“Your actions were deliberate and uncaring”
The carer was struck off by the SSSC
A West Lothian children’s worker has been struck off the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) register after she shouted and pulled a child’s hair.
Samantha Montgomery was working at a nursery in Livingston at the time of the “threatening and abusive” behaviour between June 1, 2022, and January 25, 2023.
Montgomery was found to have acted in a “threatening or abusive manner by repeatedly shouting, placing children and others in a state of fear and alarm and pulling a child by their hair”.
Following an investigation by the SSSC they ruled her actions “caused [her] colleagues and the children in [her] care emotional harm and placed the child whose hair [she] pulled at a very high risk of physical harm”.
The report states: “Your actions fall far below the standards of conduct expected of you as a social services worker and call into question your suitability to work in the social services profession.
“The behaviour resulting in your conviction is serious. Your actions were deliberate and uncaring and placed others at risk of emotional and physical harm.
“You have not provided any comments to the SSSC to explain or mitigate your behaviour, or to indicate regret or remorse. Your actions amount to a pattern of behaviour over several months and are indicative of significant values issues on your part.”
It went on to highlight that the actions and behaviour Montgomery displayed while employed at the nursery led them to believe there was a “real risk” of harm should these actions ever be repeated and that there “is a need to protect supported individuals and colleagues”.
The report continued: “The behaviour resulting in your conviction took place at your work in a nursery setting where you were trusted to provide a safe and nurturing environment for young children and where those children and your colleagues should have felt safe and been treated with respect.
“The conduct resulting in your conviction amounted to a pattern of unacceptable behaviour at your place of work. There was a high risk of physical and emotional harm to young children you were trusted to care for and to your colleagues.”
In her favour, the SSSC did highlight that Montgomery has not previously been found to have had her fitness to practice impaired but felt that removal from the register was still the most appropriate outcome.
The report added: “The SSSC considers a Removal Order is the most appropriate sanction as it is both necessary and justified in the public interest and to maintain the continuing trust and confidence in the social service profession and the SSSC as the regulator of the profession.”
