Fitzroy Community School facing potential legal action over abuse allegations

Fitzroy Community School (FCS) is not an ordinary school.

The classes are small and “conversation-sized”. Older children learn alongside smaller ones, in a converted inner-Melbourne terrace where the curriculum is curiosity-led.

The students don’t bring lunch boxes to school. They prepare their meals in the kitchen and eat together with their teachers.

And behind the rainbow facade of its Brunswick Street campus, the daily roll call includes the offspring of some of Melbourne’s most eminent.

Politicians and top-level lawyers send their children there, as do some of Melbourne’s wealthiest entrepreneurs and well-known entertainers.

Now, some are taking the unusual step of speaking publicly to defend the independent school against allegations of abuse.

Dan* is part of a different group of parents considering legal action over allegations of physical abuse at the school since 2020.

Dan says the rainbow mural is a front.

“Inside, the place is full of dark, unsettling clouds,” he said.

“The school has a culture of fear that silences dissent.”

An alternative education

Fitzroy Community School was established in inner Melbourne by couple Phillip O’Carroll and Faye Berryman in 1976 and currently has 100 students.

It describes itself as an “extended family” for students, achieving strong academic results at campuses in Fitzroy and Thornbury.

But there are allegations that the alternative teaching style and culture has allowed abuse to go unchecked at its Fitzroy campus.

“We have heard allegations that teaching staff physically assaulted, manhandled, verbally abused and intimidated students,” personal injury lawyer Kim Price from Arnold Thomas & Becker said.

So far, six families have come to him seeking legal advice. 

“The allegations date back 10 years or more. Families are considering pursuing damages claims in the Supreme Court of Victoria,” he said.

“We understand there are many more who have had very concerning experiences but are not yet willing to come forward.”

Grant Rule says he is a big supporter of the school. (Supplied: LinkedIn)

‘Like a family’

The school has connections in high places, including tech entrepreneurs Grant Rule and Sophie Oh, who sold the MessageMedia company in 2021.

Their philanthropic fund, McKinnon, is worth about $650 million.

“As a parent, I am a big supporter of the school and the education it provides to all the children who attend,” the couple said in a statement to the ABC.

“In my experience, Fitzroy Community School aims to support individual growth, confidence, and communication — all in a more personalised learning environment, such as very small class sizes (as small as four but no more than 14) and high teacher-to-student ratios.”

Faye Berryman and Phillip O’Carroll established the school in 1976. (Supplied: Fitzroy Community School)

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The family-like culture of the school is evident in its senior staff list.

The founders employed their sons, Tim and Nick Berryman, as principal and senior teacher, respectively, at the Brunswick Street campus, which was originally their family home. 

In September, Nick Berryman was issued with an interim suspension by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).

The ABC understands Tim Berryman is also under investigation by the VIT and is not currently teaching at the school.

The Victorian Children’s Commissioner (VCC) recently found Nick Berryman had caused “significant emotional or psychological harm to a child” through “intimidating conduct” at a school event.

Allegations that Nick Berryman had been violent towards the same child were not substantiated “due to insufficient evidence”.

Nick Berryman’s lawyer Paul Galbally said his client was not able to comment due to ongoing inquiries.

Neurodiverse students ‘shamed’

The ABC has spoken to parents who sent their neurodiverse children to the school, hoping the small class sizes would benefit their children. 

But the parents claim the school did not recognise neurodiversity as a medical condition, and neurodiverse children were often singled out for punishment.  

Parents’ allegations included public shaming, yelling, and aggressively handling small children. 

Nick Berryman is a teacher at Fitzroy Community School. (Supplied: Fitzroy Community School)

Dan said his child’s wellbeing “deteriorated significantly” while at the primary school. 

“They began to self-harm overnight and in the morning say they were too unwell to go to school,” he said.

Then one day at the Brunswick Street campus, he witnessed Nick Berryman “grabbing” his child.

“Nick Berryman aggressively manhandled my child and yelled at them, leaving my child petrified and shaking,” he said.

“It was absolutely clear at that point when I witnessed that incident that our child was not safe at FCS.” 

Dan and his wife withdrew their child from the school and later reported the incident to the VIT.

“While I’m glad there’s finally a multi-agency investigation into the school, it’s taken far too long,” Dan said.

A spokesperson for the school board said providing a safe, stable and positive learning environment was the school’s priority.

“We support all of our students in accordance with their individual needs,” the board spokesperson said.

Philanthropists Grant Rule and Sophie Oh agreed, in their statement to the ABC.

“These sorts of learning environments, that are individualised and supported, are great for neurodiverse children,” they said.

School encourages teacher’s ‘natural reaction’

Fitzroy Community School is a registered charity that receives about $1 million in federal and state funding each year. 

Fees average about $15,000 per year.

Author and teacher John Marsden taught there and cited it as inspiration for establishing his own alternative schools in regional Victoria.

John Marsden taught at the FCS in 2005 and cited it as inspiration for his own schools. (ABC News: Dave May)

Mr Marsden praised the work of FCS’s teachers and their relationship with students in his 2021 book, Take Risks.

“It was very clear that the [Fitzroy Community] school was run by Phillip, Faye, Tim and other members of their family,” he wrote. 

“It was not a democracy … those who did not like it should apply elsewhere.”

The Fitzroy Community School has two campuses in Melbourne. (ABC News: Nathan O’Brien)

Fitzroy Community School is unapologetic about its ideology as stated in its parent contract.

“We have no interest in being mainstream or in operating a child-minding facility,” the document states.

“If we are wrong in a parent’s eyes, their child should not be here. 

“Our policy is for the teacher to give the natural reaction to the behaviour of the moment.

“Occasionally, there is a hands-on gesture (indicating feeling, usually positive),” the contract states.

Faye Berryman and Phillip O’Carroll converted their home into a school. (ABC News: Nathan O’Brien)

Parent claims principal dismissed concerns

Royce McAffee worked briefly at the school in 1998 and sent her neurodivergent son there between 2019 and 2022. 

She loved a lot about the school, including its emphasis on community, healthy risk-taking, and “old-school” academic teaching. 

She said inner-city parents also appreciated the weekly swimming lessons and regular camps in regional Victoria. 

“They [FCS] certainly pride themselves on being one of a kind, that’s for sure,” Ms McAffee said. 

She said parents had to sign a “Green Sheet” agreeing to all of the school’s policies when they enrolled their child. 

“You are told, ‘We started it this way [in the 1970s], this is the way we keep it,'” she said. 

Ms McAffee said she became concerned when her son started refusing to attend swimming or to go to the Brunswick Street campus where Nick Berryman taught. 

She said she raised it with his brother, principal Tim Berryman, who told her not to interfere. 

“I needed to just agree that my child’s in safe hands and teachers operate differently and the expectations of this particular teacher [Nick Berryman] is sometimes a ‘tough love’ sort of way,” Ms McAffee said she was told. 

“I spoke to other parents, and there was a very similar mindset that this particular person [Nick Berryman] had to be accepted. 

“He’s a family member of FCS, and people had been complaining about him for years.”

The Fitzroy Community School pictured in 1980. (ABC News, file photo)

Historical abuse investigation

While the school is facing scrutiny, Victoria Police has confirmed it is investigating historical abuse allegations against the school dating back more than 15 years.

“Melbourne Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives are investigating allegations of sexual and physical assault at a school in North Fitzroy between 2009 and 2012,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said. 

Police said three men had been interviewed and released pending further inquiries. 

The ABC understands all three men have left the school.

Fitzroy Community School declined to be interviewed.

“The safety and wellbeing of our students is always our highest priority,” a spokesperson for the school board said.

“FCS is fully cooperating with authorities and, as those processes are ongoing, it’s not appropriate to comment further or about specific individuals.”

Tim Berryman is the school’s principal. (Supplied: Fitzroy Community School)

‘Cult-like’ school

The ABC spoke to numerous parents of current and former students of Fitzroy Community School. 

Some dismissed the most recent abuse allegations as “egregious”, and as the complaints of parents who signed up for the school’s culture and then could not accept it.

One former parent said that if “you’re the type of parent who says ‘be careful’ on the playground [to their child], then it’s not the right school for you”.

Others described the school as “cult-like” with the Berryman family retaining ultimate power, and parents not being able to question decisions.

One father believed the regulatory investigations were retribution for the school’s refusal to lock down during the COVID pandemic.

Federal Member for Melbourne Sarah Witty has written to parents confirming that the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) had received “disclosures from former students regarding [alleged] historical sexual abuse”.

Ms Witty recently met with a group of concerned parents in her electorate and confirmed the VRQA was “reviewing material and considering next steps”.

Sarah Witty met with a group of concerned parents. (Supplied)

The VRQA did not respond to the ABC’s questions about whether the school would be banned from enrolling new students.

The ABC understands the regulator has been investigating FCS since 2020.

Assistant Defence Minister and Member for Wills, Peter Khalil, has been photographed on social media with Fitzroy Community School students during a tour of Parliament House in Canberra.

Mr Khalil described the allegations of abuse at Fitzroy Community School as “serious and distressing”.

Peter Khalil says the allegations are “serious and distressing”.  (ABC News: Darryl Torpy)

“There are regulatory processes being conducted by the Victorian regulatory authorities and the police are also making enquiries,” he said.

“While these processes are underway, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.”

Victoria Education Minister Ben Carroll and federal Education Minister Jason Clare said it would be inappropriate to comment while investigations were ongoing.

*Dan’s name has been changed to protect his child’s identity