Black educating assistant known as Miss Moody wins race discrimination case after pupils and employees stated they had been terrified of her as a result of she had an ‘offended face’

A teaching assistant called Miss Moody has won a race discrimination case after pupils and staff said they were scared of her because she had an ‘angry face’.

Sandra Moody, who is black, was accused by students and staff of having a ‘harsh’ tone and being ‘aggressive’ towards the children before she was fired, a tribunal heard.

Miss Moody was told that she was intimidating because she ‘towered’ over the pupils and needed to get down to their level – even though she is only 5ft 3ins.

She claimed that the staff were racially stereotyping her as an ‘aggressive, intimidating, angry black woman’.

In one email to her headteacher, Miss Moody said the treatment she received was ‘racist’. She claimed that while white members of staff had allegations ‘brushed under the carpet’, there was a ‘rigour and enthusiasm’ to deal with allegations towards herself.

She is now in line for compensation after successfully suing the London Borough of Southwark for race discrimination and harassment, as well as unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal held in South London.

Miss Moody started working as a teaching assistant at Dog Kennel Hill Primary School, London, in November 2013.

She was promoted to a higher-level teaching assistant in September 2019 and held that post until her dismissal in February 2023.

The school, which has since changed name, in East Dulwich, South London

During the time working at the school, Miss Moody had multiple complaints from pupils and staff about her attitude.

Parents complained to the school that their children thought she had ‘shouted’ at them and she had been ‘intimidating’.

These complaints meant that Miss Moody was investigated for her conduct several times.

The tribunal accepted Miss Moody’s claim that she had been accused of behaving in a hostile manner at a meeting, and wasn’t given an opportunity to provide her account.

Following a ‘guidance review meeting’ in October 2018, Taz Taper, who was the union representative accompanying Miss Moody in the meeting, said in an email to the headteacher, Galiema Amien-Cloete, that behaviour towards the teaching assistant ‘could be construed as inappropriate, bullying, harassment, and unfair and unreasonable.’

After a complaint in March 2021 from a parent, an investigation into Miss Moody’s conduct was undertaken.

The investigation conducted 18 interviews with pupils at the school, and they were asked how they felt about Miss Moody.

The children had a range of responses from her ‘being fun’ to being a ‘little scared’ and ‘very scared’, mostly in reference to instances of poor behaviour where the teaching assistant needed to step in.

Miss Moody updated her 2020/21 Appraisal Action Plan, stating: ‘I do not agree with these discriminatory stereotypical views of me as a black woman, painting me as the ‘aggressive, intimidating, angry black woman’ trope.

“For example, I allegedly need to be more mindful of not ‘towering over children’ (I’m 5’3 and there are members of staff a lot taller than me, yet I alone, it seems, allegedly ‘towering over children’).

“I do not know who made the allegation, and my side of the story was never asked.”

In March 2022, after further complaints about her demeanour and her ‘angry face’, Miss Moody was placed on alternative duties.

She sent an email complaining about the ‘racial bias undertones, the discrimination, and the oppression’ that was being aimed at her.

She said: “I am being harassed and bullied to get me to leave my employment or to be fired.”

This started a formal disciplinary investigation, where she was investigated about the safety and well-being of children, safeguarding, and whether there was a breakdown in trust from the school.

The investigation said: “The school feels that despite the support put in place, you have not changed your behaviour towards children, which is evidenced by the ongoing concerns raised by them and all their parents.’

The investigating officer, appointed by the local authority, added that Miss Moody had been accused of ‘failing to acknowledge how your behaviour is affecting the children.’

Following the investigation, Miss Moody was dismissed with two months’ notice because a substantive relationship with the school was not possible.

Employment Judge Patricia Tueje ruled the dismissal was unfair, and she had experienced race discrimination and harassment.

Miss Moody also made a claim that she had experienced victimisation, but this was unsuccessful.

Judge Tueje said: “In my view, the complaints made against Miss Moody reinforced Ms Amien-Cloete’s own view of her, which I find was based on negative racial stereotyping.

“She perceived her to be angry, she failed to consider her supposedly ‘angry face’ was simply her resting face.’

The judge added that there were ‘numerous and serious deficiencies and procedural irregularities during the disciplinary process, and particularly during the investigation’.

A remedy hearing will be held to establish the amount of compensation Miss Moody has won.