Neil Moon uses former student to improve school's reputation

Staff at the problematic Carenne Special School in Bathurst have complained about Neil Moon's use of a former student to attempt to improve the school's reputation amongst the school community. The recent newsletter mentioned that former student Tim Seager from Seager Productions returned to the school to present a perpetual visual arts award to a student.

Staff were appalled that Neil Moon was so low as to use a former student who was abused by numerous staff to attempt to improve the school's reputation.

Gretel told Carenne Gate that there was no such business as Seager Productions and that the whole presentation was a sham. "There's no business and the student's mother should hang her head in bloody shame. This is a student who was continuously abused by Laurie Clifford and Juliette Van-Emmerick, Laurie didn't understand his unique needs and terrorised him while he was in her class."

It is well known that the student was one of the first to be suspended in years at Carenne, after allegedly assaulting staff. At the time, jrosenberg reported that the student was harassed by Clifford and Van-Emmerick.

It's apparent that Moon has no leadership skills and no sense and is not a fit or proper person to be principal of Carenne.

Qualifications mean nothing to Carenne

For a long time now it has been known that Carenne employs nepotistic practices when employing staff. Some time ago, Janelle Kemp's niece Laurie Clifford (then Healey) was given a permanent position at the school over staff who had far more experience and who were properly qualified.

According to the Western Advocate, Mrs Clifford received a Graduate Diploma of Inclusive Education from Charles Sturt University, completing her special education training. According to the paper she has been employed at Carenne since 2007.

Even more disturbing is the fact that Clifford was appointed relieving assistant principal while Terry Neal took a trip to the top end to avoid attending court. How could someone who isn't even special education trained be given an assistant principal's position and expected to be part of the Carenne executive?

How many other staff at Carenne are not properly qualified for their job? Given the mass of issues at the school you would think that it would be important to have staff that are trained to do the job they are performing.

Neil Moon keeps it in the family

The principal of the embattled Carenne Special School has been accused of further nepotism despite staunch criticism about it in the past. Carenne Gate has learned that Moon employed Doug Rowe, husband of teacher's aide Margaret Rowe as a General Assistant to help move furniture at the school.

Carenne Special School has a history of nepotism with Janelle Kemp being related to Laurie Clifford, Lyn Duncan employing her husband Steve Duncan, Anne Baskerville's partner Lee Graham being given work and Brian and Nathan Carter working at the school.

One of the Carenne whistleblowers told Carenne Gate that Neil Moon is too paranoid to employ other people. "Neil is more paranoid this year than ever, he will only employ people who will keep the secrets in the school," said the whistleblower.

It shows that despite the massive issues surrounding Carenne that Neil Moon continues with his stupidity.

Strange staffing practices continue at Carenne

Despite coming under fire for employing friends and family over others, using nepotistic procedures when filling permanent positions and allowing a teacher who wasn't approved by the Department of Education and Training to teach for a number of weeks, senior staff at Carenne are still resorting to truly bizarre staffing practices.

It has been learned that on Tuesday the 21st of September, Lucy Thornton declared she was relieving for School Administration Officer Rhonda Griffiths and paid accordingly, despite relieving School Learning Support Officer Simone Russell who was working in the office in Ms Griffith's place. It appears that executive staff at Carenne neglected to consider what would of happened if Mrs Thornton had been injured or if a student was injured, because as far as anyone knew, Mrs Thornton was working in the office.

Even more bizarrely, Anne Baskerville's SLSO was away for the day and because Sue Sewell was working on another class that day, she arranged to have a 16 year-old female student from Laurie Healey's classroom assist her for the day. The school executive and in particular Laurie Healey allowed a disabled 16 year-old student to assist a teacher with looking after six high-support needs students.

During term 2, Anne Baskerville sucessfully had Neil Moon employ another aide for the class as she claimed the workload and supervision required in that room showed that it was necessary. For most of term 2, the class was supervised by three adults. Mr Moon terminated funding for this arrangement in term 3, and despite Ms Baskerville's claims that the room needs three adults, she allowed a 16 year-old student to work as an aide.

These strange and bizarre staffing practices show that under the school's current leadership there remain serious issues which the department has not attempted to address.

Carenne's temporary executive, a family affair

With the absence of Terry Neal and Neil Moon who are both taking leave and Lee Churches due to illness only one member of the school's ordinary executive remains - Louise Smith. Due to the absences, the school has two staff who are assistant principals in a relieving capacity.

Laurie Healey has been appointed to relieve Terry Neal's executive position to the end of term and Janelle Kemp has been appointed to relieve Lee Churches' executive position until she returns.

Staff at the school are concerned about the relieving assistant principal appointment process due to Janelle Kemp being a close friend of Louise Smith's and Laurie Healey's aunt.

Barracus told Carenne Gate that Janelle Kemp and Laurie Healey were both inexperienced and were incapable of performing a management role. "Janelle has only had special ed qualifications for about two years, she got the teaching position initially because she had a disabled son and was a friend of Louise Smith's from Eglinton school,"

"Janelle was part of the corrupt merit selection last year that Lyn and Lee rigged, the job was all fixed up before the interviews, there is a secret list on who will be appointed to the next permanent position at the school and it is always followed."

Barracus was also scathing of Miss Healey and her position at the school. "Laurie is another one whos job was fixed up, it was preplanned that she would get a permanent position. She hasn't been a teacher all that long and there have been serious concerns about her conduct around teenage boys, she dresses inappropriately for work and is over-familiar with some. That is why she has a mostly female class now,"

"I couldn't believe it at the end of last term when Neil Moon said she would be relieving for Terry Neal, she has minimal teaching experience and from what I hear even had a history of issues at Bathurst West, why would you place her in an executive position?"

A number of staff have said they are concerned that of the present three executives at the school, two are related and the only non-relative is a close friend of one of the others. Staff have also complained about Janelle Kemp performing the principal's job today, believing that Louise Smith would have been the most appropriate person to fill the role, as she has executive experience.

"The school is becoming an even bigger joke every day because of the complete stupidity of allowing someone as inexperienced as Janelle Kemp lead the school," said whistleblower Gretel.

Parents may be called upon to keep class budgets afloat

According to information and documents received from Carenne Special School whistleblowers, a number of classes have used their budget for the year and now parents may be called upon to keep key school programs such as cooking afloat.

According to the information, Michael Auld, Peter Richards, Laurie Healey, Nadine Dwyer and Ros Luther have exhausted their class budget for this year, with another three months to go in the school year. According to an email between Helen Windsor, Carenne's new administrator and Neil Moon leaked to Carenne Gate last week several classes are close to or have exceeded their budget and parents may need to contribute money towards independent living schools programs for those classes if the programs are to continue until the end of the year.

According to one Carenne Saviour, a conversation took place between Mr Moon and Mrs Windsor last week where she told him that she was concerned about the amount of money Michael Auld had been putting down for work experience activities associated with the Riding for the Disabled Association.

Hatho told Carenne Gate that the problems were associated with Mrs Windsor not being creative enough -

"This write your class name on every receipt is rubbish, when Simone was SAM, if one class' budget was exceeded she would just allocate that to a class which wasn't and which had fewer costs, that way important programs can continue, she is just not being creative enough."

The comment by hatho indicates that under Mrs Russell's administration, much of the school's funding was being diverted away from where it should have been going. Instead of allowing teachers who routinely go over their budget to siphon funds from elsewhere they should be more careful of the public's money.

A saviour told Carenne Gate that Kelly Thompson had one of the best systems for classroom funds. "Kelly actually had the class deliver newspapers as part of both their PE and to receive money for classroom activities and reward activities. For other activities she would have the parents make a very small contribution which if not received would exclude the student from that activity like an ordinary school. Auld and Churches hated this because they said she was being too tough, but she claimed it taught the students to be responsible."

As we have seen far too often at Carenne, a few get a free ride and special treatment to the detriment of others.