Teachers used swearing and poo emojis to criticise vulnerable primary school pupils in a WhatsApp group chat, BBC Scotland News can reveal.
The existence of the chat between staff at Aberdeenshire schools was first revealed last year but the affected pupils' parents were not informed.
The messages have now been obtained by the BBC and show derogatory exchanges about pupils and parents.
Aberdeenshire Council said nobody was put at risk from the messages.
The local authority has apologised for the situation and said the incident was dealt with through the council's disciplinary procedure.
An independent review last year ruled some of the messages were "disparaging" but did not put the children at harm and the council was right not to tell parents about them.
