Sexual abuse case | Kindergarten suspends psychologist and teacher, reinforces safety measures

The D. José da Costa Nunes Kindergarten

A teacher from the K1 class of the D. José da Costa Nunes Kindergarten alleged to have been aware of a case of sexual abuse within the facility has been suspended from her duties, with the same measure handed down to the school’s psychologist, the Association for Macanese Education (APIM) stated in a letter to parents.

In the letter, the institution that owns and manages the kindergarten describes the general findings of its internal investigation, which was part of a more extensive report sent from the school to the Education and Youth Affairs office last week.

According to information in the report, both the teacher and the psychologist had been aware for some time of the sexual abuse but failed to provide this information in a timely manner to the school board.

Comments made by parents in October 2017 and February 2018 expressed some concerns over “suspicious” behavior by a staff member. The issue only came to the attention of the school board on April 24.

Nevertheless, APIM also noted that “at the time of the first reports” there was “little information” and that one of them was not “too evident,” highlighting the fact that parents had described their thoughts with a lot of caution. APIM claimed that had parents been more explicit in detail, it might have helped the school to have a clearer picture from the start of what was going on.
The report also clarified that formal complaints to authorities came after the school director was informed of a new report.

In the same letter, the institution noted it has been making an effort to improve safety levels, particularly regarding improved video surveillance.

The letter also noted that in the near future, several administrative measures would be enforced, focusing on both preventative and communication-related mechanisms.

All the changes will be evaluated and shortly thereafter will be presented to parents.