Australia

Religious school board dissolved in wake of Royal Commission revelations

The Age reports that the board of the Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne has been dissolved, after child abuse revelations at the Royal Commission. Many members left after decades-long tenures.

Fairfax Media does not suggest any individual board members were involved in the concealment of any abuse.

Private school student’s moneymaking scheme ends badly

A student at a non-government boys’ school in Victoria has received media attention for running a failed ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme involving other students. The online business venture, involving the importation of luxury fashion items, has collapsed owing more than $185,000 to schoolboy investors. Police are investigating.

Schoolgirls exposed to online lewd act while in class

Still in Victoria, The Age reports that a sexual predator has used a webcam to commit a lewd act in front of Year 7 students at a state high school. The Police have investigated the incident and the school involved has offered counselling and updated its internet filter to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.

Report shows classroom allocation more important than other policy considerations

An international report by Professor Hattie, director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, shows that the classroom a child is assigned matters more than the school itself, and teacher performance pay and smaller class sizes are policy ‘distractors’ with little impact.

Delay in investigation into school that put autistic boy in cage causes anger

The parents of an autistic schoolboy are angered by delays into the investigation of a Canberra school that allegedly used a two-metre by two-metre cage made of pool fencing to give the boy ‘time out’.

According to ABC News the investigation has currently taken 2.5 months.

WA public schools exceed maximum class limits

PerthNow reports that Education Department figures show 1 in 5 kindergarten classes are over the maximum agreed limit of students. The article states that the Education Minister said some schools made the deliberate choice to have more children in a class and devote funds to other programs through the new flexible funding model.

International

English school asks parents to pay for sports trip to Barbados

The Guardian reports that a school in Leeds, UK, has asked parents to pay 1,650 GBP for their children to attend a sports trip in Barbados. Parents called the trip ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unfair’.

Canadian teachers need more training on aboriginal issues

Public school teachers in Ontario, Canada, are not receiving enough training on aboriginal issues according to a new report. According to CBCnews teachers say they are not comfortable teaching indigenous culture and issues.

The report shows that 96 per cent of Ontario secondary schools and 92 per cent of elementary schools have aboriginal students.

Canadian commentators say banning rugby in schools is the wrong approach

Also in Canada, the Ottawa Citizen has an article that says that banning rugby in schools is the ‘wrong approach’. This comes following the death of a female high school rugby player.

Thousands sign petition calling for ban on children’s’ ear piercing

The Guardian reports that the UK Parliament will be asked to consider banning parents from piercing the ears of children or babies, because they are unable to consent to the procedure.

Student poverty a barrier to learning

The Washington Post writes that a teacher poll showed that student poverty is a major barrier to learning. Lack of parental involvement and over-testing were also identified as big problems, as well as student apathy. Teachers also said they were spending about 20% of their time helping students resolve non-academic problems that stem from their lives outside school.