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Janice Golding CTV News Toronto’s Janice Golding speaks to the mother of a two-year-old boy who was allegedly abused by Montessori staff in Mississauga. <\/p>\nA mother is speaking out about alleged violence she says her son endured at a Mississauga Montessori school. <\/p>\n
A mother is speaking out after she says her young son was abused at his Montessori in Mississauga. <\/p>\n
Speaking on Wednesday, the mother, who CTV News is only identifying as Tanya to protect her children\u2019s identities, said the school, Western Heights Montessori Academy, called her to notify her about incidents involving her son.<\/p>\n
Janice Golding CTV News Toronto’s Janice Golding speaks to the mother of a two-year-old boy who was allegedly abused by Montessori staff in Mississauga. <\/p>\n
The school then posted a \u201cSerious Occurrence Notification\u201d in the hallway earlier this month, which detailed the allegations.<\/p>\n
The notice read that an Early Childhood Education (ECE) placement student reported \u201cpotential abuse\u201d to the head office administration on Jan. 30, 2026. <\/p>\n
\u201cA teacher was reported to hit a child during nap time under the blanket, deprived the same child of food and pulled the child\u2019s hair,\u201d the notice read. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe teacher was reported to have done similar actions towards the same child multiple times during the ECE placement student\u2019s time there, which is between Nov. 17 and Dec. 19, 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the notice, it stated that the school would be investigating the situation \u201casap\u201d by interviewing the teachers and gathering camera footage if it was available.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the investigation is taking place, the teacher in question will be asked to be on leave until the investigation results are back,\u201d it read. In addition to informing the parents, the school would also report the incident to the Children\u2019s Aid Society.<\/p>\n
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Serious Occurrence Notification A copy of the Serious Occurrence Notification detailing the allegations of abuse by a Montessori teacher. <\/p>\n
The alleged abuses, which occurred at the Montessori\u2019s Millcreek campus, have left the boy\u2019s mother shaken.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just couldn\u2019t believe it. I couldn\u2019t understand it,\u201d Tanya said. \u201cI had a hard time understanding \u2014 why? Why?\u201d<\/p>\n
When CTV News reached out to Peel Regional Police about whether they are investigating an assault at the school, they would only confirm that a 43-year-old \u201cMontessori-trained teacher in classroom,\u201d identified as Fouzia Omair from Mississauga, was arrested on Feb. 21 and charged with two counts of assault. <\/p>\n
Police did not disclose the allegations that led to the charges.<\/p>\n
Family sues Montessori, 4 staff<\/p>\n
Tanya shared that her son dreaded going to school after what allegedly happened. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just thought he was missing me, so we worked on it. We would sing songs on the days we\u2019d go to daycare, not knowing that there was probably something else there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The family has since launched a $2-million civil lawsuit against Western Heights Group and four early childhood educators, including Omair.<\/p>\n
In the statement of claim filed on Feb. 11, it is alleged that the boy was \u201csubjected to physical and emotional abuse while under the exclusive care, custody and control\u201d of the Montessori and staff between July 2025 and Jan. 2026.<\/p>\n
The alleged abuses by staff included slapping, which resulted in bruises, pulling of hair and denial of food, according to the statement of claim.<\/p>\n
It stated that the boy \u201csustained serious and permanent physical and psychological injuries,\u201d as a result of the alleged abuse. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was so sorry that this happened to him. He probably was really scared,\u201d the boy\u2019s mom said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the middle of the night, he wakes up multiple times, he mentions this teacher\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Western Heights <\/p>\n
Tanya said she now blames herself for what her son went through, especially since he was just two years old at the time and wouldn\u2019t be able to tell her if anything else happened.<\/p>\n
Also included in the lawsuit is the alleged 2023 incident in which Tanya\u2019s daughter was locked alone in a classroom at the same school for an extended period of time. The claim stated the girl, who was three years old at the time, \u201csustained serious and permanent psychological injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tanya said the Children\u2019s Aid Society got involved in that case and determined that the incident was a mistake and not intentional. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about the money,\u201d Tanya said about the lawsuit. \u201cThe pain that we\u2019re going through every day, the pain of my child\u2014how can I erase that?\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the statement of claim, the two children sustained bruising, loss of hair, malnutrition, anxiety, panic attacks, sleep disturbances emotional distress and fear of attending school.<\/p>\n
The claim also stated that the children\u2019s \u201cenjoyment of life have been diminished and their ability to engage in normal childhood, social and recreational activities have been impaired, both presently and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family is seeking $350,000 in general damages and $1,650,000 in special damages.<\/p>\n
None of the allegations have been proven in court.<\/p>\n
According to the family\u2019s lawyer, Christine Boulos, of Ristich Law, no statement of defence has been filed to date.<\/p>\n
Montessori responds<\/p>\n
For its part, Western Heights Montessori Academy said that, given the ongoing legal matter, it is limited in what it can say. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe safety and well-being of the children in our care is our highest priority. We take any concerns involving student safety extremely seriously. When concerns were brought forward, the school promptly notified the appropriate authorities in accordance with its legal obligations and is cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation,\u201d it said in a statement provided to CTV News Toronto. <\/p>\n
The school added that it remains committed to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment for all students.<\/p>\n
Since the lawsuit was filed, the family said they\u2019ve heard from other parents about more allegations. They are urging any affected parents to reach out.<\/p>\n
Tanya has since moved her son, who is now three years old, to another daycare. <\/p>\n
After the ordeal her son went through, Tanya said she now sits outside the new daycare for hours to ensure her son is okay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mother is speaking out about alleged violence she says her son endured at a Mississauga Montessori school.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194297],"tags":[712,49,48,55405],"class_list":{"0":"post-499754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mississauga","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-mississauga"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}