Commission Website: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention

Click here to return to the Submission Index

Submission to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from

Chatswood Intensive English Centre

10th April, 2002



Chatswood IEC has students from between 15 to 25 language groups at any one time. We have only a small number of children from detention centres, possibly because of our relatively privileged socio-economic intake area. However, all staff members have observed a clear difference between the behaviour, performance and general well being of ex detention centre children and all our other students. It should be noted that this difference remains clear between ex detention centre children and children from the same part of the world who have not been in detention. The difference also remains true for ex detention centre children and children who have come from war torn countries, or children who have not been in detention but who come from groups, such as the Bahai religious group in Iran, who are known to have been the object of persecution in their country. The following are observations made by the staff in the course of our work and discussed at a meeting on the 9/04/02.

CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN IN DETENTION:

• don't conform to the expected norms of classroom behaviour, show signs of emotional upset and impaired ability to learn, although they test normal or above intelligence.
• have an unusually short attention span
• may interrupt class with questions unrelated to the lesson and expect an immediate answer, then become agitated if they don't get it.
• need constant attention from teachers, need teachers to be there for them regardless of the rest of the class. This is extremely noticeable.
• are restless, can't sit through lessons, jump out of seats, need to walk around.
• make contradictory statements.
• can have suppressed anger, can be exceptionally short fused with minimal provocation.
• exhibit fear of authority eg. react with fear to words like "detention", "police", "go to the office", sometimes "beg" not to go if they are in trouble.
• one case has a nervous tick.
• are frequently sick. Also complain of pains, eg. one student is known to have lain on the ground in pain while waiting at a bus stop.
• have mood swings (more than other children), are "up and down"

CHILDREN WHO COME FROM THE SAME PART OF THE WORLD BUT WHO HAVE NOT BEEN IN DETENTION:

• all teachers observed that they fall within the normal range of learners from anywhere else in the world, from exceptionally gifted to average or sometimes slow learners.
• these children are able to concentrate "normally" for their age, are more steady, able to sit through a lesson.
• not generally "up and down" emotionally.
• are able to conform to the expected norms of classroom behaviour.

Signed by the following Chatswood IEC teachers:

David Chadwick,

Teacher of English and History

Heather Lung,

Music and English Teacher



Fiona Vatiliotis,

English Teacher

Jane Cantwell,

English Teacher and SRC Co-ordinator



Janis Brodie Grant,

English and Geography Teacher

Despina Londy,

English Teacher



Fabia Claridge,

English Teachers

Loretta Lin,

English Teachers

Kui Conabere,

Head Teacher,Chatswood IEC

Last Updated 30 June 2003.