Teacher who taped a Reception student to a chair should never work in a school again, the girl’s mum says
THE mother of a St Columba College student says the teacher who taped her 5-year-old daughter to her chair should never be allowed to work in a school again.
THE mother of a five-year-old student who was taped to her chair at school says the teacher responsible should never be allowed to work in a school again.
The St Columba College reception teacher was sacked from the Andrews Farm Catholic school late last year, but the Fair Work Commission tribunal has ruled she was unfairly dismissed, although she has not been given her job back.
The teacher, who has not been identified, has not been offered her job back. She was accused of taping three children to their chairs and slapping one on the back of a hand.
Parent Nikki Simpkin, who complained about the teacher’s treatment of her daughter early in fourth term last year, said there was “nothing unfair” about the sacking.
“Who does she think she is putting her hands on other people’s kids? I never want her to work in a school again.”
Ms Simpkin said her daughter had been traumatised by the teacher’s behaviour.
“For the first six weeks of this year, my daughter was petrified of going to school because she thought (the teacher) was going to be there,” she said.
“I had to walk with her past the classroom to show her she wasn’t there.”
Remarkably, Education Minister Susan Close would not say whether teachers should be allowed to tape students to chairs.
Parents picking their children up from the school yesterday demanded to know why they had not been informed about the teacher’s actions.
“I’m actually disgusted to hear that. No letter was sent home. Obviously they have kept it hush-hush,” said Lee Dyer, a father of two children at the school.
“If it was my child I would be appalled.”
NewPrincipal Wayne Gladigau declined to comment yesterday, as did Ms Close.
“The minister will not be commenting on hypothetical situations, nor on this particular one which involves a non-government school,” her spokeswoman said.
Independent Education Union state secretary Glen Seidel said the teacher’s legal team was considering challenging the commission’s ruling to try and win her job back.
Mr Seidel said it was vital that teachers who had done nothing illegal retained their jobs, because otherwise they were unfairly “black-listed” across all school sectors andfound it impossible to find employment.
“It was one piece of tape loosely applied across the chair. It was a symbolic, almost lighthearted way of making a point,” he said.
“The school obviously didn’t think she was a danger to kids because they allowed her to keep teaching for a fortnight.”