IT’S SNORT FUNNY
Pupil assistant ‘axed’ for criticising teachers who mocked up elf taking cocaine in SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL
COUNCIL bosses are probing an Elf on the Shelf prank at a special needs school which saw teachers mock up Santa’s helpers snorting cocaine. Photos of the toy elves with straws up their noses and lines of pretend cocaine were posted on a staff WhatsApp group. The images showed the elves surrounded by beer cans and cigarette packets on desks at Braidburn School in Edinburgh. But the gag blew up after a pupil support assistant at the school complained that the pictures were “disgusting”. Robert Sinclair, who reported the festive spoof to the council’s wh i s t l e b l o w e r hotline, said his job was terminated as a result. The 40-year-old said senior staff at the primary school in the city’s Oxgangs area tried to laugh it off as a “joke”. And now Robert, who has a close relative who has battled cocaine addiction for many years, said his contract isn’t being renewed after he refused to back down. Elf on the Shelf usually sees parents putting the toy around their home, often up to mischief, for children to find.
Braidburn School, run by City of Edinburgh Council, accepts youngsters who have a range of issues, including autism and severe disabilities.
Dad-of-two Robert said he was in a WhatsApp group with six other staff members where they typically shared teaching strategies. He claimed a couple of the teachers posted the photos last Thursday.
He added: “Some people might think it’s not that serious, but this is happening on school grounds.
“Some pupils might have problems which come from their parents’ abuse of drugs. There’s a drug pandemic in Scotland. What’s their mindset to be doing this in school?”
Robert, who had worked at the school for three months through an agency, said the photos were deleted after he voiced objections and he was removed from the group chat.
He reported the matter to the council hotline on Saturday and was asked to attend a meeting at the school on Monday.
Robert said: “It was with the headteacher and two deputy headteachers. One proceeded to tell me it was a joke and adults are allowed to have jokes between them.
“I was told to go home because it was going to cause too much tension.”
Robert, from Kirknewton, West Lothian, who sold his electrical engineering firm 18 months ago to pursue his dream of becoming a special needs teacher, said he was previously offered a new contract running from January 5 until May but that had been “withdrawn”. He said he also received a call inviting him to mediation.
Robert added: “The school is absolutely brilliant and I love the kids. But if I see something that’s wrong, I’ll say something.”
A council spokeswoman said: “We take allegations of inappropriate behaviour by teachers and school staff extremely seriously and are investigating this matter.”