Fresh claims about controversial private school as three men interviewed by police
Three men have been interviewed by police amid shocking new claims from parents about a so-called ‘Lord of the Flies’ private school in Melbourne. The school denies any wrongdoing.
Three men have been interviewed by police and released pending further inquiries in relation to allegations of physical assault at Fitzroy Community School between 2009 and 2012, Victoria Police have confirmed.
Melbourne Sexual Offences & Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives are investigating the allegations and have interviewed a 48-year-old from Trawool, and a 54-year-old and 55-year-old from Fitzroy North, the Herald Sun can reveal.
The school, which receives about $1m a year in public funding, is also under investigation by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). Claims include the use of a “bash-up room” where children would be left alone to physically fight “like something out of Lord of the Flies”.
Regulatory action by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) has also commenced following its investigation into the alleged existence of serious failures relating to child safety training by staff, governance and financial management. This regulatory action does not relate to any of the physical assault allegations being investigated by Victoria Police.
A leading teacher at the school, Nick Berryman, has also been suspended on an interim basis by the VIT. He is the brother of Tim Berryman, the school’s principal. They are sons of the school’s co-founder Faye Berryman.
It comes as a prospective parent applying at Fitzroy Community School alleges she was quizzed by the principal about their views on smacking and someone else breastfeeding their baby.
The Melbourne woman, whose son attended prep in 2022, said she and her husband withdrew him after a year following concerns about safety and supervision, among other issues.
She alleged the school “didn’t have any sense of safety - they think the children should be stronger and tougher and they don’t call parents if something goes wrong”.
A spokesperson for the school denied the allegations and said their staff “conduct themselves with the highest professionalism, and the wellbeing and safety of students is always our foremost priority”.
“We are committed to providing a supportive, respectful environment for every child and their family. Fitzroy Community School has exemplary educational standards through a mix of traditional and innovative learning approaches,” they said.
“The school has had no notification from Victoria Police regarding any allegations.”
The mother said she was shocked when she claims Tim Berryman tested her and her husband in an application interview by “telling us stories and asking what we thought”.
“One of the stories was Tim saying that a woman who babysat for him ended up breastfeeding the baby because she couldn’t reach them and the baby was crying from hunger,” she alleged.
“Tim wanted to know how we would react in their shoes,” she said. “He was testing us to see if we would suit the culture of the school,” she said.
“He also said he came home one night and his babysitter had told him she smacked one of his children, and what did we think about that?
“We have never hit our son and wouldn’t allow anyone to do so, so it seemed a bit odd.”
Speaking with other parents, we discovered he used to share the same kinds of stories with everyone.”
Tim Berryman did not respond to these specific allegations.
The former parent said her son, who was introverted and shy, started at the school when he was five, and told her he was told not to act like a baby.
“One child was also quite rough, and hit our son with pillows. I asked him if anyone saw it, was any teacher around? He told me he was told to ‘toughen up and be tough’,” she alleged.
The final straw came when a big desk fell on her son during a maths class, badly injuring his hand and leaving three fingers blue.
“He cried for two hours but they did not ring me to come and pick him up,” she alleged.
The mother said she was also concerned when she heard her son was allegedly left on camp unattended at night.
“They went on camp in Humevale and when he got back he said there was no one with them - no adult stayed overnight in their cabin,” the mother alleged.
“The teachers were in a larger cabin nearby. They were in the dark in the middle of nowhere and he was only five and a half.”
The mother said she and her husband pulled their son out at the end of the first year.
“The scary part is that they want to educate the children the way they think is right and if you go against it, it’s wrong.”
“In the end, we decided to leave the school because we felt it wasn’t the right fit for our family. Most importantly, we had concerns about overall safety,” she said.
The school spokesperson said “all school activities, including camps, are run under strict supervision and in line and duty of care requirements”.
“We take our responsibility to protect and nurture students extremely seriously and have robust policies and practices in place to ensure this.”
VRQA CEO Stefanie Veal said: “The VRQA has completed its review of Fitzroy Community School and has now initiated a regulatory process.”
“It would be inappropriate to further comment at this time.
“All Victorian schools must meet the minimum standards and keep children safe,” she said.
“Anyone with concerns about Fitzroy Community School’s compliance with the minimum standards including the Child Safe Standards is encouraged to contact the VRQA via email at vrqa@education.vic.gov.au or call 9637 2806”.
The VIT is also enouraging anyone with concerns regarding the behaviour of teachers at Fitzroy Community School to contact them on 1300 650 375 or at enquiries@vit.vic.edu.au.
Originally published as Fresh claims about controversial private school as three men interviewed by police
