Education Department’s Martin Westwell says content of sex-ed presentation at Renmark High School was ‘unacceptable’

The head of the Education Department says a respectful relationships session held at a Riverland school crossed a line – and has revealed a key oversight.

The head of the Education Department has revealed staff at a Riverland school did not check the content of a sex education presentation before it was delivered to a group of Year 9 girls, without a teacher present.

The hour-long session at Renmark High School, on March 22, was run by an outside speaker engaged by Headspace Berri and students say they were exposed to the concepts of incest and bestiality.

In a letter to parents, principal Mat Evans apologised that the school also did not notify parents about the presentation ahead of time, and said he had launched an interval review.

The school was “taking this matter very seriously”, he said, and had offered counselling to affected students.

The speaker has been suspended from working in South Australian government schools while the Education Department investigates.

Renmark High School principal Mat Evans apologised that the school also did not notify parents about the presentation ahead of time.

Department chief executive Martin Westwell told The Advertiser that content in the presentation was “unacceptable” and had “no place in a classroom”.

“There is a line and this person went over the line,” he said.

“Where this has been particularly objectionable is where they’ve started to use language and notions like bestiality that have no place in a classroom.

“It is absolutely unacceptable behaviour.”

Professor Westwell said he had asked his department’s incident management directorate to conduct a review, which would likely deliver findings next term.

He said no one from the school reviewed the speaker’s presentation before it was delivered, and agreed “there should have been a teacher in the room”.

“That’s department policy,” he said.

However, Professor Westwell would not make decisions about potential disciplinary action until the review was complete.

“I want to make sure we speak to people involved and to the students involved to determine the facts,” he said.

Education Department chief executive Martin Westwell. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

“The review will focus on this incident, but I am going to be making enquiries particularly around other schools that might have engaged (with these providers) … to make sure this hasn’t happened in other schools.”

Professor Westwell said he understood neither the department nor the school had “directly” paid the speaker.

Headspace is a national mental health organisation, operated by non-profit FocusOne Health, which receives federal government funding.

Federal Liberal MP Tony Pasin, who represents the electorate of Barker which covers the Riverland, said he had “been given assurances” by FocusOne Health that the presentation “will not happen again”.

“The federally funded organisation does exceptional work to support the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians,” Mr Pasin said in a statement.

“I hope that it does not affect the willingness of families to reach out to Headspace when they need.”

FocusOne Health board chairman Dr Ian Gartley confirmed “a lived experience speaker engaged by headspace Berri delivered a presentation to students at Renmark High School on LGBTQIA+ and respectful relationships”.

He said the organisation took concerns from parents “seriously” and was “continuing our work to ensure everything we do is aligned with evidence and best practice and is safe and appropriate for young people”.

In the wake of the session, one mother has removed her three children from Renmark High School.

Nicki Gaylard’s daughter Courtney White was one of two Year 9 students who felt so uncomfortable that they asked to visit the toilet to get out of the session.

Ms Gaylard, 40, said she planned to enrol Courtney, her younger sister and her older brother in a private school next term.

Courtney, 14, told The Advertiser that she and her classmates were not told what the session would be about before entering the room.

“We just got sent there and just got talked at about all this yucky stuff,” she said.

“It should not have been anywhere near our ears.

“I just wanted to leave the whole time.”

Classmate Emelia Wundenberg, 14, said the speaker swore repeatedly and showed “graphic” images of adults who had undergone transgender transformation surgery without warning.

Emelia said she had barely returned to the school since the session.

Opposition education spokesman John Gardner, a former education minister, said the school “should have had a teacher present”.

“Schools have a duty of care to students,” Mr Gardner said.

“It’s really important for parents to be advised in advance about sessions like this and it’s really disappointing that that didn’t happen in this case.

“The government needs to make sure that those rules are very clearly understood so that a situation like this can be rectified at the time, if it ever happens again.”

Originally published as Education Department’s Martin Westwell says content of sex-ed presentation at Renmark High School was ‘unacceptable’