Former Ballarat teacher who groomed student for sex allowed to keep teaching

The Victorian Institute of Teaching's hearing panel found teacher Keith Currie guilty of serious misconduct, but it concluded he should keep his registration.

The decision was published on Tuesday afternoon, just days after the Andrews government announced sweeping changes to the VIT to ensure it reflected community expectations and prioritised child safety.

The state government's move follows a series of questionable decisions that have allowed teachers accused of misconduct – including one who paid students for massages and told incest stories – to continue working in classrooms.

Mr Currie confessed to kissing the girl and touching her breast when she was a student at Ballarat Grammar School, where he was a teacher.

These sexual advances took place between 1978 and 1980, when Mr Currie was in his late 20s and the student was 15 and 16.

The pair met at Mr Currie's house, at Creswick Forest, north-west of Melbourne, and once stayed together in a rented apartment.

The Victorian Institute of Teaching's new chief executive Peter Corcoran said he was disappointed by the independent panel's decision.

He said the Institute had made submissions recommending Mr Currie be found unfit to teach and his registration be cancelled.

"VIT wishes to thank the independent formal hearing panel for their careful deliberations in the difficult historical case involving Mr Keith Currie," he said.

At a public hearing in December, Mr Currie described the relationship as a sword of Damocles that had been hanging over his entire career.

"I've never denied having a relationship with [the victim]. It was inappropriate, I'm incredibly sorry it happened," he said. 

"I've never resiled from that fact. I'm very ashamed of it."

The panel heard Mr Currie was attracted to the teenager, brushed his hand on her thigh and peppered her school work with love hearts.

"These days you'd probably call it grooming," Mr Currie said.

"I was emotionally tangled at the time. The person who meant the most to me in the world was her," he said.

The relationship came to an end when Mr Currie resigned from the school and moved interstate. He did not see the victim again until about two years ago, when she complained about his conduct.

At a restorative justice session, the victim told Mr Currie about the damage he had inflicted.

The panel took into account Mr Currie's insight, remorse and clear understanding of the professional boundaries that he had crossed.

It also noted that 37 years had elapsed since the misconduct occurred, and there was no evidence of any further transgressions.

Mr Currie's registration was suspended for six months for  VIT's investigation.

Mr Currie acted as an assistant principal at Bacchus Marsh Grammar and taught VCE maths until he was stood down from the private school in 2017.

Bacchus Marsh Grammar principal Andrew Neal said in a school newsletter that Mr Currie's role had been made redundant and he would "pursue other teaching opportunities" outside the school. There was no mention of the allegations.

A scathing independent review of the Victorian Institute of Teaching released last week found the regulator needed to be more focused on children's wellbeing.

“There is no object or function which mentions child safety and wellbeing, or that requires the VIT to take into account community expectations,” it read.

The review, which was ordered by Victorian Education Minister James Merlino, recommended scrapping the institute's hearing panels.

It said misconduct allegations should instead be heard at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, a recommendation the Institute opposes and one which the government is considering.

''This is another demonstration that there are too many gaps in the current system – we’re fixing that so parents can have confidence that only the most appropriate people are teaching their children,'' Mr Merlino said.

The opposition’s education spokesman Tim Smith said the decision on the teacher was disgraceful.

“It beggars belief that a teacher who has confessed to groping and grooming a teenage student will be able to teach again in Victorian schools under the Andrews Labor government,” he said.

The Andrews government has accepted the bulk of the review's 34 recommendations. This includes explicitly stating in legislation that the regulator must consider the safety and wellbeing of children.