Mentone Grammar principal Mal Cater hits back at claims of ‘toxic culture’

The exiting principal of Mentone Grammar has defended the school as “inclusive and respectful” amid claims a “toxic and misogynistic” staff culture is being perpetuated by senior leaders.

Mentone Grammar principal Mal Cater has hit back at claims of a ‘toxic culture’.

The principal of Mentone Grammar has hit back at claims he is leaving behind a “toxic and misogynistic culture among staff” perpetuated by the senior leaders.

The school, led by Mal Cater, has also denied a female staff member who attended an executive meeting was told: “Welcome to the big boy table”.

However, results of a confidential survey at the popular co-ed school reveal two-thirds of staff don’t feel “the right people are getting promoted” or that the “culture ensures that every talented person has an equal opportunity to reach a senior leadership position”.

In addition, two-thirds feel the workplace does not have “effective practices to help people cope with the demands of the job” or “supports employees to have discussions on difficult and uncomfortable topics”.

The school’s executive team is comprised of seven men and six women, but men hold all the major roles, including principal, deputy principal, director of business, director of teaching and learning, head of school operations, head of middle school and head of senior school.

After 17 years as principal, Mr Cater has been replaced by a male, Andrew Muller, who is principal of Scotch Oakburn College in Launceston. Prior to that he was deputy principal of St Leonard’s College in Melbourne.

Concerns have been flagged over Mentone Grammar’s ‘boys’ club culture’.

Union membership at the school is rising amid ongoing concerns about the school’s human relations processes and the “boys’ club culture among the school’s leadership that seeks to protect and promote its own”.

The Herald Sun has been told two recent senior roles were recently filled internally “by male staff favoured by the principal and deputy principal and simply appointed to these roles behind closed doors without any transaprent recruitment process”.

In response to this claim, Mr Cater said the school was “always proud of the role we play in promoting our staff within and beyond Mentone Grammar”

One source within the school said there was a “hostile culture amongst the staff.

“There has been a lot of staff changeover, in particular strong female staff in middle management positions leaving to be appointed to leadership positions at other schools,” they said.

Mr Cater said the overall results of the staff satisfaction surveys were “very positive, both in feedback and trends”.

These include 83 per cent of staff saying they were proud to work at the school, 85 per cent saying there was a good culture of trust and integrity and 88 per cent saying they feel safe at work.

He said even the areas of improvement were in the “above average” category compared to 140 other schools.

“We are focused on fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful environment for all members of our community and welcome a constructive dialogue with all stakeholders to address any concerns,” Mr Cater said.

In other news from Mentone Grammar, staff were recently cautioned against using a program called BitTorrent to download copyrighted material. A memo from Mr Cater called this “a data breach which is most disappointing”.