Music teacher and Salvation Army volunteer Jessica Fanner suspended by the Victorian Institute of Teaching
A Salvation Army volunteer and music educator has been suspended from teaching by the Victorian state regulator.
Education
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A well-known Christian volunteer and music educator has had her registration to teach suspended by the Victorian state regulator.
Jessica Fanner, who was a member of the Salvation Army Waverley Corps until last year, has taught music in a number of Victorian schools.
Her specialty is the flute and keyboard but she also has qualifications teaching religious education.
On May 1, the Victorian Institute of Teaching suspended her, following an interim suspension back in February.
Ms Fanner’s profile for the Australian Music Examinations Board notes that she has been teaching since 2010 but was now “only taking on adult learners”.
Ms Fanner was part of the Salvation Army Corps leadership team in Geelong and joined the Melbourne Staff Songsters in 2021.
In 2018 she travelled with the Salvation Army to Indonesia as part of a Creative Arts Camp.
“When I have a timbrel in my hand and the music starts, that’s when I see God. I have an extremely clear vision of him when I play and this gives me an overwhelming sense of joy and peace,” she said in a Salvation Army publication.
In an online biography, Ms Fanner said she had “performed world and Australian premieres on the bass flute and has been an adjudicator at the Victorian Flute Competition.
“Jess has worked as a classroom music and instrumental flute teacher as well as a production producer within Melbourne based schools. She enjoys playing casually for church, weddings and musical theatre,” she wrote.
A graduate of Box Hill Institute, Monash University and Australian Catholic University, she holds a Masters of Secondary Teaching degree.
In 2022 she received a Graduate Certificate in Teaching Religious Education from Catholic Theological College.
The Salvation Army did not comment except to say that Ms Fanner had not volunteered for them since February 2023.
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