Australia
Millions more funding for NSW independent schools
The Sydney Morning Herald
reports that the Minister for Education is expected to announce $50 million over the next four years for new classrooms and facilities in non-government schools. The announcement will be part of the NSW Government’s new budget.
Canberra teacher arrested for grooming previously worked at other ACT school
A teacher from Canberra Grammar School arrested for child grooming previously worked at a secondary girls school in the ACT. A
Fairfax Media article states that the teacher had been on staff at Canberra Girls Grammar School before he began work at the boys school at the start of this year.
NSW mother tells of son purchasing crystal meth at school
A mother told a community meeting that her drug-addicted son first bought ice at school when he was 15.
ABC News reports that the mother is urging parents to be vigilant and wary. ‘As soon as they’re at high school, that’s where it is and there are 12-year-old’s at school that are selling this drug,’ she said. The meeting is the first of two being hosted by local Police to educate the community about the drug ice.
Report shows students with ADHD should be allowed to fidget
New research supports school programs that allow students with ADHD to ‘fidget’ as moving increases their alertness. The American research, reported in
The Australian, showed that ADHD students perform better on cognitive tasks when allowed to fidget or move more freely than is typically allowed in many classrooms. ADHD is among the most common childhood neurodevelopmental disorders. Rates of children diagnosed with ADHD have been growing about 3% a year in recent years
SA public school teachers required to do more cleaning
A
national news provider reports that primary teachers in SA are being forced to do more cleaning themselves and public high schools are cutting subjects, reducing staff and raising class sizes to manage new cleaning contracts blowing out bills. The new contracts were subject to federal awards that mandate minimum 4 hour shifts and penalty rates applying for whole shifts if they end after 6pm. The article states that primary schools could not afford the penalty rates, leaving teachers to do some of their own cleaning, especially over holiday periods, as cleaners did not have the time to do the job properly.
International
One in four children think video games are exercise
The Guardian reports that new research shows that school sport in the UK is suffering because ‘almost one in four children believe that playing video games counts as exercise.’ The chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, Ali Oliver, has warned children risk becoming ‘hostages to handheld devices’ and disengaged completely from physical activity.
Schools paying headhunting firms to find top teaching talent
In the UK, a shortage of headteachers and lack of support for governing bodies are pushing schools towards using expensive headhunters, say education and industry experts. The Guardian reports that schools are paying firms up to 50,000 GBP to find teachers for candidate positions.
Headteacher at UK school found guilty of offences against teenage boys
Still in the UK, a former femal headteacher is facing jail after being convicted of having sex with two teenage boys in the 1980s. According to The Guardian, the accused was a national leader in education, lauded for improving the exam performance at her schools.
Are school uniforms a blessing or a curse?
A New Zealand media article has canvessed arguments for and against school uniforms. Not all the alleged benefits, such as improved discipline, are backed up by emipirical evidence. Overall, the article argues that students (and parents) have a right to know not only what a school’s uniform policy is and how it is enacted, but also what it aims to achieve, if it is lawfully enacted and who can request changes to the policy.
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