AUSTRALIA

Gymnastics Australia appoints first child safety co-ordinator

According to The Australian, Gymnastics Australia has appointed its first child safety co-ordinator, based in Victoria to overseas Gymnastics Victoria and Gymnastics Australia, Ms Phoebe Pownall. Ms Pownall said part of her job would be to educate clubs, coaches, parents and gymnasts about what constituted abuse in a sport that required coaches to touch children in their charge. After the Royal Commission, the article says, it is a timely acknowledgment by the sport’s national governing body that it must do more to protect young athletes.

To reduce inequality in Australian schools, make them less socially segregated

According to The Conversation, 17% of Australian young people leave secondary school without achieving basic educational skill levels in an OECD Report, concluding that eliminating school underperformance would reap enough fiscal benefits to pay for the country’s entire school system. Inequalities of educational opportunities and experiences are a result of socially segregated schools. Australia has one of the largest resource gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged schools in the OECD. To tackle underachievement, the authors suggest early, targeted intervention and making our schools socially integrated would reduce underachievement.

First Australian conviction in Victoria for running an unlicensed childcare centre under both state and federal law

According to The Advertiser, Esther Anderson-Lomman, who sent exploitative child photos to a UK paedophile, has become the first Australian convicted of running an unlicensed, unqualified childcare centre. Anderson-Lomman, 24, of St Kilda, pleaded guilty to one count of providing an education or childcare service without approval or qualification to do so. The Adelaide Magistrates Court placed Esther Louise Anderson-Lomman on a two-year, $100 bond for running her illegal business. That penalty will sit atop her suspended eight-month jail term for taking exploitative photos of one of the children in her care and sharing them online with a sex predator. The state’s chief magistrate, Judge Mary-Louise Hribal, said Anderson-Lomman also faced a maximum $20,000 penalty for duping $15,280 out of the children’s parents.

Violent footage of wild schoolyard brawl in Victoria

According to The Age, violent footage of dozens of teenagers kicking and punching each other in a wild schoolyard brawl in Melbourne's Staughton College in Melton has emerged. The footage was later shared on Snapchat and widely circulated on social media, and was supposedly triggered by one girl throwing a hair accessory at another. The school reportedly went into lockdown following the brawl, with students remaining fearful about returning to school after the incident.

Inside Australia's first purpose-built school for children with autism in Queensland

The first ever school purpose-built for children with autism will open on the Gold Coast, according to 7News.com. Josiah College has been custom-designed to suit the needs of autistic students who may struggle in a mainstream school environment. Working closely with specialists in autism from the Bond University Centre for Autism Spectrum Disorder, the school's design takes into account everything from the positioning of land to the use of colours and even the movement of the school's fans. Each class will have a ratio of eight students to one teacher – much smaller than a typical mainstream classroom. In its first year, the school will cater to 16 students between grades two and five, but the plan is to expand the intake to cater for up to 64 students between grades two and ten.

INTERNATIONAL

Maryland Schools May Tell Children When It’s Time to Log Off

According to the New York Times, Maryland could become the first state in the United States to address parental concerns about computer screen time for children in the classroom. Legislation passed this month would require state education officials to develop optimum health and safety practices for the use of digital devices in schools. Until now, health concerns about children’s use of devices have centred largely on entertainment activities. Studies have reported that children with excessive internet or video-gaming habits can become preoccupied with online activities to the detriment of real-life activities and relationships. Some paediatricians and parents are now raising similar concerns about classroom laptops, tablets and apps, partly because school districts are adopting digital tools in droves. “It could be model legislation for the rest of the United States,” said Laura Bowman, a board member of the associated parents’ group.

1 Million US Children Affected by Identity Theft Last Year, Study Finds

According to Gizmodo, in a study released by Javelin Strategy & Research, in 2017, more than $2.6 billion in losses may be attributed to incidents of identity theft involving children. The out-of-pocket cost to families is estimated at over $540 million. Unlike adult victims, only 7 percent of whom personally know the identity thief, some 60 percent of identity fraud victims who are children know the perpetrator, the study says. In a third of all incidents recorded by Javelin, a family friend was responsible, while 18 percent of the time the fraud was committed by the parent’s spouse or partner. Two-thirds of the victims are younger than eight years old. The increased digitisation of school and medical records follows a rising risk of data breaches impacting minors. According to the study, 11 percent of households had at least one child’s personal information become compromised in the past 12 months.