Nannup District High School teacher being investigated over claims of grabbing, striking students

A teacher with decades of experience is being investigated for allegedly hitting, grabbing or squeezing kids as young as six at a public school in the South West. The Education Department last week suspended a Nannup District High School teacher two weeks after receiving a parent’s complaint she allegedly gripped the shoulders of a nine-year-old boy in Year 4 and squeezed him so hard it left a bruise on his arm. But parents are now questioning why the teacher was able to continue working at the school after a complaint was lodged late last year that she struck a six-year-old boy in class. The West understands another parent notified the school in November after the teacher allegedly hit a Year 1 student on the shoulder from behind while he was sitting at his desk talking to a classmate. The department confirmed its standards and integrity division had launched an investigation. Professional standards and conduct executive director Mary Brown said complaints alleging physical contact were “taken very seriously”. “The staff member has been suspended while an investigation takes place,” she said. “The department is not in a position to comment further until the investigation has concluded.” Under WA school regulations, teachers can make physical contact with students only if it is considered an appropriate response to keep them from being harmed, such as if they are breaking up a fight. Any physical contact must be “reasonable” and cannot be used to hurt or punish students. The teacher has taught several generations of children at Nannup DHS, which takes students from kindergarten to Year 10. Several parents told The West the teacher had a history of being verbally abrasive, shouting at students, ripping pages out of their workbooks, telling them to “shut up” and calling them “stupid” or “idiots”. Parents also complained Nannup DHS had not responded adequately to other concerns — partly because of a high turnover of principals — which had led to an exodus of students in recent years. They said a growing number of students from Nannup were now travelling nearly an hour by bus to attend school in Manjimup. According to the department’s website, enrolments at Nannup fell by 25 per cent between the first half of 2021 and the end of last year, dropping from 121 to 89 students. At least another 10 students have left the school so far this year.