Minister told about violence concerns at ACT school almost a year ago

The minister responded to at least two separate parent complaints sent in late February and July 2018 about the management of violence at the school before she was contacted by a group of families in November demanding government intervention.

Last week, after The Canberra Times reported on concerns about an apparent lack of action over escalating violence at Theodore, Ms Berry defended her record on school safety, saying when she received a petition from parents in November she asked the directorate to look into the school.

She said she had since asked for a thorough investigation into how incidents had been handled and where communication broke down between the school, the directorate and families.

The directorate, which knew about incidents at the school since at least February last year, met with the school in November but confirmed it did not begin reviewing specific incidents until the first week of school this month. It did not answer questions on the outcome of those reviews but said extra supports had been ramped up at the school this year for students and staff.

A second deputy principal role, focussing on student wellbeing and engagement, was also being established, a spokesman said.

In early April 2018, Ms Berry responded to a parent complaint sent to her office in February via federal MP Gai Brodtmann. Despite safeguards put in place for a school camp in the first weeks of term one by both Theodore Primary and the directorate, two children were still injured due to violence.

Ms Berry advised one parent involved to get back in touch with the school as "a great avenue for you to share your feedback", referencing the initial safety meeting before camp with the directorate.

"I hope this [meeting] has helped and that you feel they have listened to and acted on your concerns," she wrote.

Ms Berry's office did not answer questions before deadline on when she first learnt of concerns about serious violence at Theodore School, which had left at least two children in hospital in the past year.

On Wednesday, opposition spokeswoman for education Elizabeth Lee will move a motion calling for an independent audit of violence in ACT schools, citing a lack of data kept by the directorate on incidents and responses.

Kartika Medcraft said she had put all her children through Theodore Primary, largely without incident, but had spent the past 18 months raising concerns about her youngest boy's safety without seeing anything improve.

Her son had been repeatedly punched and kicked in the face, head and stomach, often while attempting to defend other students from violence, she said.

"The amount of times I took him into the walk-in clinic at the hospital with a suspected concussion or even possible broken fingers, he'd just be covered in bruises all the time," Ms Medcraft said.

"He's not a wuss either, we're used to scraps and things happening on the playground, this is different."

While Ms Berry told the assembly families involved in violence reported by The Canberra Times were being supported, those who spoke to the paper said they had yet to be contacted about incidents.

Many also expressed frustration that a parent meeting held by the school and the directorate last week did not offer any new information on what was being done at Theodore to improve responses to violence.

The school said supervision on the playground had been stepped up and structured activities during breaks, including new clubs, introduced from this week.

All parents praised the teachers at the school, with a number reflecting on positive experiences at Theodore, but some raised concerns about resourcing and supervision.

Dozens of families have since contacted The Canberra Times to sound the alarm on how violence is handled at Theodore and other schools in the ACT, across both the public and private sectors.

Know more? Get in touch: sherryn.groch@canberratimes.com.au