An assistant principal at a Western Australian school will return to work after video showing he restrained a student during a school brawl left him suspended by the education department.
The local school community rallied behind Mr Grant Walton of Eaton Community College, 145 kilometres south of Perth, after video emerged of him grabbing a student by the arms and tackling him to the ground during a scuffle.
The Department of Education said they examined the facts of the case and will allow Mr Walton to return to work from the suspension after undertaking further training on managing student conflict.
Department of Education director general Lisa Rodgers said physically restraining students is not recommended even though it is ‘not always easy for teachers to decide how to restore order, while the State School Teachers’ Union said the government needs to fund a strategy around student violence urgently .