Principal of a southern suburbs primary school still recovering two weeks after attack by Year 1 student

The female principal of a southern suburbs primary school is still on leave as she recovers from injuries inflicted by a Year 1 girl in a terrifying attack more than two weeks ago. The West Australian understands the student headbutted the principal and ripped out clumps of her hair when the violence flared in a classroom at a school in the Rockingham area. The Education Department said the student involved in the incident was likely to be excluded from the school. “I can confirm that a staff member was injured by a young child who became physically aggressive at school,” deputy director general for schools Melesha Sands said. “We are fully committed to supporting the staff member involved and working to prevent a repeat in future. In line with our policy, this student has been recommended for exclusion, and we are assisting with this process.” “When children act aggressively, several wellbeing issues often contribute to their behaviour.” News of the incident comes as a 14-year-old boy from western suburbs private school Newman College is set to face court on Tuesday charged with aggravated grievous bodily harm after he allegedly broke a classmate’s jaw. It follows two days of teachers despairing about rising levels of student violence, detailing the behaviour they face every day in SOS letters to The West. The first teacher, from a public high school, wrote that increasing student aggression was driving the teacher shortage, and she feared a staff member would be killed before anything was done. A primary school teacher then penned her letter to highlight the issue was not confined to high schools, revealing she dealt with children as young as five who threw scissors and chairs, smashed windows and threatened to stab students and teachers with pencils. Premier Roger Cook said he was confident the Government had been doing enough to combat violence in schools, listing Alternative Learning Settings — which teach self-regulation skills to violent students — additional federal funding, and tougher suspension or expulsion penalties for students who commit or incite violent behaviour. When asked whether the State Government was considering expanding the Alternative Learning Settings from the current 12, Mr Cook said they would do “everything they can”. “I think parents have got a role to play here. Make sure that they’re telling their kids what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable in education or classroom environment,” he said. “The fact that we have reached this new funding agreement with the federal government — which will see an extra $1.6 billion going into our education system over the next four to five years — means that we’ll have extra resources to make sure that kids who are disruptive or subject to behavioural issues can be better catered for so we can support those kids and support the teachers that are in those classrooms.” WA Primary Principals Association president Niel Smith said members reported increased levels of aggression and threats from a small percentage of the population. “The issue of violence in schools is not isolated to secondary schools, and primary school principals are often required to ensure risk management plans are in place, along with relevant de-escalation and positive handling training for teachers and education assistants,” he said. “It is, unfortunately, a much larger issue that requires a whole-of-society response.”