In a New South Wales parliament that has long weighed the duty of the state toward the young, a committee has set down a sober finding about Redeemer Baptist School in western Sydney: that a religious institution entrusted with children failed them, and that the warnings were there to be heeded. The witnesses who came forward, former students and teachers, gave the inquiry the testimony on which its recommendation now rests, a call to halt new enrolments while regulators look more closely. The question now passes to the education authority, the police and the children's guardian, who must deci
Sydney Religious School Should Be Barred From Enrolling Students Amid Abuse Allegations, Inquiry Finds
Former students and teachers reported sexual, physical, psychological, spiritual and financial abuse, including students being made to share beds with teachers, and former students described being terrified of their abusers.
Leaving meant leaving with no financial assets.
Mark
Start with the headline finding. What exactly is the committee asking for?
Mimi
That the school be barred from enrolling new students while the NSW Education Standards Authority investigates it, and that police and the children's guardian look into the allegations.
Mark
And what did the committee say the school did wrong?
Mimi
It found breaches of basic child safeguarding standards, mishandled sexual assault allegations, significant risk of harm to children, poor governance, and staff lacking essential workplace rights.
Luke
Those are the committee's findings, though, not court findings. Nobody has been charged or convicted on what we've been given here.
Mimi
That's right, and it's why the committee wants police to investigate.
Mark
Why does the 2006 scrutiny matter?
Mimi
Boyd said the school was examined then, yet no procedures were set up to monitor what she called a high-risk situation. The point is about oversight failing over time.
Luke
The claim that the school has deep political ties and money for legal challenges comes from Boyd speaking in parliament. The report as quoted doesn't give evidence for it.
Mark
What about the Centrelink and tax allegations?
Mimi
They're listed as allegations needing proper investigation, tied to staff whose wages were allegedly withheld while they claimed benefits.
Luke
And the school's side is a spokesperson's earlier statement of full cooperation and a 45-year clean compliance record. It hadn't responded to the report itself yet.
O Pulso
- A parliamentary committee has found that Redeemer Baptist School breached child safeguarding standards and put children at significant risk of harm.
- Former students and teachers described sexual, physical, psychological, spiritual and financial abuse, including students sharing beds with teachers.
- The committee wants new enrolments barred while the NSW Education Standards Authority investigates, and has asked police and the children's guardian to act.
- The school insists it cooperated fully with regulators and has a clean compliance record, while its critics point to $6m in annual public funding and possible Centrelink and tax problems.
In a New South Wales parliament that has long weighed the duty of the state toward the young, a committee has set down a sober finding about Redeemer Baptist School in western Sydney: that a religious institution entrusted with children failed them, and that the warnings were there to be heeded. The witnesses who came forward, former students and teachers, gave the inquiry the testimony on which its recommendation now rests, a call to halt new enrolments while regulators look more closely. The question now passes to the education authority, the police and the children's guardian, who must decide whether the report's concerns become formal investigations, while the school, which maintains it has cooperated fully and kept a clean compliance record for 45 years, is left to answer for itself.
A report tabled in the New South Wales parliament on Tuesday recommends that Redeemer Baptist School, a private religious school in western Sydney run by the Redeemer Baptist Church, be stopped from enrolling any new students. The recommendation came from a committee that heard from former students and former teachers describing sexual, physical, psychological, spiritual and financial abuse, including accounts of children being made to share beds with teachers.
The committee found that the school breached basic child safeguarding standards, mishandled sexual assault allegations, and put children at significant risk of harm. It also concluded that staff lacked essential workplace rights and that governance fell short. Its chair, Greens MP Abigail Boyd, noted that the school had faced parliamentary scrutiny back in 2006 without any monitoring procedures being put in place. She credited the courage of those who spoke out for making the findings possible.
Boyd also raised concerns about the school's $6m yearly government funding, its capacity to pursue legal action against critics, and its political connections. Former members who left, she said, were often terrified and left with nothing. The committee listed further matters for investigation, including alleged Centrelink fraud and questionable tax practices.
The school says it has fully cooperated with regulators, takes child safety extremely seriously, and has an unblemished compliance record over 45 years. It did not immediately respond to requests for comment after the report's release. The next decisions rest with the Education Standards Authority, the police and the children's guardian.
A report tabled in the New South Wales parliament on Tuesday recommends that Redeemer Baptist School in western Sydney be stopped from enrolling any new students. The recommendation comes from a parliamentary committee that spent its inquiry hearing from former students and former teachers of the private religious school, which is run by the Redeemer Baptist Church.
What those witnesses described was a string of disturbing allegations of sexual, physical, psychological, spiritual and financial abuse. Among them were accounts of students being made to share beds with teachers, and of the school's principal once walking naked through a common area.
The committee found that the school breached basic child safeguarding standards. It found that sexual assault allegations were not handled appropriately and that the school put children at significant risk of harm. It also concluded that staff lacked essential workplace rights and that the school failed to meet basic standards of good governance.
The central recommendation is that the school be barred from taking on new students while the NSW Education Standards Authority investigates it. The committee also asked that NSW police and the office of the children's guardian investigate the allegations raised during the inquiry.
The committee chair, Greens MP Abigail Boyd, told parliament that the school had already faced parliamentary scrutiny in 2006. Even so, she said, no procedures were put in place to monitor what was plainly a high-risk situation. She credited the bravery of those who spoke out for giving the committee enough evidence to make strong findings and recommendations.
Boyd also pointed to the school's resources. It receives about $6m a year in government funding, she said, and has enough money to launch legal challenges against people who speak out against the religious group. "They also have deep political ties with both state and federal politicians," she told parliament. People who had escaped the school, she said, appeared to be absolutely terrified of its leaders. Leaving meant leaving with no financial assets, she noted, and it was no wonder people were afraid of their abuser once they got out.
The committee criticised a lack of regulatory oversight, including by the education authority, and listed matters it said needed proper investigation. These included allegations of persistent Centrelink fraud and dubious tax practices. The report said it was, at the very least, troubling that an asset-rich, seemingly prosperous school operates by withholding wages from its workforce, who claim benefits, while the school receives millions of dollars in public funding.
A school spokesperson had earlier said Redeemer Baptist had fully cooperated with the relevant regulators. The spokesperson said the school takes its child safety obligations extremely seriously and has an unblemished record of compliance with state and federal regulators for 45 years. The school did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the report was released.
The next steps sit with the authorities: whether the education standards authority acts on the enrolment recommendation, and whether police and the children's guardian open investigations into the allegations.
Citações Notáveis
The school takes its child safety obligations extremely seriously and has an unblemished record of compliance with regulators for 45 years.— Redeemer Baptist School spokesperson
They also have deep political ties with both state and federal politicians.— Abigail Boyd, committee chair and Greens MP
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Leia o original em The Guardian ↗