THE school principal who allowed controversial photographer Bill Henson (picture) to scout for models in her schoolyard will not face disciplinary action, Victorian Education Minister Bronwyn Pike says.
Former St Kilda Park Primary School principal Sue Knight was investigated by the Victorian Education Department for inviting Henson to scout for talent in the school’s playground.
Henson was at the centre of an uproar earlier this year over a Sydney exhibition of his photographs depicting naked children.
Pike said today the investigation found Knight, who is now principal of Coburg West Primary School, had not worked outside department guidelines.
“We do have confidence that we have strong guidelines in place regarding strong visitor access to our schools but of course there’s always scope for making sure these are well understood and implemented within our system,” Pike said.
“There’s always scope for providing further guidance and support to our principals so they can work with their own individual communities to make sure they have the very best protocols in place.”
Additional recommendations by the department will now require all school communities to adopt and publish well defined policies for visitors, talent scouts and partnerships with community groups.
Pike said the guidelines were designed to “strike the right balance” between protecting children and ensuring they had opportunities to be involved in artistic and other endeavours.
She did not rule out Mr Henson’s re-entry into St Kilda Park Primary but said it may not be “the wisest decision”.
“Clearly I don’t think that that would be the wisest decision that a principal would make.
“I’ve said myself that I don’t think that schools are the place for people to enter when they are on a mission for their own personal gain but on the other hand we don’t want our schools to become fortresses where they’re closing off the opportunities for kids to shine.”
