Anglican Church faces pressure to address claims of student discrimination, mistreatment at Churchie

Prestigious Brisbane school Churchie is facing growing complaints of discrimination and mistreatment of children with learning disabilities.

The Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) in East Brisbane.

Pressure is mounting on the Anglican Church to address further complaints of discrimination and mistreatment of children with learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental disorders at its prestigious Churchie school.

More angry parents have contacted The Courier-Mail with a range of allegations, including a boy whose mother says he was humiliated in front of his classroom peers, and a young child who was asked during the enrolment process if he was autistic.

One mother, whose son has severe dyslexia and dysgraphia, sent a submission on April 3 to the Right Reverend Cam Venables, the church’s western regional bishop, regarding her allegations of her child’s mistreatment by a number of staff members.

“On numerous occasions and by different teachers, my son was forced to stand up in class and read off the board in front of his peers, despite teachers knowing fully about his disability,” she told The Courier-Mail.

“This has had an extremely emotional and mental impact on my son, and when I have raised concerns with the school they have been brushed under the carpet.”

Pressure is mounting on the Anglican Church to address further complaints of discrimination and mistreatment of children at Churchie.

She said on one occasion when her son was given a Friday detention, he was asked to complete 10 pages of NAPLAN grammar by Monday or face another detention.

“There is no way my son could do this, he is socially and verbally fine but he can barely read.”

She said when her son, who started in prep and is now in the senior school, reached the end of Year 6, the family was called in for a meeting.

“We were told there would be no special consideration or support given to our son, he would have to sit the same assessment as every other child, with no time extensions, and if we didn’t like it we should leave,” she said.

Another parent told The Courier-Mail how a highly intelligent young child with ADHD was “asked directly if he was autistic” during the enrolment process.

The child’s parents “were told to explore other schools as he was unlikely to be accepted by Churchie, and even if he was accepted, he would be asked to leave by grade 7”. The parents considered this to be discrimination.

The Courier-Mail is aware of letters that have been sent to the Right Reverend Jeremy Greaves, Bishop for Brisbane’s Northern Region, as well as Right Reverend Cam Venables.

The latest complaints from parents come after third-generation Churchie old boy and father of three, Simon Schmidt, went public in The Courier-Mail about his “grave concerns” about the East Brisbane day and boarding school.

Anglican Church Grammar School headmaster Dr Alan Campbell.

Mr Schmidt, whose youngest son was initially had his enrolment application excluded due to having dyslexia, wrote to the school council on March 30 after being told headmaster Alan Campbell had been given another five years in the job.

The Anglican Schools Commission has denied an extension has been granted.

Meanwhile, the school board (council) is also in turmoil, with the exit last week of chair Russell Smith, after only a few months in the job, and outspoken member Russell McCart, a high-profile property developer.

On Friday, the commission, which runs the school on behalf of the church, announced Paul de Jersey, former governor of Queensland, was the new council chair.

In response to parental claims about discrimination of students on the basis of learning or neurodevelopmental disorders, Dr Campbell said on Monday: “We have many students with learning support needs who are thriving members of the school community and who receive dedicated teaching and pastoral care from our staff.

“In a recent review, to be updated in 2023, approximately 240 students across Reception (prep) to Year 12 were receiving some level of learning support from supplementary to more extensive levels,” Dr Campbell said.

“Parents appreciate that specific support strategies evolve from year-to-year as students mature and develop in confidence.

“Specifically, in the domain of cognitive needs, which includes dyslexia, we have over 100 students receiving support in the senior school alone. Six members of staff lead the learning support programs in the senior school and inform, develop and update the Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) that are shared by all staff providing the teaching to students.”

He did not comment on the specific claims made by parents in this article.