Alarming numbers of school principals have seriously considered leaving their job in the past 12 months amid high levels of physical violence, threats of violence and bullying.
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More than a third of Victorian principals responding to the Australian Catholic University's annual Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey said they had been subject to threats of violence, physical violence or bullying while a quarter had been victims of cyber bullying.
Stress levels remain high among principals with heavy workloads, lack of time to focus on teaching and learning, student mental health, staff mental health, and student-related issues the top five sources of stress.
For the first time the survey directly asked 2300 principals across the country if they were seriously considering leaving their current job.
"Fifty-six per cent agreed or strongly agreed. There's this really important dynamic, we've got adverse health outcomes and ... they are holding up as best they can," said ACU investigator and former principal Dr Paul Kidson who has previously worked at Ballarat Grammar.
Researchers were prompted to include the question after 19 teachers volunteered their sentiments in the 2021 survey, and 66 volunteered their plans in 2022 despite not being asked.
Principals with more than 15 years of experience were most likely to say they were considering leaving the job.
Dr Kidson said if even half of those considering leaving did so, it could trigger a crisis in school leadership.
"What was presented is there's just not a pipeline of people coming through the system to replace them," he said. "You've got really big-hearted, generous people but they are also looking at their principal thinking how do I navigate doing that job. The demands are acute."
Despite the challenges, Dr Kidson said the survey revealed principals were "remarkably resilient" although levels of anxiety and depression were high and an alarming 42.6 per cent of school principals triggered a "red flag" email in 2023, signalling risk of self-harm, occupational health problems, or serious impact on their quality of life.
Almost two thirds of offensive and threatening behaviour came from parents and caregivers.
"In no other type of workplace is this type of abuse and threatening behaviour accepted and nor should it be. If I go to a shop and give a gob-full to the person behind the counter all sorts of grief would ensue, but parents and caregivers believe it's their God-given right to be abusive to the principal," Dr Kidson said.
Threats of violence, physical violence and bullying toward principals in Victorian schools were the lowest of any state or territory in Australia, with experts pointing to the introduction of Victoria's School Community Safety Orders in July 2022, which can ban parents and caregivers from school grounds for displaying inappropriate behaviour.
The Victorian Education Department confirmed there have been no orders issued in the Ballarat region since they were introduced.
Dr Kidson called on education ministers to urgently take collective action to address the significant threats facing principals.
"We've had a national spotlight on teacher education and workloads, disruptions in the classroom, campaigns to boost the profession's status, and a continued focus on students' mental health and academic outcomes - all noble and necessary," Dr Kidson said.
"Principals are being asked to do more with less. It's been over a decade since the Gonski Review, and we still do not have full funding based on student needs. It is naive to think this does not translate into the increasing stress among school leaders today."
Yuille Park Community College principal Brett Shillito said schools were "complex settings" with competing demands.
"All sorts of things are always challenging but if you get a really high functioning school and staff it's manageable," he said.
"There are staffing challenges but I think schools are really being innovative in how they best manage. When I talk to other principals in Ballarat we support each other and support the system as a whole."
Mr Shillito said making schools safe for students and the whole school community was a priority.
"Here we focus really strongly on building relationships with the school community, parents, families and kids so everyone is invested in this space."
