Primary teacher accused of spitting and scratching students who were ‘mucking up’

A primary student has denied calling his teacher names including Donald Trump before she allegedly spat on, pinched, grabbed and scratched students at a Sydney school, a court has heard.

A primary teacher accused of spitting, pinching, scratching and grabbing students as young as eight did it in her first few weeks in charge of a class where there was “mucking up”, a court has heard, with one of her alleged victims denying he once told her she looked like Donald Trump.

The 57-year-old has pleaded not guilty to six counts of common assault against four students in the composite 3/4 class she began teaching for term two at end of April in southwest Sydney.

One of her alleged victims — who claims he had his face spat on and his hand pinched — told police: “She spits on my face because she doesn’t like me … she just wants to spit on my face for no reason”.

The 57-year-old has pleaded not guilty to six counts of common assault against four students. Picture: Dylan Robinson

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“She called me an idiot …. And she calls us animals,” he said in a video played to court.

The boy said the public school teacher blew a whistle in his ear.

“She screams do this and do that,” he said.

The teacher, who cannot be named, also allegedly grabbed one girl on the wrist “really hard” and punched her in the shoulder twice between April 30 and mid-May.

The Yagoona woman also allegedly pushed and scratched the back of another primary student and grabbed the front of a fourth student’s shirt and pushed him against the wall, the court heard.

During cross examination the boy who claims he had his face spat on was asked if there was “a number of kids in the class who muck up?”

“Yes,” he responded.

“And do the kids in the class sometimes get into fights?” defence lawyer Ian Fraser asked.

“Yes,” he said.

A former student claimed in court that the woman called him an “idiot”. Picture: Dylan Robinson

Another student accused the teacher of pushing him in the back before scratching him. Picture: Dylan Robinson

The nine-year-old boy denied to Mr Fraser that he used to call the teacher names, including saying to her that she looked like Donald Trump.

He also denied saying” You’re not good, you’re not Muslim” and “Are you fasting? Because if you’re not you’re no good” and “My parents hate you”.

Mr Fraser put to the boy that when he told the teacher she had spat on him after the pair was talking, she initially denied it before saying to him “I’m sorry it must have been an accident”.

Another student who accuses the teacher of pushing him in the back before scratching it at the school told police: “I told her you scratched me on the back and she said it was an accident”.

“She screams loud and blows a whistle,” he also told them in a video played to court.

Under cross examination Mr Fraser said to the boy: “(The teacher) didn’t scratch you did she?”

“Yes she did,” he responded.

“She didn’t do that on purpose did she,” Mr Fraser asked.

“Yes she did.”

The court heard he got into a fight where other kids hit him with cushions the day of the alleged scratching incident.

Police were notified after the school received complaints about the teacher in May.

A NSW Department of Education spokesman issued a statement after the charges were laid saying: “(The department has) undertaken risk management and this person will not be teaching at schools pending the outcome of the matter”.

The three-day hearing before Magistrate Daniel Covington continues.