Content warning: this story includes references to violence, bullying, and mental health issues, and some readers may find the content distressing.
While all the stories we have heard so far in our series on Armidale Secondary College are tragic and confronting, sometimes the cause of the issues have little to do with the school itself.
This next story fits in to that category, but as it involves a child in care there are many details we cannot publish.
What this story illustrates, even with many missing details, is the intensity of the problem when there isn’t another public high school in a city the size of Armidale. The size of ASC, and the inability to go to another school to escape bullying or other issues, makes already vulnerable children an easy target. And there are a lot of vulnerable children in our community.
For clarity, the names used are not real names, and we have done our best to not reveal the gender, age, or year of the child, or other identifying details. But this story needs to be told.
Punishing the child for the failures of adults
Cheryl – not her real name – is the legal guardian for a number of her grandchildren. These kids have been through more than their fair share of trauma in their young lives.
One of the children in her care, whom we’ll call Riley, has missed more than half of the school year because it was not safe for them to be at school. The extreme violence and repeated beatings this child has been exposed to are not issues created at school, but rather adult issues that are being taken out on a child (and we cannot legally publish).
Cheryl is frustrated that the school and police seem to be unable to protect Riley, and the victim is the one being punished.
“They love school but I am so afraid for their safety every day.”
“I’ve got so many police reports down at the police station regarding [the ongoing violence],” Cheryl said.
In one incident, eerily similar to another story we have heard, Riley was tricked into going into the bathrooms by someone pretending to be a friend, where they were severely beaten and the whole thing filmed.
“It’s just ridiculous. They come up from behind and pull [them] down and kick the hell out of them.”
In another incident, Riley was burned by another student, in a classroom, while a teacher was present. They needed a skin graft at a major hospital in the city.
“Even the hospital said, what’s being done? I said, nothing. They’re doing nothing. Charges are not being laid. Nothing.”
The only time the eldest of the children in Cheryl’s care has been in trouble is when they defended Riley, jumping on top of the younger child to protect them from the blows of six people involved in the attack. Similar to other stories we have heard about siblings protecting each other, the defender was the one who got in trouble.
“It doesn’t make much sense, does it? The child that’s being bashed is sent home. The others are allowed to stay there,” Cheryl said.
Like other stories we have already heard, when Riley was at school they often weren’t in class because class wasn’t safe. In this case, ASC dealt with that by sending Riley home and to the suspension centre, a specialist facility within the ground of Drummond designed to assist kids on long term suspension to return to school.
“Riley was hiding from people at ASC so they put them in some weird class over here and I said ‘that’s not fair’,” Cheryl said.
And, like other stories reported here and elsewhere, the school has repeatedly suggested the victim should leave the school.
“And then they said ‘how about Back Track’. I went, are you serious? Are you serious?”
After the most recent beating, again captured on video and described by the deputy who called Cheryl about the incident as ‘horrific’, the school suggested mediation.
Seeking help but getting little
Cheryl has tried to get help and is willing to consider anything to keep her grandchildren safe.
“I’ve tried to contact the Department of Education numerous times. No reply back.”
“I’d get on the phone and talk to someone and they say, ‘Oh, that’s horrible. We’ll get someone to ring you back’.”
“No one ever rings me back,” she said.
“I’ve got numerous accounts at the police station. Their hands are tied, they can’t do anything.”
She is very is concerned about the long term impact of the extreme violence on Riley, and says they are getting support in the form of counselling.
“I can see it, they’re becoming tough, hardened.”
“Streetwise, like ‘I don’t care’ kind of thing.”
“I’ve got them seeing counsellors, and I try to talk to them and say, look where you’re going to be in the long run, don’t look at today, look at the big picture,” Cheryl said.
Cheryl has also looked at private schools and even Guyra and Uralla Central Schools, but Riley was knocked back by one due to the issues at ASC, and the others were not suitable. The elite schools are, understandably, not affordable.
“There’s not many options.”
Cheryl says she is considering homeschooling for Riley and others in her care, as well as applying for scholarships to elite schools.
Reopen Duval
The NSW Minister for Families and Communities, currently Kate Washington, is responsible for the safety of all children in the care system. The Department of Communities and Justice, who administer the management of kids in out of home care, are unable to comment on any of the specifics relating to ASC or personal cases, or even the number of kids in care at ASC, with their spokesperson only able to offer the broad statement of “safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a key priority for the Department of Communities and Justice”.
But when a decision made by the NSW Department of Education endangers the safety of children the Department of Communities and Justice are supposed to be keeping safe, what happens then? Who is responsible for their safety?
It seems foster and kinship carers, the heroes of our community who step up to provide homes for kids in need, are left to pick up the pieces. And this one simply wants the option to send her kids to a different public school.
“I think that we should have Duval back,” Cheryl said.
“There’s too many kids up there. Obviously they can’t keep an eye on all of them. Like I said, Riley was in class when they got third degree burns to their ankle.”
“We all signed petitions, but that didn’t help, did it? Didn’t make a lick of difference, did it?”
“If there’s anything I need to do or say, I will do so because I want something to change. I really think Duval needs to come back,” Cheryl said.
Education Minister Prue Car and Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty announced yesterday that they are spending $1.4 billion over the next four years to “deliver a massive pipeline of new and upgraded schools for regional NSW after more than a decade of closures and neglect under the former Liberal National Government”. While the press release refers to the failure of school mergers, none of the schools listed for opening or upgrade were in the New England region. Specific questions about reopening Duval have not been answered by the Car’s office or the Department of Education.
This story is part of a series the New England Times is working on about Armidale Secondary College. Reports of violence, bullying, and other issues within the school are not dying down. We want to hear your stories – the good and the bad – whether you’re a student, parent, teacher, or other interested member of the community.
Email newsdesk@netimes.com.au or DM our Facebook page if you’d like to tell your story. The names of all parents and children in personal stories is being changed to protect the children involved.
Some of the content in these stories is distressing. If you or anyone you know needs help, please contact:
- Lifeline on 13 11 14
- Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
- Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
- Headspace on 1800 650 890