New school principal powers should be paired with community education, to help prevent harmful online behaviours

New school principal powers should be paired with community education, to help prevent harmful online behaviours

The Victorian government has given new powers to school principals, allowing them to expel students who put peers or staff at risk, particularly online. As an RMIT expert explains, there should also be more emphasis on educating parents and young people about unsafe behaviours.

Dr Elise Waghorn, Lecturer in Early Childhood        

“We're constantly putting more pressure on teachers. Principals or teachers shouldn't feel they are put in a position to expel children based on their online activity. It's not enough to just expel children; there needs to be education. 

“We know that prevention is better than cure. So, we need to look at what we are implementing in schools and in our curriculum to teach children about safety online, but also the impact of online bullying. 

“Schools need to communicate to parents what they're doing within the school grounds, so that these conversations can be followed up at home, and the same continuous message is given to children about the expectations around social media use and online communication.

“Giving principals new powers in this area is a good idea. I’m sure there's going to be lots of support around it, but I’m also mindful that schools may feel it's another thing that they have to monitor. 

“As technology advances, it's only going to get more challenging to be able to support children in this space. We need to give a really clear message that it's not the school or the parents in isolation, we need to work together and prevent this behaviour as a community.”

Dr Elise Waghorn has expertise in early childhood development. Her research focuses on exploring the everyday life of children in Australia and their connection to policy and educational experiences in Hong Kong and Singapore.

***

General media enquiries: RMIT External Affairs and Media, 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au

04 June 2025

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