Christian College Geelong principal Glen McKeeman on leave while his wife Pam McKeeman faces bullying claims

The deputy head of a Christian school has been accused of bullying and harassing teachers amid claims of a “culture of fear”.

Christian College Geelong has been criticised for being ‘completely unwilling to participate in an open and honest process’ following bullying claims.

A leading Geelong school has been rocked by a leadership crisis, with key staff on leave amid multiple allegations of bullying and harassment.

The Herald Sun can reveal the principal of Christian College Geelong, Glen McKeeman, is on leave along with his wife Pam McKeeman, deputy head of the Bellarine campus.

Ms McKeeman, who has been at the school for 27 years, has made a WorkSafe claim against the school, but is also facing multiple claims against her from staff.

It’s understood up to four claims of bullying and harassment have also been levelled against her.

Christian College Geelong deputy head of the junior school Pam McKeeman.

Mr McKeeman remains on the school’s website, but there is no mention of Ms McKeeman, who has been on voluntary leave since last December.

A parent at the school said Ms McKeeman was a “wonderful, long term leader who has enrolled and welcomed many hundreds of children and their families into the junior school”.

The parent said many were “left guessing where Pam McKeeman has disappeared to”.

“We enrolled our precious children, believing that we wanted them immersed in the beautiful Christian College community, believing in a caring, compassionate God, but sadly it seems that over time and with changes in leadership this has diminished, and the focus of the school has changed,” they said.

Christian College Geelong principal Glen McKeeman.

Rumours have been circulating for months about the status of Ms McKeeman’s “disappearance” and the nature of the investigation into claims both made by her and made against her.

One source said the school had “been completely unwilling to participate in an open and honest process”.

They said there was a “culture of fear” and “such poor communication and correspondence that there might as well be none at all”.

Unlike most other private schools, Christian College Geelong is governed by both a CEO, Daryl Riddle, and Mr McKeeman as principal.

A source said the pair had long been “butting heads over control” of the successful school.

Mr McKeeman is a board member of the peak private school body, Independent Schools Victoria, and a branch chair of the Association of the Heads of Independent Schools of Australia.

He was described as a “calm and considerate guiding mentor, who communicated with families and worked with staff to improve the college culturally, morally and academically”.

A spokesman for Christian College Geelong said the school was “committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive environment for everyone in our community, where we treat each other with respect, courtesy and dignity”.

“Accordingly, when we received a series of formal complaints about the conduct of some of our staff members, we ensured these complaints were independently investigated. These investigations were undertaken by qualified workplace investigators, entirely at arms’ length from the College’s leadership,” the spokesman said.