AUSTRALIA

Melton Primary School children have pencil sharpeners confiscated after blades removed

The Herald Sun reported about how pencil sharpeners have been confiscated from pupils at a Melton primary school after teachers found out that the blades were being removed.  Some parents have taken to social media, claiming the blades were being used as weapons at the school.  The school’s principal has said that pencil sharpeners have not been banned, but the students are now required to ask their teacher before using the sharpeners and reminded them of the potential dangers of using stationary incorrectly.

Ban tackles and scrums from school rugby: British academics

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, British academics, in an opinion piece published in the British Medical Journal, recommend that schools should ban the tackle and other forms of "harmful contact", such as scrums, in rugby games to reduce the risk of injury.  The call to ban tackling and scrums in youth rugby comes as the schools tri-nations rugby tournament between Australia, Fiji and New Zealand begins on Thursday at Knox Grammar School. However, a leading Australian expert on sport injuries has cautioned against the ban saying that children need to be able to cope with incidental contact in games such as the rugby codes and Australian rules football.

Remote Aboriginal school takes out top science award never won outside Perth

ABC News reported a remote Aboriginal school in Western Australia has broken two, long-standing records, by winning a state science award. The Science Teachers Association's (STAWA) Secondary School of the Year award had never gone to an institution outside Perth, or to a school with a mainly Aboriginal student population.  The students' project focused on bush medicine and biofuels from plants found in the Australian Outback.

WA school students reported for brandishing knives at school at a rate of once a week this year

The West Australian reported about how students have been reported for brandishing knives in a threatening manner at a rate of one a week since the start of this year.  WA government schools reported 62 incidents for students being found with knives, including flick knives, kitchen knives, and a military knife, between February and August.  Of those, 27 incidents involved students threatening harm to others with a knife and five incidents resulted in students receiving minor injuries.

Ten-year-old children should not be locked up, leading criminologist says

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, one of Australia’s leading criminologists recommended that the minimum age for criminal responsibility should be raised from 10 to 14 years of age, as evidence is mounting showing the lifelong harm the justice system does to children. Professor Cunneen argues that “increasing the age of criminal responsibility has the potential to reduce the likelihood of lifelong contact with the criminal justice system. It is well established that one of the key risk factors for criminal justice contact, is prior contact." Currently in Australia, the legislated minimum age for criminal responsibility is 10, but under Australian common law, the doctrine of Doli incapax (incapable of crime) applies between the ages of 10 and 14.

INTERNATIONAL

UK: Shocking video captures moment parent ploughs into teacher in school run road rage

The Telegraph wrote about how UK Police have released video footage of a parent who drove at a teacher at the school gates.  The teacher was then pushed on to the bonnet of the car, before being thrown off as the parent made the turn into the school car park. The parent who was driving the car has been sentenced to 10 months jail after pleading guilty to causing actual bodily harm, dangerous driving, and driving without insurance. The school's principal said that "it is regrettable that an individual has chosen to behave with such a blatant disregard for someone simply doing their job in trying to keep our students safe."

UK: The teacher who cared for fake girlfriend has avoided ban from the classroom

The TES reported about a primary school teacher who took time off work to care for a terminally ill girlfriend he fabricated has avoided being banned from the teaching profession.  The school requested documentation to prove that his fake girlfriend was suffering a terminal illness. The teacher admitted that he misled the school about his reason for taking time off because he claims that the headteacher was going out of his way to make his work life difficult and unhappy.

UK:  Primary school received an 'inadequate' rating after inspectors found damp and mould in classrooms

The Nottingham Post reported about how a school was given an inadequate rating after an Ofsted report found that the school had damp and mould in the classrooms, and the school required improvement in this quality of teaching and pupil outcomes.  The school's head teacher has vowed to make the school outstanding following the damning inspection.

USA: The story of a world-renowned teacher, accusations and a settlement

The Washington Post reported about how a renowned teacher finally won their case against the Los Angeles School Board claiming they unjustifiably fired him.  In March 2015, the teacher was pulled out of his class of fifth-graders from low-income areas because a school staffer thought his joke about a naked character in Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was inappropriate.