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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Sarah Lansdown

Calwell High School to undergo special review

Calwell High School will undergo a special purpose review after WorkSafe ACT intervened. Picture: Elesa Kurtz

A Tuggeranong school will undergo a review after WorkSafe ACT was forced to intervene amid dire staff shortages and frequent occupational violence.

The Calwell High School special purpose review will begin on May 31 with a team of educators from the ACT, NSW and Victorian education systems to scrutinise the school's practices.

It comes after WorkSafe ACT lifted a prohibition notice which prevented year 7 and 8 students from attending the campus while the Education Directorate worked intensively to improve health and safety at the school.

Inspectors witnessed frequent aggressive behaviour from students towards staff and large class sizes during their visit in Term 1.

Calwell High School principal Megan Altenburg asked parents and carers for their input as part of the review.

"The review is a great way for us to identify areas for improvement and an opportunity to renew our commitment to student learning and wellbeing," Ms Altenburg said in a letter.

"I look forward to sharing the outcomes of the review with you next month."

All schools are usually reviewed every five years.

This special purpose review will examine student learning and engagement, teaching practices, leadership practices and organisational practices.

Australian Education Union ACT branch president Angela Burroughs said the review was not surprising considering what happened at the school.

"We welcome the review and its potential for generating lessons that may be applied across the system," Ms Burroughs said.

Ms Altenburg said the school was committed to more frequent parent communication, rolling out the positive behaviours for learning program and improved monitoring of COVID-19 teacher absences.

It also has new teaching staff and improvements to processes for incident management and work health and safety.

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