A white school worker has been suspended after a video emerged of her allegedly using a racist slur while talking with a black student.
The video clip shows a member of the support team at Wilmington Academy in Dartford, Kent, using the N-word at least twice as she repeatedly asked the student why the derogatory term was offensive.
She also asked the horrified student to explain why she was not allowed to use it.
The clip has sparked outrage on social media after it was posted to Snapchat and then reshared on Twitter.
The staff member is not identified in the clip a her face is cropped out of the video.
She says to the student: “Hang on, am I not allowed to use the word n****r?”
The shocked student replies: “What?”
The worker then repeats herself as the black student and what sounds like another woman reply: “No.”
She then is heard to ask: “Why not?”
To which the black student replies: “Because it’s a disrespectful word to black people.”
The same woman is filmed in a second clip repeating the offensive term again.
She is claimed to have saidd: “In the slave time, the slave trade, it’s where that word came from yeah.
“Ne**o, n****r, right?”
The video is captioned: "[my] Old school is tapped, the school is backwards I swear, welcome to Wilmington."
Wilmington Academy released a statement saying the staff member has been suspended and an investigation launched.
It reads: "Yesterday evening we were made aware of a video circulating on social media that appears to show a member of our support staff at Wilmington Academy using a racially derogatory term during a discussion with a student.
"The member of staff involved has now been suspended pending a full formal investigation into the incident.
"The student in the video will receive any necessary support they require from senior leaders and specialist trained staff.
"Wilmington Academy and Leigh Academies Trust does not tolerate the use of any racially derogatory language by staff or students and treats any such breach extremely seriously.
"As a Trust we serve a diverse community that expects us to uphold the highest standards of equality and inclusion and as such we will be taking proactive steps to prevent any incidents like this occurring in the future."
Furious social media users have expressed their disgust at the racist language filmed in the clip.
One person tweeted: The "teacher" at #WilmingtonAcademy Kent needs to be held accountable. How are such ignorant people supposed to be teaching our youth on academic subject, manners or values?"
A second commented: "This really is unacceptable behaviour. That it comes from a teacher makes it even more abhorrent. This is imo a sackable offence."
"When the teacher needs to be educated. I'm so glad the student recorded her or she would have denied using racist language," a third commented.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson visited Wilmington Academy in March where he praised the school’s efforts in setting up Covid-19 testing for staff and students.
