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

Australia needs national COVID-19 schools plan, experts say

The Age reports that the authors of a report on COVID-19 in Victorian schools and early learning centres say that Australia needs a national plan to ensure schools are the last places to close and the first to open in any further outbreaks. Professor Fiona Russell and Professor Sharon Goldfeld, the authors of the study, said snap lockdowns were “distressing” for everyone, particularly for Melbourne students who experienced almost two terms of remote learning last year. The pair were part of a team from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute that analysed COVID-19 cases in Victorian schools and early learning centres during the state’s first and second waves of coronavirus. The report concluded community transmission drove school transmission and schools should be shut only as a final resort, based on levels of community transmission and their location. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommends specific strategies based on the level of community transmission, using a traffic light approach in order to keep schools open as long as possible.

Record growth for private school enrolments

The Educator reports that private school enrolments have grown at their fastest pace in more than a decade, new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show. The latest schools data reveal a 2.6 per cent growth in full time equivalent enrolments being the sector’s highest since 2008. In 2020 alone, student numbers grew by nearly 15,000. In NSW, independent secondary school enrolments grew by 3,678 in 2020 while primary enrolments grew by 1,675. Seventy-one per cent of new independent school students were enrolled in schools serving low and middle income families, while the number of students in Special and Special Assistance schools grew by 5 per cent. Meanwhile, enrolments in Victorian Independent Schools rose by 3,924 in 2020 – an increase of 2.7 per cent, meaning that 15 per cent of all students in the state now attend an Independent school. In Queensland, the independent schooling sector’s share of 856,686 school-age children in 2020 grew to 15.2 per cent, up from 14.9 per cent in 2019.

Catholic education in Australia celebrates 200 years

The National Catholic Education Commission has announced that in 2021, Australian Catholic education celebrates 200 years of Catholic schooling in this country. National Catholic Education Executive Director Jacinta Collins said the bicentennial celebrations recognise the enormous contribution of Catholic schools in Australia. The bicentenary commemorates the anniversary of the first official Catholic school in Australia, founded in October 1820 by Irish Catholic priest Fr John Therry. The school, which Catholic historians believe was located on Hunter Street in Parramatta, taught 31 students. An Irish Catholic convict George Marley (also identified as George Morley), who was sent to the colony, opened the school for Fr Therry and ran it for three years. This school was transferred to the site of the present St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1837 and was entrusted to the care of the Marist Brothers in 1875. Parramatta Marist High School, now located in Westmead and St Patrick’s Primary, Parramatta trace their origins back to this first school.

Catholic Church weighs exodus against influx

The Australian reports that one in five Australian students attends a Catholic school, yet increasingly those drawn to a Catholic education are from outside the faith, which speaks to the fact many of the values at the core of a Catholic education are shared throughout broader society. While Catholic school numbers and enrolments have grown in the past decade, the sector’s market share has contracted from 20.1 per cent to 19.5 per cent. One concern of church leaders is the loss of Catholic students, analysis of 2016 census data showing 47 per cent of Catholic primary students did not attend Catholic schools; for secondary students, it was 45 per cent. This loss of “better off” Catholic students to the independent sector was acknowledged in the latest pastoral letter released by the bishops of Australia. As the National Catholic Education Commission’s research has found, even among Catholic parents, “religious values” rank 13th on the list of factors deemed “important” when choosing a school. Teacher quality, academic standards and discipline rate much higher.

Families in eastern states pay around twice as much for preschool than the rest of Australia

According to an article in The Conversation, many families in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales have been paying around double what families in other states and territories pay for preschool. Australian governments recognise the importance of one year of preschool the year before school for a child’s educational journey. This is why the federal, state and territory governments co-operatively co-fund one year of preschool. This arrangement has achieved high levels of enrolment in preschool in the year before school — nearly nine in 10 children are enrolled nationally. A recent Productivity Commission report shows participation in preschool in the year before school has declined over the past four years — from 92.4 per cent of all children in 2016 to 87.7 per cent in 2019. Enrolment rates in preschool two years before school are much lower than the year before school. There’s no national funding model to support three-year-old preschool. NSW and Victoria have recently started funding three-year-old preschool. The Australian Capital Territory has plans to do the same.

New research shows parents are major producers of child sexual abuse material

According to an article in The Conversation, child sexual abuse material — images and videos of kids being sexually abused — is a growing international problem. The sad fact is that online exploitation begins at home for many kids and in those cases their parent is the last person who can be trusted to keep them safe. The aim of the authors’ world-first study was to identify the circumstances in which parental figures (including biological, step and adoptive parents) produce sexual abuse material of their children in Australia. The study has several implications for policy and practice. Sexual abuse prevention and online safety education programs can’t assume parents are protective. Child protection and criminal justice interventions in sexual abuse often depend upon the child’s disclosure. However, this group of severely abused children were very unlikely to disclose. This finding underscores the need to alert protective adults to non-verbal signs of abuse.

Hundreds of Sydney students claim they were sexually assaulted

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a former Sydney schoolgirl has called for “sexual consent education” to be taught much earlier after an online petition was swamped with testimonies from young women, some of whom say they were 13 when they were sexually assaulted by their male peers. Within 24 hours, a petition delivered a disturbing list of allegations from respondents, who said they had been sexually assaulted during high school or shortly after by young men who attended nearby Sydney private boys’ schools. About 1500 students from 50 different schools have signed the petition demanding better – and earlier – sex and consent education in schools. Those who signed the petition said they “passionately believe that inadequate consent education is the reason for their sexual abuse during or soon after school”. The Herald has spoken to some of the students who made claims but has not substantiated individual allegations. Schools that responded to the Herald said they had programs in place that taught students about the criminal nature of sexual harassment and assault.

Study reveals how “Respectful Relationships” classes have impacted young kids

The Herald Sun reports that Victorian boys and girls changed the toys they wanted to play with and their future jobs after gender awareness training and a school library “audit”, a study has found. Deakin University research shows children are more aware of gender issues and bias after six months of respectful relationships lessons and an overhaul of their library books and sporting equipment. Analysis of the impact of the Victorian government’s Respectful Relationships classes on 200 grade one and two students showed improvement of their gender awareness and stereotyping. The lesson plan states that gender-based violence occurs when people are teased, called names, ignored and left out. The Respectful Relationships Education program, introduced in 2015, received $37 million in funding in the recent state budget. Expansion of the program was a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

Why small class sizes may not be a big deal for students

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that class sizes may exert some influence on parents’ choice of one school over another, but experts say the latest data show smaller classes do not necessarily increase academic performance. Official figures released on Friday showed Victorian schools had a student-to-teaching staff ratio of 12.8 students to one teacher in 2020. The ratio was higher in primary schools (13.9 students to one teacher) than secondary schools (11.5 students to one teacher), the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Victorian independent schools had a lower student-to -teacher ratio (10.8 students to one teacher) than Catholic schools (13 students to one teacher) and government schools (13.3 to one). Education expert Peter Adams said while many parents regarded small class sizes as better, the reality was more nuanced. The OECD’s recent report on PISA 2018 said there were a “number of ways in which small classes are, in theory, good for instruction and learning”. But the OECD concluded that “research provides mixed evidence” on whether smaller classes improve student outcomes.

“I didn’t want to go that way”: Thousands of students ditch the ATAR

The Age reports that a record 4175 year 12 students ditched the ATAR last year and completed VCE without a study score as universities offered new alternative pathways to enrolment. In all, 8.3 per cent of year 12 students completed an unscored VCE in 2020, data given to The Age by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority reveal. It is a modest increase on 2019’s total, when 3810 students went unscored, suggesting the disruption to study caused by the pandemic did not generate a surge in students choosing this option for fear of getting a low ATAR. There were calls to ditch the ATAR last year, including a prominent online petition signed by 25,000 people calling for all senior exams to be scrapped due to the pandemic. The option of completing VCE without a study score has existed since the certificate’s inception, but until recent years was taken up by only a fraction of students. From 2023, the VCE and VCAL will begin to be merged into one integrated high school certificate, doing away with the need for students to choose one or the other.

Queensland teachers' union in push for vaccine priority

The ABC News reports that Queensland teachers are pushing to be recognised as a priority workforce group in the national rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine alongside other frontline workers. Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson said it was disappointing teachers were not considered as a workforce group in the vaccination schedule when last year teachers and principals were considered essential workers. But the federal health department says the three priority groups identified for the rollout are those at increased risk of exposure — those who have an increased risk, relative to others, of developing severe disease or outcomes from COVID 19 and those working in services critical to societal functioning. Ms Richardson said the union would continue consulting with government about moving teachers and school leaders up on the priority list. A federal health department spokesperson said the government’s COVID-19 vaccine roadmap was established based on the advice of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Principal stole $23,000 from his school for gambling, family holiday

The Age reports that the principal of a disadvantaged state school in outer suburban Melbourne pocketed almost $23,000 in school funds and spent the money on gambling and an overseas family holiday, in a case that has exposed poor oversight by the Education Department. Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass revealed the theft in a report she tabled last week, which she said highlighted “systemic weakness in the financial governance of our schools”, rather than a systemic problem of senior staff stealing school funds. “The Department of Education and Training missed red flags that might have uncovered some of the conduct sooner,” Ms Glass said. “The principal in this case was able to get away with his actions for so long because the systems and controls did not work The Department of Education and Training also missed two opportunities to identify financial mismanagement at the school, including a query of two payments by the Victorian Auditor-General’s office and a departmental audit of school finances.

PD credit recognises innovation in response to COVID-19

NESA has announced that all teachers actively maintaining accreditation in 2020 or 2021 will automatically receive a one-off 5 hours of NESA Accredited PD. This recognises teachers’ significant professional growth in response to disruptions and challenges presented by COVID-19. NESA will add these hours to teachers’ online PD logs by the end of February. There is no need to evaluate this PD.

NESA has also corrected an error made in the reminder last week’s NESA News, clarifying that inspections of schools selected randomly will take place from Week 5 Term 1 to Week 10 Term 3. The Official Notice regarding the requirements for schools selected randomly for inspection in 2021 is published here.

NESA has also released the following Official Notices:

• Non-government school Teacher Accreditation Authority applications due by 31 March 2021
• Application for approval of school providers (CRICOS) due by 31 March 2021
• Non-government school registration applications due by 31 March 2021

Updates to provider risk framework

The VRQA has announced that it has updated its provider risk framework. The framework is a tool that identifies risks we consider when registering and reviewing education and training providers. Providers can use the framework to consider their own circumstances against each risk. The framework helps the VRQA determine an appropriate level of oversight for each registered education provider. The updates reflect issues identified in the VRQA’s recent review and registration activity. The updated framework is published here.

The VRQA has also published the report of its 2020 client and stakeholder research, available here.

INTERNATIONAL

Free period products to be made available to all NZ schools and kura, PM announces (New Zealand)

TVNZ news reports that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that students "should not miss out on their education because of something that is a normal part of life for half the population. Providing free period products at school is one way the Government can directly address poverty, help increase school attendance and make a positive impact on children’s wellbeing. We want to see improved engagement, learning and behaviour, fewer young people missing school because of their period, and reduced financial hardship amongst families of participating students." It now means all primary, intermediate, secondary school and kura could access free products. The issue of period poverty had been concerning charity groups for years, with reports of students having to skip school due to being unable to afford period products. It will be a phased roll out, with period products available from end of term two for schools and kura that opt-in by March.

“It's been scary”: getting vaccinated akin to lottery for US teachers (United States)

The Guardian reports that for many American teachers, access to the vaccine seems to depend less on what they do as a frontline educator and more on where they do it. As more schools around the US have started to reopen to in-person learning, teachers and staff are pushing back on doing so without vaccinations for employees. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to issue new guidance on school reopenings during the pandemic. The CDC issued guidelines on prioritising COVID-19 vaccination rollouts in phases, with teachers designated as part of phase 2, but individual states decide on where teachers fall in vaccine phased rollouts and the speed of vaccinations has differed greatly from state to state. According to data compiled by Education Week, at least 24 states have made some or all teachers eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, though delays in vaccine appointments remain common.