A nursery teacher has resigned after posting pictures of her son dressed as a paramilitary soldier on her public Twitter page.
Catherine Forrest uploaded snaps of the boy in camouflage clothes, gloves and a balaclava, clutching a toy gun. One picture of him with the plastic Armalite-style weapon was captioned “My wee Volunteer”.
In another pic, which showed the child with an adult male also wearing a balaclava, the lad was pointing the gun at the camera. Forrest captioned that picture with crying face laughing emojis. The images were uploaded to Twitter on Sunday.
At the time she posted the pictures, Forrest was on a placement at the nursery which is part of Our Lady and St Joseph’s Primary School in Glenboig, Lanarkshire. The mum, who is doing an HNC to become an early years practitioner, has since resigned from the role but the pictures remain on her profile.
A post on the school’s Twitter page last month welcomed her to the nursery. It read: “We would like to welcome Mrs Forrest to our nursery family. Mrs Forrest is currently studying her HNC and will be attending her placement after this week on a Thursday and Friday. Welcome to the team Mrs Forrest #dreamteam.”
She replied: “Thanks, I’m loving it. Kids and staff are all brilliant.” But she quit after the pictures were brought to the attention of bosses.
A source said: “The photos have rightly caused outrage and complaints were made. It really is a staggering lack of common sense.
“Taking pictures like this is one thing. Sharing them privately with friends or family you know are like-minded is another.
“But to post them on a public social media account, which you’ve been using to interact with the official page of the nursery where you’re on a placement, is insane.”
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “Mrs Forrest no longer works for North Lanarkshire Council.”
Forrest did not respond to a request for a comment.
As a student, she was not registered with the Scottish Social Services Council, which regulates early years practitioners. The General Teaching Council for Scotland, which regulates teachers, was asked for comment.
Scottish Conservative community safety spokesman Russell Findlay said: “For any parent to dress their child up as a terrorist is abhorrent, let alone someone who works with children.
“The IRA indiscriminately murdered many innocent people, including children, during their long campaign of terror.”
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