Principals call for role review

Tasmanian Principals Association executive director David Raw said the role of the principal had changed markedly through the decades and much more was now expected of them in a society that was also considerably different.

It follows a report of a group representing principals in Victoria calling for CCTV cameras to be installed in all public schools to prevent staff being threatened and harassed.

Mr Raw said threats to principals and staff was an issue for both the public and non-government sectors.

He said all new schools had cameras installed as a matter of practice for a degree of protection over weekends and to prevent vandalism, but did not think Tasmania was at the stage where surveillance needed to be rolled out everywhere.

However, there needed to be a state government review of the principal's role so better support structures could be put in place to ensure they get the help they require.

"What principals have said is what kind of support they will need in 2013, 2014, 2015 - we haven't moved much from the support principals had in the 1980s," Mr Raw said.

"We haven't had a good look for many years nor changed the support structures."

He said the role of the principal was so broad and encompassed so many different aspects, as well as meeting with parents, that the average week stretched to 59 hours plus nights and weekend work.

Principals were not given specific conflict resolution training, but all schools have procedures in place for lock downs if required, he said.

A spokesman from the Education Department said it was not aware of increased concerns for principal safety in Tasmania and the use of CCTV systems at schools was made on an individual school basis.

The spokesman said the department would continue to work with schools and representative organisations to identify and implement safety measures.