A teacher who was sexually harassed by students at an Upper Hutt school has revealed the boys who filmed up her skirt had more nefarious plans.

Former St Patrick's College, Silverstream teacher aide Hester Tingey, 23, has spoken publicly for the first time about the 2017 incident that saw four year 9 boys suspended, and the two female victims both resign.

In an Antworks Studios video for a Netsafe campaign, Tingey described how the students put camera phones in their shoes or jackets on the ground, then got female staff to step over them.

ANTWORKS STUDIO/SUPPLIED Former St Patrick's College, Silverstream teacher aide Hester Tingey has spoken out about a 2017 incident that saw four year 9 boys suspended for filming up skirts at the Upper Hutt school.

"They were pretty organised," she said.

READ MORE:

* Year 9s suspended over sexual harassment of staff

* Suspension lifted for boys who filmed teachers inappropriately

* Teachers resign after being sexually harassed by students

* Teachers sexually harassed by students may have case for compo

The footage was shared to a private group on social media app Instagram.

"The intention behind it was to gain as many up-skirt photos of female staff members from the school."

Two days after she was secretly filmed, another female staff member fell victim to the same trick.

Four year 9 boys were suspended from the school in March 2017 after filming the teachers inappropriately, in a case the school described at the time as "most distressing".

ANTWORKS STUDIO/SUPPLIED Tingey said the boys' intention was to get as many up-skirt photos of female staff members as possible and put them on Instagram.

Tingey said she blamed herself and her outfit choice in the weeks following the incident, even though she knew she had not done anything to encourage the boys' behaviour.

"I took my grandmother out shopping with me before I got the job and we picked out a whole bunch of stuff that was approved by an Anglican minister," she said.

"I only wore a dress on two occasions – one was the pōwhiri and the other was the day it happened."

Tingey was pleased the boys were ordered to attend a restorative justice meeting with her, as it gave them the opportunity to see how the incident had affected her on a personal and emotional level.

"I really wanted this to be something that they learnt from, and not just be a slap on the wrist and something that they go on to think is ok," she said.

"I think, for them, their actions were so minor [that] they couldn't comprehend the effect that it had ... and to see me so upset was jarring for them."

ANTWORKS STUDIO/SUPPLIED Tingey said she did not find out she had been victimised until almost a week after it happened.

She still suffers from anxiety when driving past the school more than a year later, and has had trouble sleeping as a result of the incident.

"I still feel anxious, and I think I will for a long time now."

The school's Rector, Grahame Duffy, who was not in the role at the time of the incident, would not comment on Monday.

FAIRFAX NZ In a 2017 statement, then-St Patrick's College, Silverstream Rector Gerard Tully said the sexual harassment incident had caused "considerable distress" to the two victims. (File photo)

But a letter sent to parents of the Upper Hutt school from then-rector Gerard Tully in 2017 said the two female staff members had both decided to resign as a result of the "considerable distress" they experienced.

"We remain committed to developing within all our students the appreciation of, and respect for, the inherent dignity of each person," Tully said in a 2017 statement.

"In our particular environment, this specifically includes the appropriate and respectful treatment of women and girls."

ANTWORKS STUDIO/SUPPLIED Tingey said she hoped the boys responsible would realise how their actions impacted others.

Debbi Tohill, executive director of rape prevention education, defined Tingey's experience as sexual violence.

"Although she may not have been touched sexually, she's certainly been abused sexually."

There was "a degree" of nude photos being shared in schools, and parents needed to be aware of what their children were looking at online.

"There needs to be education for young people about the importance of that," she said.

"Our young people today are surrounded by hyper-sexual images and I do think that has an impact on them and can make them make some really bad decisions."