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Adam Voigt<\/a>CEO and former principal<\/p>\nFebruary 22, 2026 \u2014 3:38pm<\/p>\n
February 22, 2026 \u2014 3:38pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n I met Richard Barren a few times while he was the principal of Langwarrin Park Primary School, in Melbourne\u2019s south-east. He was gregarious, enthusiastic, professional and proud of his school.<\/p>\n I particularly noticed the fondness with which he spoke about his students. I raked through my old meeting notes and found I\u2019d written the words \u201cpotential\u201d and \u201cfull of possibilities\u201d as being how Barren described the children in his school.<\/p>\n I fell for it.<\/p>\n Last week, Barren was sentenced to effectively three paltry months of prison time for having some of the most disgusting child abuse material on his phone that anyone \u2013 let alone a school principal \u2013 might have.<\/p>\n And, despite more than three decades of working with teachers and teaching myself, collaborating with principals and also being one \u2013 my meetings with Barren didn\u2019t raise a single red flag. I admit to being both confused and ashamed about that.<\/p>\n The meek and feeble nature of the Barren sentence has landed with incredulity on many of the school\u2019s parents. They\u2019re rightly confounded that a man afforded the trust of being a safe figure in the entire community\u2019s eye could have betrayed them so deeply.<\/p>\n I remember, from my principal days, seeing the nervous faces of parents as they handed their children into my care \u2013 a bloke running a primary school. I felt the gravity of that responsibility and I accepted it.<\/p>\n The notion that a fellow member of the principal fraternity could have content on his phone revealing that he \u201clove[s] perving on pool change rooms\u201d sickens me.<\/p>\n Barren\u2019s reply to a fellow Grindr user inquiring as to his age limits for potential prey was that there\u2019s \u201cno limit. the younger the better\u201d left me stunned.<\/p>\n When I read further of the vile imagery and videos saved on a second phone of his, of grown men with girls around 12 years of age, I was enraged.<\/p>\n Principals are not just extractors of the best possible NAPLAN scores from our children. We are the custodians of a precious community trust. Barren\u2019s indiscretions are far more than a crime. They\u2019re a breach of a relational covenant.<\/p>\n While I\u2019d loathe to be a judge considering the full plethora of factors in such cases, three months\u2019 jail feels grotesquely meagre. I guess it\u2019s another simple case of courts sentencing crimes, but communities carrying the consequences.<\/p>\n Beyond the parents of one school, the wider teaching community is also shamed by the full revelation of Barren\u2019s offences. Each of the 141,000 registered and dedicated teachers across Victoria now stands in the shadow of his conduct.<\/p>\n Each now must strive that little bit harder for the parents of their students to trust them. Each knows what that lingering stare over a parental shoulder as they walk away from an early childhood classroom is really all about.<\/p>\n Related Article The outrage of our educators is also justifiable, as they must now accept that one predator has the power to unfairly stain their entire profession. Already living and working under intense scrutiny and strict ethical standards, their efforts to meet safeguarding requirements are already exhaustive.<\/p>\n This is why the Langwarrin Park PS story is awful, but equally important as it draws us to confront a hideously inconvenient truth. Deep down, we know there\u2019s no way to psych test evil away. There\u2019s no survey or observation that can weed out every paedophile.<\/p>\n Screening can always be made more robust \u2013 but it will remain as fallible as I was when I chatted cheerily with Barren over coffee. Even the tightest of systems will fail to eliminate human deception.<\/p>\n Allowing our outrage to lead us to the complete mistrust of every school employee welcomes a different and permanent harm upon our school communities.<\/p>\n Turning a blind eye is also no alternative.<\/p>\n And so, the community of Langwarrin Park PS is left with a dual burden. They have a rightful outrage to carry, at the same time as they hope to build a future for their children that requires deep trust in their school.<\/p>\n Fortunately, I\u2019ve met most of the staff in that wonderful school and that trust \u2013 of my informed, experienced and imperfect observation \u2013 is well-placed.<\/p>\n Without trust, parents hover unhelpfully over qualified teachers and school leaders. Those teachers are then prone to retreating, removing the personal connection that underpins the best growth and learning.<\/p>\n Our schools become frightened, defensive institutions and children absorb the anxiety flowing through their corridors.<\/p>\n Related Article Trusting relationships are the foundations of learning and the fuel of growth. No school can thrive in a climate of entrenched suspicion.<\/p>\n When this happens, we need to grieve, denounce and ensure full accountability without abandoning our commitment to trust.<\/p>\n For if we stop trusting our schools, it\u2019s our kids who will pay twice for the crimes of an infinitesimally small number of perpetrators.<\/p>\n If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).<\/p>\n Adam Voigt, founder and CEO of Real Schools, is a former principal.<\/p>\n The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Teachers,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1f7361168806c6980226283b6b9a06038e5cf91b.jpeg\")
Teachers, who strive to build trust with parents every day, will also be devastated by this case.Istock<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ce17d09c000bed114fbf02c6ff48baf765fe8044.jpeg\")
Former Langwarrin Park Primary School principal Richard John Barren.<\/p>\n![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6c9be87f8c5ea6afd8041b00acb7142cd325235c.jpeg\")
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