A new campaign to tackle violence and abuse towards teachers and school staff has launched in Queensland and will be run on social media, YouTube, Google and a dedicated website.
‘No excuse for school abuse’ is part of the state government’s investment in building Queensland’s education workforce and valuing teachers and school staff.
The government said the majority of parents and carers treat Queensland’s teachers and school staff with respect, but this campaign is about drawing a line in the sand, making it clear to those who don’t, that it will simply not tolerate any level of physical, verbal, or online abuse in its schools.
It said teachers and school staff have a right to be safe at work, and it is up to everyone to get behind this campaign including parent groups, non-state and independent schools, unions, professional associations, principals, school staff, teachers, and the wider community.
The campaign is the first step of a raft of changes in the prevention of occupational violence and aggression in schools and will complement the other initiatives Queensland has put in place to support teachers and school staff.
Brisbane State High School Principal Mr Greg Pierce said the safety and wellbeing of teachers and staff is paramount, and occupational violence has no place in schools.
“For a variety of complex reasons in this post-COVID transition phase, my colleagues in secondary schools are dealing with increased levels of anxiety and stress from both parents and students,” he said.
“Teachers dedicate their lives to educating and shaping the future of our community, which is why we fully support this campaign that fosters a healthy and supportive environment where they feel safe and valued.”
As someone who has experienced occupational violence, Sandgate State School teacher, Ms Lisa Broadhurst, said she knows firsthand the positive impact this strategy will have in schools – for teachers, leaders, support staff and students.
“We all want to leave school safely at the end of each day and we all want our interactions to be positive and productive,” she said.
“I love being a primary school teacher and being a part of a nurturing state school community. Unfortunately, in recent times I have experienced or watched other people experience unsafe behaviours from students and parents.
“My school has worked diligently to address these concerns, and I know having this new campaign will provide schools with another tool to protect our school staff.”
Queensland Education Minister Ms Di Farmer said the state government wants to see teachers valued and recognised for the work they do in educating young Queenslanders.
“Our teachers are among our greatest assets and there is no greater responsibility you can give another person than to hand over your child each day and ask to help make them a good and happy person, this is what we ask of our teachers,” she said.
“We are doing so much to not only keep all our great teachers, but to also attract and recruit new teachers, and we want to make sure they are valued and deserve to turn up each and every day to a safe and welcoming workplace.”
She continued: “Teachers have been telling us that school environments are becoming more and more complex as they deal with things like occupational violence and aggression, student behaviour and administrative workload.”
“This new campaign is about drawing a line in the sand and making it clear that there is never an excuse for this type of aggressive behaviour, either in person or online and it won’t be tolerated,” Ms Farmer said.
Some of the other initiatives within the OVA strategy will include:
- Building the ability of school staff to prevent and manage the impact and risks of OVA
- Psychological first aid training
- Working with universities to train preservice teachers in classroom behaviour management and effective behaviour interventions
- Making reporting easier
- Delivering specialised wellbeing support for affected staff
- Designing safer spaces in schools that support staff and the needs of our students
- Providing online, practical resources to support school leaders and staff when responding to an OVA incident
- Assisting schools to update their emergency and security plans.
‘No excuse for school abuse’ will be featured on social media (Meta), YouTube and Google and supported by an organic campaign via the Department of Education owned channels.
A new webpage, www.qld.gov.au/noschoolabuse has been developed for the campaign, to provide tips and resources for parents and students and a wide range of school collateral, resources and practical support is being developed for school leaders to use within their community.
The documents have been developed by using research, evidence and lived experience, and they also include targeted strategies and actions that build on previous approaches.
Following a workshop help on 7 May 2024 with key stakeholder groups, including union representatives, principal and professional associations and departmental officers it was established that the strategy will address five key areas:
- reporting and system response
- critical incident management and post incident response and support
- education and awareness
- workplace/school design and specialised behaviour support; and
- resources and tools for all staff and leaders.