“What a disgrace – discipline has broken down, teachers have broken down but this shameless government and its incompetent Education Directorate fein shock, surprise and denial, despite the ignored Education Union putting them on notice about Calwell High months and months ago,” writes “Seven Days” columnist IAN MEIKLE.  

“HOW big are your tits, Miss?” This is the only illustrative phrase I can decently share from the list of verbal abuse catalogued in the extensive dot points of hair-curling concern contained in the prohibition notice issued by Worksafe ACT in banning years 7 and 8 from attending classes at Calwell High School. The rest would make a sailor blush. 

Worksafe deemed the school, limping from months of duress due to covid staff shortages, unsafe and directed the students banned until risks to health and safety caused by staffing shortages were resolved.

What a disgrace – discipline has broken down, teachers have broken down (“A staff member [locked] themselves in a cupboard… crying uncontrollably due to work pressures”), but this shameless government and its incompetent Education Directorate feign shock, surprise and denial, despite the ignored Education Union putting them on notice about Calwell months and months ago. 

Worksafe inspectors reported that vandalism was “rampant” at the school, fires had been lit on school grounds, there was regular drug use, and tools and scissors were “counted out” at the end of classes to ensure none could be used as weapons.

Teachers told inspectors they were exhausted, with one describing the school “like a war zone”.

The prohibition notice issued to the school said teachers were regularly taking classes of more than 40 students due to a severe shortage of staff and covid absences, with one class of 75 students being supervised by one teacher and one learning-support officer.

Worse still, this revelation: “If teachers put in too many reports about occupational violence, the directorate uses its compassionate transfer option to ‘remove the noisy vessels’.” 

Where was the faceless Education Directorate then? Nowhere to be seen. Where was it last week? Crawling all over the school offering help and counselling and promising everything’ll be sorted by term 2. The hypocrisy of it!

The Worksafe move was unprecedented in relation to ACT public schools and, while no surprise to the Australian Education Union, was hailed as a “damning indictment” of the Education Directorate.

Branch secretary Patrick Judge wasn’t mincing words, saying it “starkly highlights their failure to provide a safe workplace for our members and a safe school for their students”.

This crisis hasn’t happened overnight. The AEU has been raising safety concerns “around the dire circumstances confronting staff and students at the Calwell site” since 2021.

All ignored by the all-powerful Education Directorate, with Worksafe inspectors also reporting an incident from last month where the principal – now on leave – was thrown across her desk as a male teacher’s shoulder was dislocated and several teeth broken while trying to prevent a student assailant from assaulting another student. 

“The Education Directorate has continually failed to recognise and act effectively to address serious, ongoing staff shortages, oversized classes and instances of occupational violence,” said Mr Judge. 

“The fact that it takes a staff member to be seriously injured and the intervention of an external regulator to provide a degree of safety for the staff and students at Calwell High School demonstrates a lack of care on the part of the Education Directorate.” 

Meanwhile, the ACT Opposition did what it should be doing and appropriately called on a no-confidence motion in Education Minister Yvette Berry in the Assembly.

“On this minister’s watch Calwell High School has become every teacher, every student and every parent’s worst nightmare,” fumed Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee.

“The Minister has had the Education portfolio for five years; five years of incompetence, five years of failures and five years of dangerous workplaces.”

She demanded her resignation. Like that was ever going to happen with Labor’s myopic Mick Gentleman lamely calling the Liberals’ move a stunt as a parade of government members dutifully stood to read adjectives from prepared notes hailing the virtues of the beleaguered Education Minister. Shame on them. They might as well have stood up and farted for all the difference it was going to make as the Labor and Greens compliantly voted the Opposition down. 

“I want to be very clear, violent incidents like this are very rare in ACT public schools and when they do occur, we treat them very seriously as we have done in this instance,” Ms Berry told the Assembly with a straight face.

And I want to be very clear that someone’s not telling the truth because Patrick Judge says otherwise: “Regrettably the situation at Calwell High School is not an isolated case. With the union receiving staff shortage SOS calls from school staff across Canberra on a daily basis we anticipate further interventions will and must occur.” 

And some opportunistic bleating from Greens MLA Johnathan Davis, who has clearly been spending too much time at the bottom of the garden.

“I’ve been incredibly disappointed to see some individuals try to drag the Calwell High School community through the mud to make a cheap political point,” he said, making a cheap political point. 

“Other members for Brindabella especially should be trying to lift up their school communities, not tear them down.

“Our schools must be safe, secular, equitable and accessible places of teaching and learning – not political footballs.”

Isn’t that what the Opposition is saying? Isn’t that what the union is saying? Isn’t that what the teachers are saying? Remind us, which way did you vote, Johnathan, in the no-confidence motion? 

Ian Meikle is the editor of “CityNews” and can be heard on the “CityNews Sunday Roast” news and interview program, 2CC, 9am-noon. There are more of his columns on citynews.com.au

‘Like a war zone’: students run amok at Calwell High