Teacher accused of verbal, emotional abuse keeps job after school probe

An Auckland teacher accused of verbal abuse, emotional manipulation and racism has kept their job after an internal investigation by a school. 

A parent, who the Herald has agreed not to name, said parents and students had raised concerns with Elim Christian College in Botany, Auckland, about the teacher’s conduct in the classroom. 

Principal Julian Adamson confirmed to the Herald the school received “a complaint about a teacher about matters pertaining to certain aspects of their teaching style” and the Teaching Council was advised. 

“The wellbeing of our students and staff is our highest priority. We place a very high value on our relationships with all members of our community, and we welcome feedback and concerns from them so that we can work together to provide the highest quality education for the young people in our care,” Adamson said. 

“We followed our standard best-practice process, including conducting an investigation and advising the Teaching Council. 

“We are satisfied with the outcome, the teacher’s response and measures put in place moving forward. We cannot go into more detail due to privacy.” 

The parent claimed students, including their child, were victims of multiple instances of alleged misconduct by the teacher, which were raised with the school, including allegedly calling a student a “b****”, “consistent belittling of students” and “joining in when classmates teased students”. 

They claimed the teacher also allegedly threw students’ bags in bins and made them fish them out in front of the class as “an embarrassment tactic”. 

The teacher was also accused of racism after they allegedly laughed at a student’s cultural clothing during the school’s cultural day, and accused the youngster of “making up tribes and creating cultures” after questioning the child about their outfit, according to the parent. 

Adamson said “there have been no allegations of racism”. 

“We cannot provide more specific detail or context in regard to other allegations because of employment and privacy laws.” 

When asked by the Herald about specific allegations against the teacher understood to have been raised at a meeting between a group of students and the principal on August 12, Adamson said: “Some of the allegations are inaccurate, exaggerated or lack context, and again we have not received complaints nor are we aware of instances related to racism.” 

The parent insisted the allegations of racism were raised by the students to the principal, and claimed the principal took notes in the meeting. 

When asked about this, Adamson said: “I’ll have to check my notes”. He later added in an email: “Concerns were raised by some students which we looked into as part of the investigation as we take all concerns raised by students seriously. Again, no allegations of racism have been received.” 

The Herald approached the teacher through the principal but they declined to comment. 

The parent said a formal complaint was filed on behalf of several parents. 

“It was not signed together but we made it clear it was from all of us.” 

Elim Christian College's Botany campus. Photo / Google Maps 

Adamson said: “We have received a formal complaint from one parent. 

“We have no evidence to indicate this was on behalf of other parents. 

“We have been engaging directly and extensively with this parent throughout this matter, and our door continues to remain open to her to meet directly should she wish to express any other thoughts and concerns. 

“We cannot comment on the number of complaints received against any staff member due to privacy laws.” 

The parent said they also made individual complaints in person and on the phone about the teacher but did not receive any communication about it from the school. 

“We didn’t get any follow-up. They told our kids that it had been dealt with but they couldn’t say how and that’s everything we got.” 

The parent said they were informed by their child that the teacher was given three days of leave before returning to teach on August 14. 

They said many concerned parents are unhappy with how the school dealt with the situation. 

“I don’t think [the teacher] should be around kids, honestly.” 

The parent also claimed the school has been telling students and parents “not to talk about it”. 

The principal confirmed that apology and restoration was part of the school’s process. He declined to give further details. 

The Teaching Council said it was unable to confirm whether it received a report from the school because of privacy reasons. 

“Our priority is keeping Aotearoa’s learners safe. We take all reports and complaints seriously and we strongly encourage anyone who has any concerns about a teacher to reach out to us,” Teaching Council chief executive Sean McKinley said. 

Elim Christian College is a state-integrated special character area school with about 1350 students from new entrants to Year 13. 

The school’s website says it is “a vibrant learning community that impacts the whole person and provides seamless, quality education founded on a Biblical worldview and based on sound Christian principles”.