ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry has defended her record on addressing school violence and ordered an investigation into the handling of a string of incidents at a Canberra public school, which had left at least one child in hospital.
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In November, the minister asked the Education Directorate to look into long-standing complaints about escalating violence at Theodore Primary, after about 30 parents sent her a petition calling for government intervention.
But, while officials met with the school the same month, the directorate confirmed on Wednesday it did not review incidents at the school until last week, following an approach by The Canberra Times.
A directorate spokeswoman said "all incidents at the school" had now been looked at and the government was supporting Theodore Primary to put further strategies in place to address behaviour issues.
Ms Berry said she had been assured policies were in place at the time of the incidents, which stretched back to 2017, but she was still awaiting the findings of the directorate's investigation as education officials ramped up supports for staff and students.
Facing down a barrage of questions from the Canberra Liberals in the ACT legislative assembly this week, Ms Berry said she had been talking to teachers about the support they needed to keep schools safe since her appointment as minister.
"I am the only minister in this country to take action on violence in schools," Ms Berry said, pointing to recent reforms on occupational violence designed to increase reporting amongst teachers.
"What I am concerned about is there doesn't appear to have been complete and thorough communication between [Theodore Primary] and the directorate and the families about what was actually being implemented."
When asked about claims some serious incidents at the school had not been logged as incident reports, a spokeswoman for the minister said Ms Berry had asked the directorate to look thoroughly to find out where the communication breakdown was and make sure it improves.
"The minister has asked the directorate to look closely at the experiences of the past year for ways to improve incident management ... [and] for assurance that the policy was adhered to appropriately and that incident reports are adequately scrutinised ," she said.
Supervision on the playground had since been stepped up at the school and structured activities during breaks, including new clubs, would kick off from next week.
The directorate did not answer questions on how many incidents were reviewed or if all reporting procedures had been followed.
While some families at the school agreed communication had been lacking - and sometimes entirely absent - on incidents, a number impacted by repeat violence stressed procedures put in place in response to assaults had also been broken at times.
In March last year, despite repeated assurances by both the school and the directorate that a safety plan was in place for a school camp, at least two children were still injured due to violence.
Shadow spokeswoman for education Elizabeth Lee said communication problems with parents did not explain the escalating levels of violence reported at the school and asked what was being done to support students who had been victims or witnesses of violence.
This week, some parents told The Canberra Times they were concerned directorate attention was focussing on teachers rather than an apparent lack of resources at the school they said had left some children unsupervised during breaks.
"The teachers are great, they need help," one parent, who did not wish to be named, said.
The directorate has stressed all schools are staffed and funded according to their level of need.
This week, Theodore Primary's principal wrote to parents to reassure them the school was "by and large, a safe, inclusive, and supporting place of learning" with processes in place to act swiftly and appropriately when incidents occur.
"I’ve heard the feedback from the community that the communication was not as clear or as frequent as you would have liked when these incidents have happened," she wrote.
Some parents reflected on great experiences at the school, which is well known for supporting students with complex needs, or said that violence had affected only one of their children.
But dozens have now contacted The Canberra Times with serious concerns about how violence has been handled at Theodore as well as other schools in the ACT in both the public and private sectors.
In 2017, government data showed there were 2031 student injury reports in ACT public schools, the equivalent of more than five a day, although a specific breakdown of what caused those injuries was only available at a school level.
Ms Lee slammed a lack of transparency over school data in the ACT, given the seriousness of assaults against students and teachers.
A directorate spokeswoman said schools were required to report any incident that resulted in serious harm or injury, put the safety of students, staff or visitors at significant risk, or posed a threat to property.
A new online administration system is being rolled out across public schools, which she said would help simplify and standardise reporting processes.
On Wednesday, the school hosted its first workshop on the positive behaviour model, a system-wide initiative it began implementing last year already in place in NSW and designed to reduce violence in schools.
Ms Berry said that while she had recieved complaints about the school in the past six months, she had wanted to get all the detail before responding.
With Daniel Burdon
Know more? Get in touch: sherryn.groch@canberratimes.com.au
