The Melbourne teacher who died after child safety issues were raised at his school was a father-of-two who had worked for 15 years in the education industry.
David Simpson died on Friday, August 18 after police spoke to management at the prestigious Melbourne Girls’ Grammar School in South Yarra and issued directions about him.
Allegations have since arisen in an online forum about his “inappropriate” behaviour towards students.
One student wrote the school “didn’t mention that he was being inappropriate” even though students “all knew”.
“Our parents were worried about us but didn’t know why we were all not that sad (when we found out he died). Then this week the school got honest, the only reason they got honest was because of the media not because of the truth,” they continued.
“We are all angry as we complained about him and we know other teachers did too, yet the school ignored all of that. They waited until it got this bad.”
A dive into Mr Simpson’s online presence reveals the former teacher at the $40,000-per-year school regularly doted on his two teenage children on social media and had an esteemed teaching career.
Most of Mr Simpson’s posts on Twitter — now called X — in recent years were education-related — but they occasionally referenced his wife and two children.
Referring to his kids only by their ages, he wrote about their sporting achievements, birthdays and favourite baking recipes.
Last Christmas, he posted a photo of him standing next to his daughter, underneath a tweet that read: “It has been a very merry Christmas this year. Miss13 deemed her father was allowed one photo – Mr15 was not so generous!”
To celebrate the birthday of “Miss 13,” he posted a photo of her sitting with a birthday cake as he reminisced on when he could cradle her in his arms.
On other occasions, he posted references to his daughter’s dancing achievements and baking talent, as well as his son’s search for an exchange student to live with them.
In an apparent reference to his wife and daughter in April last year, Mr Simpson tweeted a photo of two positive Covid tests, captioned “MrsSimpson07 and Miss12 #winteris coming”.
But among the lighthearted tweets — including the occasional photo of his dog, Toby — there was the rare sign of a stressful life.
In December 2021, he posted a photo of a glass of red wine under the tweet: “It’s been one of those days”.
Much more recently, one June 4, he hinted at being under intense pressure, writing: “This past week has tested my mettle. Every ounce of energy and patience has been called upon. Not to mention all the lessons I’ve learned over the journey.”
The day before he died, Mr Simpson posted a picture to X of a Melbourne sunrise with the cryptic caption: “be a good day”.
A bio written by digital learning company The Hatchery for a presentation by Mr Simpson outlined his career experience.
It stated he had been an educator for 15 years, with his latest position as director of learning enhancement & support at Melbourne Girls Grammar School ensuring “all students – irrespective of their educational starting point – have access to high-quality inclusive learning, facilitated by adaptive and professional teachers who use evidence-informed pedagogical approaches”.
It continued: “David has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Education from Monash University with specialisms in Gifted & Talented Education, Leadership, Policy and Change and is completing a PhD in Education at Charles Sturt University where his studies focus on how structured interdependence can support learning within cooperative groups”.
“David’s background in neuroscience informs his professional interest in, and advocacy for, cognitive science and the education of neuro-diverse, gifted, and talented students”.
According to his X account, Mr Simpson left Haileybury in Melbourne’s south east in August 2021.
In a post about his departure, he wrote he was incredibly fortunate to work with amazing educators over 7 years, adding: “here’s to future challenges.
Before that, he was the head of middle school at Tintern Grammar, in the city’s north east, and a teacher at St Helena Secondary College, in Eltham, in the northern suburbs.
On May 4, 2022, he retweeted a story about a student’s appointment to the eSafety office’s Online Safety Youth Advisory Council — more than a year before he was investigated for an alleged child safety issue.
Melbourne Girls’ School released a statement on Monday confirming allegations had been made against Mr Simpson.
“In recent days the School learnt about an alleged child safety issue,” the statement said.
“The School’s staff followed the Child Safety and Mandatory Reporting Procedures.
“As a school our priorities are focused on the safety and wellbeing of our students and community. We will always act in the best interests of the children in our care.”