A vote of no confidence in ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry has not passed in the Legislative Assembly after it was brought by the opposition, which said she should be held responsible for safety concerns at a Canberra school.
The vote was held after it was revealed a number of violent incidents had occurred at Calwell High School and some students had been forced into remote learning.
A WorkSafe ACT prohibition notice issued to the school revealed that while its inspectors were on campus, they witnessed a school fire alarm activate and students ignoring teacher requests, wandering in and out and classrooms.
The notice revealed how one inspector witnessed a staff member approach another staff member and hand her half a pair of steel scissors, saying they were in the possession of a student.
It also detailed how a teacher had reported being assaulted by a student the previous week, which resulted in a dislocated shoulder, several broken teeth, welts to the teacher's lower arm and bruising to their back.
Parents and carers of students at Calwell High School then received an email on Friday notifying them that students in years 7 and 8 would transition to remote learning for the final week of term 1, with the email citing COVID-19 disruptions and "other challenges associated with maintaining a safe learning environment for all students and staff."
Opposition slams 'horrendous working conditions' in schools
Today, Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee said Ms Berry should be held accountable for the unsafe workplace conditions at Calwell High School and other schools in the ACT.
"The minister can try and blame COVID all she wants but the serious systemic issues of violence and unacceptable working conditions in our schools were there well before COVID," she said.
"I am devastated for our students experiencing this horror under the watch of this minister."
But the opposition's attempt to show that the Legislative Assembly had no confidence in Ms Berry as Education Minister was unsuccessful.
Ms Berry said incidents of violence in schools were rare, despite what had been reported.
She told the Legislative Assembly that while the report by WorkSafe ACT was devastating, staff had been receiving support.
Violent incidents aren't rare: union
But Australian Education Union ACT branch president Angela Burroughs said more than 1,600 violent incidents had been reported at ACT schools last quarter.
She said they were not rare occurrences and that the majority involved students assaulting staff.
"In response to Minister Berry saying that incidents of violence in Canberra schools are rare, that is the situation we wish was present, but it is not the reality at the moment," Ms Burroughs said.
"The last quarter report indicated that more than 1,600 incidences have had been reported across ACT schools.
Ms Burroughs called on the government to bring in more staff, to ensure all those on school grounds were safe.
"Our schools need more resources, we need to ensure that we have adequate staff in our schools to be able to operate our schools safely so that classes are not continually collapsed," she said.
"We need to have the wraparound support services to support the needs of individual students."
She welcomed the implementation of remote learning as the sector worked to resolve the problem of staff shortages, which she said were affecting 11 schools in the ACT.
"Every school appears to be teetering on the edge. They are limping towards the school holidays."
