Teens at a private religious school were made to share beds with teachers, while its principal once wandered through a common area naked, former students claim.
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students → make → area
A NSW parliamentary inquiry on Monday was told of the disturbing allegations from two former students of western Sydney’s Redeemer Baptist School.
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inquiry → tell → School
Edward Garth, 23, said he was shunned after “escaping” the broader Redeemer community in November.
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he → say → November
He told the committee about a study-stay during school holidays when he slept in the same building as principal and church elder Jonathon Cannon.
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he → tell → Cannon
“I remember one night before dinner, I was in the kitchen getting a drink,” Garth said.
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Garth → remember → drink
“As I walked into the living room, which was my bedroom at the time, I saw [Cannon], my principal, walk out of the bathroom into the living room naked before heading to his room.
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Cannon → walk → room
“He was startled, and when they saw me, he ran to his room.
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he → startle → room
I don’t know why he didn’t cover himself with a towel.”
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he → know → towel
Garth said he reported the incident, but it got back to Cannon, the principal’s brother Noel and the then-pupil’s own parents, who scolded him.
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who → say → him
Former student Emma Hughes told the inquiry the culture inside the school left much for students to “untangle” as adults.
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students → tell → adults
School camps, away from parents, were especially anxiety-inducing.
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camps → induce → parents
On occasion, a student would have to share a bed with teachers in a caravan park or school-owned cabins to save space, she said.
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she → have → space
Her submission stated nothing untoward happened to her during the stays.
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nothing → state → stays
“Usually, the student would be a community member, which in itself says they knew maybe they shouldn’t be doing it,” she said.
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she → say → it
“But I recall when I was in year 6, I would share a bed with [a] teacher, and in an effort to be fair, she made it so we would rotate every night … so that we all didn’t have to.”
Staff, often known by kinship titles like “uncle”, regularly crossed conversational boundaries, Hughes said.
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Hughes → recall → boundaries
“Often, personal things were discussed in very public matters,” she said.
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she → discuss → matters
“The nature of boundaries is really something which is not particularly, I believe, understood by staff at Redeemer in the way we understand it in most school contexts.”
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we → believe → contexts
The school also had an emphasis on surveillance and “dobbing”, public humiliations and punishment, she said.
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she → have → surveillance
A boy and girl were made to stand on chairs in front of a year 7 class after teachers intercepted a love note, Hughes said of her time at the school.
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Hughes → make → school
Noel Cannon read the note to a collection of students before they were “dressed-down in front of four year groups and many teachers”, she said.
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she → read → groups
The parliamentary committee is investigating the management of the Parramatta-based school and oversight from government bodies.
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committee → investigate → bodies
The Communities and Justice Department received 15 risks of significant harm notifications since 2004 but they had not triggered a field assessment, an earlier response to questions on notice revealed.
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response → receive → notice
Cannon and other school representatives were invited to appear at the inquiry and state the school’s case.
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Cannon → invite → case
Committee chair Abigail Boyd said she was disappointed an attempted summons to appear went begging.
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summons → say → ?
AAP has contacted the school for comment on the students’ allegations.
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AAP → contact → allegations
The Aporia
