Places at the school cost the council up to £200,000 a year.
x-husband was suspicious when teenager sent a romantic birthday card.
It is thought Mrs Callaghan and the teenager are still in a relationship.
A mother of two has lost her job as a care worker after being accused of starting an affair with a troubled teenager.
Vicky Callaghan, 33, is believed to have been assigned the boy at a residential school where she worked to help tackle his ‘attachment issues’.
But she is understood to have been dismissed after allegedly beginning a secret relationship with the 16-year-old, who had been placed there by social workers.
The pair are still thought to be in a relationship, and Mrs Callaghan was last night being investigated by police over whether her behaviour constituted a criminal offence.
Meanwhile her ex-husband, Peter Callaghan, 46, has raised concerns about the impact that spending time with the ‘challenging’ teenager may have on the couple’s children – both aged under five – when they visit their mother.
Mrs Callaghan worked as a mental health practitioner giving one-to-one help to pupils at a school for children with behavioural difficulties.
Teenagers are referred to the school in Greater Manchester with places costing councils up to £200,000 a year per child.
The youth with whom Mrs Callaghan is accused of having a relationship is understood to have been sent to the school after concerns about his family home life.
The council involved in the decision is not in Greater Manchester.
A relative of Mr Callaghan said: ‘Suspicion was first raised last year when he [the teenager] bought her a blouse for her birthday and wrote “To Vicky, lots of love” in the card.’ He claimed the pair were later seen holding hands and Mrs Callaghan started acting like a love-struck teenager.
Mrs Callaghan is understood to have initially denied any relationship, sources have told the Daily Mail, only to be dismissed last summer for abusing her position following an investigation.
According to internal documents, she described what she’d done as ‘the biggest mistake of my life’.
In a letter about the case last November, a council director wrote: ‘It is clear Mrs Callaghan has shown very poor judgement and that she has abused her position of trust and should not be allowed to work with young people in the future.’
‘The biggest mistake of my life’
He went on to write that Mrs Callaghan had been ‘advised’ not to ‘promote contact’ between the teenager and her own children, but that ‘information would suggest that they are in fact having contact’.
Now her ex-husband is demanding the council steps in. ‘Given the sort of teenagers who go to that school, he’s horrified to think that one of them might be helping to look after his kids,’ a relative said.
Mrs Callaghan is now living in a rented two-bedroom house. Asked if she had any comment to make about the alleged relationship, she replied ‘No’ and shut the door.
The teenager – who is said to be doing well at college – arrived at the house a short time later.
The council which originally placed the teenager at the school would not comment.
Asked about Mrs Callaghan’s dismissal, a spokesman for the body which runs the school would only say: ‘That particular member of staff no longer works at the school.’
‘It is clear Mrs Callaghan has abused her position of trust'
Mrs Callaghan is also believed to have been referred to the Disclosure and Barring Service which has power to bar adults from working with children.
Police said they were going to look at whether Mrs Callaghan’s relationship with the teen constituted a criminal offence.
A spokesman said: ‘We have received a complaint alleging an inappropriate relationship between a staff member and a pupil at a school.
‘The force take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and will work with children’s services and other agencies to fully investigate these claims.’
x-husband was suspicious when teenager sent a romantic birthday card.
It is thought Mrs Callaghan and the teenager are still in a relationship.
 |
Under investigation: Vicky Callaghan, 33, is
being investigated by police after she allegedly conducted an affair
with a boy she had been asked to help as a care worker
|
Vicky Callaghan, 33, is believed to have been assigned the boy at a residential school where she worked to help tackle his ‘attachment issues’.
But she is understood to have been dismissed after allegedly beginning a secret relationship with the 16-year-old, who had been placed there by social workers.
The pair are still thought to be in a relationship, and Mrs Callaghan was last night being investigated by police over whether her behaviour constituted a criminal offence.
Meanwhile her ex-husband, Peter Callaghan, 46, has raised concerns about the impact that spending time with the ‘challenging’ teenager may have on the couple’s children – both aged under five – when they visit their mother.
Mrs Callaghan worked as a mental health practitioner giving one-to-one help to pupils at a school for children with behavioural difficulties.
Teenagers are referred to the school in Greater Manchester with places costing councils up to £200,000 a year per child.
The youth with whom Mrs Callaghan is accused of having a relationship is understood to have been sent to the school after concerns about his family home life.
The council involved in the decision is not in Greater Manchester.
A relative of Mr Callaghan said: ‘Suspicion was first raised last year when he [the teenager] bought her a blouse for her birthday and wrote “To Vicky, lots of love” in the card.’ He claimed the pair were later seen holding hands and Mrs Callaghan started acting like a love-struck teenager.
Mrs Callaghan is understood to have initially denied any relationship, sources have told the Daily Mail, only to be dismissed last summer for abusing her position following an investigation.
According to internal documents, she described what she’d done as ‘the biggest mistake of my life’.
In a letter about the case last November, a council director wrote: ‘It is clear Mrs Callaghan has shown very poor judgement and that she has abused her position of trust and should not be allowed to work with young people in the future.’
‘The biggest mistake of my life’
He went on to write that Mrs Callaghan had been ‘advised’ not to ‘promote contact’ between the teenager and her own children, but that ‘information would suggest that they are in fact having contact’.
Now her ex-husband is demanding the council steps in. ‘Given the sort of teenagers who go to that school, he’s horrified to think that one of them might be helping to look after his kids,’ a relative said.
Mrs Callaghan is now living in a rented two-bedroom house. Asked if she had any comment to make about the alleged relationship, she replied ‘No’ and shut the door.
The teenager – who is said to be doing well at college – arrived at the house a short time later.
The council which originally placed the teenager at the school would not comment.
Asked about Mrs Callaghan’s dismissal, a spokesman for the body which runs the school would only say: ‘That particular member of staff no longer works at the school.’
‘It is clear Mrs Callaghan has abused her position of trust'
Mrs Callaghan is also believed to have been referred to the Disclosure and Barring Service which has power to bar adults from working with children.
Police said they were going to look at whether Mrs Callaghan’s relationship with the teen constituted a criminal offence.
A spokesman said: ‘We have received a complaint alleging an inappropriate relationship between a staff member and a pupil at a school.
‘The force take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and will work with children’s services and other agencies to fully investigate these claims.’