An outraged parent has spoken out and demanded justice after school staff made insensitive comments about her young daughter’s disability.
The incident takes place in Kettering, England, where three staff members of St Andrew’s CofE Primary School have come under fire after accidentally livestreaming their chat about a 6-year-old student with a disability.
As 34-year-old Becky Wardiell has since revealed, her daughter, Willow Musgrave, wears a life-saving tracheostomy that helps her breathe in her throat.
Though the little girl clearly needs the device to breathe, this didn’t stop two St Andrew’s CofE Primary School teachers and one teacher’s assistant from mocking the child’s condition and her tracheostomy.
The disturbing conversation between the teachers went viral after they accidentally began recording and live-streaming themselves on Facebook.
While the staff thought no one could hear them, over 12,000 people viewed their footage before they realized what’s going on.
“The mask change for Willow. The mask fitting, it’s awful,” one teacher said after they began discussing their obligation to provide kids with medical support.
The conversation quickly shifted to Willow’s condition, whereas one staff member said: “It makes me feel queasy. I couldn’t do it. I’m not a nurse. Even just to get close to her it does my head in.”
Another then chipped in by saying: “I don’t like even looking at it.”
Close to the end of the recording, the three staff members could be heard laughing before one of them said they “didn’t come into this to be changing tracheostomies.”
After the upsetting recording went viral, Willow’s mom, Becky, has taken legal action in an attempt to get justice for her little daughter.
“Willow can’t defend herself. It’s not her fault she has a tracheostomy. It’s a life or death situation for her,” Ms. Wardiell said after the incident.
“The school drums different values of the week into our children. But then they have teaching staff who speak like that about a child with a disability, what values does that show?
“My friend saw it on Facebook and was so outraged she sent me the link. I was so shocked and angry. I think I had every emotion going.”
Following the leaked footage, a spokesperson for the Peterborough Diocese Academy Trust, the trust that oversees the operation of St Andrew’s CofE Primary School, reassured the public that every child whom they are able to support is welcome at their schools.
“Every child who we are able to support from an educational, health and wellbeing perspective is very welcome in our community – irrespective of any challenges they may be facing,” the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by MailOnline.
“Clearly there are elements of this conversation that should not have taken place, and the fact that the discussion was accidentally shared to a wider audience is also deeply regrettable.
“We have apologized to the family concerned, and we will we be addressing this in greater depth with the staff members concerned. We will also look at what additional training we can provide to help address any barriers about meeting the medical needs of our pupils.”
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