The NSW Premier, Barry O'Farrell, has backed the right of schools to use fingerprint scanners to track whether kids are skipping class, The Australian reported. "I think that's a good thing because it reflects our policy of 'local schools, local decisions', which enables schools to make decisions that meet the needs of their communities," said Mr O'Farrell.
Western Australia reported the lowest high school student to teacher ratio for any state in 2013, followed by Victoria, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) last week. The ABS reported that the high school student to teacher ratio in WA was 11.5 (for both state and non-government high schools), while the national average was 12, which has remained the same for the last three years. Tasmania had the highest ratio at 12.6.
The NSW Government has released its first-ever “explicit” dress code for state school teachers as part of its plan to boost the “status” of teaching.
“The Dress Code is the latest element of our plans to improve the status of the profession — something we know teachers care passionately about,” the NSW Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, said in a statement.
A school district in the US has agreed to pay $US70,000 to settle a lawsuit with a girl who was given detention, after posting disparaging comments about a teacher's aide on her Facebook page from home. The American Civil Liberties Union, who represented the girl, also said school administrators viewed her online conversations with a boy, because of a complaint the two were using computers to talk about sex. "It was believed the parent had given permission to look at her cellphone," said the school district's Superintendent, Greg Schmidt, who admitted the district lacked a signed consent from the parent.
CBS News has reported that an 8-year-old girl has left a Christian school after administrators complained that her appearance was not sufficiently feminine. The school's principal sent a letter to the girl's parents last month, complaining she was not feminine enough, and that the school had a policy of refusing students who contradict a "biblical lifestyle". "We believe that unless Sunnie and her family clearly understand that God has made her female and her dress and behavior need to follow suit with her God-ordained identity, that TCS is not the best place for her future education," said the letter.
The Guardian has reported that figures from the UK Department of Education showed that more than 11% of authorised absences in the 2012-13 year, were by students given leave to take off-peak family holidays.
The Daily Mirror has reported that a headteacher who had an affair with a Year 11 student who he later got pregnant, has been banned from teaching for life. “The relationship is said to have involved the teacher frequently spending time alone with Pupil A in school time, communications by text and MSN between them, prearranged meetings outside school and overnight stays,'' said the chair of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) professional conduct panel which issued the ban.
The Birmingham Mail has reported a school has banned Red Bull-style energy drinks after it was found students as young as 11 were drinking up to three cans a day. “These caffeine drinks, combined with a poor diet, are responsible for the children who find it difficult to sit and concentrate in class,” said the school's headtheacher. “We thought we would raise our battle flags.