An Aberdeen nursery worker has received a warning after she grabbed two children with “with unnecessary force” and shouted at several others.
Jacqui McDonald was under investigation by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) for actions during her time working for Aberdeen City Council.
As an early years practitioner, she was employed to look after young children. However, several incidents in 2023 raised concerns over her conduct.
Between October 23 and November 3, 2023, Ms McDonald shouted at a child, saying, “Get your feet off the table. That’s unacceptable.”
She then pushed the child’s feet off the table “with unnecessary force” on two occasions.
She also grabbed another child from behind with unnecessary force at his shoulders and pulled him back to an easel on two occasions.
Without cause, she shouted angrily at two more children.
The newly released SSSC report states that Ms McDonald “shouted aggressively” at three children while they were playing with plastic crates in the nursery garden.
She used the phrase, “What are you doing? You should not be doing that,” causing distress, and then took the crates away from the children.
This incident occurred on July 6, 2023.
Nursery worker used ‘unnecessary force’ while working with children
Finally, Ms McDonald failed to intervene to assist a child trying to put on their shoes.
According to the report, she said, “try, try, try let me see you try, because you are going to school after the summer holidays”.
In total, Ms McDonald’s behaviour impacted eight children in her care on several occasions.
The SSSC panel found her actions put children in her care “at risk of physical and emotional harm” and showed a pattern of behaviour.
The report stated: “There is a pattern of similar behaviour that took place over a period of around four months from July 2023 to November 2023 involving eight different children.”
The panel found Ms McDonald’s behaviour to be “moderately serious.”
The report said: “[Her] behaviour suggests a lack of a caring and nurturing attitude that is expected of a social service worker and would suggest there are issues with your character, making the behaviour less remediable.”
In addition to the two-year warning imposed on her record, Ms McDonald was ordered to complete additional training.
These include child protection training and trauma-informed practice to ensure she is able to tackle situations effectively.
An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: “We note the findings of the report and would not comment further on the case.
“Aberdeen City Council expects childcare practitioners to observe best practice at all times.”
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