Former Blackburn High music teacher Steve Sedergreen wins Working with Children Check bid after slapping student
A former Blackburn High music teacher who admitted he “snapped” when he dragged a student out of the classroom and slapped them has had his Working With Children Check reinstated, despite calls for tougher penalties against offenders.
A prominent jazz musician and former schoolteacher who slapped a student across the face could soon be back in the classroom after having his Working With Children Check reinstated.
Former Blackburn High music teacher Steve Sedergreen won his bid for a Working with Children Check clearance on Wednesday, despite being charged with assault in August 2023 resulting in a $3500 fine without conviction.
This would allow him to reapply for a registration as a teacher and fight the Victorian Institute of Teaching’s decision to disqualify him from teaching in a school or early childhood service under the Worker Screening Act 2020.
Sedergreen was charged with unlawful assault after he grabbed a music student by the shirt collar and dragged them outside the classroom into a hall, before proceeding to slap the victim’s face with an open hand in February 2023.
Sedergreen consequently had his teaching registration suspended in October 2023, following an investigation by the Department of Education.
He was also stripped of his Working With Children Clearance in July last year, but won a conditional stay of the decision so he could privately tutor two VCE students, so long as a parent was supervising their lessons.
Now, following a successful hearing at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on Wednesday, Sedergreen has won the right to have his Working with Children Check reinstated.
VCAT Senior Member Anna Dea said Sedergreen’s “31 glowing and detailed references”, his remorse and knowing he received comprehensive psychological therapy which “concluded he posed a low risk of any reoffending”, contributed to her decision to provide him with a Working with Children Check clearance.
“The fact he made full admissions to police, co-operated with the police investigation and offered a guilty plea at the first opportunity leads me to be satisfied that he had immediate and complete insight into his wrongdoing,” she said.
“I was impressed by the way Sedergreen accepted full responsibility for what he had done, at every turn making plain the Student was not to blame.
“Having regard to the evidence before me, including the psychological evidence and the glowing references and statements as to Sedergreen’s value to music, I am satisfied it is in the public interest for him to be given a WWC Clearance.”
Following the incident, Sedergreen self-reported his actions to school leadership and later resigned from the school.
When interviewed by police, Sedergreen fully admitted to his actions, commenting “‘I snapped and I hit him, I didn’t mean to hit him but I did, I didn’t hit him hard” and “I lost control”.
The student told police the slap was “quite hard” and “hurt for a little bit”.
“I was really uncomfortable at that point. I didn’t want to show that I was scared or hurt at the point because I didn’t want Sedergreen to feel like he had power over me,” the student said.
Sedergreen was a member of nine-piece band Jazz Cat, whose other members founded internationally-successful band Cat Empire. His teaching career also spanned 35 years.
The tribunal’s decision to reinstate Sedergreen’s Working with Children Check comes despite multiple calls from early childhood and other education bodies calling for state and federal governments to enforce a “one-strike and you’re out” policy for those found to have breached their clearance.
The Victorian government has agreed to strengthen its Working with Children Check in the coming months in response to recommendations made in the rapid review into child safety.
Originally published as Former Blackburn High music teacher Steve Sedergreen wins Working with Children Check bid after slapping student
