Education Minister Blair Boyer hosts roundtable to discuss school violence

A high-level roundtable has been held to discuss ways to combat violence within South Australian secondary schools.

A roundtable has discussed new strategies to tackle violence within the South Australian education system.

Education Minister Blair Boyer gathered principals from public, Catholic and independent secondary schools at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday for a closed workshop.

Also attending was Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly and Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People April Lawrie.

Other participants included principals’ associations, school leaders, youth organisations, not-for-profit community groups, mental health practitioners, academics and researchers.

Mr Boyer called the summit in the wake of widespread publicity involving the filming of fights at Whyalla Secondary College and Golden Grove High School.

The incidents accelerated the introduction of a statewide mobile ban across all public schools from the start of next year.

A student (left) uses a mobile phone to film a fight at Golden Grove High School. Picture Supplied

The roundtable examined other action which could be taken to reduce violence between students and against teachers.

Before the meeting started, Mr Boyer said he wanted participants to discuss the causes of violent behaviour in schools and how it was being addressed.

“I also want to know how the South Australian Government can further support preventive action to reduce this behaviour among students and parents,” he said.

“Findings and feedback from the roundtable will inform further action that will be taken to support schools to address violence in schools.

“Supporting positive behaviour and preventing violence in schools is a shared responsibility and one we must all work towards to support all South Australian children and young people.”

Education Minister Blair Boyer has called a roundtable discuss school violence. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Mr Boyer said he was determined “to deploy every single resource at our disposal” to stop violence to ensure all staff and students were safe at school.

“The purpose of this roundtable is to have everyone together in the same room so we can discuss the underlying causes of this violence and try to address that – that’s how we’ll get a long-term reduction in these incidents,” he said.

“While the number of violent incidents in schools are relatively small, and most students feel safe and well supported by their schools, any incident is unacceptable.”

Mr Boyer said he had “made it very clear” violence would not be tolerated in schools or the wider community.

“Everyone of us – including parents and schools, have a responsibility to work together to address this issue,” he said.

Education Minister Blair Boyer opens the roundtable at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Picture: Dean Martin

Mr Boyer later said he had not wanted the roundtable to “just be a talkfest”.

“It was about bringing everyone together in the same room to have a frank conversation about violence in schools and its underlying causes so we can see long term reduction,” he said.

“I wanted it to be solution-based with real outcomes.”

Mr Boyer said he was pleased to hear efforts within schools to tackle violence already were producing results.

“This is giving us a solid foundation to make further improvements,” he said.

Mr Boyer said he would work with the Education Department to implement ideas suggested at the forum.

“This is just the beginning,” he said.

“I am determined to ensure long-term change by working with school staff, unions, parents and the broader community.”