AN INCREASE in court proceedings and a change in the architectural layout of schools should be considered to reduce the number of assaults on Tasmanian principals, according to newly released report.
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The Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey quizzed principals over four years, with the 2015 survey finding a 10 per cent increase in Tasmanian principals being subjected to physical threats, bullying and abuse, compared with what was recorded in a 2011 report.
Tasmanian Principals Association (TPA) president Malcolm Elliott said the report showed a trend of growing abuse to principals that "has to be arrested".
The Department of Education and stakeholders including the TPA and the Australian Education Union (AEU) signed a memorandum of understanding regarding recommendations made in the 2014 report, but Mr Elliott said a range of actions needed to be taken to ensure the safety of principals.
He called on every Tasmanian to campaign for safety in schools, but said the community awareness campaign had not been sufficient to curb the violent behaviour towards principals.
"We seem to be slow on the uptake," he said.
AEU state secretary Terry Polglase said principals required more authority to make tough decisions and remove from the school system people who behaved inappropriately.
"Principals normally make the right decisions; they need the authority to be able to do that," he said.
Mr Polglase and Mr Elliott both suggested changing the architecture of schools from an open-plan layout to one that prioritised safety.
Mr Elliott said a move to increase the number of abuse cases ending in court action should be considered to ensure the community was getting the message that violent or threatening behaviour in schools would not be tolerated.
The Department of Education will meet with stakeholders to discuss the memorandum of understanding and the 2015 report later this month.
A government spokesman said yesterday the government and the Department of Education were concerned about all cases of violence and bullying aimed towards both staff and students.
"Tasmanian teachers and parents have access to resources providing practical information and support to meet student needs and create a culture of respectful behaviour through the Respectful Schools Respectful Behaviour resource," the spokesman said.
