AUSTRALIA

'Crucial to the life of a child': The crisis facing child's play

According to The Age, learning through play is crucial to kids' academic development but has almost disappeared from the early primary years as schools adopt more traditional methods in order to meet benchmarks and produce data, new research has found. Children's play outside school is also under threat from urbanisation, apartment living, helicopter parenting and over scheduling activities, according to The Importance of Early Childhood and the Academia of Play report. Early learning specialist Kim Moroney travelled to five countries, including China and Finland, to look at international attitudes to play as a teaching technique for kindergarten to year two and report back to Catholic Schools NSW. She found that other countries put greater emphasis on play as a key part of early primary school teaching. "[In Australia], play as a pedagogy has almost disappeared from many schools. Sometimes children only have time for self-determined play at recess and lunch time, or outside school. But even that time has declined with the increase in the number of structured and supervised extra-curricular activities."

Brisbane school that told boy to shave his face changes its policy

According to News.com.au, seven months after a teacher told a 12-year-old student he had to shave his face for a photo, the Queensland school has been ordered to change its grooming rules. The Mansfield State High School student, who remained anonymous, was sporting a faint moustache on his photo day in February when a teacher told him to go into the bathroom and “swipe down”. But the Brisbane student had never shaved before and was instead left with cuts all over his upper lip. The school came under fire from the boy’s father who, after speaking with the school’s principal, said he was left unsatisfied with Mansfield’s response and took his complaint to the Education Board’s Ethical Standards Unit. And more than six months after the shaving incident, the boy’s father has won his appeal to get the school’s grooming policy changed, and students will now be forbidden from shaving on school grounds without explicit parental permission.

Watchdog looking into fenced-off classroom used to isolate teen

The Canberra Times reported that the Australian Capital Territory's new watchdog for restrictive practices is investigating a fenced-off facility used to isolate a Canberra student with special needs from his peers. Following calls from disability advocacy groups for an investigation, senior practitioner Mandy Donley confirmed she was looking into the case. Last week, ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry defended the specialist school's decision to build a locked facility for Abdul-Ghani Ferkh, who has complex autism. While Canberra schools avoided restrictive practices where possible, Ms Berry said she had been assured the appropriate action had been taken by the school, which had rightly made safety a priority. From 1 September, the watchdog will have the power to stop restrictive practices in ACT schools and disability services. Such practices are defined by the ACT government as anything used to "restrict the rights or freedom of movement of a person for the primary purpose of protecting the person or others from harm", including the seclusion of a person in a room or other space.

Rugby Union Australia reviewing school competition safety after recent injuries

9News.com.au reported that a teenage rugby player has been discharged from hospital less than six weeks after he was told he may never walk again.  Eighteen-year-old Ollie Bierhoff is the second of four teens from the Great Public Schools' Association of Queensland to return home, after a string of serious injuries over a three-week period. Rugby Australia is now reviewing safety of the game. It’s a process that was put in place prior to the latest incidents. Junior rugby league is now also trialling a size-based grading system to reduce injuries. Rugby Union Australia also said in a statement: “We are continuing the process of reviewing each of the injuries individually and we are finalising the terms of reference for a broader review into player safety in the GPS competition.”

Primary school embraces staff with autism, Down syndrome, with benefits to staff, students

According to ABC News, two women, both of whom have disabilities, are the newest recruits to staff at Comet Bay Primary School, south of Perth. Ms Smith, 19, has Down syndrome, while Ms Dillon, 20, has autism. The "experiment" began late last year, when a new student with Down syndrome enrolled at the school. While Comet Bay has more than 20 students with a range of disabilities, it has never had a child with Down syndrome and she was having a hard time settling in. To make her feel less alone, the school decided to offer a work placement to a young adult with Down syndrome who could act as a positive role model and guardian, and improve awareness of the condition. She was quickly embraced by the school community and it wasn't long before other parents were contacting the school, asking if their disabled children could do work placements too. Both women are at the school two days a week, accompanied by their support workers. If and when they're able to work independently, the school hopes to eventually employ them.

INTERNATIONAL

Pope issues sweeping apology for Catholic Church 'crimes' in Ireland

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that Pope Francis issued a sweeping apology for the "crimes" of the Catholic Church in Ireland, saying church officials hadn't responded with compassion to the abuses suffered over many years. The ABC Newsreported that Pope Francis marked the first papal visit to Ireland in 39 years by acknowledging that the failure of Church authorities to adequately address "repugnant" clerical child abuse crimes there remains a source of shame for the Catholic community.

Principal resigns after X-rated film clip filmed on school campus

According to News.com.au, the principal at a leading English private school has resigned after she hired out school facilities to a rapper who filmed an X-rated film clip on the campus. Governors at Mill Hill School, where boarding fees cost up to £33,717 ($60,000) a year, have launched an investigation after rapper Stefflon Don’s latest song “Pretty Girl” was filmed on the school premises. The clip shows her smoking marijuana in a dormitory and dancing naked in a shower.

New survey reveals New Zealand's youth among worst in cyberbullying rates

According to the NZ Herald, New Zealand kids are among the worst affected by cyberbullying worldwide, according to a new survey investigating the disturbing behaviour in 28 nations. The survey found more than a quarter - 27 per cent - of New Zealand parents or caregivers believed their child had experienced cyberbullying themselves. Only India and Brazil recorded higher levels. The survey, conducted by global market research group Ipsos, was completed in July by 501 New Zealanders over the age of 18 and their parents or caregivers. It also found almost every second caregiver or parent in New Zealand knew of a child in their wider community who had been cyberbullied prior to their 18th birthday. Results also showed 81 per cent of New Zealanders felt cyberbullying needed more attention, and that current measures were not sufficient.

Fired US Naval Academy professor sent picture of himself in Speedo to students

According to the Capital Gazette, Naval Academy English professor Bruce Fleming said his firing last week was linked to his public criticism of the academy, but documents show some students complained about behavior in his classroom that allegedly included calling students “far-right extremists,” sending a picture of himself in a Speedo and touching students without consent. Fleming said the Naval Academy’s findings are the result of an investigation that denied him due process and that the Academy sought any reason to fire him from his tenured position. The Academy removed Fleming from his teaching position in January as they talked with his students and investigated a complaint about his classroom behavior. The results of that investigation prompted Academic Dean Andrew Phillips to fire Fleming for “conduct unbecoming of a federal employee.”