Canberra teachers watched porn on school laptops, reported over sexual misconduct

Teachers have been busted watching porn on school computers, and making sexual advances on kids, a special investigation has revealed.

The ACT government says teachers’ privacy is more important than the public’s right to know about creepy things happening in schools.

A Canberra schoolteacher who looked up pornography on a work laptop can still work in the classroom after a formal slap on the wrist from their school, government documents reveal.

The documents, obtained by the Canberra Star under Freedom of Information laws are almost entirely redacted, but reveal the lax disciplinary standards for teachers in Canberra schools.

The documents are internal lists kept by the Teacher Quality Institute, which regulates teachers in the ACT and which is among the most secretive professional regulators in the country, with laws keeping parents in the dark about even serious cases of teacher misconduct.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws reveal the grubby conduct of a small number of Canberra teachers (stock image).

In one case, a teacher who was busted looking up pornography on a school laptop was “disciplined by the employer” and the institute took no further action.

The documents do not say how the teacher was disciplined.

It is unclear whether the teacher was in a public or private school, or if the teacher looked up the pornography at school.

In another case, a teacher has been accused of “inappropriate and sexualised comments and focus to various students in a (redacted) class”.

One teacher used his school laptop to watch pornography but is still able to work with kids.

The documents are so heavily redacted it is unclear whether that teacher is still working or what the school’s investigation found

In another case, a teacher resigned after being accused of “inappropriate regular physical contact and communication with a student from (redacted)” and had their teacher registration suspended.

A teacher who had “inappropriate verbal and physical contact with a student” is still working, but had conditions placed on their registration.

The ACT opposition has condemned the government’s running of Canberra’s public schools.

The ACT education directorate bureaucrat who redacted the document did not fully explain why she refused to release some information.

The bureaucrat said a teacher’s right to privacy was more important than the public’s right to know about what was happening in local schools.

The bureaucrat also said releasing some of the information could compromise ongoing investigations.

Politicians all agree students should not be taught by sex pests.

ACT shadow education minister Jeremy Hanson said: “There are concerns with the culture in ACT government schools and the Labor-Greens government has failed to address many issues in our education system.

“Students and staff should feel safe at school but at the moment they are being let down by the Labor-Greens Government.”

Education Minister Yvette Berry said teaching was a demanding profession and the community had high expectations of it.

She said the ACT’s teacher misconduct regime was not “secretive” but was designed to protect privacy.

“The Canberra community has every right to have confidence in the teaching profession,” she said.

The Canberra Star has referred the Teacher Quality Institute’s handling of FOI application to the ACT Ombudsman.