A support worker who sent inappropriate messages to children on Snapchat and found herself in the dock for buying a vape for a 12-year-old has been struck off.
Gillian Sorbie has been reprimanded by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) for using “abusive and threatening” language when messaging a 12-year-old girl and for offering to buy nicotine vapes for another schoolgirl and her friends.
Sorbie’s bad behaviour occurred while employed as a pupil support officer with Fife Council at a Glenrothes primary school and while registered as a support worker in a children’s day care service
Between 7 and 9 March 2023, she sent a raft of Snapchat messages to a 12-year-old girl.
Many were littered with swear words, with other messages saying “love you too, s**gbag”, “just you wait till tomorrow, stupid fat wh**e”, and “try not to kill yourself while I’m gone”.
Between 1 September and 2 October 2023, she then sent messages to a second 12-year-old girl.
Sorbie offered to buy a vape for the child, asking: “Any particular type or flavour you want?”
She also offered to buy vapes for the girl’s friends, and in one message sent an image of the electronic devices with the caption: “Vapes £13 each or two for £20. 4,000 puffs each. Amazing value. DM me if you want any.”
During one handover, Sorbie advised the girl to give the money to one person, who would then jump in her car for the delivery and “dish them out” after she was gone.
Sorbie said it would have to “be subtle”, adding: “Got to be kept quiet, though. I can’t have folk (people) knowing I’m selling vapes to 11-year-olds lol.”
She later messaged: “I trust you gals not to rat me out.”
Sorbie, however, later found herself in the dock and was last September convicted at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court of selling a nicotine vape to a 12-year-old.
Ruling Sorbie’s fitness to practise impaired, the SSSC has this month issued a removal order to strike her name from the watchdog’s children and young people’s workforce register – which effectively bans her from working in the industry.
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The SSSC said Sorbie provided two former pupils of the primary school where you worked with her contact details and then “repeatedly contacted them both on a social media messaging application”.
It said her actions were “further aggravated” by the “abusive” content of the messages.
“You offered to sell nicotine vape devices to a child. This is an abuse of the trust placed in you by your employer and the parents of the children you were entrusted to care for,” it added.
The watchdog said Sorbie’s misconduct “risked damaging the mental and emotional health” of the girls, adding: “Your actions also risked causing a child physical and emotional harm as that child could become addicted to nicotine.”
The SSSC said Sorbie attempted to delete messages as a parent of one of the children was trying to save them in an “attempt to conceal” her wrongdoing.
The watchdog said Sorbie had offered “no insight or apology” for her behaviour, and her engagement with its investigation had been “limited”.
The SSSC added: “We did not consider there were any factors in your favour.”
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In conclusion, the watchdog said a removal order was the “most appropriate sanction” to maintain the “continuing trust and confidence in the social service profession and the SSSC as the regulator of the profession”.
The removal order came into effect on Saturday.
Fife Council confirmed Sorbie no longer works for the local authority.
Sharon McKenzie, head of HR at Fife Council, said: “As a responsible employer, we don’t discuss the individual circumstances of any current or former employees.”
