Robert O’Donnell

Introduction

Robert O’Donnell is a former children’s worker from East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, who was removed from the professional register of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) after assaulting a vulnerable girl who had been in his care. The case moved through two separate processes: a criminal conviction at Glasgow Sheriff Court in July 2025 for the assault itself, followed by a regulatory ruling by the SSSC, published on 8 July 2026, which struck him off the register of children’s workers. The council’s ruling described his actions as “fundamentally incompatible” with continuing to work with children, and found that he had shown no insight or remorse for what he had done. Unlike disputes that hinge on contested allegations, this case rests on two adjudicated outcomes — a criminal conviction and a regulator’s removal order — both of which stand on the public record.

Background Information

What is publicly known about O’Donnell comes almost entirely from the reporting of his criminal case and the SSSC proceedings that followed. He worked in children’s services in East Dunbartonshire, a council area to the north of Glasgow, and held a supervisory position at his workplace. That role placed him in a position of direct authority over vulnerable children and carried the trust that families and employers place in registered care professionals. The BBC’s report of the case does not name his employer, the specific service in which he worked, or give details of his age, background, or length of service; those details have not been made public. What the record does establish is that his registration with the SSSC — the body responsible for regulating the social service workforce in Scotland and for maintaining standards across the profession — was the credential that allowed him to hold his post, and that same registration is what his assault conviction ultimately cost him.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

The incident at the centre of the case took place on 18 October 2023, while the girl was in O’Donnell’s care. According to the findings against him, he pushed the girl, seized her and threw her to the ground, causing her to be injured. He was also found to have behaved in a threatening and abusive manner toward her by shouting, swearing and threatening her with violence during the same incident.

Adjudicated. The conduct in this section was established by a criminal conviction in court, and the striking-off order is a documented regulatory decision.

O’Donnell was prosecuted at Glasgow Sheriff Court, and in July 2025 he was convicted of the assault. The conviction covered both the physical attack — pushing, seizing and throwing the girl to the ground — and the threatening and abusive behaviour that accompanied it. Following the conviction, the matter passed to the SSSC, which conducted its own regulatory assessment of whether he could remain on the register. The regulator found that the girl had been placed at risk of both emotional and physical harm by his actions, and that he had breached the trust placed in him to care for vulnerable individuals. The SSSC also noted that the girl’s behaviour at the time was not out of the ordinary, and that because such behaviour could recur, O’Donnell could face similar situations again in the future.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The most significant consequence came from the regulator rather than the criminal court. In its ruling, published on 8 July 2026, the SSSC concluded that O’Donnell’s actions were “fundamentally incompatible” with continuing as a children’s worker and struck him off the register. The council’s report was unsparing in its assessment of his conduct: “Behaviour of this nature is abusive and harmful and raises significant concerns about your underlying values and is fundamentally incompatible with continued professional registration.”

A central factor in the outcome was O’Donnell’s own response to the proceedings. The SSSC found that he did not accept that he had assaulted the girl, and that he had provided no comments to the regulator during its investigation — a stance it treated as showing no signs of any insight or remorse into his behaviour. The council also considered what was at stake for the profession more broadly. Although 18 October 2023 was an isolated incident in his record, it reasoned that a failure to act would damage confidence in the wider workforce: “Failure to take action in this case would undermine public confidence and trust in the wider profession. It would also undermine the integrity of the SSSC’s register.” The report added that “a firm declaration is required in this case to reaffirm expected professional standards.”

Current Status

O’Donnell is struck off the SSSC register of children’s workers. The striking-off order took effect on 4 July 2026, with the SSSC’s ruling published on 8 July 2026. Removal from the register means he is barred from working in the registered children’s services role he previously held, and a removal order of this kind generally prevents a person from seeking registration in the same part of the social service workforce in Scotland, since the regulator has determined the person unfit to hold registered practice. The criminal conviction recorded against him at Glasgow Sheriff Court in July 2025 remains in place. Beyond the terms of the order and the conviction, the BBC’s report does not record any appeal, further court proceedings, or public statement from O’Donnell, and no comment from him has been published.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The combined effect of the conviction and the strike-off ends O’Donnell’s career in children’s services. A supervisory role in the sector depended on SSSC registration, and that registration has been permanently withdrawn after the regulator concluded that his underlying values were incompatible with professional practice. The SSSC’s reasoning left little room for a return: it identified no mitigation in his response to the process, because he neither accepted the assault nor engaged with the regulator, and it judged that his conduct — abusive and harmful, in its words — placed a vulnerable child at risk of emotional and physical harm. The case also carries consequences beyond his own employment. Removal orders exist in part to signal standards across the workforce, and the SSSC framed its decision explicitly as a declaration intended to reaffirm what is expected of registered workers. For O’Donnell personally, the record now shows a criminal conviction for assaulting a child in his care and a regulator’s finding that he showed no insight or remorse — a combination that forecloses registered care work and stands as the defining fact of his professional life.