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NewsScottish NewsScots teacher allegedly dragged “terrified” pupil along floor

Scots teacher allegedly dragged “terrified” pupil along floor

A SCOTS teacher who allegedly dragged a pupil along the floor faces being struck off.

Rachel Wadsworth has been accused of leaving the youngster, “terrified” during the incident in December 2017.

Miss Wadsworth is said to have pulled the girl across the floor by their wrist whilst teaching at a school in South Lanarkshire.

Rachel Wadsworth
Rachel Wadsworth now faces being struck off the teaching register by the GTCS.

She is also alleged to have dragged the same pupil back into them classroom by their leg on a separate occasion in September 2017.

And in November 2017, the primary school teacher allegedly made the same pupil sit in a seat where the young girl had urinated on.

Miss Wadsworth is now being investigated over the claims and appeared in front of the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) panel yesterday.

Pamela Dougall, a support teacher from the school, gave evidence at the hearing and said she was left in tears after witnessing the incident.

Mrs Dougall said: “I witnessed Miss Wadsworth dragging Pupil A back along the floor back to the classroom.

“Their [Pupil A] tummy was on the floor, they looked terrified.

“I put my hands on my head and said ‘you can’t do that’.

“I asked Pupil A if they was alright, they put their thumbs up.

“I was in a state of shock, every time I saw Pupil A that day I cried.”

She added: “I was placed in her class between August and December 2017.

“The working relationship with Miss Wadsworth was difficult.

“I got the feeling that they did not want anyone in the class.

“When I was working with Miss Wadsworth I felt I couldn’t do my job properly as they didn’t trust me.”

Another support teacher, Jacqueline Steele, who was working in a class nearby, said: “On Friday 1 December [2017] at 1pm I was sitting at a table helping kids finish their work they hadn’t finished and I was looking directly out of the classroom door.

“I saw Pupil A running past the door.

“Pupil A stopped at the double doors [fire exit].

“Mrs Wadsworth ran up and grabbed Pupil A’s arm in quite a forceful manner.

“Her tugging knocked Pupil A off their balance and they was walking too fast for them to keep up.

“I put my hands on my head.

“It was the first time I saw them look frightened.

“[When Mrs Steele entered Pupil A’s classroom] Pupil A was on the floor at the door, it was quite manic and Miss Wadsworth did not have any control of the class.

“For me it was a child protection issue.

“That afternoon Pupil A was not themselves and was not smiling.

“You could see if they looked sad, I was able to tell when they wasn’t happy.”

Further allegations have been lodged against the teacher such as grabbing the same pupil by the arm and pushing their back onto a chair.

Miss Wadsworth also faces allegations that she grabbed another pupil by the shoulders which caused them distress.

She has also been accused of leaving the pupils in her class unattended.

The hearing continues.

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