A primary school installed a secret camera in a kindergarten classroom without telling parents or police – who were only notified when a casual teacher stumbled across it sitting on a desk.
Ashtonfield Public School at Maitland in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley used a camera to record a kindergarten classroom without notifying parents of the young children, aged between five and six years old.
Parents with ‘grave concerns’ have approached their local MP Jenny Aitchison, and she is so troubled by the camera confusion that she has asked for a ‘please explain’ from NSW Minister for Education Rob Stokes.
Ms Aitchison said parents told her there were two cameras in the classroom, ‘one was disguised as a gaming camera and the other as an alarm clock’.
Ashtonfield Public School in New South Wales set up a secret camera in a kindergarten class
When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, a NSW Department of Education spokesman said the school put one camera in the classroom in ‘response to a police matter’ – but a NSW police spokesman said they only became involved once the camera was found.
Police said Central Hunter officers are ‘investigating a series of incidents’ which happened at the school stretching back to November last year.
‘These incidents all relate to the harassment and intimidation of a staff member at the school.’
School principal Deb Healey sent this letter to parents on Tuesday saying there was no danger to students or teachers
In response to being asked about the correct timeline, the Department of Education spokesman said he had no reason to dispute the police’s record of events.
He refused to answer why the school didn’t alert the police or parents before putting the camera in the classroom, saying it would be ‘inappropriate to comment on an ongoing police investigation’.
The spokesman said the camera was ‘put in plain sight’ in the classroom, and the matter being investigated ‘does not involve nor put any students at risk’.
Police said they are not investigating why the camera was placed in the classroom.
In a letter to the Minister, Ms Aitchison implored Mr Stokes to ‘get to the bottom of what has happened’.
‘This situation is not good for the morale of anyone in our school community. The longer it takes to resolve the situation, the more uncertainty, stress and anxiety it causes for all concerned.
‘It is clear that neither the school’s nor the Department’s current processes for addressing this issue have resolved any of the issues, and have, in fact created more questions than they have answered.
Parents said two cameras were in the classroom disguised as other things (stock image)
‘The school community is rightly asking for a clear answer in relation to this situation.
‘Given there have been a number of conflicting explanations from the Department and the school regarding who placed the camera or cameras, who authorised them, what their purpose was, and whether an investigation is still being undertaken, I would prefer any answers to be in writing.’
In a letter sent to parents on Tuesday and obtained by Daily Mail Australia, school principal Deb Healey said a casual teacher found the camera in the classroom and notified other staff.
The camera was then removed.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison was contacted by parents with grave concerns about the camera
In the letter, Ms Healey said ‘cameras were placed in one classroom to assist with identifying a perpetrator of repeated acts of vandalism and victimisation at the school’.
‘These acts were occurring when students and the class teacher were not in the classroom. The classroom in question was KS [kindergarten].
‘There is no danger to any students or teachers at the school. I am unable to comment any further due to ongoing investigations.’