The teachers' union has referred further schools to the work safety watchdog as the ACT Education Directorate revealed it has received 2100 notifications of workplace incidents this year across all ACT public schools.
Year 7 and 8 students switched to remote learning in the final week of term 1 after WorkSafe ACT issued a prohibition notice to the Tuggeranong school on March 31 because of an imminent risk to health and safety.
On the same day an improvement notice was also issued related to fire extinguishers, which had been relocated due to students using them as weapons.
An Education Directorate spokesman confirmed it received two further notices on Tuesday, both relating to Calwell High School.
"These notices have been issued to the directorate relating specifically to the provision and maintenance of safe systems of work at the school and reference the matters previously raised in the initial WorkSafe ACT notice on 31 March," the spokesman said.
Australian Education Union ACT branch president Angela Burroughs said the union had referred more schools to WorkSafe, but did not specify which sites.
"The root cause of the problem is a lack of staffing," Ms Burroughs said.
The union has sent a list of actions the directorate can take to improve the situation in the short term. Meanwhile, about 10 sub-branches of the union have passed motions calling on the directorate to take action on staff shortages.
All ACT government employees are required to log workplace accidents and incidents in an online system known as Riskman.
The Education Directorate received 2100 such reports across all ACT public schools from the beginning of 2022 to March 31.
This figure includes Riskman incidents reported across all categories, including low-level incidents, minor cuts and abrasions, falls and other non-violence related minor risks.
"The ACT government is committed to building a positive reporting culture where staff feel safe and supported to come forward if experiencing violence or have concerns about their safety and wellbeing," the directorate spokesman said.
He said there were 11 people employed in the Education Directorate whose primary role was to review and respond to the work health and safety incidents logged through Riskman.
The prohibition notice stated that teachers were unable to practice core learning and quality teaching because they were being used as babysitters for overcrowded classrooms of more than 40 students.
It noted teachers were being verbally and physically abused on a daily basis, with one staff member locking themselves in a cupboard and crying uncontrollably because of workplace pressures.
At one stage, the directorate sent people from the employee assistance program to the school to speak with teachers and staff but they were unable to leave the classrooms due to staff shortages.
Australian Education Union ACT branch officials have questioned why the directorate did not intervene sooner at the school under such severe staffing pressures, which was previously raised in a formal industrial complaint in July last year.
The directorate spokesman said Calwell High School started the year fully staffed and had been prioritised for centralised staff relief pool in term 1.
"Of the 15 days in term 1 that Calwell High was identified as level 2 in the staff shortages matrix, Calwell High received support on 14 of those days," the spokesman said.
More resources have been sent to the school since the WorkSafe inspection, including executives from the directorate, counsellors and school psychologist available via telehealth for the year 7 and 8 students.
