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Top judge raises alarm on Banksia Hill staff shortages, lockdowns impact on inmates’ education
Students at the “most important school in the state” in Banksia Hill Detention Centre are struggling to complete their education effectively due to staffing pressures and a lack of resources, according to the Perth Children’s Court president.
Judge Hylton Quail said young offenders were left without access to education because they were kept locked in their cells for “unlawful” hours.
Judge Hylton Quail has criticised Banksia Hill Detention Centre on multiple occasions, most recently this week.Credit: File photo/Michael O’Brien
He said “critical” staff shortages were the cause of the “rolling lockdowns”, with the number of staff leaving the centre far outweighing the number of recruits hired, and he expected problems to continue into next year.
But the state’s Department of Justice disagreed, claiming the transfer of a small cohort of inmates to a temporary youth detention centre at Casuarina Prison in July, and the recruitment and training of additional youth custodial staff, had “allowed a return to normal daily routines at Banksia Hill with minimal occasions where programs have been impacted by staffing issues”.
On Wednesday, during the sentencing of a 15-year-old girl who stabbed her teacher, Quail said the girl had been kept in her cell for 130 out of 144 possible hours across a six-day period, missing out on education and a range of recreational activities.
He voiced concerns that, as someone with high academic potential, the girl would fall behind her peers attending school outside of Banksia Hill, amounting to a punishment outside what should be handed down to young offenders.
The judge said the situation was worse for the male section, and when he visited the detention centre on Tuesday he had only seen one detainee outside their cell.
He said this, paired with a lack of resources available at the school such as internet access, lowered the chances of creating a better pathway for some of the state’s most vulnerable children.
Quail has long been critical of conditions at Banksia Hill, stating earlier this year a lack of education, resourcing and staff meant he would rather send a 17-year-old boy to a men’s prison.
The Banksia Hill school is also the only one in Australia to be run through the Department of Corrective Services instead of the state’s education department, Quail said.
However, a Justice spokeswoman said the WA Department of Education funded “a range of resources inclusive of the positions of a Student Support Officer and an Aboriginal Youth Transition Coordinator”.
“The provision of education is facilitated by qualified and registered primary and secondary teachers who cater for individuals with lower levels of literacy and numeracy in addition to students who have higher education capabilities,” she said.
“The education program at Banksia Hill has the flexibility to be facilitated in units or within the designated area. This enables the education program to be run when it is unable to be facilitated in the classrooms due to any operational reasons such as security or staffing.”
She said from September 19 to 26, young people at Banksia Hill spent an average of more than eight hours out of their cell from a possible “unlock period” of just under 10 hours.
“The longest period out of cell was 9.55 hours with the shortest period out of cell was 4.51 hours which was subsequent to staff training which occurs once weekly for three hours,” she said.
“Staff retention in any business is impacted by a number of circumstances. The majority of staff of whom have left their roles as Youth Custodial Officers have undertaken positions across various other areas including federal, state and local government as well as non-government services.
“Education Services has stability across their teaching resources and a high retention record of teaching and support staff.”
A Department of Education spokeswoman said “every child in Western Australia has the right to an education,” and that they were striving “to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people at the detention centre.”