Fears over out-of-control students and parents as it is revealed that HALF of all school principals have been assaulted or threatened
- More than half of all Australian principals have been assaulted or threatened
- Shocking figures come from the principals' health, safety and wellbeing report
- One principal said there was a group of students developing gang mentality
- Another principal said he had broken glass thrown at him by a student
Shocking new figures have shown that more than half of all Australian school principals have been assaulted or threatened while doing their job.
The statistics in the principals' health, safety and wellbeing report, which was released on Monday, showed 51 per cent of Australian principals have been threatened with violence while 42 per cent had been punched, kicked, bitten or scratched in the past year.
The majority of the threats had come from students, however, some parents were also involved, the survey said.
One ACT Principal said he had broken glass thrown at him while he was trying to de-escalate a situation involving a student (stock image)
A female principal from Western Australia said there had been a big increase in violence and drug use among students, with some developing a gang mentality.
'Increasing amounts of time for me and my leadership team are spent dealing with extreme violent and abusive/aggressive behaviour from students, to the detriment of long-term planning and curriculum focus.'
One ACT principal said he had broken glass thrown at him while he was trying to intervene in a situation involving a student.
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'In the last fortnight I have been hit by students in meltdown,' he said in the survey.
Phil Riley, who co-authored the report, said the rate of violence faced by principals had increased since the survey started nine years ago.
'We've gone from seven times to nearly 11 times the violence rate in nine years,' he said.
The report also highlighted troubling figures around overall wellbeing due to increased workloads and higher levels of stress.
Fears have been raised about out-of-control students after it was revealed more than half of all Australian principals have been assaulted or threatened (pictured: A principal trying to break up a fight in Australia)
The report also showed fewer teachers were now willing to take on the arduous role, creating concerns for the near future, as about 70 per cent of school principals are approaching retirement.
'The low replacement rate for retiring school principals tells a truly dire story about our education system which should concern us all and needs further investigation,' Professor Riley told the ABC.
'If we, as a nation, are serious about the key role of education in the growth and development of Australia, we simply cannot ignore school leaders' cries for help.'
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