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This independent Aboriginal school has been accused of ignoring parents' cries for help
Hymba Yumba Independent School is facing claims it mishandled allegations of inappropriate behaviour by a teacher. The school has strongly denied the accusations.
Published 29 July 2024 6:50pm
Updated 30 July 2024 1:55pm
By Dan Butler, Karla Grant, Michael Carey, Dan Rennie
Source: NITV
Image: Hymba Yumba Independent School in Queensland receives millions of dollars of government funding each year.
Warning: this article discusses themes that may be distressing to some readers. Some names have been changed to protect the identities of children.
In the south-western outskirts of Brisbane, nestled amongst the leafy streets of Springfield, Hymba Yumba Independent School welcomes some 300 students into its care every day.
The children, ranging from prep to year 12 and predominantly Aboriginal, are greeted by an impressive modern facade, a reflection of the $9 million dollars of state and federal funding the school receives every year.
Founded in 2011 by Bidjara Elder Uncle Albert Holt, the school’s embrace of Aboriginal practices and knowledge alongside western curricula has been fêted as an exemplary model of independent teaching.
Numerous news reports tout a record of success, and just two years ago it won ‘Secondary School of the Year (non-government)' at the Australian Education Awards.
But an investigation by Living Black has revealed a litany of complaints against the school and its leadership by parents and former teachers which paint a different picture.
Hymba Yumba have strongly rejected the claims, including accusations it inadequately addressed allegations of inappropriate behaviour of a teacher towards students, and created an unsupportive environment for concerned parents and teachers.
An online petition outlining these complaints, and calling for the resignation of executives and board members, currently has over 200 signatures. Living Black has heard from several former teachers of the school, who say they resigned over how these matters were handled.
The school’s own website declares its commitment to the “cultural, physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of our jarjum [children]”, but its detractors say that is precisely what has suffered at the hands of the current leadership.
Hymba Yumba has rejected the allegations, and in a statement to Living Black pointed to what they called a “vexatious campaign” by people outside the school community.
“We are proud of the many staff and Elders who have contributed to the growth of our school, building upon the traditions of First Nations culture, spirituality and identity,” the school said in a statement.
“At all times, Hymba Yumba prioritises the safety of our jarjum.”
‘I feel like she's been let down’
Julie (not her real name) says her daughter made a disturbing allegation against a teacher from HYIS.
The Kalkadoon Kuku-Yalanji woman told Living Black she was distressed when her daughter, coming home from school in late March this year, made a disturbing revelation to her.
She alleged that a teacher at the school had touched her inappropriately, repeatedly rubbing his leg against hers and stroking her back during a sports event.
“I addressed the complaint with the school,” Julie told Living Black.
“I, as a parent, don't feel like these complaints were heard and were addressed.”
Julie emailed her complaint to the school on Good Friday this year, the first day of the Easter school holidays.
She says she did not receive a response from the school for six days, at which point they acknowledged they had received her complaint. It took another six days for them to send her the forms for an incident report on April 10.
Frustrated by the slow progress, Julie went to the Queensland Police Service (QPS) on the same day. QPS have confirmed to Living Black that it is currently investigating the matter.
Six weeks after Julie lodged her complaint, the exasperated mother sent a letter to the school’s board condemning their lack of support for her daughter, and beseeching them to act.
“Does anyone there really care about our babies or are you happy to get paid and ignore their needs?” reads an excerpt.
The school’s chair, Professor Tracey Bunda, responded, offering apologies “if this has made you feel like HYIS has not acted with the urgency you expected.”
She also informed the mother that an independent, external investigator had been appointed to examine her daughter’s claims, and that the teacher had been stood down on full pay pending the investigation’s outcome.
Julie, who had been keeping her daughter at home, wishes she’d had the news weeks earlier.
“It breaks my heart. [It’s] an impact on a child that should never have to [happen], being denied a basic education, and protected in a safe environment, such as a school,” she said.
“Mentally she's withdrawing, she's not eating properly. She's withdrawn from friends, social outings, and school.
“I feel like she's been let down.”
HYIS has rejected the accusations that it did not promptly deal with Julie’s complaint after it was lodged.
“The school made eight attempts to contact the complainant parent,” it said in response to Living Black’s questions.
“All attempts were unanswered.”
Julie says this was a conscious decision on her part, one she is glad she made.
“There were a couple of attempts made by the CEO to speak to me via phone call, but I responded asking to have email or text communication so that we had a paper trail to follow,” she said.
She also refused to engage with the investigator appointed by the school, saying the “culturally unsafe” response to her formal complaint suggested the investigation would also be “inappropriate”.
Colleague complained to school executive about teacher’s behaviour
Julie’s was not the only complaint against the teacher at the time: in the same month she alerted the school to her daughter’s allegation, another complaint was made about the teacher’s behaviour.
Jess*, a carer of a Hymba Yumba student, told Living Black that she brought a complaint to the school, that the teacher would often make sexual comments around the pupils. She was similarly disappointed by the school’s response.
“They left me in the dark for 14 weeks,” the Bundjalung woman told Living Black.
“They avoided my phone calls, avoided emails, [and] palmed it off to an investigator that I personally thought wasn't culturally safe.
“This wasn't a First Nations investigator … so I didn't feel safe discussing anything with this person.”
Jess says her unwillingness to engage with what she saw as a flawed process meant her concerns went unaddressed.
“Because I didn't feel safe … the school basically felt that they just didn't have to deal with me then.”
At the time of publication of this article, HYIS had not replied to queries about Jess’ complaint.
However, as part of its response to other questions put by Living Black regarding complaints made to the school, the HYIS Board said it stands by its process.
“Someone’s unhappiness with an outcome is not evidence that the matter was not investigated and actioned appropriately.”
Living Black contacted the teacher who is the subject of both Jess and Julie’s complaints.
During a brief phone call, he said “I have an idea what the story is about, and the story is not factual. Go through the school.”
Teacher was under investigation by state's regulatory body
The Springfield school is home to some 300 students, most of whom are Aboriginal.
In February this year, the teacher was required to appear before a QCT hearing to provide evidence relating to allegations he made sexualised remarks around students at a previous school in Queensland.
It also involved “overly familiar” conduct towards “several female students”.
Living Black is also aware of a list of incidents dating back to 2010 from his time with Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE).
The allegations against the teacher are still unproven, and he has repeatedly denied the claims. The focus of our story is not what the teacher may have done, but on how the school handles serious matters which affect children in its care.
Highly unusually, Hymba Yumba’s CEO, Ms Karla Brady, detailed these alleged incidents, related to her by the teacher, to the board and executive, including the names of some of the students said to be involved.
News of the QCT investigation caused immediate concern amongst some of the staff..
Anna* was a senior HYIS teacher at the time.
When she learnt of the QCT hearings, and the teacher’s history, she assumed his temporary contract would be allowed to lapse.
“When I heard it, instantly I said to the executive member, ‘We'll be letting them go then,’” Anna told Living Black.
“The response was, ‘No, not yet. We'll just wait for the outcome of that report. It didn't happen at our school, it doesn't matter,’ in a sense.
“I became really upset by that response and the next day resigned.”
Another former HYIS employee, Wiradjuri woman Jade Shaw, tendered her resignation in March over the allegations, alleging in a voice note sent to the school that there were “no longer standards or values left at Hymba Yumba Independent School to uphold.”
Hymba Yumba said it has “detailed and effective processes through which teachers and others can raise concerns about child welfare or other issues.”
In a statement to Living Black, Hymba Yumba detailed its response to the teacher’s disclosure that he was under investigation by QCT, saying the school had “forensically audited [his] digital footprint”, rostered a “buddy teacher” to his classes, monitored student behaviour and assigned an Indigenous education worker to the teacher’s home room.
For Anna, questions still remain around the teacher’s history with BCE, and why it did not raise concerns during his employment process.
“My first question when [they] told me on the phone in December, was, ‘Well, how did this get through the references?’
Anna says she was later told that no reference notes were on the record of interview on the teacher’s file.
Under Queensland legislation, schools are only required to check whether a teacher has a valid registration. HYIS said it had made the mandatory checks at the time of his employment, and also contradicted Anna’s allegation that there were no further enquiries.
“Hymba Yumba was not made aware of previous allegations at the time of the teacher’s appointment despite carrying out reference checks.”
Results of the investigations
In June, chair Prof Bunda sent two emails, one to Julie, the other to the school’s entire staff.
Julie’s email was dated 3 June, but the mother says she received it over two weeks later.
“The outcome of the investigation has found no evidentiary proof of wrongdoing by [the teacher] or concerns with his conduct in his role … at HYIS,” the email read.
“Therefore, your complaint is now actioned and closed.”
On June 24, all staff received the other email, an update on the QCT’s investigation into the same teacher.
“I am writing to inform you that this matter has now been addressed and resolved,” wrote Prof Bunda.
“We can confirm that the staff member’s registration through the Queensland College of Teachers remains valid.
“As such, the matter is now closed.”
Living Black understands that the teacher concerned has since ceased his employment at Hymba Yumba, and has relocated to another school in the Brisbane area. Hymba Yumba has not commented on this.
For some, questions remain about the school’s handling of the complaints, and the wider issue of accountability and oversight in independent schools.
Anna, the former HYIS teacher, says the school should have alerted QPS about Julie’s allegation.
In response, the school said it made eight attempts to initiate contact between Julie and the investigator, which “either went unresponded or were met twice by a refusal to engage”.
“The lack of information did not and still does not meet the assessment that there was risk of harm,” the school said, referring to the threshold in Queensland which legally requires a police report.
Anna also wrote to the QCT and the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board asking for assistance, but says her pleas fell on deaf ears.
“There are so many systems here that have failed these kids and it's not just the school.
“I want the school to be happy again,” she said.
“I want jarjum to be safe.
"I want community to feel safe to go there and know that their concerns are heard and that it's a place of culture and love and learning, which at the moment, it's not.”
* This name has been changed to protect the identity of children.
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