Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Aberdeen nursery worker who stalked ex’s mum issued warning from SSSC

Emma Johnston, former Hazelhead nursery worker, has been issued a warning from the SSSC for "bringing the reputation of the profession into disrepute".
Emma Johnston, former Hazelhead nursery worker, has been issued a warning from the SSSC for "bringing the reputation of the profession into disrepute".

A nursery worker who stalked a woman and told funeral directors she had died has been given a warning by her professional watchdog.

Emma Johnston caused fear and alarm to two women for more than a year between February 2020 and March 2021.

While employed at Hazlehead Primary School Nursery in Aberdeen, Johnston contacted funeral and crematorium services pretending one of the victims had died.

The woman, aged 71, suffered from leukaemia and was shocked to receive calls and letters from funeral directors informing her of her apparent death.

She also made false claims to the police alleging domestic abuse and benefit fraud.

The 50-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of causing fear or alarm by stalking at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in July last year and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Now the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has considered her case.

At the time of the offences, Johnston was working as a senior early years practitioner at Hazlehead Primary School in Aberdeen.

‘Disregard for wellbeing of others’

Although she never put anyone within the school at risk, the SSSC said her convictions “reflected badly on the profession” and concluded her fitness to practise has been impaired.

The determination states: “Social service workers are expected not to behave, while inside or outside of work, in a way which would bring their suitability to work in social services into question.

“Your behaviour showed a disregard for the wellbeing of others, for the law and for the time and resources of the organisations that you contacted under false pretences.”

The SSSC said they did not believe she is likely to repeat her offences and does not present an ongoing risk to the public.

Her cooperation throughout the investigation and the fact no concerns have been raised in her new employment, within the sector, were also highlighted as factors in her favour.

However, her lack of focus on the impact of her actions on the victims and the reputation of the profession contributed to the council’s final decision.

Johnston has been issued a warning on her registration for three years, which the SSSC believes “adequality marks” her behaviour as unacceptable.

An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said: “Ms Johnston is no longer employed by ACC. We would not comment on individual cases, and nor would we comment on a decision taken by an external body.”