Whistleblower claims systematic discrimination and sexism at Plymouth Brethren School
A whistleblower has exposed the strict rules, ideas and segregation faced by both staff and students at Brethren schools.
A South Australian teacher who used to work at a school attended by members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church has exposed claims of sexist practices and attitudes towards female staff and students.
The teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, said when he taught at a One School Global campus, female educators were “not treated with any respect” by males in the community.
“The way they treat their own wives is the way they treat female teachers,” he claimed.
“It is not a very good place to be, especially for female teachers.”
However, a OneSchool Global spokesperson dismissed claims from the former teacher, including the allegation of sexist attitudes towards female teachers.
“All staff at OneSchool Global are supported to be the best educators they can be, we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind – staff are valued for their professional contribution, not their gender,” they said.
The former teacher, 48, said Brethren schools’ day-to-day was heavily influenced by the church’s wishes and beliefs.
“The school itself is very (student)-results driven,” he said.
“I found straight away that if you don’t get results, you are tagged for not being good enough to teach at the school.”
The school’s spokesperson also dismissed claims the school’s curriculum was influenced by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.
“OneSchool Global is run independently,” they said.
“While students come from families in the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, the school is not operated by the Church.
“Teachers are not members of the Church and come from diverse backgrounds.
“The school meets all regulatory and curriculum requirements in each jurisdiction.
“All OneSchool Global campuses follow the national or state curriculum.”
The former teacher said the school would find a way to make staff leave if “they don’t want you, if they have a problem with you, if you sort of go against what they want in their community”.
The teacher said that while significant pressure was placed on educators to achieve strong results, the community’s conservative culture made it difficult to encourage students to achieve.
“They already know what they’re going to do before they get to high school … it’s hard to sort of motivate them for school when really, for the girls especially, there’s maybe a secretarial job for a year and then marriage and babies and that’s it,” he said.
“There’s no future path for them.”
While the years 3-12 campus he taught at in Victoria followed the Australian Curriculum, the teacher said subjects were skewed to reflect the church’s desires.
“I had a friend who was a history teacher and they had to be very careful with things they could show and things they couldn’t show,” he said, citing as an example a ban on teaching the history of communism as “the Brethren are capitalist so they don’t want to teach their kids about different ways of life”.
“You’ve got to be very careful when teaching some subjects.”
The teacher said sex and health education were off limits and boys and girls were not allowed to interact during break times even though there were only “50-something” students from “about six families”.
However, this was also denied by the OneSchool Global spokesperson who said students were free to interact with peers of any gender during break times.
“Social interaction is a normal part of school life and is managed appropriately by staff,” they said, adding the school was “committed to transparency and to the highest standards of education and student welfare … nothing is more important than the safeguarding of students in our care.”
The former teacher also recalled a time when the school’s staff wanted to form a teacher’s union – something the church was strongly against.
“They arranged to have an election that was run by the Australian Electoral Commission … but we never got the results back,” the teacher said.
“I voted ‘no’ because even though they said it was through the AEC I was not convinced it checked out.”
The educator said as Brethrens only ate and drank with members of their community, teachers were segregated from students during events.
“I didn’t know much about the religion and when I got there,” he said.
“If we had like a breakfast or something like that, we would have it in the gym and the teachers table would be one end of the basketball court and the Brethren would right at the other end.
“You’re not allowed to mix.”
The teacher said he felt compelled to share his story because “people need to know that this is all going on”.
“When I heard the Prime Minister say it’s a cult, I was like ‘you probably don’t know the half of it’,” he said.
“They just want ‘yes’ people who are going to just pretty much do everything the way that they want to.
“I am very glad that I am not there but it is just very, very messed up.”
He also claimed he had heard of another teacher who had signed a nondisclosure agreement and received a payout following their time at a Brethren school.
A spokesperson from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church said issues relating to curriculum or staffing should be answered by OneSchool Global as the school “operates independently from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.”
Originally published as Whistleblower claims systematic discrimination and sexism at Plymouth Brethren School
