A school assistant is being investigated after she called a five-year-old girl a ”f***ing tw*t” – in a phone call to the child’s MUM.
Foul-mouthed Pat Smith, 57, made the shocking comments at the end of an answer phone message when she thought she had hung up.
The vile abuse was directed at five-year-old Megan Astle who accidentally took Smith’s book bag home from school last Friday.
At the end of a call to Megan’s mum Katie, Smith, 57, was heard moaning to a colleague: ”f***ing tw*t took my bag home”.
Shocked Katie, 27, played the 52-second recording to the headteacher of Cobden Primary School in Loughborough, Leics., but was told to ”move on”.
The misunderstanding happened last Friday when Megan accidentally picked up a book bag from class which belonged to Smith.
Katie says it was an easy mistake as the students and teachers have the same book bags which are embossed with the school logo.
Smith left the message on Katie’s mobile phone on Friday night.
She starts off politely and even says she is ”sorry to bother you”.
After asking the mum-of-three to check whether her daughter had taken the wrong bag, she says ”thank you” and appears to hang up but the phone is still on.
She then says to another person ”f***ing tw*t took my bag home” while the person is heard saying ”Oh no”.
Gravel-voiced Smith then says: ”It wasn’t me handbag” before background noise interferes and she eventually hangs up.
Katie, who has two other kids, daughter Ashleigh, seven, and 21-month-old Riley, said: ”When I listened to the voicemail I thought ‘I must have got that wrong’, so I listened to it again.
”I don’t believe it. I’m absolutely disgusted that someone who works with children can call one of them a ‘f****ing tw*t”.
Katie is so appalled she has taken Megan and her older daughter Ashleigh out of school until Smith is disciplined.
She said: ”My husband had to calm me down because I wanted to ring her back and say ‘What the hell are you playing at? That is my five-year-old daughter’.
”She is not going back into that classroom where my daughter is.
”If she goes back in that classroom, my daughter’s coming out because I don’t want someone teaching my daughter who seems to think she’s a tw*t.
”If she says that about someone taking a schoolbag home, what does she say about kids that are naughty?”
Katie went into school on Monday for a meeting between Smith and headteacher Mike Stevens where she played them both the tape.
She said: ”Mr Stevens just fobbed me off and said ‘let’s move on’.
”I asked if he was going to take any action and he said no. Mrs Smith denied saying it but after I played it again she confessed.
”She said she’d had a really stressful day and just snapped. I don’t think that’s any excuse to use such disgusting language about a child.”
Megan and Ashleigh have only been at the school for four weeks after moving to Loughborough from Barwell, Leics.
Smith, who has two grown-up children, said: ”It was a big misunderstanding. I just want this matter cleared up.”
Smith works has worked as nursery assistant in the primary school for two years.
In a profile on the school’s website, she says she ”enjoys the job because each day is different and each day brings surprises. I like working with young children and helping them to reach their goals, it is never boring”.
The school has launched an investigation into Smith’s comments.
A spokesman for Cobden Primary School said: ”The governors take parental concerns and complaints very seriously, and we are proud of the positive relationships which we have with parents.
”This matter has been referred to the governing body and will be dealt with under the usual complaints policy.
”We hope that the matter will be resolved as soon as possible.’
” She said: ”Mr Stevens just fobbed me off and said ‘let’s move on’.”
Typical spineless headteacher response.
And I bet the mum has NEVER said anything like that. Never been sat in a restaurant and heard a kid screaming and muttered “shut up you little brat”, nothing like that? She’s never bitched out a co-worker behind her back? She SHOULD move on. The mum obviously didn’t mean for her to hear and it’s not as if she said it to the kid’s face. She needs to get over it.
Oh, it’s not like she said it to the child or even intentionally to the mother. She said it to a coworker, probably at a time and place when none of the children were around. The mother wonders what she says about naughty children? Probably the same or worse, as long as it’s in private. They’re not exempt from bad feelings simply because they’re children.
Oh grow up love.
I would say that’s a suitably sensible headteacher response. Now they’re spending loads of money on an investigation. Let’s face it, no harm done here, let’s move the hell on. (I notice she wanted to ring up and swear at the woman – yes, ‘hell’ is a swear word)
we need more teachers like this. tired of spineless ones who bend to parents who think lil tommy and cindy can do no wrong and how dare ya not think that my child is the center of the universe types
this headteacher is ALWAYS spineless!!!