Accountability for Children in Education Western Australia - ACE WA

05/10/2026

A former school psychologist who threw a shoe at a disobedient kindergarten student and threatened to hit a Year 7 pupil has been reprimanded for professional misconduct.

READ: https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/school-psychologist-sandhia-naidu-disqualified-for-throwing-shoe-at-kindergarten-student-threatening-year-7-c-22966929

02/10/2026

As mentioned in the text about Riverside High School, their model works "student to staff, staff to staff, staff to parent—everyone." The culture only works because adults hold themselves accountable in the exact same way they ask students to

Would love to see this start happening in WA schools

As per Real School Post (can access this via link in shared video below) I just have to tell you about the phone calls that Jeanna Bolton, Principal of Riverside High School in Tasmania, started receiving from parents.

It’s not the call you’re imagining. Not the “I want to know why my child got that consequence” call, and nor is it the “I’d like to speak to someone about what happened to my little cherub today” call. We all know those calls too well.

This was different. Parents were calling Jeanna to request that the school conduct a restorative conversation with their child.

That’s just the first bit that I love. They’re not demanding or insisting; they’re requesting. They’ve seen what these conversations do for their kids, and when something difficult came up at home, their instinct was to pick up the phone and ask the school for a hand.

On today’s adversarial and transactional home-school landscape this stands out. A parent, with a problem, calling a school and saying – I trust what you do. Can you do it for my child?

That’s not a home-school relationship built on fear or damage control. That’s true expertise being authentically recognised. That’s a community that has watched a school do something consistently well, over time, and decided to lean into it rather than reject it.

Jeanna and the team at Riverside have been doing the slow, unglamorous work of building a genuinely restorative culture – student to staff, staff to staff, staff to parent – everyone. They put together a ‘Working Restoratively’ one-pager and shared it with their families and on social media, not as a marketing exercise but as a frank explanation of how they operate. It’s a promise of practice that they can keep, and kept promises are the best way to build trust.

But the reach beyond their community surprised them too. Three neighbouring schools have since come in to visit, wanting to understand what Riverside is doing and exploring the replication possibilities.

Riverside’s suspensions are down, their attendance is up and their academic expectations are being exceeded. And parents are calling to ask for help instead to assign blame. I can see why their neighbours are peering over the fence.

I’ve spent a long time arguing that schools should position themselves as experts – not as friends – to parents. Parents should not view us as service providers, but as professionals with hard-earned knowledge about how young people grow and what they truly need. That positioning only works if the expertise is real and the results back it up. Riverside is the proof of concept.

Too many schools inherit a parent culture and then manage it. Jeanna’s school changed theirs. That’s a different and considerably harder thing to do, and it deserves to be celebrated.

Keep fighting that good fight,



ADAM

01/10/2026

For so many families the hardest part of raising a child with additional needs isn’t managing their daily care, it’s navigating the very educational systems meant to support them.

There is a profound and painful disconnect happening in some of our schools. Parents are frequently told that missing school will jeopardize their child’s future, yet the school environment itself is allowed to remain so unaccommodating or overwhelming that the child simply cannot attend.

It is a striking double standard: expecting full participation while leaving major barriers to accessibility completely unaddressed.

What is most disheartening is how quickly conversations can shift from supportive dialogue to a defensive posture. When parents raise legitimate, evidence based concerns about their child's needs they shouldn't be met with pushback, bureaucratic deflection or an immediate wall of resistance.

Most educators enter this profession with a genuine passion for helping children learn and thrive. So why when a system fails a student do we see institutional defensiveness instead of simple human empathy? Why double down on rigid policies instead of sitting at the table to find a real solution?

Cause and effect exist in education just as they do everywhere else. When an environment is inaccessible, the outcome is distress and school avoidance not parental negligence. Standing back, acting surprised by a child's struggles or shifting the blame onto the family misses the entire point.

Undermining a parent’s lived experience does not help a child succeed. True progress requires moving away from an adversarial mindset and returning to genuine collaboration.

It costs NOTHING to lead with empathy, acknowledge where the system falls short and work with families to build an environment where every child actually has a fair chance to belong!

29/09/2026

The Education Department will take on the task of managing all sporting competitions for students across the State in the wake of an investigation at School Sport WA.

Story in comments.

27/09/2026

👍🏻💙

27/09/2026

Oscar-qualified short film UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE is an intimate drama about a mother who, while trying to protect her nine-year-old neurodivergent daughter, is pushed to breaking point when the institutions she turns to for support not only fail to recognise the reality of her child’s distress, but...

16/09/2026

We came across a couple of quotes recently that hit hard. Speaking up in a respectful manner and using formal complaint systems to address institutional harm in schools is not an attack, it’s accountability!

When parents or students find the courage to share their lived experiences of mistreatment, bullying or systemic failure the focus often instantly shifts. Instead of addressing the harm done to the child, school administration can redirect the narrative to protect their own image.

The moment you name what happened, how many of you have been accused of:
* "Smearing" the school or staff
* "Being dramatic" or "difficult"
* "Trying to ruin a reputation"
* "Attacking" or "intimidation"

Yet all you are doing is raising a legitimate concern. The majority of families simply want a resolution whether through relationship repair or reasonable accommodations. Going on the attack and playing defense only escalates the problem.

This classic reversal turns the institution into the "victim" and frames truth telling as hostility.

Nobody owes anyone a version of the story that keeps them comfortable at the expense of your family's safety and well being. If sharing what happened makes a school or staff member look bad that is a reflection of their behavior not your voice.

ACE WA always encourage families to pursue advocacy through the appropriate official channels and policies. Effective resolution requires mutual respect, schools must respect a family's right to raise concerns and families deserve to be heard without hostility. True progress happens when respect flows both ways.

You have every right to speak. You don't owe anyone your silence.

14/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ChhQ77rvM/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Let’s not confuse a quiet child with a calm child.❤️

09/09/2026

Every year, on R U OK? Day, we hear the message from our leaders:

Check in with your mates. Ask if they’re okay. Listen. Support those who are struggling.

It sounds good. But when that message comes from the Premier, it can feel incredibly hollow.

Because what about the children struggling inside our schools?

The Premier would surely be aware of the many concerns raised by our members about their children. Bullying,mental health struggles, lack of support, and situations where children have not been listened to or taken seriously.

It is easy to tell the public to “check in” once a year.

The real test is what happens when a child actually says they are not okay.

Are they listened to? Are their concerns taken seriously? Are meaningful supports put in place? And are the systems held accountable when they fail?

R U OK? should be more than a yearly campaign or public statement.

Our children deserve more than words.

They deserve action, accountability and adults who genuinely listen.