School principals under attack from violent students and angry parents

School principals reveal the extent of violence against staff as angry students and ‘helicopter parents’ get physical.

Principals are getting injured trying to break up schoolyard fights.

Violent students and bullying parents physically attacked half of the country’s school principals last year, forcing schools to hire security guards, according to the results of a shocking new survey.

The escalating violence is ­revealed in the world’s longest-running survey of school leaders, which found 56 per cent of the 2300 Australian principals surveyed are now so stressed they want to quit their job.

Australian Primary Principals’ Association president Angela Falkenberg on Thursday revealed a parent had threatened her with a gun, while another pulled out a knife, after they became angry that she had been “telling off their child’’.

“People have been pushed, shoved, hit and kicked,’’ she said.

“I know a female teacher who had her front tooth knocked out by an angry male parent.

“I had a gun pulled on me in the Northern Territory in the 1980s – it scared the heck out of me but I was told to toughen up.

“In another meeting, a parent pulled out a knife and said ‘I’m just putting it here (on the desk) just in case.’

“I had a child who brought dope to school to give to a friendship group, but when the parents came in they were angry with me because they wanted their stash back.’’

Ms Falkenberg, who is now based in South Australia, said more schools were hiring security guards to protect students and staff, and some principals had taken out AVOs (apprehended violence orders) to keep menacing parents at bay.

She said that when principals meet parents in an office or classroom, “we position ourselves by the doors in case we have to get out in a hurry’’.

“It can be drug-related, it can be mental health,’’ she said of parents’ bad behaviour. “I’ve called the police many times – sometimes the police don’t even turn up, so principals have to go to a police station to report it.

“Some schools have security guards, and many have security fences so the way in and out of school is restricted.’’

The Australian Catholic University survey found 48 per cent of principals and deputy principals reported physical violence last year – up from 27 per cent a decade ago.

The ACU’s Institute for Positive Psychology and Education polled 2300 principals, deputy principals and assistant principals for its annual Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey.

Australian Primary Principals Association President Angela Falkenberg.

Half the principals reported physical assault – 96 per cent at the hands of students, and 20 per cent from parents.

“Physical violence has increased 76.5 per cent since the survey’s inception in 2011,’’ the ACU report states.

One principal told the ACU team “I have been injured by students trying to protect others’’.

Another said that “assaults on me and my staff by students with disabilities, and by adult trespassers and teen trespassers, have greatly increased this year’’.

Australian Secondary Principals’ Association president Andy Mison said that he had been “thumped and grabbed and had a shirt pulled’’.

“Sometimes quite large aggressive dads come in swearing and threatening somebody and the school needs to go into lockdown,’’ he said.

“Most kids and parents are amazing but there’s a small group of parents who think it’s OK to come in, all guns blazing, and take out their rage and frustration in the school.”

Mr Mison said the survey showed principals were suffering unusually high rates of burnout and stress, and called on governments to cut administrative workloads, hire more teachers and fund schools to teach children with mental health problems.

ACU researcher Paul Kidson called on education ministers to take action at their next ministerial meeting. “More than 1250 principals told us they would ­seriously consider leaving their current job,’’ he said.

Dr Kidson directed the blame at “helicopter parents’’ for intervening every time a teacher reprimands a student.