Teaching assistant reduces four year-old to tears then mocks her on Facebook

Parents have started a petition demanding that Yasmine Judge should not be allowed back to the school after she said she found it "funny" when little Faye McDonnell burst into tears.

Louise McDonnell, 24, said her daughter came home upset from Lowerhouses CE Junior and Infant School in Huddersfield, on February 10 after being punished. But she became furious the next day after learning claims Ms Judge, 20, had issued her online jibe against a crying infant.

Ms McDonnell, whose daughter suffers from 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 Lowerhouses, said she found out about the Facebook message from other parents. She said: "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 she wrote about how funny it was when Faye was crying under the thinking tree."

Ms McDonnell, who said she was "fuming" when she found out, spoke to head Paul Scrimshaw.

Ms Judge is suspended and the message has been deleted from Facebook. But Louise has gathered 60 signatures for a petition demanding that she isn't allowed to return to school.

She said: "Mr Scrimshaw said if she does come back it will be with older children. But Faye would still see her in the playground.

"If she goes back I will pull Faye out of the school. I don't want my daughter being unhappy."

A spokesman for Kirklees Council said: "A disciplinary process involving a teaching assistant is ongoing and we are unable to comment about this individual case.

"However, the school and the council are working together to resolve this issue."