To report this? What would happen?

I've been a teacher for 20 years, no one has ever accused me of being a professional, it's highly, highly offensive. Don't tar us all with that brush please.

If a child heard, then a parent should report it. But I don’t think you should report it. It wasn’t great, but it seems only another adult heard it - you. Therefore, no harm done. I think at most you should speak to the colleague and tell her that you heard her swear, but that all.

I think you should mind your own business.
Just a thought though, there's been a few suggestions to check that she is OK. If it had been him swearing at her would you be checking that he was OK? Or would he be labelled an abuser?

"Every teacher I've ever met in every school has been foul mouthed as soon as there's no kids around."
Sorry but this is not my experience. If a teacher swore in his workplace something quite spectacular and out of the ordinary would have happened. All the more reason to communicate with the person. Now mind you, she might owe you excuses, but not explanations.

I'm wondering where you work that staff don't swear at each other like this when the kids aren't around. Every teacher I've ever met in every school has been foul mouthed as soon as there's no kids around.

Yes my ex husband was a fucking cunt, yes he was an abuser and yes i was at the end of tether but not once did i think it was ok to use language like that near any children and certainly never in my classroom. I can't you are making excuses for such behaviour . It is never right or acceptable for those words to be used in a school. The standards are falling dramatically in this country.

If either of them were supposed to be supervising kid and they weren't, that would be something to report.

Do not be that person OP. You don’t know what’s going on in her life and she’s obviously already upset so why would you want to compound it? I’m sure she already knows that it is unprofessional and completely inappropriate for her to be bringing her personal problems into work.

Horrified by all the nasty teachers who want to get a colleague in trouble rather than show compassion
So glad I don't work with you

Surely your first concern should be for a colleague who is having a hard time
Why the fuck would you want to make her life even harder by getting her into trouble ! You are a nasty person

Ask your colleague if she is ok and tell her you heard and you don't think kids heard , but THEY could report her
She needs support not more trouble at her door

Support your colleague it may be you next month who is having a bad day

Also we don't know that the swearer was a teacher anyway. Could be a TA, or a cleaner/site agent couple

I'm a teacher and I see no teacher bashing in the OP. Just a 'what the hell happened there and should I do anything?' post.

@ASighMadeOfStone there's the world of difference between swearing lightheartedly or in a shared mini rant with your colleagues over something in the staffroom, and having a blazing row with your spouse and calling them a fucking cunt, in a classroom, with children in the room next door. Surely you can see that.

In real life, yes.

Teacher.

We all swear at school. Out of earshot of the students.

The OP says the students "must have been in earshot" "would have been able to hear" and then "didn't hear" (twice) as it was the end of the day and the kids were all in the process of leaving the building.

The OP also says she doesn't know the colleague. And namechanged, or joined MN to make the post.

I'd say this is 99.99% a teacher bashing froth thread and 0.01% likely to have happened. Particularly as it happened some time ago and the OP only decided to think about "reporting" it late last night.

I am surprised so many posters are completely blasé about someone overhearing a spouse using abusive language.

Yes, it would be shocking for many of us.

I was shocked, horrified, don't know what to do.

How the hell would you deal with a serious incident or disclosure then?

If no one heard but you then don’t report, just have a word with one or both of them and explain what you heard. Probably be enough for it not to happen again.

Wouldn't your first option be to address them immediately to warn them of children close by?

Seriously, why on earth do you want to report her? Something really serious could be going on between them. You don't think the kids heard. Why are you unable to have a quiet word and say is everything OK, you heard raised voices?

😉

Your username in the context of this thread made me chuckle however should prob be cunt instead of bastard

That was an April's fool story right ? If not : The conversation was about sex. Spill the beans op. You were not shocked by 2 words.
The guy might be a real fucking cunt because he want his wife to make a scene in the workplace, ie get fired, because he is shagging in the workplace. Very simple solution to the problem.
The third option is they just had a crazy news and she is in shock and her husband is not the actual fucking cunt. You know nothing. You should confront her before you do anything.

No it's not a safeguarding issue. It's a professionalism issue. No child is going to come to harm from hearing a swear word . Have a word with yourself where do you work? Cloud cuckoo land?

I too have worked in safeguarding in schools for many years.

The OPs posts make it clear that the children were in earshot and would have heard if they'd been tuned in. You need to go back and read the posts.

If you read the NSPCC link it's a helpful laymans guide about what constitutes a low level concern. Breach of code of conduct is one of them. That is what's occurred here.

I'm sure an investigation wouldn't yield anything, bar a conversation between the line manager and the staff involved, but it definitely needs reporting.

If you think that professionals, who are employed by the school, swearing where children could hear is not a safeguarding issue, I suggest you discuss that with your manager, as you need some retraining.

He could be an abuser, she could be a nightmare… I don’t know these people so don’t know the story hence the reason I suggested the OP to operate with caution if it’s a one off.