Not good enough!!!!

A father who walked away with a $650 fine and no conviction for bashing a teacher has prompted the Australian Principals Federation to push for mandatory sentencing of adults who assault school staff.

An anonymous principal, from a "very middle-class, eastern-suburbs" Melbourne primary school, said the verdict was "not even a slap on the wrist" and made him question whether it was worth reporting assaults on school staff.

“I write to share my frustration in what cannot be seen as anything other than an unbelievable lack of respect and protection for educators," he wrote in the federation's newsletter.

"This parent entered a school classroom, without any discussion whatsoever, punched a teacher in the face, then pushed him to the ground and kicked him.

"He then continued to behave in an extremely aggressive and threatening manner and the victim required medical attention.

"When the verdict was read out, a fine of $650, I shook my head and asked myself, 'what respect does our society have for educators if the consequence for assaulting a teaching professional is so insignificant?'."

APF president Julie Podbury said schools should be free of violence. "Principals want to see staff in school protected and feeling safe," she said.

The federation first raised the idea of mandatory sentencing four years ago, and Ms Podbury said this recent case had strengthened its resolve.

Victoria has mandatory sentencing laws for anyone who assaults and injures on-duty emergency service workers, such as police officers, paramedics and firefighters.

Mandatory sentencing for assaults on school staff goes beyond the recommendations of a taskforce on violence in schools.

However, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia said it should be considered if "parental behaviour continues to worsen".

"Schools are communities, and awareness of this can make school staff reluctant to report incidents of violence to police when parents of students are the offenders," said the association's chief executive, Beth Blackwood.

"While at this point we would be reluctant to support the notion of a mandatory sentencing approach for acts of violence, if parental behaviour continues to worsen, it is an option that must be considered if we are to send a strong signal to the broader community."

The Victorian Education Department did not say if the government was considering widening its mandatory sentencing laws to include school staff.

A spokesman said "incidents of violence and aggression remain relatively rare in Victoria’s more than 1500 government schools" and "where necessary, the department works closely with the school to ensure the matter is appropriately reported to the police."

Official figures show each Victorian state school reports on average between one and two violent incidents a year. In 2018, about 2100 violent and aggressive incidents were recorded, with 200 of those leading to police involvement.

But Deakin University's Phil Riley, who runs a large and long-running survey of Australian principals, said reported figures did not reflect the problem.

"The claim that violence in schools is rare in Victoria is erroneous," Professor Riley said.

His most recent Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey showed almost one in two principals had experienced threats of violence, and more than a third had experienced physical violence. Women were more at risk, with 40 per cent reporting violence compared to 32 per cent for men.

Separately, a newly released global study, the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey, found 12 per cent of Australian principals reported that intimidation or verbal abuse of teachers or staff happened at least weekly. This was four times the OECD average.

The Australian Education Union, Independent Schools Victoria, and Catholic Education Melbourne declined to comment.