Individuals move around. It’s important to know who some of the main players were and are in some schools appearing in the “Schools List”.
Brown, Carlee
Aide observed by parents on multiple occasions physically restraining children at Marnebek School.
Critchley, Rosemary
Previously from the infamous Bendigo Special Developmental School. Moved on to Campbell’s Creek Primary School. Punitive responses to kids with disabilities who are neurodivergent. Suspensions, restricted attendance and so on.
Dauncey, Karen
Ex Principal of Marnebek School where multiple children were subjected to assault, false imprisonment and mechanical restraint. Ms Dauncey gave evidence in a VCAT hearing that students were not subjected to seclusion at the school, despite being contradicted by her own Assistant Principal, and documented evidence from the school to the contrary.
Edwardes, Nicole
Ex Principal Sunshine SDS. Quickly went on WorkCover when the Department started receiving complaints about her from both staff and parents. See Schools List
Fletcher, Rhonda
Assistant Principal, Peninsula Specialist College. Multiple discrimination complaints against the school. See Schools List
Haworth, Wayne
Principal Hampton Park Secondary College
A number of discrimination complaints against this school, settled by the Department. Mr Haworth breached an agreement made at the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Hird, Justin
Principal of Castlemaine Secondary College while numerous disability discrimination cases and general complaints have been lodged against the school. See Schools List entry
Herbert, Nicole
Principal of Latrobe SDS as of 2025. Finding against her by statutory authority of neglect. Inexplicably, no finding by the DoE that this should affect her being principal of the school with the most vulnerable children in it.
Hommelhoff, Julie
Principal of Bendigo Special Developmental School, where multiple abuses of children with disabilities occurred, including them being locked in internal cages in classrooms and other areas of the school, and subjected to physical assault.
Kaplan, Margaret
Ms Kaplan was the school psychologist for Marnebek for many years. She was the psychologists throughout the years of multiple eyewitness accounts of assault, false imprisonment and mechanical restraint. In one of the numerous discrimination complaints against Marnebek School, Ms Kaplan is alleged to have kept sexualised behaviour demonstrated by a student from the parent, who as a result continued to send the student to a relative who the student ultimately accused of sexual abuse. The Department of Education settled that matter without even waiting for their own staff to give evidence.
Koop, Peter
Ex Principal Peninsula Specialist College. Multiple discrimination complaints.
Longley, Cindy
Vice Principal Southern Autistic School for many years. See Schools List Southern Autistic School.
McCarthy, Emma
Ms McCarthy was the “Senior Clinician and Challenging Behaviour Analyst” (despite her qualifications being a Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Social Work) at Marnebek School and wrote many of the behaviour plans which contained references to restraint and seclusion. Ms McCarthy continued to support Marnebek School, despite the multiple eyewitness accounts of abuse.
McCoy, Helen
Ex Principal of Monash SDS – member of the cult “The Family”. See Schools List.
McPhate, Bruce
Ex Principal Southern Autistic School – see Schools List for details regarding multiple physical assault and false imprisonment. Mr McPhate refused adjustments to assist a young person read and write item being evidence-based remedial programs. Part of Mr McPhate’s job was to tell parents not to expect too much from their children.
Nicholls, Cameron
Trafalgar Primary School. Personally involved in the repeated restraint of a prep child with multiple disabilities over a four year period without bringing in a behavioural expert. Work safe PIN notice against school. Child traumatised years later.
Snell, Kylie
Observed using pressure point tactics on a child at Bendigo SDS.
Thompson, Chris
Senior bureaucrat involved in overseeing “independent investigations” into abuse of children in a range of special schools, with the outcome clearing the schools. In the “independent investigation” into Bendigo SDS, complainants were promised anonymity, however after receiving complaints Mr Thompson requested the list of complainants and called them all-including whistleblowers working for the Department of Education. Refusal to either involve parents in terms of reference, or refusing to reveal the terms of reference.
Walsh, Barbara
Ex Principal Latrobe SDS. Found guilty by statutory authority of neglect in relation to the child at the school.
Walsh, Justin
Worked at Southern Autistic School. See Schools List
Weston, Katherine
Assistant Principal, Marnebek School
Ms Weston gave evidence in 2019 about the infamous Timeout room which was contradicted by photographic evidence, and documents from the school itself. She gave evidence that there were no other spaces apart from the Timeout Room that were used as spaces to seclude children, despite evidence from a child’s grandmother that when she picked him up he was found shut in a cupboard, teacher’s admissions that the sensory garden was used to seclude children and multiple eyewitness accounts from parents saying children locked in courtyards. She gave evidence at the Timeout room could be opened from the inside and children were never left alone, despite evidence from children themselves to the contrary, and evidence from parents who observed children being placed in the Timeout room by themselves and left there by themselves.