office.
Explained to have been left over from a staff team building event, Ms Todd had emptied the alcohol into her water bottle and drank it once again while caring for the children.
Claiming that the incidents were the “stupidest decision of her life”, Ms Todd was said to have told the SSSC that the drinking was a way of coping with the stress she was under at work.
Taking into account Ms Todd’s admittance of her behaviour and remorse into the incident, a warning was placed on her register, as well as a requirement to receive additional training in alcohol awareness and safeguarding children.
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Speaking in the review, the SSSC said: Your actions breached the trust of your employer, the children who rely on your care and the parents of those children.
"Your actions put yourself, the children you support and your colleagues at risk of unnecessary and avoidable risk of harm. Consuming alcohol while on shift would likely have impaired your ability to carry out your role safely and effectively.
It should be noted, however, that the risk of the behaviour being repeated appears to be reduced by the fact that you are no longer employed in the setting and are now aware that you do not want to have the responsibility of a senior role again.
It seems likely that if you were to return to work in the sector, you would not take on a similar role again.
"You have also demonstrated an awareness as to the steps that you should have taken, rather than using alcohol as a means of coping. It appears that if you were to find yourself in a similar situation in the future, you would act differently."
