An investigation is underway after a prank at a special needs school saw some teachers mock up an Elf on the Shelf snorting a line of cocaine.
Thankfully, it's not real cocaine, but it's not the most well-advised prank to be pulling at your place of work.
Photographs were shared to a staff WhatsApp group, showing Santa's helpers with straws up their noses and a line of pretend drugs on the table, as well as elves surrounded by beer cans and fag packets on desks at Braidburn School in Edinburgh.
The investigation by the council was launched after a pupil support assistant described the misguided joke as 'disgusting'.
Robert Sinclair claims he was terminated from his role after reporting the Christmas prank to the council's whistleblowing hotline.
The 40-year-old says the school's senior staff tried to laugh the whole thing off, but Robert now claims the school isn't renewing his contract because of the fuss that's been created.
This is an issue close to his heart, having witnessed a relative struggling with cocaine addiction in the past.
He told The Daily Record: "Some people might think it's not that serious, but this is happening on school grounds.
"Some pupils might have problems which come from their parents' abuse of drugs. There's a drug pandemic in Scotland. What's their mindset to be doing this in school?"
Robert says he was removed from the WhatsApp group after he spoke out, then was asked to attend a meeting at the school after he reported the incident to the whistleblowers' hotline.
"It was with the headteacher and two deputy headteachers," he said. "One proceeded to tell me it was a joke and adults are allowed to have jokes between them.
"I was told to go home because it was going to cause too much tension."
He claims that he'd already been offered a contract from 5 January, which would help him on his way to becoming a special needs teacher, but that has since been 'withdrawn'.
Robert has also received a phone call inviting him to mediation.
West Lothian born Robert sold up his electrical engineering firm 18 months ago to pursue his dream, but now it looks as if he'll have to continue to pursue that cause somewhere else.
He added: "The school is absolutely brilliant and I love the kids. But if I see something that's wrong, I'll say something."
A spokesperson for the council said: "We take allegations of inappropriate behaviour by teachers and school staff extremely seriously and are investigating this matter."
Featured Image Credit: MirrorpixTopics: Christmas, UK News, Weird, Scotland