The information in the Weekly Wrap is aggregated from other news sources to provide you with news that is relevant to the education sector across Australia and worldwide. Each paragraph is a summary of the subject matter covered in the particular news article. The information does not necessarily reflect the views of CompliSpace.

AUSTRALIA

Meet the school principal who has never expelled or suspended a student

The ABC News reports that figures collated by the ABC show suspension and expulsion rates are largely going up across the country, in both numbers and as a proportion of school population. This is despite academics and studies regularly suggesting schools need to be changing the way they deal with bad behaviour. State and territory governments told the ABC they were trying new approaches, including behaviour plans. "Schools have access to programs, training and support to support student wellbeing with a focus on helping students to self-regulate," a Northern Territory department spokeswoman said. A spokeswoman for the ACT Education Department said suspensions gave staff time to ensure individual supports for a student were in place. In a statement the South Australian Education Department said suspensions and expulsion support victims of bullying or assault. A WA department spokeswoman said they had an action plan on violence in schools which meant principals must suspend students who attacked other students, started fights or filmed a fight.

School expulsion rates plunge after students gain new power to appeal

The Age reports that the number of students expelled from Victorian government schools has plunged by more than a third in just two years after students and parents were given more power of appeal. New data reveal 184 students were expelled in Victoria last year, including 10 primary school students, a 35.4 per cent drop from 285 expulsions in 2017, the last full year before expulsion rules were reformed by the Andrews government. Principals lost significant autonomy to expel troublesome students in July 2018, when a new Ministerial order took effect, giving students and parents multiple grounds to appeal to an independent panel. The reform came after Victoria’s Ombudsman released a report that was scathing of the high expulsion rate in Victorian schools, finding that a disproportionate number of affected students had a disability, were living in out-of-home care or identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Catholic and independent schools, which educate about a third of Victorian students, are not bound by the same rules, and do not keep figures on expulsions.

Australia’s young people learn more about earthquakes than bushfires, floods, survey finds

Mirage News reports that Australian youth feel unprepared for disasters like bushfires, saying schools are failing to arm them with the skills they need, and politicians are not listening to their climate change concerns, a major report has found. The Our World, Our Say report released on Friday reveals that while youth are increasingly frightened by the spectre of disasters, a staggering 88 per cent believe they are not being taught enough to protect themselves and their communities. The research was conducted in the wake of Australia’s devastating “Black Summer” bushfire season, finding young people learned more about earthquakes in class than more relevant hazards like bushfires, floods, drought and tropical cyclones. The nation’s most comprehensive consultation of children and youth on climate change, disasters and disaster-resilience involved the polling of almost 1500 children aged 10-24. It was led by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience and World Vision Australia, with the support of UNICEF Australia, Plan International, Save the Children, Oaktree and Australian Red Cross.

Give students hope amid coronavirus mental health crisis, experts urge

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the suicides of some year 11 and 12 students have prompted mental health experts to warn that Australia must act quickly to counteract a growing sense of hopelessness among HSC students. Parents and teachers are increasingly worried about the welfare of senior students as their rites of passage are cancelled, the job market shrinks and the tertiary education sector faces a financial crisis due the coronavirus pandemic. There have been suicides among year 11 and 12 students in northern Sydney and regional NSW this year, including two at one school in less than a month. Ian Hickie from the Brain and Mind Research Institute has done modelling suggesting there might be a 12.5 per cent increase in suicides among 15- to 25-year-olds due to COVID-19. This month, Victorian hospitals recorded a 33 per cent rise in children presenting with self-harm over a six-week period, compared with a year earlier. NSW does not have comparative statistics.

Victorian coronavirus contact tracing delays meant teachers worked after being exposed

The ABC News reports that failures in Victorian contact tracing meant teachers and students exposed to positive COVID-19 cases at four separate secondary schools were not notified until at least two weeks later. One teacher said she was laughed at when she told a Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) employee she had just received a text telling her to self-isolate as she was a close contact, but that because of the delay the text stated her isolation ended that day. The delays to contract tracing in the past month meant teachers and other students were not told to isolate at the time they were most at risk of infecting others. Despite schools having been closed since early August, and the firm prospect they may not open again this year, the continuing failure to identify close contacts of positive cases deeply troubled the teachers who spoke to the ABC.

Information and links to assist schools to manage and prepare for the potential impact of the Coronavirus on operations, staff, students, and the community

Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) has issued information and links to external resources that are designed to assist Member Schools to manage and prepare for the potential impact of the Coronavirus on their operations, their staff and students, and the wider school community. It outlines their obligations, provides advice and links to the relevant government agencies that are the best sources of information. Schools should be aware that government advice is being updated regularly and can change from day-to-day. While ISV will try to keep this information current, this might not always be possible. As well as these resources, ISV will communicate directly to schools via email and memos in the event of significant developments. Protocols for schools in the event of a suspected or confirmed coronavirus case were prepared in consultation between ISV, representatives of Catholic Education, and the Victorian Department of Education and Training.

Experts challenge school mindsets and practice

The Educator reports that two globally recognised leaders in evidence-based school transformation are about to harness the ideas, enhanced school-family partnerships and momentum for change in education created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian academics and authors Dr Judy Halbert and Dr Linda Kaser, co-leaders of the Networks of Inquiry and Indigenous Education in Canada, will share their extensive research and hands-on experience working with schools around the world at a masterclass involving 100 Queensland private school leaders and teachers. At the core of the Spiral of Inquiry framework for school transformation – which Dr Halbert and Dr Kaser authored with Professor Helen Timperley – is “getting a clear understanding of what is going on for our learners before leaping to action”. Teams of Queensland independent school principals, leaders and teachers have been undertaking research into teaching and learning using the Spiral of Inquiry framework as part of ISQ’s Research in Schools program.

SA Government can't say where international students will come from as Victorian COVID-19 restrictions tighten

The ABC News reports that the South Australian Government will not say if 300 international students returning to Adelaide in a pilot program will come from high-risk countries for coronavirus. It came as the state was getting set to ban almost all Victorians from crossing the border last Friday. Premier Steven Marshall said "no decisions have been made" about where they will come from. South Australia is part of a pilot program announced the previous Sunday to get international students to return to Australia via Singapore. Everyone apart from essential workers, some farmers and Year 11 and 12 students would be blocked from crossing into SA from Victoria from last Friday, which cross-border communities said would throw their lives into chaos. Speaking at a school, Mr Marshall said "the final planning is being done at the moment" on the international student program. The international students will have to quarantine for two weeks in a hotel at their own expense and pay for their flights to Australia.

Victoria promises more support for educators to help children transition to school

The Sector reports that the Victorian Government has pledged further support for educators and teachers in order to ensure children are better prepared for the move from kindergarten to school in 2021 as they navigate the effects of the pandemic and its disruption to their learning. Educators will be able to register for online professional development workshops and webinars, to learn how to adapt existing transition programs during coronavirus restrictions – as well as adapt Transition Statements to support the continuity of learning as they make this transition during coronavirus. New resources have also been developed for educators, providing guidance for kindergartens on transition in a time of COVID-19 and guidance for schools to best meet the needs of prep students who have had a disrupted kindergarten year due to the pandemic. These tools, the Government said, will help educators and teachers give practical advice on the transition to school processes to ensure children and families are ready for this significant milestone.

Clerical abuse victim sues Slater and Gordon over church payout

The Age reports that a victim of one of Victoria's most notorious paedophile priests says law firm Slater and Gordon bungled his compensation claim against the Catholic Church, which paid out $75,000 for horrific sexual abuse. Slater and Gordon has been accused of negligence in documents filed in the Supreme Court, including claims it failed to advise its client of his alternative rights to compensation that could have exceeded $1 million. However, a Slater and Gordon spokeswoman said the statement of claim lodged by rival firm Arnold Thomas and Becker was "misconceived and fails to reflect current developments in the law". Slater and Gordon indicated it would vigorously defend the case, which could have implications for more than 320 victims of clerical abuse, who received about $10 million from the church's compensation scheme set up in 1996 by George Pell.

Queensland ALP won’t make sex with students illegal

The Australian reports that a Royal Commission proposal to make it illegal in Queensland for a teacher to have sexual intercourse with a student has been left out of a suite of reforms by the Palaszczuk government. Its omission from the Palaszczuk government’s long-awaited Child Sexual Offences Reform Bill has outraged anti-child abuse advocates and survivors of abuse. The Bill is set to pass at the next sitting of Parliament in September — the last before the October 31 election. It includes tough sentences for the supply and use of childlike sex dolls, mandating reporting of child abuse and the creation of an offence for institutions that fail to protect children in their care. However, it does not include the Commission’s recommendation making it illegal for a person in a position of authority to have sexual intercourse with a person aged 16 or 17 in their care. Similar laws exist in all states except Tasmania and Queensland. According to a government response to submissions, the Department of Justice and Attorney-General decided not to include the offence because of a provision in the Criminal Code which states consent may be negated if it has been obtained “by exercise of authority”.

INTERNATIONAL

Government health advisers say missing school is greater risk to kids than COVID (United Kingdom)

Reuters reports that the Chief Medical Officers of the United Kingdom have said children should return to school after the summer holidays, warning that missing out on their education posed much bigger risks to them than catching COVID-19. The rare joint statement from the top health advisers to the governments of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland represents a boost for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who has said getting children back to school is a national priority. Evidence showed that a lack of schooling increased inequalities, reduced opportunities and could exacerbate physical and mental health issues, the statement said. By contrast there was clear evidence of a very low rate of severe disease in children, even if they caught COVID-19, and an exceptionally low risk of dying.

WHO issues new guidelines saying children 12 and over should wear masks (Global)

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) said children aged 12 and over should wear masks to help tackle the COVID-19 pandemic under the same conditions as adults, while children between six and 11 should wear them on a risk-based approach. Children aged 12 and over should particularly wear a mask when a one-metre distance from others cannot be guaranteed and there is widespread transmission in the area, the WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a document on the WHO website dated 21 August. Whether children between six and 11 should wear masks depends on a number of factors, including the intensity of transmission in the area, the child's ability to use the mask, access to masks and adequate adult supervision, the two organisations said. The potential impact on learning and psycho-social development, and the interactions the child has with people at high risk of developing serious illness, should also play a role. Children aged five years and under should not be required to wear masks based on the safety and overall interest of the child, the WHO and UNICEF said.

“Unprecedented”: Los Angeles schools to test all 600,000 students for COVID-19 (United States)

The Guardian reports that, in the most ambitious plan of its kind, Los Angeles Unified has announced plans to test its roughly 600,000 students and 75,000 employees as the nation’s second-largest school district prepares for the eventual return to in-person instruction. The superintendent of Los Angeles Unified, Austin Beutner, said in a statement the program will provide regular COVID testing and contact tracing for school staff, students and families. The testing program was set to kick off on Monday this week, with additional services to roll out as the school year continues. Los Angeles Unified, which has been closed for in-person instruction since March, last month announced plans to begin the new school year online as case numbers surged. The school district must wait for the state to greenlight plans to reopen schools for in-person instruction, though that may not happen in the near future. Beutner said case numbers in Los Angeles still far exceed state guidelines for a safe return to school and said that in-person instruction for all students is “some time away”.