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

NAPLAN testing concludes for 2022

According to The Educator, NAPLAN has wrapped up for 2022 with a record 4.3 million tests successfully submitted by more than 1.2 million students in 9,315 campuses and schools across Australia. This year marked the final year of transition to online testing with schools across Australia completing NAPLAN tests online. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) CEO David de Carvalho thanked the students, teachers and schools who helped ensure this year’s NAPLAN ran smoothly. “This year was uniquely challenging with the full transition to online testing as well as staffing and attendance challenges due to COVID-19. It is testament to the hard work of education authorities in each state who worked collaboratively with their schools to support students and manage any issues that arose that it went so well.” The successful transition of NAPLAN to online testing signals the beginning of a new era of NAPLAN.

Pandemic triggers disability provisions in schools

The Australian reports that disability diagnoses among school students have soared during the pandemic, with nearly a quarter of all students now eligible for extra assistance in class. While a royal commission resumed hearings recently in Canberra about the education of children with disability, one in every 15 Australian school students has a “social-emotional’’ disability, such as autism, anxiety or depression, official data reveals. 12 per cent have a cognitive disability, including Down syndrome and learning disorders like dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Physical disability affects one in every 40 students. In total, 22 per cent of students have a disability diagnosed by a health professional or teacher. More than 43,000 extra children were diagnosed with a disability in public schools across Australia between 2019 and 2021 – a 12 per cent increase since the start of the pandemic.

Teacher accreditation reform

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) reports that the Teacher Accreditation Act 2004 has been amended in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The changes ensure that child protection is at the forefront of decision-making in teacher regulation and bring NSW in line with the national framework for child safety. The introduction of an assessment of suitability to teach for initial and ongoing accreditation is one of the key new requirements that addresses the Royal Commission’s recommendations. This means that all Australian teacher regulatory authorities will apply a consistent approach to child safety. The Act also introduces a new category of accreditation for non-practising teachers that allows those teachers who work in the broader education community outside of a school or early childhood service to remain in the profession. The introduction of a public register of teachers further aligns NSW with other jurisdictions.

Schools need dedicated social media staff – principals

According to The Educator, NSW principals are feeling increasingly stressed and distracted as a result of angry parents lashing out online. Almost 90 per cent of respondents told the 2021 NSW Secondary Principals’ Council (SPC) survey that “social media hate campaigns” from parents were affecting their wellbeing and taking up valuable time that could be spent on teaching and learning. One of the recommendations of the SPC’s survey was that the Department “adopt and ensure a zero tolerance of any abuse of principals and teachers, including online.” Until such a policy is implemented, SPC president, Craig Petersen, says schools should get dedicated social media staff so that teachers and leaders can focus on their core job. Petersen said that while social media ‘pile-ons’ against school staff have traditionally been more common from students, the trend has shifted to parents over the last five to six years.

Private school fee rises may exclude middle-class families, principals fear

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that private schools are grappling with how to plug the loss of tens of millions of dollars in government money under new funding rules, with some principals fearing they will have to raise fees so much the schools will be out of reach for middle-class families. Some independent schools will lose money as funding levels are adjusted for fairness under the Gonski model, which introduced a Schooling Resource Standard (SRS) to calculate how much government support private schools were entitled to when parental income was taken into account. Waverley College Principal Graham Leddie told the Herald the school absorbed a $1.6 million decrease in government money in 2021, but this year had to increase fees by around $375 per student, per term. A survey of parents found they considered the increase reasonable and affordable.

More than 20 per cent of NSW students fall below acceptable standards

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that more than one in five NSW public school students are below the lowest acceptable standard in reading and numeracy. The NSW Department of Education admitted it needs to do better after it again fell short of the government’s achievement targets. The gap between the highest and lowest socioeconomic status students increased slightly between 2019 and 2021. The department was also more than 10 percentage points below its target of ensuring two-thirds of students achieved the growth expected of them in reading and numeracy. While Year 3 and 5 students were on track, Years 7 and 9 were significantly below. However, the system fell only slightly short of its target of more than two-thirds of students making it into the top two HSC bands. It was also on track to achieve its 2022 target of ensuring almost 92 per cent of school-leavers were in higher education, training or work.

NSW teachers, nurses and government workers to receive three per cent pay rise under new wage policy cap

According to Sky News, NSW public sector workers will receive a pay rise of three per cent under a new wage cap policy to support hundreds of thousands of employees who have repeatedly called for a bump in their salary to meet with soaring inflation. Premier Dominic Perrottet announced during a press conference on Monday that the wage cap will be lifted from the current baseline pay increase of 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent in the first year and then 3 per cent or up to 3.5 per cent in the second year, depending on an employee's experience, from 1 July. For example, the salary of a teacher in their fourth year of service will receive a boost in their package from $87,157 to $89,362. The following year they receive a further $7,632, which is 9 per cent on top of the 3 per cent announced on Monday. The NSW Government has come under increasing pressure from the nurses’ and teachers’ unions in recent months with thousands of staff walking off the job in staged protests.

Student collapses while vaping in school toilets due to massive nicotine dose

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a Blue Mountains Grammar student collapsed and had a seizure in the school toilets while vaping due to a massive dose of nicotine. The school had become increasingly aware of growing vape, or e-cigarette, use among students. Australian National University Professor Emily Banks, a public health physician and epidemiologist, said her team’s review of the global evidence on e-cigarettes found the risks included seizures due to nicotine toxicity. “Those disposable devices are very strong and have high doses of nicotine in them,” she said. “Some of those pods have the nicotine equivalent of ten packets of cigarettes.” Recent figures from the NSW Population Health survey showed rising rates of vaping among under 25s, prompting fears that decades of work to reduce smoking rates could be undone. 11 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 reported being a current user of e-cigarettes – more than double the number in 2020.

Dad of Grade One student claims Oakleigh Grammar discriminated against his child by expelling him

According to the Herald Sun, a Melbourne private school has been accused of discriminating against a student with special needs by applying a “zero-tolerance” approach to his behaviour. Oakleigh Grammar terminated the enrolment of a seven-year-old male student with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiance Disorder, despite knowing of his needs when he enrolled in 2017. “The School did have support measures in place, however they weren’t sufficient for what (the boy) needed at the time,” his father’s application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) states. In September 2018, the school’s principal Mark Robertson told the father that a “zero-tolerance policy” would be implemented. In November the boy’s enrolment was cancelled. The VCAT application notes this had a severe impact on the emotional and mental health of the boy. Mr Robertson said there were students with a range of disabilities at the school.

“A normalised culture of antisemitism”: students sue Melbourne school, alleging Jews were bullied

The Guardian reports that a Melbourne school principal has been accused of giving speeches endorsing Nazis, calling Jewish people subhuman and failing to protect his students from racial discrimination. Five former Brighton Secondary College students are suing the school, alleging they were subjected to years of antisemitic bullying, discrimination and negligence. Defence barrister Chris Young has said the school, the state of Victoria and the other respondents denied all of the allegations. The students allege they experienced physical and verbal bullying by students and teachers between 2013 and 2020. The principal, Richard Minack, and two teachers are also named in the suit. Butt said that Minack, “endorsed his Nazi father as a good man and at least once referred to Jews as subhuman, evil, the N-word.” Butt said the school’s failure to protect the students had contravened the Religious Discrimination Act and violated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Female students punished for “distracting” male teachers

According to the Herald Sun, Victorian schools are discriminating against female students and staff by saying their clothing is “distracting” male teachers. Female students are receiving a record number of detentions and being subjected to skirt-length checks. Many schools have different dress codes for male and female students, with many stipulating skirt lengths for girls, but not short lengths for boys. Students at two state high schools have been told their short dresses were a distraction for the male staff and made them uncomfortable. A spokesperson for the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission said schools were prohibited from discriminating against students on the basis of personal characteristics, including sex and gender identity, under the Equal Opportunity Act. Such a uniform policy “could be unlawful, particularly if the requirements are found to be unreasonable and not reflective of the views within the school community.”

Right to Information report details horrific violence, abuse on Queensland teachers

According to the The Courier Mail, escalating classroom violence and threats by students have sparked calls for Queensland teachers to undergo self-defence training and for schools to consider hiring armed security guards and install more cameras to deter attacks. New Right to Information documents reveal shocking details of teachers being threatened with a replica gun, facing digital death threats and even being stabbed in the eye with a pencil between 1 February 2020 and 28 February 2021. Among the more than 2000 incidents detailed are dozens of serious assaults resulting in injuries plus hundreds of claims for psychological injuries after witnessing attacks or being the subject of abuse, bullying or false allegations. Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson said any form of violence was extremely concerning, and it was important to remember “innocent students are also affected in these situations.”

INTERNATIONAL

Traffic noise slows children’s memory development, study finds (Spain)

The Guardian reports that road-traffic noise significantly slows the development of crucial memory and attention skills in primary school children, research has found. The study of almost 2,700 children aged between seven and 10 in Barcelona, Spain, is the first to assess the impact of traffic noise and peaks in noise on child cognitive development over time. The research found that children exposed to about three times more traffic in the street than other pupils had memory development that was 23 per cent slower and attention ability development 2per cent slower over a year. The scientists said many schools suffered noise pollution and measures such as rerouting traffic away from schools could help reduce noise and air pollution. The research showed that peaks of noise heard inside the classroom, such as the passing of loud trucks or vehicles accelerating away from traffic lights, had more impact than a higher average level of noise.

Racism in English education should be seen as safeguarding issue, says author (United Kingdom)

The Guardian reports that racism in education should be treated as a safeguarding issue, with anti-racist policies in all schools in England and training for staff, according to a new book. Jeffrey Boakye, a black English teacher, author and broadcaster, argues that schools are unsafe places for students marginalised by race, and warns that black children are attending institutions that might “actively contribute to their harm”. “Racism is something that needs to be seen and acknowledged before it is understood,” he said. “In this country, too many people don’t even know what it looks like.” The book comes months after the case of Child Q – a black 15-year-old girl who was strip-searched by police officers while at school in London after teachers claimed they smelled cannabis – sparked widespread outrage. “I would argue that racism is a safeguarding issue,” he writes.