Australia

‘Bad parents’ prompt Queensland respect campaign

Education HQ reports that the number of Queensland parents and guardians being banned from state schools for threatening behaviour has prompted a public awareness campaign calling for respect. According to budget estimates, approximately 150 people in Queensland each year are excluded from school grounds due to actual or threatened violence. In response, the state government will place posters in schools and across social media as a reminder for parents and guardian to show respect to others in the school community.

Australian and New Zealand principals swap schools for a term

For the first time, a new exchange programme has seen an Australian and New Zealand principal trade places for a term. Education HQ reports that the two school leaders, one from Adelaide and the other from New Zealand’s Gisborne, will each stay in their new roles for the duration of Term 3 as part of the New Zealand Ministry of Education and South Australian Department for Education and Child Development initiative to further strengthen educational ties between the two countries.

Principals broaden horizons with new course

The Educator reports the Victorian principals can now learn how to teach students to be “Asia-capable” when leaving school thanks to a new course unveiled this week. The “Leading Asia Capable Schools” course is available to both government and non-government schools in Victoria and will allow principals to deepen their understanding of Australia’s engagement with Asia, the workforce capabilities needed to engage with the region and to understand how to incorporate these capabilities into their school’s curriculum programs.

Private school students could be drug tested

The Courier Mail reports that a non-government school in Brisbane is considering introducing random drug testing as part of a suite of tools to combat the “insidious” drug threat to students. The school’s principal has said that following a serious drug incident last year, the school is reviewing their drug testing policy which every student is asked to sign upon enrolment. As part of the school’s strategic priorities a Drug Response Support Program will be implemented in 2017. The Program is still being developed and may include a random drug testing policy.

School’s critical incident reports skyrocket

The Educator reports that South Australian state schools recorded 5,586 critical incidents last year – more than double the amount recorded in 2012 when the Debelle Royal Commission into abuse against school children commenced. Data from the South Australian Education Department indicated that reports of sexual abuse more than tripled, incidents of self-harm quadrupled and violent incidents rose from 877 to 1,604 over the three-year period.

Thousands of online child sex abuse cases investigated in one year

The SMH reports that the Federal Government has conducted more than 7,400 investigations into online child sexual abuse content in the past year according to a report from the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner which celebrated the conclusion of its first year of operation on 1 July 2016. Other statistics from the 12-month report include over 59,000 students and teacher educated about online safety in Virtual Classrooms and 71,000 people face-to-face across Australia.

Perth teacher loses appeal to teach following exploitation charges

WA Today reports that a West Australian teacher who tried to coerce a disabled student into being his girlfriend and had sex with a 16-year-old girl he trapped in his car has lost his appeal against the Department of Child Protection’s decision to ban him from work as a teacher. The State Administrative Tribunal found that the man has acted inappropriately on several occasion since he began working as a teacher in WA in 2004.

International

Teacher blames school for year-long affair with student

Seven News reports that a U.S. 24-year-old female teacher dismissed from a school for having a near year-long affair with a 17-year-old student has said that officials are to blame for not stopping the relationship. The substitute teacher in Iowa was fired after the school became aware she was having regular sex with a male student. The school did not initially report the matter to the police and the teacher alleges that the school had known of the affair for months without taking action.