‘Serious' bullying of teachers alleged at Wānaka school

Otago Daily Times

3 days ago

Mount Aspiring College. Photo: Gregor Richardson
Bullying, harassment and "deeply unsettling" behaviour by Mount Aspiring College students towards staff members has led to the school bringing in outside help to deal with the issue.
A letter from the Wānaka school's Post Primary Teachers' Association branch representative Denise Bruns, obtained by the Otago Daily Times, revealed an ongoing issue with students bullying teachers.
Denise Bruns. PHOTO: ODT FILES
"It has been brought to my attention that there are still instances of bullying by students towards staff. Some of which are quite serious," she wrote in a letter to staff.
One teacher who declined to be named told the ODT she had been called the C-word and other names by students in a classroom.
Another source said other teachers had been subjected to derogatory language by students, some of it of a sexual nature.
There had been incidents where students had surrounded teachers making them feel unsafe.
In the letter, Ms Bruns asked staff to speak up about stressful incidents and whether they felt safe in the schoolyard environment.
"I completely understand if you might feel hesitant, embarrassed or upset. Concerns have been raised about staff being on duty alone."
She mentioned the repeated nature of the behavioural issues.
"Most concerning was a report of a student making an intimidating comment that they revealed they knew a staff member's home address, implying a threat beyond the school environment. This kind of behaviour is deeply unsettling and must be taken seriously."
Nicola Jacobsen. PHOTO: ODT FILES
School principal Nicola Jacobsen told the ODT the "spontaneous" letter was addressing a "one-off" incident where three students followed a teacher in an intimidating way.
"We have responded to a specific incident where a staff member had done the right thing on duty and tried to move some students on, and there was something that happened where essentially the students followed the teacher."
She would not say how the students had since been penalised, but said they had been given "tough consequences".
A safety plan for the teacher was put in place, which was the principal accompanying her on lunchtime duty.
"I think what happened is the student followed the teacher when they disagreed with her, which was the wrong thing to do and the teacher did feel intimidated by their actions."
It was a small group of students spoiling the situation, Ms Jacobsen said.
"What we've got is a really small group of students who, for whatever reason, [are] not doing the right thing and not responding to interventions.
"It is a long road to support those behavioural changes."
That included getting in an outside agency to intervene in the children's behaviour.
"The vast majority [are] doing the right thing. Teenagers make mistakes and sometimes get it wrong and staff at no point should not feel safe."
She acknowledged staff had requested support aside from the one incident.
The board and pastoral team were looking into data on behaviour at the school, and would be taking the issue seriously.
"I do not want people to be by themselves on duty, when they would feel better and more supported if there was someone with them," she said.
Mount Aspiring College board deputy chairman Mark Sinclair and Ms Jacobsen also issued a joint statement saying it had systems in place to address poor behaviour.
"We have robust systems in place to ensure wrap-around support for students when dealing with behavioural incidents, and these procedures also exist to protect staff.
"This includes free, confidential guidance counselling, access to external agencies and a united, collegial staff with multiple communications channels for individuals to feel supported across the school."
Ms Bruns' letter said "restorative practices" with students had been ineffective.
"Several staff described the process as 'not worth it', citing students refusing to give names or showing a complete lack of respect for the process, for staff or for school expectations."
Mount Aspiring College is no stranger to controversy. In June 2020 the Ministry of Health put the school in statutory management following a poor education review report and parental concerns about a lack of leadership and governance.
Among other issues at the time there were rumours of bullying among teaching staff, including of department heads bullying younger teachers, so much that some resigned or changed teaching positions within the school.
Then-principal Wayne Bosley resigned that year.
An independent chairman was appointed to the school's board in August 2020 and a new principal, Ms Jacobsen, who had been deputy principal at Pakuranga College, started at the school in January 2021.