Teaching Council under scrutiny as teacher charged with possessing objectionable material

A teacher at an elite New Zealand school is before the courts charged with possessing child sexual exploitation material, RNZ can reveal.

The teacher was arrested on 15 October and made his first appearance in court a week later.

He faces a representative charge alleging that, on 30 August, he possessed an objectionable publication, namely a video file depicting child sexual exploitation, on an external hard drive, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the publication was objectionable.

The man was granted interim name suppression and did not enter a plea. He is due in court again in November.

The teacher's school has not responded to requests for comment from RNZ, which also approached the Teaching Council for comment last Tuesday.

At that stage, the teacher's status on the teacher's register had not been changed since his arrest.

RNZ asked whether the council had been informed of his arrest and, if it had, why his status had not changed.

After RNZ's query, the council updated the teacher's status to say he "voluntarily agreed not to teach".

That evening, the council released a statement to RNZ from Teaching Council chair Patrick Walsh.

"The Teaching Council takes matters relating to learner safety seriously. When information is received that may raise concerns about a teacher's fitness to hold a practising certificate, the Teaching Council considers that information in accordance with its statutory responsibilities and regulatory processes."

Walsh said the council maintained the online register of New Zealand Registered Teachers.

"The register is constantly updated as we receive information and we suggest that it is regularly reviewed.

"In general, we are unable to provide information on complaints or mandatory reports that have been made to the council (including whether one has recently or previously been received or not, in relation to a specific teacher, ECE centre, school or kura). This is to ensure we act in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the principles of natural justice."

RNZ asked the council whether it was aware of the man's arrest before RNZ asked them for comment.

Walsh said the council could confirm they were "aware of the matter in advance of your request for details".

"However, we're unable to confirm when or how the Teaching Council became aware of information relating to a specific teacher. Providing that information could disclose details about an individual matter that we cannot comment on, particularly where privacy and natural justice considerations apply.

"We can assure you that learner safety remains at the heart of the Teaching Council's regulatory role."

RNZ also asked the Ministry of Education for comment.

A ministry spokesperson said, as far as they were aware, "this matter has not been raised with the local ministry office".

Acting deputy secretary Antony Harvey said the Teaching Council was not required to notify the ministry about every matter it manages.

"The ministry's role is to monitor the council's overall performance and whether it is meeting its statutory responsibilities.

"In this instance, no ministry support for the school was required. Schools can contact us at any time, if they need advice or assistance."

A police spokesperson confirmed police had arrested a man in connection with an ongoing investigation into child exploitation material.

"The investigation resulted in a search warrant at two properties earlier this month."

Police also said that, from their perspective, "all appropriate notifications were made in this case".

In response to questions from RNZ, Education Minister Erica Stanford said she could not comment on it specifically, as the matter was before the courts.

"However, I have made my expectations clear that the Teaching Council must have child safety at the heart of every decision they make. This should include working closely with partner agencies, including the justice sector.

"Noting, as part of the recent changes, the ministry has a role in closely monitoring the performance of the council and will report to the Minister of Education."

Stanford said she would raise the matter with the Ministry of Education and be "seeking assurances that the right steps are being taken, when it comes to teachers facing criminal actions".

Weeks ago, Stanford said there was a "rotten culture" inside the Teaching Council, following the case of a sex offender who was able to teach, despite warning signs.

Barrister Katherine Anderson KC earlier released a scathing report into the Teaching Council's handling of teacher Timothy Fisher. She found the council should have struck him off a decade before he was convicted of a litany of indecency and sex offences against children, most of them under 12 years old.

It outlined how Fisher managed to go from school to school without a practising certificate - a criminal offence - and kept teaching, despite a police 'red stamp' warning that he should not have unsupervised access to children.

Stanford earlier said she long had grave concerns about the Teaching Council.

"It was very clear in this report that the Teaching Council had completely lost their way and saw themselves as a friend of the profession, to uphold the mana of the profession and to be liked, rather than to uphold teacher standards and to protect children, which is what everybody expects of them."

She said the Teaching Council's failures meant she couldn't be sure this hadn't happened before.

"They don't have proper processes around making sure that people are teaching with a current practising certificate. This is not an isolated incident.

"There is a rotten culture inside the Teaching Council that needs changing, otherwise this will keep happening."