Committee recommends banning Sydney school from enrolling students — The Guardian

A parliamentary committee in the Australian state of New South Wales, according to The Guardian, recommended barring the private religious Redeemer Baptist School in western Sydney from enrolling new students while it is being reviewed by the state's education standards authority. The committee also advised New South Wales Police and the Office of the Children's Guardian to investigate allegations raised during the parliamentary inquiry.

Findings of the parliamentary committee

In a report tabled in the state parliament on Tuesday, the committee said that the school, run by Redeemer Baptist Church, had breached basic child protection standards. In the committee members' view, allegations of sexual assaults were not properly addressed, and children were exposed to a significant risk of harm.

Former students and staff told the parliamentary inquiry about allegations of sexual, physical, psychological, spiritual and financial abuse. Among the evidence presented were claims that students were forced to share beds with teachers and that the school's principal once walked naked in a common area.

The committee also concluded that the school's employees did not have the necessary workplace rights and that its management did not meet basic standards of good governance.

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Oversight and funding

The committee's chair, Greens MP Abigail Boyd, noted that the school had already been examined by parliament in 2006. At the same time, she said, no mechanisms were introduced to monitor what she described as a high-risk situation.

According to Boyd, the school received about A$6 million in government funding each year. The committee also criticised insufficient regulatory oversight and pointed to the need to properly examine allegations of systematic Centrelink payment fraud and questionable tax practices.

Previously, a representative of Redeemer Baptist School said that the institution had fully cooperated with the relevant regulators and had maintained an impeccable 45-year record of compliance with state and federal authorities' requirements. After the report was released, the school did not provide an immediate comment.