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.

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AUSTRALIA

New report rings alarm bells over student mental health

According to The Educator, a growing number of Australia’s Year 11 students are reporting poor mental health and uncertainty about the future, a new study shows. The study of more than 1,000 Year 11 students from 39 schools across Eastern Australia last year by the University of Melbourne found that pessimism and uncertainty define what it means to be young in the 2020s, with 44 per cent of females and 29 per cent of males reported feeling “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy” when it comes to their mental health. Survey participants demonstrated concerning levels of pessimism about the state of the world. This is consistent with the steady decline in both happiness and feelings of optimism about the future among 15-19-year-olds between 2012 and 2020. The study’s authors said that the findings point to the importance of principals building a strong culture of inclusion, belonging and meaningful learning to wellbeing, both at and beyond school.

eSafety Commissioner to force Google, Facebook, Apple to remove child sexual abuse material, pro-terror content

According to The Daily Telegraph, the worst of the world wide web – such as child sexual abuse material and pro-terror content – will have to be wiped out by tech titans including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter under new Australian rules that are expected to become the global benchmark. After nearly two years of negotiations, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant is now satisfied with protections in five codes developed by industry covering social media, app stores, hosting services such as GoDaddy, ISPs like Telstra and Optus and equipment makers – for example, Nintendo and Sony game consoles. But Ms Inman Grant rejected a proposed code for apps, websites and storage services like iCloud, along with another for dating sites and instant messaging, because she believed that they lacked “appropriate community safeguards”.

Concerns some schools are contravening disability legislation by not accepting neurodiverse children

ABC News reports that Jana Hunt is worried that her son, Harrison, like many other neurodiverse children, is falling through the cracks of the education system, where he doesn't fit in at a special needs school, but the mainstream schools are proving hard to get into as well. One private school didn't respond to Ms Hunt's attempts to enrol Harrison but has since said that there was an "administrative error" during the enrolment process last year, apologising to the family and saying that Harrison will be on a waitlist to start next year. Another private school said that it welcomed and supported neurodiverse children, but would sometimes advise that a child was better off getting "therapeutic interventions" elsewhere first, instead of "starting formal learning at the school". Linda Graham, from the Centre for Inclusive Education at the Queensland University of Technology, said that these responses from schools were all too common and that they contravene disability legislation.

Schools raise their voices for Reconciliation Week

According to The Educator, the NSW Department of Education has marked Reconciliation Week by signing a new Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan. The theme for Reconciliation Week 2023, “Be a Voice for Generations”, urges all Australians to use their power, words and vote to create a better nation for all. Acting Secretary Murat Dizdar said that the new plan is an important step in strengthening relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and a chance to acknowledge and recognise the outstanding contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have had on public education. Nearly 600 schools are in the process of developing a Reconciliation Action Plan. “A Reconciliation Action Plan is a first step schools can take on their reconciliation journey. I encourage all our public schools to begin the process with their local Aboriginal community and knowledge holders,” Dizdar said.

Students at a NSW school were kept back at lunch. Parents said it was akin to a prison camp

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that parents venting what they see as their legitimate frustration with a school, blow-ups on social media, and staff who feel personally attacked are part of a new landscape that school leaders are grappling with. The scenario has become so familiar to school leaders that it prompted the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council earlier this year to ask online watchdog the eSafety Commissioner to develop a social media self-defence training course for school leaders. Deputy president of the principals’ council, Denise Lofts, said that it could be devastating when school leaders felt as if they were at the bottom of a pile-on. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that, because some school communities were large, it could result in elevated levels of online abuse from within those communities. She said that social media platforms should be enforcing their own terms of service to detect and stamp out targeted abuse.

“Young people don’t feel safe”: Assaults at Victorian schools and education locations spike

The Age reports that the number of children accused of committing or being victims of serious assaults at school and education locations has jumped to its highest level in five years. Crime Statistics Agency data reveals that for serious assault allegations, which includes attacks on emergency workers, the number of accused rose 45 per cent in the past five years from 129 in 2018 to 187 in 2022. Common assault allegations, which range from threats of violence to a physical assault, climbed from 199 to 275 over the same period. All data is for young people aged between 10 and 16 at Victorian education locations. Education locations can include public and private schools, school grounds and other educational areas. Youth Support and Advocacy Services crime prevention manager Navin Dhillon said that, in the past six months, demand for their outreach services from schools had “reached a new high” and that knife crimes were coming “fast and thick” from a younger cohort.

Premier Daniel Andrews walks back controversial Victorian private school payroll tax change

ABC News reports that the Victorian Government has backed down on its plans to hit 110 private schools with payroll tax, with Premier Daniel Andrews conceding that the policy will not raise as much money as forecast in the state budget. The Andrews Government has faced a barrage of criticism from the sector for its decision to slug private schools with payroll tax, with particular concern from schools with annual fees of around $7,500. The May budget removed a payroll tax exemption on high-fee private schools from 1 July next year. It was forecast to raise $422 million over three years. The Premier conceded that the current $7,500 threshold was not reflective of fees and pressures in 2023 and that the policy should have been better explained in the budget papers. Jim Miles, the executive director of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, said that the changes were "a welcome first step". "We look forward to ongoing consultation as a matter of priority," he said.

Police helicopter rescues student, teacher lost during Victorian school camp

ABC News reports that a boy and his teacher lost in dense Victorian bushland on a school camp have been rescued by helicopter in the State's south-west. The 13-year-old boy was part of a group night activity when he ventured down an unfamiliar track and became lost. The boy tried to find a fence line to return to the track off Wannon River Road near Dunkeld, but became further disoriented. A "quick-thinking" teacher noticed that the student had gone missing, so he followed his voice and found him unharmed. However, by this stage both were stranded. Local police were notified just before midnight last Thursday night, and then called the police Air Wing to assist. The pair were located uninjured at about 3:30am. "Although unfortunate they got lost, sticking together was the right thing to do," said Air Wing's Inspector Kelly Walker. She said that this made it easier for the Air Wing crew to find the pair and winch them to safety. The school group resumed its camp activities on Friday.

Victoria Police reopen probe into school board that allegedly helped Malka Leifer flee to Israel

The Age reports that board members from an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school who in 2008 allegedly helped then-principal Malka Leifer flee Australia to Israel – where she for years avoided justice for sexually abusing students – are back under investigation, despite police previously ruling out charges. Former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu, a prominent advocate for the three sisters who accused Leifer of abusing them at the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick where they were students, confirmed that Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton wrote to him to say that police had resumed their investigation into the school’s board. Dassi Erlich, one of Leifer’s victims, said that she was encouraged that Victoria Police were re-examining the board’s actions. “The actions of the board in facilitating Malka Leifer’s escape not only betrayed the pursuit of justice and caused significant delays, it also perpetuated the anguish we were forced to endure and hindered our path to healing,” she said.

Queensland teachers receiving expensive gifts from parents may breach Public Sector Act, former government ethics adviser says

ABC News reports that Education Queensland managers say that gifts from parents, which have been approved by supervisors for acceptance, are permissible under public service policies. But an ABC examination of the gifts handed to teachers in the past 18 months has found that their receipt may breach the enforceable regulations of the Queensland Public Service Commission. That says that "gifts other than a token or a memento must not be accepted unless it can be shown to be of benefit to the agency." The scenario has been described as concerning by veteran ethics expert Howard Whitton, who questioned why gift-giving to teachers was being allowed. "The conflict-of-interest risks could lead to a cash-for-grade scenario and a potential arms race between parents," he said. “People need to remember that the purpose of rules about conflict of interest are primarily intended to protect public confidence in the integrity of public institutions and public servants, including teachers," he said.

Principals report pressure from Queensland's education department to overturn suspensions

ABC News reports that Queensland Department of Education staff have been calling school leaders to question them about the use of suspensions and exclusions, according to the Queensland Teachers' Union (QTU). The union has pushed back against the crackdown on school discipline by arguing that principals are best placed to make decisions about behaviour management, and schools should not have to tolerate violent behaviour. The QTU has since instructed members that it rejects the notion of behaviour reviews for schools, and has directed school leaders not to participate in the reviews until the Department has provided a statewide, evidenced and resourced approach to behaviour management. The union also said that its state council would consider industrial action, including a work ban, on participating in the reviews unless the Department includes the physical and psychosocial safety of all students and employees in its proposed behaviour review framework.

Changes to child sexual abuse laws have passed South Australian Parliament

The Government of South Australia has announced that legislation relating to child sexual abuse laws will be retitled to better reflect the exploitative nature of the offending following a campaign led by abuse survivor and former Australian of the Year, Grace Tame. The change is part of the Grace Tame Foundation’s Harmony Campaign which aims to harmonise child abuse laws across Australia, particularly where child sexual abuse laws are termed as an “unlawful relationship”. Ms Tame raised concerns that the word “relationship” implies mutual responsibility and consent, and therefore diminishes the gravity of the crime. In effect, section 50 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 will now be titled “sexual abuse of a child”. The Bill, progressed by the Malinauskas Government, has now passed both houses of Parliament. The Bill does not change any of elements of the offence.

INTERNATIONAL

A parent made a complaint about the Bible. Now, it's been banned in some Utah schools (United States of America)

SBS News reports that a Utah parent frustrated by the banning of materials from schools has convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses are too vulgar or violent for younger children. The 72,000-student Davis School District north of Salt Lake City removed the Bible from its elementary and middle schools after a committee reviewed the scripture in response to the parental complaint. The district has previously removed other titles, following a 2022 state law requiring districts to include parents in decisions over what constitutes "sensitive material". The decision comes as conservative parent activists, including state-based chapters of the group Parents United, descend on school boards and statehouses throughout the United States, sowing alarm about how sex and violence are discussed in schools. The complaint derided a "bad faith process" and said that the district was "ceding our children's education, First Amendment Rights, and library access" to Parents United.

Compulsory code of conduct for school boards introduced (New Zealand)

The New Zealand Government has announced that a compulsory code of conduct will ensure that school board members are clear on their responsibilities and expected standard of behaviour, Minister of Education Jan Tinetti said. It’s the first time a compulsory code of conduct has been published for New Zealand state and state-integrated school boards and comes into effect on 21 June 2023. The code of conduct helps to protect the autonomy of school boards, and empowers members to act when they feel that a colleague is not meeting the expected standards. Only a board can recommend a member be removed for persistent breaches and a Minister can only remove a board member on that recommendation. “This code will safeguard our boards, which are critical roles within our schools. Having parents involved in the running of our schools is something special about our education system and I want to see that continue,” Jan Tinetti said.

London school drops “Sir” and “Miss” honorifics to fight cultural misogyny (United Kingdom)

The Guardian reports that teachers at a leading sixth form will no longer answer to “Sir” and “Miss”, because they’re “deeply unequal” and feed into a view of the world that diminishes women, the school’s executive principal has told students. While “Sir” brings to mind the heroics of Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad, “Miss” is how you refer to “a small girl, or an Edwardian shop assistant”, James Handscombe told the school assembly at Harris Westminster Sixth Form in central London. Students will instead be required to address staff by their name – as in “Mr Handscombe” – and failing that, in an emergency where a pupil may have forgotten and needs a swift alternative, “teacher” will be acceptable, “in a pinch”. It is not the first time that the school has tried to make the switch. When it opened in 2014, the same approach was attempted but there was too much else to think about, staff could not make it stick and “sank into cultural misogyny”, Handscombe told students.