Rise in teachers suspended for virtual grooming as online learning booms

Predatory teachers are increasingly using social media and electronic communication to groom children outside their classrooms as online learning becomes an everyday part of education.

Half the teachers currently suspended by Victoria’s teaching watchdog are facing allegations of online “grooming behaviour”, up from only one in eight such suspensions 2½ years ago.

The interim suspensions have been imposed by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) in cases where it is deemed a teacher poses an unacceptable risk to children, and include allegations of students with additional vulnerabilities being targeted, of adults seeking opportunities to meet children in person, and of encouraging students to keep conversations secret.

VIT chief executive officer Martin Fletcher said teachers must maintain a professional relationship with students at all times, regardless of whether they were interacting in a classroom or via virtual learning.

“Social media, messaging apps, and online learning platforms offer unprecedented access – and with them, new risks,” Fletcher said.

“VIT is seeing a concerning increase in teachers crossing professional boundaries through digital communication.”

Of the 17 Victorian teachers currently on interim suspensions by the VIT, nine stem from allegations of grooming behaviour via electronic means. By comparison, only five of the 40 interim suspensions undertaken in 2022 related to allegations involving electronic communications.

Investigations undertaken by the VIT have uncovered high volumes of communication between teachers and students, sometimes over multiple platforms and at inappropriate times when a young person is more likely to be alone, such as late at night.

Other characteristics common to the communications under investigation include teachers being “overly personal” in nature, seeking information about a student’s private and social life, making overly personal comments and persistently raising inappropriate topics of conversation.

In one case, the regulator cancelled Carey Grammar teacher Eleanor Yorke’s teaching registration for three years after she admitted to serious misconduct by contacting a student 35,000 times via Microsoft Teams before beginning a sexual relationship with them after they had graduated and turned 18.

Victorian teachers’ Code of Conduct requires them to always maintain a professional relationship with their learners, “whether at the education setting where they teach or not”.

With online learning becoming a growing and important part of education, Fletcher said a collective effort was required to keep children and young people safe when they were out of the classroom.

“These aren’t simple problems to solve and the potential for inappropriate or misunderstood communication is real,” he said.

“Schools must implement clear ICT policies and robust digital safeguards. Parents need to stay informed and engaged. And teachers must be supported with training and systems and an unwavering commitment to professional integrity in every interaction, both online and off.”

Victoria’s Acting Principal Commissioner for Children and Young People Meena Singh said the rise in teachers using technology to inappropriately contact children was consistent with the wider increase in online communication in society.

She said schools had a legal obligation to provide a child-safe environment, including via technology.

“Online communication tools continue to evolve and sadly adults who mean to do children harm use these technologies to groom and abuse children in Victoria,” Singh said.

“With technology continually evolving, and with children often at the forefront of its adoption, there is a continuing need for organisations, carers and parents to understand the online world children encounter, so together we can preserve the benefits of technology for children, while limiting their exposure to its damaging and illegal misuse.

“Organisations have to set clear rules and supervise staff and volunteer communication online with children to prevent and identify any unsafe or concerning conduct. There must also be a culture that supports raising and responding to concerns about harm to children.”

Singh encouraged parents to have open discussions with children about any concerns they had relating to their teachers, including in their online communications, and to ask schools what measures were in place to keep children safe.

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