The unnamed 29-year-old was working at a Catholic kindergarten in North Rhine-Westphalia, where she is suspected of abusing children both psychologically and physically, Die Welt daily said on Friday.

The mother of a pupil told the Bild newspaper that her son watched as his friend was force-fed vomit with a spoon. Others said that she would force her pupils to strip and stand, naked, in a corner of the classroom for an hour.

Yet parents were not told about the woman’s behaviour, nor the fact that she had been suspended. “We realise that that was a mistake,” said Father Christian Gröne, of the kindergarten. “But we were speechless, and overwhelmed by the horrible details,” he added.

“This woman will never set foot in another kindergarten,” he told Bild.

The children are said to be exhausted and terrified, and the Herne-based kindergarten is currently deciding how to proceed.

It has not been decided whether they should stay open and try to put the incident behind them, or whether the centre should shut. It is thought that a colleague reported her, but it is unclear how long staff were aware of what was going on.

The charges have not yet been confirmed and the case is currently be investigated.

The Local/jcw