Former Police Officer Provides Crucial Guidance After Mandurah School Abuse Scandal
In the wake of the shocking sexual abuse case involving former Frederick Irwin Anglican School teacher Naomi Tekea Craig, parents across Mandurah and beyond are grappling with a critical question: how can they protect their children from similar harm?
The disturbing case, which saw Craig abuse a student beginning when he was just 12 years old and continuing after he left the exclusive private school, has highlighted urgent concerns about child safety in educational settings. The abuse went undetected for sixteen months, culminating in Craig becoming pregnant with the student's child.
Recognising the Warning Signs of Grooming Behaviour
Former WA Police officer turned child safety educator Kristi McVee, who is now working with Frederick Irwin's parents, has identified several key indicators that may suggest a child is being groomed.
"Children may become protective of the adult, talk about them frequently or defend them when questioned," Ms McVee explained to the Mandurah Times. "They may receive unexplained gifts or privileges, become more secretive, withdraw from activities, or resist attending places they once enjoyed. Some children become unusually compliant or eager to please a particular adult."
McVee emphasises that appropriate adult-child relationships should be transparent, consistent and accountable, while inappropriate relationships tend to be secretive, exclusive and escalating in nature.
Essential Questions Every Parent Should Ask Schools
According to McVee, parents need to be proactive in understanding their school's child protection measures. She recommends asking several crucial questions:
- Are staff trained to recognise grooming behaviours?
- Do clear boundary policies exist regarding physical contact, communication and gift-giving?
- How are low-level concerns tracked and addressed?
- What systems prevent children from being routinely alone with one adult?
"When it comes to child sexual abuse, transparency matters," McVee stressed.
Understanding Grooming Patterns and Boundary Testing
McVee explains that grooming often begins with subtle boundary testing that may appear minor individually but creates concerning patterns over time.
"Common indicators include an adult repeatedly singling out the same child for special attention, rewards or tasks, creating opportunities for one-to-one time, gift-giving or offering forbidden treats, using secrecy or 'special relationships', bending rules for one child, or gradually increasing physical contact," she detailed.
In Craig's case, it was revealed she would often take students out of class, invite them on weekend trips to the beach and provide them with lollies.
Systemic Changes Needed for Child Protection
McVee, who has worked with hundreds of schools and early learning services across Australia, is calling for significant reforms to child protection systems.
"Schools should have clear policies that define when one-to-one time with students is 'necessary' and it must be visible, documented and time-limited," she asserted. "Systems should exist to record and respond to low-level boundary concerns by staff, with explicit rules around physical contact, communication, social media and gift-giving."
She advocates for national consistency in child protection standards, mandatory grooming recognition training, systems to track boundary concerns, and stronger accountability when failures occur.
"The Royal Commission made these recommendations a decade ago and they need to be fully implemented," McVee noted.
How Parents Can Approach Difficult Conversations
Following such incidents, McVee advises parents against asking leading questions. Instead, she recommends calmly asking children if anyone has made them feel uncomfortable, asked them to keep secrets, given them special treatment, or broken body safety rules.
"Children should be reassured they won't get into trouble for speaking up," she emphasised. "Parents can reduce risk by maintaining open communication, teaching body safety rights, reinforcing that children can say no to anyone, and making it clear they will be listened to and supported if they speak up."
Children need to understand that rules about body safety apply to everyone, including adults they like or trust, and that they should tell a safe adult if anything feels uncomfortable.
Rebuilding Trust Through Action and Accountability
McVee acknowledges the profound impact such abuse cases have on entire school communities, with direct victims experiencing trauma, confusion and shame, while other students may experience fear, betrayal or confusion about trust.
"Whole-school support and repairing of trust is essential," she stated. "The school can rebuild trust, but only through transparency, accountability and demonstrable change. Trust is rebuilt through action, not statements."
She emphasises that monitoring and systems are not about mistrust but about shared accountability for child safety.
McVee provides evidence-informed parenting resources and professional training programs through her website, focusing on prevention, confidence and practical guidance rather than fear. These resources are available to parents, schools and early learning services across Australia.
