School prayer groups in NSW face audit

Prayer groups in New South Wales public schools will be audited amid concerns some students are being exposed to violent extremist ideologies, the premier, Mike Baird, has said.

But the Greens claim repeated warnings about fundamentalist Christian groups’ unregulated lunchtime preaching had been swept under the carpet.

“Instead they hid behind busy school principals and effectively gave pushy fundamentalist Christian groups free rein in NSW public schools”.

The NSW Department of Education and NSW Police will issue a memo to all school principals on Tuesday, outlining their obligations to report extremism, the reported first step in a suit of planned measures.

The move follows allegations a Sydney student was preaching radical ideology at his school.

The group said the allegations were clear evidence the department “cannot rely on faith-based organisations to self-regulate their compliance with departmental policy”.

Premier Baird promised he would not allow schools to tolerate religious bigotry and radicalism, and that he would ensure “extremism finds no foothold in our schools and communities”.

“Our schools should be, and are, havens of tolerance, places where students can explore the reaches of imagination and knowledge”, Baird said.

“These new risks mean that, collectively, we are going to have to be vigilant, and take action as necessary”.

“The Department of Education and NSW Police Force have recently agreed to reinforce and strengthen their joint protocols around anti-social behaviour particularly as they relate to the area of extremist behaviours”, the letter read.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch last Friday said the investigation into Epping Boys High School was “not unique” and the profile of people being radicalised was quickly falling and now involved boys and girls as young as 14.

“The prayer groups are held at the school – but not part of the special religious education (scripture) classes”, he said.