Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse: Perth High School "Improved Policies for Mandatory Reporting"

By Irena Ceranic
ABC News
June 20, 2014

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-20/perth-high-school-improved-abuse-reporting-practices/5539800

The commission is investigating how a teacher was able to molest students for 10 years from 1999, despite several colleagues raising suspicions.

The current headmaster joined the school in 2011, after the teacher was convicted.

The school's child protection policies were inspected in 2012 by an independent consultant, who made 21 recommendations.

The headmaster told the commission the school has implemented all but one of the recommendations, and all teachers now underwent training for mandatory reporting of child abuse.

"The whole school community has had to learn from the experience and so it increases the amount of conversations around child protection, the number of conversations around how could of this have happened," he said.

The headmaster, who cannot be identified, told the commission the culture of the school had changed since the man was jailed in 2010.

"In terms of general awareness about child protection, it's my fourth school and I haven't been in one where there's been this level of scrutiny," he said.

"The challenge for me as headmaster and the whole school is that that's maintained."

During hearings held in Perth last month, the royal commission heard evidence from former students, their family members and teachers at the exclusive school.

The inquiry will examine the response of the headmasters, relevant department heads and the school council to the concerns.

It will also look at records kept by the school of numerous complaints about the teacher.

The school's response after the teacher was arrested in 2009 on multiple sexual abuse charges, and the school's response to the victims' claims for compensation, are also to be examined.

The names of both the teacher and the school are subject to suppression orders.

The hearings concluded today.