Eynesbury Primary School students ‘too scared’ to attend school amid allegations of mistreatment

More parents have come forward with serious allegations about the mistreatment of students with disabilities at Eynesbury Primary School with some pupils “too scared” to attend school.

More parents have detailed a litany of serious allegations about the mistreatment of students with disabilities at Eynesbury Primary School. Picture: Supplied

More parents have come forward detailing a litany of serious allegations about the mistreatment of students with disabilities at a school in Melbourne’s west, including pupils being left isolated for hours and yelled at by a principal.

The Herald Sun can reveal pupils at Eynesbury Primary School feel “traumatised” and “too scared” to attend school amid claims they have been locked up in isolation rooms for hours and dealt with in a “threatening manner” by leadership.

It comes after parents raised serious concerns about the handling of an incident during which a student sexually touched another child multiple times in the past month.

One mother, who was forced to remove her seven-year-old child from the school last year, said the school “failed” in its duty of care to keep her son safe.

She said her son, who has autism and ADHD, was locked in a room dubbed the “isolation room” on several occasions.

“Having a room called the isolation room with a lock on the door is disgusting,” the mother said.

“On one occasion my son was so scared that he kicked the fly wire and jumped out of the window.

“He later expressed to me that it was the only way for him to get out of the room as the door was locked, it’s disgraceful.”

The mother also alleged a principal “grabbed” her son’s arm on multiple occasions.

“My son was too terrified to go to school and felt unsafe. The whole experience has traumatised him.

“He was constantly yelled at, too, it was confronting.”

Parents have reported children being placed in isolation at the school. Picture: iStock

The mother said she has made a complaint to the Department of Education, but no action had been taken.

Other parents have expressed concerns about the mistreatment of students, urging the Department to investigate.

Former staff members have also spoken out about the school’s culture, describing it as “toxic”.

“The children with behavioural issues were left locked up in rooms for hours. I raised my concerns with the leadership team,” one former staff member said.

“I was physically ill, the job had stressed me out so much and I had anxiety attacks. I even encouraged parents to move their children out of the school because the school wasn’t considerate of those kids that needed extra wellbeing attention.”

Another former teacher said students with behavioural issues were forced to sit on a row of chairs outside the acting principal’s office for “extended periods of time”.

“They were isolated from their peers and from contact with adults. They were asked to sit on those chairs and no one was allowed to have contact or communication with them throughout the day,” they said.

“There is clearly an abuse of power within the school’s leadership team and I hope the Department of Education steps in to investigate.”

In a letter sent to parents last week, acting principal Linh Nguyen said the reports of the alleged recent assault did not reflect the school’s culture.

“I want to assure you that the health and safety of our students is our first priority,” she said.

“All allegations of inappropriate behaviour are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.

“These media reports do not reflect the safe and supportive culture at our school.

“When incidents do occur, we work closely with students and families/carers to ensure they understand the behaviour standards expected at the school.”

A Department of Education spokeswoman said it was aware of the complaints raised by families and former staff members.

“We are working closely with the families at the school to support their children’s full participation in education,” she said.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to fully participate, learn, develop and succeed at school.”