Australia

Record number of NSW children sit tests for selective schools

The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that a record 13,930 children sat for the selective schools placement test for 4188 selective high-school spots in NSW.

NZ principal admits defrauding school of $NZ30K

The NZ Herald has reported that a primary school principal in New Zealand and her husband have admitted to stealing $NZ30,000 from the school. The paper reported the principal used the school credit card for expensive restaurants and siphoned money from the school's annual operational grant from the Ministry of Education for holidays to Australia and flowers. Fake invoices were filed so money could be diverted to companies owned by the principal's husband.  The Board of Trustees had suspicions but they had been hampered by the principals control over the schools financial information.

Comparison site created from MySchool data in Victoria 

The Age newspaper has compiled the data from 2000 Victorian schools onto its website to allow parents to compare the results and funding between various schools.

Parents urged to be more involved in childrens' education

The Australian Parents Council in a submission to the Abbott Government's curriculum review has argued for education policy to place greater focus on the role parents can play in a child's education. The Council, according to the News Limited papers, has suggested parents could be involved by reinforcing what children learnt at school by being given ideas by teachers for conversations and excursions.

NSW parents form break-away P&C organisation

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that parents had formed a breakaway organisation to replace the NSW Federation of Parents and Citizens Association, which is set to be dismantled by the state government. It comes amid infighting in the peak body, where two rivals claim to be the federation's rightful president.

Brisbane school defends its suspension of mobile phone carrying student

A Brisbane high school has been forced to defend its decision to suspend a student for two days for having a mobile phone in his school bag, according to the Courier Mail. The principal of Mansfield State High School issued a statement which said the “school’s Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students … clearly states ‘students are not to have mobile phones in their possession at school during school hours”.

International

Ski holiday company offers to pay school fines for absences during term time

A ski holiday operator has come under criticism for offering to cover the fines to parents who booked a holiday during the school term. The Guardian has reported the firm posted an advertisement on Facebook where it offered to pay the  £60 fine parents can attract if they do not gain permission to take their child out of school. The owner of the firm denied the advertisement encouraged parents to break the law, arguing it was a "marketing ploy". "The decision to break the law is squarely on the parent and they should be fully aware of the Education Act," he told the paper.

US students win right to wear ‘I ♥ Boobies’ bracelets

The US Supreme Court has denied a school district’s appeal of a lower court ruling that students had the right to  wear “I ♥ Boobies” breast-cancer-awareness bracelets, according to Reuters. The two students sued the school district, under the First Amendment, which barred them from wearing the bracelets after they reported some boys reacting immaturely to the bracelets by chanting “I love boobies” and “boobies, boobies”.

UK parents attend church in order to get children into church schools: Study

A study commissioned by the Church of England in the UK has found that many parents were attending church in order to get their children into over-subscribed religious schools. The study found evidence of stronger growth in attendance by parents wanting to enrol their children into a C of E school with limited places.

UK Govt outlines plans to teach 11-year-olds IT security

The UK Government has outlined plans to give teachers more training to allow them to teach children as young as 11 about online security to prepare them for careers fighting cyber-crime, according to the Times Education Supplement. “Today, countries that can manage cyber-security risks have a clear competitive advantage," said the UK Universities and science minister David Willetts. "By ensuring cyber-security is integral to education at all ages, we will help equip the UK with the professional and technical skills we need for long-term economic growth.”