If you who wish to follow the story of Callum and his family, we will be providing updates here.

For those of you who read the story over the weekend (Reading wars in Australian schools: students caught in the crossfire (smh.com.au)), what it doesn’t mention is that Callum and his family have had the courage to take a step that not many people do. That is, legal action against the Dioceses of Sale and Catholic Education  Commission of Victoria (CECV).

Currently Callum is 17 without a basic education.

This is not for want of repeatedly and desperately requesting help from his schools – Ronan O’Mahoney, Martin Keogh, Joanne Coldabella (St Joseph’s School Wonthaggi), David Leslie, Kieran O’Dwyer (Mary MacKillop College Leongatha), all received these pleas.

Most of the time, his mother Melinda did not even get a reply. When she did, the replies conveniently ignored her requests for support. Meeting after meeting, year after year, email after email, nothing changed.

Callum himself wrote notes to both schools himself with a cry for help. Staff were unmoved.

So here we are today, where Callum has rightly decided not to expose himself to the “torture” of going to schools where the staff are disinterested in not only his education, but his welfare.

However his family do not have the money to obtain the extensive private tutoring he needs – which is as anyone with expertise in learning disorders/dyslexia knows, is intensive evidence-based programs – programs scientifically proven to work.

So Callum and his family made the courageous step of making two legal complaints against the Dioceses of Sale (St Joseph’s School Wonthaggi /Mary MacKillop College Leongatha, and CECV).

One is a simple consumer complaint of false and misleading representation.

Did you know that the CECV have many publications (CECV – Publications ) where they commit to the importance of evidence-based teaching methods and programs, applied with fidelity? And as you would expect, St Joseph’s and Mary MacKillop promise an education for all, and falsely claim a Christian commitment to pastoral care – looking after the health and well-being of their students.

It has been revealed that all of the above is simply PR in an attempt to obtain money from parents through deceptive conduct. Callum’s family want their money back so they can organise for him to be educated before it’s too late.

The second is a discrimination complaint under the Equal Opportunity Act for the failure to provide Callum with the very supports the CECV promise, evidence-based programs followed with fidelity.

In the next update, we will share the shocking and vicious response from the Dioceses of Sale, St Joseph’s School Wonthaggi, Mary MacKillop College Leongatha and the CECV through their lawyers.