Dominic Perrottet said a chief behaviour adviser - a new NSW Department of Education role - would provide guidance to state, independent and Catholic schools.

The adviser will help NSW schools manage difficult student behaviour exacerbated by learning disruption caused by COVID-19.

The expert will reportedly use latest evidence-based practices to develop guidelines and advise parents and carers on ways to back up behavioural approaches taken at school.

"This is all about driving educational outcomes, so our kids get the best start in life," Mr Perrottet told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

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The volunteer allegedly told the primary school age children that what they had been taught about why the children were removed was false.

The real reason the children were removed from their families was because of lazy parenting, he told them.

Four of the six pupils the volunteer was teaching complained about his views.

"The complaint involved stereotyping and the ethics teacher is alleged to have voiced racist opinions," said a spokeswoman for the organisation that runs Special Ethics Education, Primary Ethics.

"We commend these students for speaking up and the principal for proactively addressing the matter," the spokeswoman said.

After getting her mother's permission, an 11-year old complainant spoke to reporters about the incident.

"[The teacher said] we should only listen to him because he was 75 and had lived in Townsville for 10 years."

The 11-year old then said the teacher became increasingly agitated when the students argued back.

Her mother said the incident left her concerned about the regulation and vetting of volunteers who were allowed into the public school system to teach both Special Ethics Education and Special Religious Education.

"I'd always seen ethics as quite a good alternative to scripture," she said.

"But it's almost part of the problem because it's the same issue - these people are unregulated. Imagine if a teacher had responded like that? I would expect them to have pretty serious disciplinary action."

A spokesman for the NSW Department of Education said the volunteer's comments "were unacceptable".

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Special Ethics Education is due to be trialled in New South Wales' high schools next year.

Source

• Daily Mail
• Stuff
• Image: Daily Mail