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

Calls for major public education campaign to deter youth vaping

According to The New Daily, health authorities are being urged to roll out a public education campaign to deter young people from vaping nicotine. Nicotine vaping products are illegal in every Australian state and territory unless prescribed by a doctor. However, Flinders University Professor in Public Health, Billie Bonevski, said regulating access and supply is often difficult and ineffective, and current bans are only half the battle. Professor Bonevski said Australian authorities should look to follow the US Food and Drug Administration, which launched a campaign in May to discourage young Americans from picking up a vape. The National Health and Medical Research Council released a report recently about the health implications of e-cigarettes. The report found that one in five Australians aged 18 to 24 who had never smoked reported having tried e-cigarettes, exposing their lungs to more than 200 chemicals and toxins, some of which can be fatal if inhaled.

NSW doubling down on HSC reform

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) reports that NSW students will have stronger pathways from high school to their future careers as part of the NSW Government’s push to overhaul and modernise the HSC. Changes underway to modernise HSC curriculum and assessment include abolishing the current system of classifying HSC courses as Category A or Category B Vocational Education and Training (VET) so more courses can contribute to a student’s ATAR from 2025, as well as piloting more HSC exams online, starting with the new Enterprise Computing and Software Engineering exams from 2025. A learner profile will also be introduced to showcase a student’s extra-curricular achievements holistically, not just their exam results. Additionally, clearer course overviews that link skills and knowledge to careers will give Year 10 students a greater understanding of the skills they will develop when they are selecting their HSC subjects.

“Completely bloody-minded”: NSW unions furious over fine increases for illegal strikes

The Guardian reports that NSW Labor will seek to block moves by the NSW Government to dramatically increase fines for unions that take strike action not approved by the State’s Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), as unions declare the move a “bloody-minded” attack on workers. Following months of industrial dispute between the Government and a range of public sector workers, including teachers, the NSW Finance Minister, Damien Tudehope, announced he would move to dramatically increase fines for strike action taken without approval from the IRC. Unions have slammed the decision, which would see them fined up to $55,000 for strike action taken in defiance of IRC rulings. Fines of up to $27,500 would be issued for each day after that, while unions that repeatedly breach orders would face fines of up to $110,000. Currently unions pay fines of $10,000 for the first day of unauthorised action and $5,000 a day after that.

Victoria announces $200 million boost for mental health support in primary schools

The Age reports that the Victorian government will pour $200 million into expanding mental health services at 1800 government and low-fee non-government primary schools across the State. The announcement comes as the State Government introduced a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Act to the Victorian Parliament recently. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Bill 2022 (VIC), which supersedes the Mental Health Act 2014 (VIC), will be used to create regional mental health and wellbeing boards in the State and establish a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission with the power to investigate complaints and hold the Government to account. Under the legislation, a new advisory body called Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Victoria will be created with the power to commission specialist services for mental health.

Victoria brings Nazi swastika ban forward by six months

According to the Herald Sun, new bans on swastikas and other hate symbols passed the Victorian State Parliament recently, making Victoria the first jurisdiction to bring the ban into law. From mid-next year it will be illegal to display hate symbols publicly, with any representation of the Nazi swastika, the Hakenkreuz, constituting a criminal offence. Under the Summary Offences Amendment (Nazi Symbol Prohibition) Bill 2022 (VIC), future offenders could face a year in jail, a $22,000 fine, or both once the legislation comes into effect. The anti-vilification laws passed with bipartisan support and will mean people who intentionally display banned symbols will face a $22,000 fine and up to 12 months in jail. The new laws will still allow for the symbol to be displayed in culturally appropriate and religious contexts and will make vilification easier to prove in criminal and civil cases.

Queensland teacher pleads guilty to “pushing” private school student with foot

According to the Gold Coast Bulletin, a private school teacher who used his foot to push a child on the back while she was picking up rubbish from a garden bed, laughed as he walked away, a court has been told. Travis Ronald Templar claims that at the time he thought he was having “friendly banter” with the student and actually said “whoop” when he pushed the child. Templar was placed on a $1000 good behaviour bond for six months when he appeared in Southport Magistrates Court recently. No conviction was recorded. The assault left the girl “shaky” and “anxious”. Templar was working at AB Patterson College on 11 October last year when he asked a girl to pick up bread crusts she had thrown down in a garden bed. As she did so, the 41-year-old used his foot to push on the girl’s lower back, sending her sprawling into the garden bed. Templar has since lost his job at the school, the court was told. He pleaded guilty to one count of common assault.

Queensland COVID vax restrictions scrapped for aged care, disability accommodation and schools

According to the Courier Mail, mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements have been scrapped for visitors to aged care facilities, disability accommodation and correctional facilities. The vaccine mandate for workers at schools, childcare centres, kindergartens, police watch houses and airports has also been lifted. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said decisions around mandatory vaccinations would now be decided by employers. “Mandatory vaccines are still required for workers in healthcare, hospitals, aged care and disability care,” she told the Queensland Parliament. “The public health direction requiring post-arrival testing for those travelling to Queensland from international locations is also removed.” The lifted restrictions came into effect from 1am, 30 June. The Premier said the decision had been made following advice from Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard.

Queensland Budget 2022: $15.5m for schoolkids to learn about sexual consent

According to The Courier Mail, Queensland school students will soon learn about sexual consent, with the State Government committing more than $15.5 million over the next three years to implement respectful relationships education. The funding is part of the Government’s $363 million funding package to respond to the recommendations of the Queensland Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce. Also in the budget was the transitioning to a new resourcing model for students with a disability, which was slated $80.6 million over three years. As announced earlier this month, $13.3 million was allocated to expand the Share the Dignity Queensland Schools initiative, which provides free period packs to all State schools, outdoor education centres and student residential facilities.

Security guards sent into South Australian schools, Boyer confirms

According to The Advertiser, South Australian schools are increasingly hiring private security guards to protect students and staff from violence and threatening behaviour, Education Minister Blair Boyer has confirmed. Mr Boyer’s spokesperson told the Sunday Mail there had been “an increase in static guard use at schools in relation to issues involving violence or a threat of violence” between the second half of last year and this year to the end of May. Almost $59,000 was spent on security guards in the 2020 school year, rising to more than $137,000 last year. “Reasons for deploying static guards in addition to violence or threats of violence include presence at formal events such as graduations, sports days or where parents will be onsite to pay fees over a number of days, building works, prolonged power outages and vandalism which compromises the security of the site,” Mr Boyer’s spokesperson said.

In west Arnhem Land in the NT, an education revolution expands to Manmoyi and Mamadawerre

ABC News reports that traditional owners who have been locked in a decades-long struggle to gain more control of education for their children celebrated the registration of independent schools at the outstations of Manmoyi and Mamadawerre recently. The celebrations were held in the outstation of Kabulwarnamyo, 530 kilometres east of Darwin, where the community school has been held up as a beacon of remote education, delivering high student engagement and school attendances averaging 90 per cent while in community. The school is run by the Nawarddeken Academy. The Academy's "two-way" curriculum – blending traditional culture with western learning – is being hailed as a revolution in on-country learning. The community-driven model at the Nawarddeken Academy has achieved attendance rates well above the average for remote schools across the Northern Territory, which sit below 50 per cent.

Not a “relationship”: why the language of child abuse needs to change

The Law Society Journal reports that the ACT Government has announced plans to change the name of the criminal offence of engaging in a “sexual relationship with child or young person under special care” to “persistent sexual abuse of child or young person under special care”. ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury explained this change was made because, for many, the term “relationship” implies the victim was a willing participant in their abuse. However, although reforms change the name of the offence, the words “relationship” or “sexual relationship” still appear in the legislation. This reflects the recommendations of The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that all Australian states and territories adopt this language in their criminal laws, to ensure that these offences were made more effective by reflecting the way victims remember repeated child sexual abuse.

WA’s Ready Check GO Working with Children Check campaign helping to keep kids safe

According to a media statement from the West Australian Government, the importance of having a valid Working with Children Check is the focus of the new Ready, Check, GO! campaign being undertaken by the Department of Communities. The Ready, Check, GO! campaign is focused on the sport and recreation sector and encourages organisations, employees and volunteers to learn about their legal obligations and help them determine when a person needs a Working with Children Check. The Working with Children Check is a screening process for people undertaking paid or unpaid child-related work in Western Australia. It includes a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, as well as ongoing collection and assessment of information that is relevant to determine whether a person may present an unacceptable risk of harm to a child, should a person engage in child-related work.

INTERNATIONAL

New Zealand's teenage concussion issue: Rugby pushes for national guidelines to erase blurred lines (New Zealand)

According to stuff.co.nz, schools and an Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) brain injury expert have welcomed rugby's push for national guidelines to help teenagers return to school after a concussion. ACC figures show that total concussion-related claims in the 13-19 age bracket have consistently exceeded 5000 a year since 2016, except for 2020 when COVID-19 disrupted sports participation. Rugby accounts for about 20 per cent of concussion claims among teenagers, and in 2021 football, basketball, rugby league and winter sports were the other sports in the top five for concussion-related claims in that age bracket. This has encouraged schools to work with New Zealand Rugby on ‘return to learn’ programs which tap into NZ Rugby’s expertise. NZ Rugby scientist Danielle Salmon recommended a consistent approach, noting that places such as Canada already had legislation to make sure schools had mandated policies around concussion management.

Ontario court rules on teachers’ digital communications being intercepted by principal (Canada)

The Lawyer's Daily reports that, in a case involving employee privacy in the workplace, Ontario’s Appeal Court has ruled it was wrong for a school principal to read and photograph private messages between teachers he found left open on a work computer. The 21 June Court of Appeal for Ontario ruling in Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario v York Region District School Board focused on the “reasonable expectation” of privacy afforded to employees – in this case, two teachers at a public school in York Region – and if a search of their private communications done by the boss is a breach of their Charter rights. More specifically, the question was of whether “public school teachers [are] protected from unreasonable search and seizure by Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms if the search and seizure is performed in the workplace by their employers?” The court decided that there “is no doubt that they are.”

U.S. Supreme Court backs public money for religious schools (United States of America)

According to Reuters, the U.S. Supreme Court further reduced the separation of church and state in a recent ruling endorsing more public funding of religious entities. The justices overturned a lower court ruling that had rejected two Maine families' claims of religious discrimination in violation of the U.S. Constitution, including the First Amendment protection of the free exercise of religion. Maine's tuition assistance program provides public funds for tuition at private high schools of a family's choice in sparsely populated areas of the northeastern state lacking public secondary schools. Maine required eligible schools to be "nonsectarian," excluding those promoting a particular religion and presenting material "through the lens of that faith." The plaintiffs sought taxpayer dollars to send their children to two Christian schools that integrate religion into their classrooms and maintain policies against gay and transgender students and staff.