Students subjected to exhaust fumes by Carenne Support

Just weeks after the muffler fell off Carenne Support's Oberon bus its Lithgow bus suffered from a similar issue with a hole in a muffler. Carenne Support is known for using defective vehicles and having quick fixes done on their vehicles without any consideration to student safety.

Parents report that for the last two days, Dave Graham has driven the bus with a hole in its exhaust, leaking exhaust fumes into the vehicle. One parent claims when she put her head inside the bus yesterday to speak to Robyn Graham that she could smell noxious fumes in the vehicle.

According to sources close to Carenne Support, Dave Graham has asked Mary Housler to source a relief vehicle but refused to do so placing students at serious risk.

Despite the leaking exhaust Neil Moon is still allowing classes to use the vehicle through the day, exposing more students to dangerous fumes.

More bizarre behaviour by Adam Ryan

One of the staff at Carenne Special School has placed himself in another inappropriate situation by becoming heavy involved with a student in his class' family in breach of the department's child protection guidelines.

We can reveal that Adam Ryan has been driving a student to and from school in his personal vehicle and has been observed at the student's house after hours. The department's policies forbid such behaviour as it can blur the staff/student relationship. Ryan has also said that he spends time with the student on weekends as they have become 'good friends'. The situation is reminiscent of the relationship that developed between Carenne teacher Anna Blackburn and student David Withyman, which progressed to a sexual liaison.

Ryan's behaviour, despite being against policy raises serious concerns due to allegations against him both at Bathurst High and Carenne. How Neil Moon can continue to place students at risk and Mr Ryan at risk of further allegations must be thoroughly investigated.

Isolation booth used by Nadine Dwyer and Adam Ryan

Serious concerns have been raised about behaviour management techniques used at Carenne Special School in the past including the use of a pig pen to house students, locking students in storerooms, sitting on them or calling the Police on autistic students to harass them. Another technique can now be added to the list with Nadine Dwyer and her School Learning Support Officer using an isolation booth to menace students.

On the outside wall of Dwyer's classroom she has a desk between two notice boards used as partitions. When a student becomes agitated they are taken to the area where a third partition is pushed against the other two, creating a cubicle no larger than 2x2 metres. Students are told to sit and be quiet and if they stand up they are hit on the head by Ryan or other students in a game he calls "Whack-a-Mole".

At times students have thrown the partitions, narrowly missing others. When they do so they are tackled and pinned against the wall by either Ryan or Dwyer. Dwyer justifies this behaviour by claiming that she has the "uncontrollable bastards" of the school.

The practice is against department policy and a breach of child protection guidelines, yet principal Neil Moon is well aware of it and does nothing to stop it.

Moon threatens parent, tells them they can't be trusted

Carenne Gate has learned that a complaint has been filed at the Bathurst SEA by a parent posting on this blog as "Mr Irate" about Neil Moon's behaviour towards him. The parent alleges that he has been told by Moon he is not to be trusted and has been threatened with an Inclosed Lands Notice and his child to be transferred to another school if he continues to comment on this blog.

Mr Irate claims that he has been told by Neil Moon he will not speak to him without two additional staff from the school being present as he "can not be trusted" and is "nothing more than a trouble maker". Mr Irate alleges that when he speaks to Moon that he is not taken seriously and that Moon would rather fob him off than to deal with his concerns.

Whistleblowers at the school claim the behaviour isn't isolated towards this one parent. Nedkelly told Carenne Gate she knew of at least five parents who were suspected of posting on the blog that have been treated exactly the same way. "Neil Moon isn't certain who some of the parents are on here, so the most vocal ones are harassed," said nedkelly.

Instead of addressing issues, Neil Moon would rather silence his critics and continue to run Carenne into the ground.

Paul Knight resigns from Carenne Support

The mouth of Carenne Support Limited, Paul Knight has resigned from the board of directors following a disagreement with Geoff Salmon, Terry Mahony and Mary Housler. According to a source inside the organisation, the disagreement related to Salmon and Mahony's plans for a fundraising campaign to purchase replacement buses.

Knight believes that it wasn't right for Carenne Support to call for donations to purchase vehicles when it already has $150,000 in the bank and had been using them to make money. He believed to do so would bring more negative publicity to the organisation.

Carenne Special School conducted a fundraising appeal in 2004 and 2005 to purchase new vehicles for the school. Those vehicles ended up in the hands of Carenne Support instead of the school as they were purchased for. The falling out with Paul Knight shows how quickly those in control will turn on those who disagree with them.

Di Klavins in the firing line

Carenne Gate can reveal that the KLAN at Carenne School are planning on removing Dianne Klavins from her School Learning Support Officer position after she made a series of complaints about Michael Auld.

Klavins has made a series of complaints about Auld's favoritism of some students, ineffective classroom discipline, lack of structure and poor teaching style. Klavins has reported several occasions where Auld has left the classroom for over half an hour during teaching times. Neil Moon's response to the complaints has been to claim they are baseless or that he investigated and found nothing.

It has long been known that Auld is being protected by school staff, with parents complaining about his lack of results with most students. He has been described as ineffective yet remains a teacher. Auld has a history of poor results and students going backwards. Unfortunately got anyone who complains about him, they soon find their job in jeopardy, with the complainant being persecuted.

In the case of Klavins, her dismissal won't be difficult with her past history of student abuse.

Adam Ryan's behaviour has long been a cause of concern

Adam Ryan now subject of more allegations

Carenne School Learning Support Officer Adam Ryan has previously come under Carenne Gate's attention for his inappropriate behaviour with students at Carenne. Carenne Gate can now reveal that during his involvement with students of the emotional disability and mild intellectual disability units at Bathurst High, his behaviour was also inappropriate and he had come under notice.

A whistleblower contacted Carenne Gate to report that Adam Ryan was quietly asked to have limited involvement with students at Bathurst High Campus of Denison College by Head Teacher Darren Hamilton. The whistleblower claims that Ryan used to hang around female students in the special education classes "like a bad smell" and often had discussions with them of a "sexual nature".


The whistleblower also claims to be aware of a relationship between Ryan and a student who is now at Carenne. The whistleblower told Carenne Gate -

"I was aware that there were concerns about the relationship between Adam and ........ and reported this to Gaye Dunshea. When I heard he was working at Carenne, I thought bloody hell, this bloke is obsessed with her because he started not long after she started there."

The whistleblower claims that it is "common knowledge" at Bathurst High that Ryan takes an unusual interest in vulnerable female students. "If you have a girl who has low self-esteem or has difficulty conducting herself, Adam Ryan will be there," said the whistleblower. The whistleblower also says that a number of students have claimed to have had sexual relations with Ryan, but these were dismissed by Dunshea as the students are "disturbed" and "distort reality".

It's time for a full and proper investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct surrounding Adam Ryan and for him to be stood down until the investigation is properly carried out.