Richard Webster suspended by Carenne Support

Nedkelly has contacted Carenne Gate concerned about the treatment of Carenne Support buds driver Richard Webster. Nedkelly claims that Mr Webster was advised by Dave Graham that he was suspended from duty pending investigation.

Nedkelly claims that Mr Webster is under investigation for being seen with Carenne Support competitor Cheryl Chaplin and his negligent driving charge. She also claims that an unapproved driver was used on the run with no escort even though one is required.

Helen Windsor, who has to approve payments to escorts was told of the arrangement and said she would sign Mark Sealey's form as the department couldn't know there was no escort.

Carenne Support has a history of shady employment practices with Brian Carter and Jenny O'Neill both suing them.

Carenne related blogs attacked

This blog, carennetruth's blog and hatho's blog have all been attacked by a group of online jackets calling themselves Anonymous. The organisation, known for similar attacks claims they are carried out as part of Operation ability.

Carenne Gate is looking into whether the attacks on this blog were ordered by the Department of Education and Communities, someone associated with Carenne, were random or connected with legal threats received by our writers.

Student in hospital after Cranston and Casey's negligence

A student at the much maligned Carenne Special School was taken by ambulance to the hospital on Friday after falling down a flight of stairs. The student, who has difficulty walking without assistance was unsupervised at the time with his teacher Matt Casey and aide Angie Cranston in the classroom when the accident happened.

The student was believed to have been laying outside in a pool of blood for five minutes before staff contacted the school's first aid officer and the ambulance.

Gretel told Carenne Gate that she believed Cranston should be sacked.

"Angie has been involved in so many dramas at Carenne it isn't funny. She was the aide on playground duty and for the student who was attacked with a cricket bat, she was the aide for the student who was supposed to be receiving therapy and wasn't, she was the aide when Ellen Sutton fell down the drain and she sent kids back to the school unsupervised and she was the person blamed for at least two bullying complaints by staff. She's a real problem."

It is not the first time that students have been injured due to poor supervision at Carenne. In 2008, a student was hospitalised after being attacked with a cricket bat due to the poor supervision of Kelly Thompson and Angie Cranston; In 2009, a student was rushed to hospital after overdosing on Louise Smith's pain medication that was left in the classroom and in 2010 a student was raped by another student due to poor supervision by Sandra Lynch.

It's time that Peter Harvey sack Angie Cranston, who's history at Carenne is nothing short of appalling and that an independent inquiry be established into the very serious issues at Carenne Special School.

Melinda Gavin stopped extra help at RDA

Carenne Gate has learned that the School Learning Support Officer used to run the horse riding program at the Riding for the Disabled Association, Melinda Gavin refused to allow someone else to be trained to do her job. Parents and staff have routinely complained about how the RDA program is placed on hold whenever Mrs Gavin is away, despite parents now being asked to pay for their child to attend.

We can reveal that last year, Jasmine Ryan, who has experience working with Carenne's students as an SLSO and extensive experience with horses offered to become an RDA riding coach but was told Melinda Gavin had refused to allow it. As a result, there is no backup person at RDA for when Mrs Gavin is away.

A whistleblower told Carenne Gate that they were concerned about the level of control Michael Auld and Melinda Gavin had over RDA. "It's like their own personal business, nobody else is allowed in unless they are trusted by those two. Jasmine would of been great as Melinda's relief but Melinda wouldn't allow it."

It is obvious that there is much to hide at RDA, an organisation which has been hindered by problems ever since the involvement of Michael Auld.

Carenne continues to break departmental guidelines on work experience transport

The executive of the troubled Carenne Special School continue to breach departmental child protection policies with its transport arrangements for taking students to and from work experience according to whistleblowers at the school. Carenne has been beset with child protection issues for some time, from the poor supervision of students, locking them in a torture room, physically abusing them and the sexual relationship between a teacher and student that was proven in court.

Despite Carenne's history of child protection issues, the school executive continues to breach child protection guidelines relating to the supervision of students by requiring School Learning Support Officers to transport students to and from work experience by themselves. Under departmental guidelines, SLSOs are not to be solely responsible for supervising students, a teacher must be present at all times.

Concerns about work experience arrangements have been raised by staff over a number of years with former principals Terry Mahony, Lyn Duncan, Terry Neal and current principal Neil Moon. According to savecarenne, she was told by Mr Mahony that the travel arrangements were approved by staff at the district office and that the rules had been bent for Carenne.

It's time that Carenne starts taking its duty of care to students seriously, that the department forces it to comply with child protection policies and that the entire executive of the school which is obviously incompetent is replaced.

Auld's latest excuse

Michael Auld has once again been caught lurking around the troubled Carenne Special School during the school holidays despite no longer being the school's computer co-ordinator. Passers-by reported on Wednesday that Auld was parked inside the neighbouring university, possibly attempting to avoid suspicion for being at the school.

Today, Auld was again observed at the school, again parked in the university grounds while being on the school's grounds. Carenne KLANsmen turned whistleblower 'nedkelly' contacted Carenne Gate concerned about Auld's peculiar behaviour. "The f---wit is no longer the school's computer person but he is there all the time. His excuse now is RDA, it's bullshit. He just snoops around and gets into other people's things," said nedkelly.

How Neil Moon and Peter Harvey can allow Auld, who isn't even a member of the school executive unlimited access to the school is concerning.

There's something about Peter Richards

It would seem that Peter Richards, a teacher at the problematic Carenne School is like a cat with nine lives, being protected by someone high up in the department.

Peter Richards' behaviour first came to SEA staff's attention when he was reported for using inappropriate behaviour management techniques. A parent complained that they had gone to the school and observed their son sitting at a desk outside the classroom with one arm tied to the desk. The parent untied their child and had a heated argument with Mr Richards.

When Lyn Duncan was asked about the arrangement, she denied that it happened and claimed that she was aware of who made the complaint and that they were known to staff at the school for being liars.

Complaints have been made about Richards leaving his classroom through the middle of the day, leaving students under the sole supervision of the class' aide so that he can go outside the school for a cigarette. This is a serious breach of both the department's duty of care to students and child protection guidelines.

Richards was then under the spotlight when it was discovered that he had been having an extra-marital affair with an aide at the school - Prue Luffman. This was not behaviour which upheld the reputation of the department or acting ethically and responsibly and breached the code of conduct. Despite this, nothing was done about it apart from Prue Luffman being offered no further work at the school.

In what should have been the straw that broke the camel's back, it was learned in April that Peter Richards had a drug problem, being a habitual marijuana smoker for years. He was admitted to hospital to get off the drugs but later relapsed, with his addiction being so bad that staff at Carenne have smelt the smell of marijuana on him when he is at school.

Richards' use of marijuana breaches the code of conduct, yet Peter Harvey has done nothing about it. The department has in the past dismissed employees who were charged with drink driving, claiming that it proved that they had an unaddressed alcohol problem.

Why Peter Richards receives special treatment compared to other teachers in the district remains a mystery.

Catherine Bird resigns from Carenne Support

On June 13, Lee Churches bragged on this blog that Carenne Support had bought in a well respected member of the Bathurst community, Catherine Bird as a director. It seems as though the relationship between Bird and Carenne Support was shortlived with Bird resigning as a director on 22 June 2011.

According to records held by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Catherine Bird was a director from 1 March 2011 to 22 June 2011. Documents were sent to ASIC by Carenne Support on 30 June 2011 indicating that Mrs Bird was no longer a director.

What did Mrs Bird learn about Carenne Support while she was a director that she didn't like and made her bow out?

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.

New email address

There is now a new email address to contact contributors to the blog. It is det.gate@aol.com.

After issues with our previous hotmail accounts we have decided to use a single address at AOL.