Wesley College student allegedly psychologically abused by a senior teacher in 2021

Parents of a former Wesley College student have hit out at the elite Melbourne school for their handling of an abuse complaint.

Wesley says it did not believe the allegations met the threshold for reportable conduct to the Commission for Children and Young People. Picture: Mark Stewart

Wesley College has been accused of exploiting a loophole in child protection laws by failing to formally report abuse allegations made against three staff, including its principal.

But the elite Melbourne school has defended its actions, saying it did not believe allegations made against principal Nick Evans and Head of Campus Kim Bence met the threshold for reportable conduct to the Commission for Children and Young People.

A Melbourne mother and father, who do not want to be publicly identified, allege their son was psychologically abused by a senior teacher back in 2021.

They claim he was “forced out of the school, along with his two sisters” when he tried to report the alleged abuse to Mr Evans, with the boy’s mother saying “they wouldn’t even let him in the room”.

The parents allege their son was psychologically abused at the school. Picture: Mark Stewart

Ms Bence was also reported by the parents for her handling of the complaint, along with the teacher, who has since taken a job at an interstate grammar school.

The two-year long saga, which allegedly started with the teacher screaming at the child, has ended with the Commission for Children and Young People admitting it is unable to force the school to report the allegations.

The commission first asked Wesley in March 2022 to submit a mandatory notification or explain why it had not done so.

The school was adamant that the allegations did not require notification. The school was asked again in October 2022 to notify the commission of the allegations against the teacher, with the commission then deciding to take no further action against Mr Evans and Ms Bence.

A state government spokesman confirmed that in 2022 the authority investigated a complaint against Wesley.

The parents said that without interviewing them or their son, the authority found the school had met the minimum standards for child safety and closed the case.

A spokesman for Wesley College told The Herald Sun: “The College has previously reported matters to the CCYP and will continue to do so when the threshold is met.”