Teaching assistant 'mocked child on Facebook'

A TEACHING assistant has been suspended after claims she mocked a four-year-old girl on social networking site Facebook.

Parents have signed a petition demanding that Yasmine Judge, 20, is not allowed back to the school after claims she said she found it “funny” when little Faye McDonnell burst into tears after she punished her.

Louise McDonnell, 24, said her daughter came home upset from Lowerhouses CE Junior and Infants’ School, Huddersfield, on February 10 after being punished. She became furious the next day after learning of the online jibe.

Ms McDonnell, whose daughter has laryngitis, said: “If the children do something wrong they have to go and sit under the thinking tree, a paper tree on the wall.

“They have to think about what they did wrong. It’s supposed to be a positive thing rather than just telling the child off.

“Ms Judge sent Faye to sit under the tree. Faye says she didn’t do anything wrong but Ms Judge didn’t allow her to explain herself. She had to stand there for three or four minutes.

“She has trouble breathing and when she gets upset she goes red and starts breathing heavily.”

Ms McDonnell, of the Lowerhouses area of Huddersfield, said last night she had found out about the Facebook message from other parents at the school.

“Faye absolutely loves school and she didn’t want to go in the next day because of what had happened.

“Faye’s a very confident little girl. She really enjoys school and she wouldn’t tell me why she didn’t want to go.

“I was so angry that the staff didn’t listen to her. School is supposed to be fun at that age.

“The following day four or five other parents told me about the message on Facebook. Apparently (it was) about how funny it was when Faye was crying under the thinking tree,” she said.

Ms McDonnell, who said she was “fuming” when she found out, spoke to the headteacher, who she says told her he was sorry the incident had happened.

Ms McDonnell, an unemployed single mother, said: “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing when I was told about it.”

Ms Judge is suspended and the message has been deleted from Facebook but Ms McDonnell has gathered 60 signatures for a petition demanding that she is not allowed to return to school.

She said: “If she goes back I will pull Faye out of the school. I don’t want my daughter being unhappy.”

Faye was recently diagnosed with bronchial tracheal laryngitis which severely affects her breathing, especially when she is doing exercise or if she gets upset and flustered.

Ms McDonnell said: “The school are well aware of her condition.

“I decided to take matters into my own hands and start a petition, because every time I asked the school what was happening, they simply told me it was out of their hands.”

A spokesman for Kirklees Council yesterday confirmed that teaching assistant Yasmine Judge had been suspended after a mother complained that she mocked her four-year-old daughter on Facebook.

The spokesman said: “A disciplinary process involving a teaching assistant is ongoing and we are unable to comment about this individual case.” The school and council were working to resolve the issue.