Current and former staff of a Victorian high school say they feel unsupported as they face abuse, stalking and feelings of dread in their roles.
Staff crying in their cars and having to psych themselves up before entering classrooms.Students bringing makeshift weapons into classrooms and hurling racist and sexist abuse at teachers.
Each of the staff members spoke to the ABC on the condition of anonymity as they had been warned by the school or the education department not to talk to the media. It is alleged two male students broke into the classroom of a Caucasian male teacher, "threw his stuff all around everywhere and wrote that he was a n***a on the whiteboard".
"Doesn't matter what they did, they could be like running around and jumping out of windows, calling you c**t, all kinds of vulgar things," they said.The ABC understands every classroom at Warrnambool College has a phone which is used to call assistant principals for help. Another teacher said they had to "psych themself up" in their car each morning just to enter the school grounds.
"If you work at McDonald's, you've got greater safety around you and protection ... there's signs that say we don't tolerate abuse or whatever, and we don't have that in schools," they said.A former staff member said a lack of consequences robbed children of the opportunity to learn how to exist in social contexts once they left school.
It is alleged students used to hang over toilet cubicle doors to film others going to the bathroom so students would "hold on" until they could get to a toilet block at the other side of the school. "Even if they're not aware of it and can't label it, they're seeing that's the norm — and it's not the norm.A staff member said a concerning precedent was set when bullying behaviour and intimidation tactics went unpunished.
"Basically what this department is saying every state school is an unsafe work environment — I mean, how terrible is that?" a staff member said.
Warrnambool College Education Department Behaviour Teachers Mental Health Workplace Health And Safety Vcat Worksafe Victorian Education Department
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Warrnambool College at centre of WorkSafe, Education Department dispute over teacher safetyStaff at a state secondary school in south-west Victoria need mental-health and wellbeing support at the school because of threatening student behaviour, according to WorkSafe. The government disagrees.
Read more »
Flawed protocols meant staff watched as Aboriginal man died in Victorian prison cell, coroner findsIn findings delivered on Monday, Coroner David Ryan identifies numerous failures in the lead-up to the death of 32-year-old Josh Kerr at Port Phillip Prison on August 10, 2022.
Read more »
Grand moves: AFL ponders concessions for non-Victorian clubs on footy’s biggest dayChris Fagan has explained to the league the vast differences experiencing a grand final as Brisbane Lions coach and as a senior football executive with Hawthorn.
Read more »
Victorian Police Association label death of intoxicated man as 'preventable tragedy'The man&x27;s death has brought new state laws into the firing line.
Read more »
Secret recording reveals sense of budget crisis in Victorian hospitalsBed closures, shutting entire wards, reducing elective surgery, cancelling breast screening and even closing special care cots used to treat critically sick babies were all openly discussed as possibilities to save money.
Read more »
Man guilty of murdering girlfriend Maryam Hamka before burying body in remote Victorian bushlandJury finds Toby Loughnane murdered 36-year-old after a trial heard of months of violent assaults
Read more »