Violence, threats, depression: Qld school principals set to quit

Almost 60 per cent of school principals are set to quit as severe mental health issues arise from increased violence and other “offensive behaviour” by students and parents.

Principals are at breaking point across Queensland.

Almost 60 per cent of school principals are set to quit as severe mental health issues arise from increased violence and other “offensive behaviour” by students and parents.

In what experts are calling “the inverse of the perfect storm – the perfect horror show”, stressed-out leaders are facing the worst levels of physical violence in more than a decade.

And Queensland educators are more affected than their peers in NSW and Victoria.

The latest ACU Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey of 2300 principals covers all sectors, including state and private, across primary and secondary year levels.

It reveals one in five suffers moderate to severe depression – with instances of physical violence soaring by 76.5 per cent since the first survey in 2011.

Of the 48 per cent of principals subjected to physical violence in 2023, perpetrators were almost exclusively students (96.3 per cent).

Threats of violence were mostly by parents (65.6 per cent).

Professor Herb Marsh, an educational psychologist and co-lead investigator on the report, said the spike in violence was “deeply concerning”.

In a worrying trend, he said principals with 15+ years’ experience were leading the charge to quit, with almost 60 per cent of mid-career leaders of six to 10 years wanting to leave.

Fellow ACU investigator Paul Kidson called on education ministers to better support school leaders.

“Until we have healthy principals, any educational outcomes you want, including around literacy and numeracy, are going to be compromised,” said Dr Kidston, a former principal.

“This has to be an agenda item on the next education ministers’ meeting – not just to have a furrowed brow but for some action.”

Dr Kidston said principals should not have to turn up to work and fear violence or “copping a gobful” from students or parents.

“Principals don’t get out of bed and think, ‘whose life can I screw up today?’ They want to get together with families to improve outcomes.

“But major stressers on school leaders have created the inverse of the perfect storm – it’s the perfect horror show,” he said.

In Queensland, the most reported sources of offensive behaviour in 2023 were conflicts and quarrels (64.3 per cent), threats of violence (62.3 per cent), gossip and slander (61.7 per cent) and physical violence (54.5 per cent).

Cyber-bullying and bullying weighed in at 39.1 per cent and 38.3 per cent respectively.

Dr Kidston said the pressure on principals was “unrelenting”, including having to deal with staff and students with their own mental health issues.

“For the last decade and a half, kids haven’t been achieving as much as they should, and the response is to bucket down on schools.

“Principals are a deeply generous profession, but too many have identified their intention to quit, some saying, ‘I can keep going but I can’t keep going forever’.”