Queensland education department and Teachers’ Union accused of toxic culture of bullying and favouritism

School principals have levelled sensational accusations against the education department and Queensland Teachers’ Union, including allegations of bullying and favouritism, with one claiming she was forced to remain silent.

Allegations of a toxic culture of bullying and favouritism have been levelled at the Queensland education department by several current and former school principals, with the powerful teachers’ union accused of being a “Labor puppet”.

Former principal Tracy Tully spent 38 years in classrooms including as principal in various Queensland schools across the state, before being dramatically stood-down in 2016 while acting principal at Oakey State High School.

She told The Sunday Mail she was targeted and bullied by education department management, and accused them of using the Public Service Act to silence principals within the system from speaking out.

“Staff have been relentlessly demoralised, any actual power has been taken away from principals and the daily demand of constant change and policy and garbage – you couldn’t keep up with it,” she said.

“The culture changed and the fear started, and from then on they just flogged you with a stick – the cane left the kids, and it was put onto the principals.

“If you got one tiny little thing wrong, you were punished.”

Whistle Blowing Principal Tracy Tully. Picture: Adam Yip

Ms Tully also claimed over the past twenty years the department had become increasingly politicised, and accused some Queensland Teachers’ Union members of “heckling” her and other staff for not openly advocating for the Labor party.

She claims QTU members were pressured to distribute Labor party material in the lead-up to state elections, and that principals who refused to go on strike were harassed.

“The union has incredible power, too much power, and they’ve been allowed to use their influence,” she said.

“I was victimised because I refused to buy into the puppet show and allow voting at the school – they came for my throat.

“I refused to be involved in anything political and it did not go down well.”

Ms Tully also claimed senior school principals who openly donated to the Labor party were promoted within the department.

In response, a spokesman for the education department said via a statement there were “comprehensive recruitment processes”.

“Following a recruitment process all candidates can request feedback,” he said.

“A public service employee may appeal certain decisions that affect their employment, however the promotion of a Principal level 4 and above is a non-appealable decision.”

There were also allegations of QTU leaders sending pro-Labor ‘letters to the editor’ in local regional papers.

QTU president Cresta Richardson denied the allegations levelled at the union. She said the union was not affiliated to one political party, and the decision to campaign was based on the “policies of the relevant parties and their commitments to education”.

“We do believe that as a Union whose employer is the state government we need to campaign to ensure that the employer puts education as a priority,” she said.

“We also actively campaign in the federal election to ensure that schools and teachers are properly resourced so that they can provide the best learning opportunities for students.”

Ms Richardson said the last strike was in 2009, and that “it is the expectation of the Union that members follow Union directives – this is the power of the collective and designed to place pressure on the government”.

Another Queensland school principal told The Sunday Mail she had witnessed multiple occasions of bullying by department staff towards principals, and believed favouritism was rife.

“If you’re not considered an ‘in’ principal, you are treated quite differently,” she said.

“Some have the ears of the higher up, and they are the ones who are looked after.

“Above the principals is this whole middle management, who I believe are driven by an attitude of ‘the more I can get my principals to do, the better I look’.”

She said the workloads of principals were skyrocketing each year and largely driven by increasing bureaucratic demands, which she felt rarely improved the education or learning outcomes of students.

“As soon as someone stands up in parliament and flags something as an issue, it goes down the chain and responsibility falls on the principals to make it happen,” she said.

“The workload has become untenable.

“We’re becoming so data driven – all middle management wants from us constantly is data, data, data.”

Another principal said they were “close to broken”.

“Everything has suffered in my personal life - my marriage, my relationships with my children,” they said.

“And what’s so frustrating is that none of this extra work is of any benefit to my students.”

Former principal Tracy Tully claims she was targeted and bullied by education department management. Picture: Adam Yip

Violent acts were also on the rise, with multiple principals telling The Sunday Mail they felt increasingly pressured not to expel students even when serious incidents had occurred.

“There’s no respect for teachers, no respect for what they actually do,” one principal said.

“If a child is violent, there shouldn’t be any hold up in that child being excluded. It’s placing teachers, staff, and kids all at risk.

“I’m constantly feeling extreme stress.

“While the department tells you they have a wellbeing program, what they don’t tell you is that after just four session you have to pay for it yourself.”

The education department spokesman said an $8 million principal support strategy had been released last year, which included a support hotline, additional care from a new principal coaching and support service, an advisory council monitoring and reviewing workloads and new online management training.

Ms Tully's advice to current principals and teachers within the state system was simple – “get out”.

“They get to the point where they genuinely feel like they aren’t good enough, this is what the culture does to you,” she said.

“Don’t sit around and be treated like this, because you don’t deserve it.”