Ros Luther in the firing line

Carenne School's infamous child abuser, liar and trouble-making Assistant Principal Ros Luther is in the firing line with the Serious Misconduct Investigation Team of EPAC taking an interest in her conduct. Carenne Gate can reveal that SMIT investigators are starting an investigation into the assistant principal.


According to senior departmental staff, Neil Moon has requested that Luther be investigated following her leaking of information about a meeting between staff and a bus driver to this blog. As a result of that request, complaints made to Bathurst SEA about Luther recently will also be investigated.

One complaint about Luther was made by a member of staff at the school after she attempted to harass a bus driver by making her look as though she wasn't properly carrying out her job. According to the whistleblower, Luther told the bus driver that a student had gone home early and that he wouldn't be on the bus in the afternoon. When the bus driver drove off, Luther was heard saying "I fooled that bitch, now to tell Neil" to Michael Auld. During this time, the student was locked in the school hall unsupervised until the bus driver returned.

The second complaint concerns allegations of Luther and her aide Jasmine Ryan locking a student in a store room and teasing him when he became upset. The parent spoke to Neil Moon and Ros Luther about the incident but was told that the student was lying and that they wouldn't look into complaints which had come from a student via a parent. Ros Luther is reported to have said that the student is a "known liar" and that he would "say or do anything to get out of trouble".

It is hoped that the investigation will also look at Luther's past conduct which involves locking students in a pig pen, locking students in a store room, encouraging students to look at pornography and leaving students unsupervised.

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.

Jasmine Ryan abusive to autistic students says staff

Carenne Special School staff and parents report disgusting abuse by a teacher's aide towards a student yesterday afternoon.

It is claimed that Jasmine Ryan, a casual teacher's aide at Carenne violently shook and screamed in an autistic student's face while he was having what is termed a "meltdown", which made his condition worse.

This abuse was carried out in front of a number of staff, none of which intervened.

One Carenne Saviour said:

Why Jasmine did this makes no sense to me, it's just child abuse. Jasmine is pretty poor at managing student behaviour but continues to be one of the school's preferred aides since Terry Neal took over staffing.

Bathrust RDA excludes some students

The new facilities of the Bathurst Riding for the Disabled Association complex behind Carenne Special School are so inadequate that they exclude some students who used to access the service according to parents and staff. Carenne staff also claim that RDA has lost many valuable volunteers because they are fed up with a committee member and Carenne aide being paid to work there.

One parent told Carenne Gate bloggers -

I have been to the old site and the new site and the new site is completely inadequate. It's just like something Carenne are involved in, looks good but doesn't work. There is no starting platform or anything which means some students who are difficult to get on or off the horses are being left out.

Another parent said -
My child used to always go to RDA and they loved it. They are being told they can't go now because there is no way for them to safely take part. What is the difference between the old site and the new site?

A former RDA volunteer told us -

I'm not working there for nothing anymore, it's so unfair that Melinda Gavin can be on the committee and get paid by Carenne or whoever to work there and then walk around as if she owns the place. They expect more and more from you and for what, to be sneered at by someone who is getting paid to be there, No way! They screwed Mike for his sons getting paid to pull down some stuff there but they pay her week in week out, its just wrong. They treat you like s***. The new facilities are s***, the waiting room is a big problem, there is poor seating and they won't put blinds up so the sun really hurts the kid's eyes. When I approached Michael about getting some he told me there wasn't the money to buy them and if I wanted them to get them myself! How rude is that!

A Carenne employee told bloggers -

RDA is just another example of one of Michael Auld's stuff ups. He lobbied for it to be put behind Carenne and he is the one who has fought for Melinda Gavin to work there. That has really annoyed some of the volunteers who just decided to walk away, especially after Mike Biddle being thrown off the committee for receiving payment for work he did. Melinda is on the committee, why does she get paid to work over there?

"hatho" reports -

RDA has just turned into something else Carenne has tried to take over and made a mess of. It's really just an extension of Carenne now, you can't tell the difference between the two. They received government grants and donations to build that site but they have kept it quiet that they messed it up. Just like the new classrooms Michael Auld pushed for and the bus shed he had designed that the buses can't even get in! When students who used to go can't anymore it shows there is something wrong.

It has been claimed that a Carenne Support therapist is being paid to work at RDA as well as Jasmine Ryan, an aide at Carenne.

With at least part of the funding being given to the organisation coming from government, we must ask just why was this allowed to be so poorly planned. Where has the siphoned part of the $3.7 million trade training centre funding gone?