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

NSW police to brief private school heads after viral petition on student sexual assault

The Guardian reports that the heads of hundreds of private schools across New South Wales will be briefed by the boss of the police sex crimes squad this week as the sector scrambles to address concerns raised by a new viral petition that has gathered more than 3,000 testimonies of alleged sexual assault committed by high school students. The Sunday Telegraph reports the new head of the state’s child abuse and sex crimes squad, Stacey Maloney, will speak to principals from hundreds of private schools this week in a bid to address growing concerns following the release of the petition. The petition, which since its launch has been expanded to include private schools across Australia, has seen the heads of dozens of schools commit to an overhaul of consent education. It comes as the Victorian Education Minister, James Merlino, called for the nationwide rollout of the state “Respectful Relationships” education program in all schools following the release of the petition.

Big opportunities for education change in 2021 – study

The Educator reports that a new whitepaper has revealed how principals’ learnings from the school shutdowns of 2020 could lead to major changes in schooling post-COVID. The whitepaper, titled: “Principal Perspectives on the Impact of COVID-19: Pathways toward Equity in Australian Schools” was the result of a national survey of 456 principals and other leaders across all education jurisdictions by Pivot Professional Learning and the Coalition of Australian Principals. While the survey found that a staggering number of principals (81 per cent) said their teachers were negatively impacted by COVID-19, principals also believe the remote learning experience provided several unexpected benefits that could lead to permanent changes in the way schools run, and educate their students. The survey also found that while a staggering 97 per cent of principals experienced an increase in their workload, only 30 per cent reported a decrease in job satisfaction.

Should private schools be integrated into the public system?

The Educator reports that the week before last, a report penned by several prominent education experts proposed that Australia move towards a more integrated school system of secular and religious schools similar to Canadian provinces and New Zealand. Published by the Gonski Institute for Education, the paper envisions the establishment of private schools as independent public schools (IPS) akin to charter schools in the US and academies in England. The authors see this deeper integration of private schools into the public system as a key solution to the increasing inequity and social segregation which is described as a “structural failure” of education in Australia. However, public school advocates, Save Our Schools (SOS), say the Institute’s proposal would only serve to deepen the structural failure it hopes to address. However, Professor Pasi Sahlberg, deputy director at the Gonski Institute for Education and one of the report’s authors, said the paper offers four possible solutions, not recommendations.

Panic attacks as kids taught not to use words “boy” or “girl”

According to The Courier-Mail, gender language warriors are making kids frightened to say “boy” or “girl”, with one Queensland doctor warning we risk a generation scared “to admit they are heterosexual”. The warning from Logan doctor Thomas Lyons comes as mums of two transgender children who say kids need support, not gender neutral language. Midwives are also battling to head off the push to drop “breastfeeding” for “chestfeeding” and “mother’s milk” for human milk. But on the flip side the transgender son of one of the mothers himself told The Sunday Mail that he believes that in the future people will adapt to a world without gender. “The use of the words ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ were hurtful to me as I grew up. I will raise my own children gender neutral and I think small things like removing the Mr from the toy Potato Head is a good thing. Why does a potato have to be a man?” he said. The Australian midwife stance comes as NHS services in some areas of the UK have implemented new guidelines to be more trans-friendly and their services will no longer be called maternity services but peri-natal services.

Why aren't teachers considered “priority groups” for the COVID-19 vaccine?

The Educator reports that last week COVID-19 vaccinations began rolling out to high risk “priority groups” kicking off the first phase of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 vaccine national rollout strategy. Under the first part of “phrase one”, priority groups will include quarantine and border workers, frontline health staff and aged care and disability care staff and residents. The second part of phase one includes defence force workers, firefighters, police, meat-processing workers and emergency services. While the news has been broadly welcomed, teachers’ unions say school staff, which were considered “essential workers” by the Health Department at the outbreak of the pandemic, deserve to be included among the priority groups now receiving the vaccine. The Australian Education Union (AEU) has written to Health Minister Greg Hunt about the need for teachers and education support personnel to receive priority access to COVID vaccines.

School banking programs target “vulnerable consumers”. But research shows kids are smarter than you think

According to an article in The Conversation, the ACT Legislative Assembly recently passed a motion to ban banking programs, like Commonwealth Bank’s Dollarmites, from schools later this year. The move comes a few months after Victoria announced it would also ban such programs in state schools. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) two-year review of school banking programs was released in December 2019. It found, among other matters: “young children are vulnerable consumers and are exposed to sophisticated advertising and marketing tactics by school banking program providers”. But the authors’ research suggests many young children are aware of marketing tactics, and not as vulnerable as we think. The authors’ study showed most children could identify the nature and intentions of persuasive advertising. While the ASIC report is valid and balanced, the response to remove banking programs from schools may unintentionally negate the social and economic benefits of such programs. Over-regulation may generate reactance. Consumer reactance occurs when a consumer feels lack of control over their choice and when behavioural freedom is threatened.

NSW: Advice to Non-Government Schools Regarding Annual Reports

NESA has issued an Official Notice stating that all non-government schools are required to produce, publicly disclose and submit electronically to NESA a 2020 annual report by 30 June 2021. Annual reporting requirements are detailed in section 3.10.1 of the Registered and Accredited Individual Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual and section 5.10.1 of the Registration Systems and Member Non-government Schools (NSW) Manual. Due to the cancellation of NAPLAN testing in 2020, information on student outcomes in standardised national literacy and numeracy testing is not required to be reported in annual reports for the 2020 school year. NESA’s review of the annual reports submitted in 2020 found that the following areas commonly required improvement:

• trends in student HSC performance (where relevant)
• student attendance rates for each year level and the whole school
• a summary of the school’s anti-bullying policy
• information on how school policies are publicly disclosed, specifically anti-bullying and discipline policies.

Schools should consider these areas for improvement in finalising their reports for the 2020 school year. Submission of annual reports is via NESA’s registration website RANGS Online.

New program aims to keep schools cool during summer

The Educator reports that in December, a study revealed some of the most heat-vulnerable schools in the Sydney Basin as part of a project to cool school playgrounds. According to the study, by environmental organisation Greening Australia and Western Sydney University, just 18 per cent of school outdoor areas were covered by shade, with 14.6 per cent covered by trees and 3.1 per cent covered by manmade structures like shade sails. The 100 schools selected for the study consisted of 65 public schools, 19 Catholic schools and 16 independent schools spread across 60 suburbs in Greater Western Sydney. The findings from the study will be combined with information from the Department of Education to help select priority schools for tree planting. Through Greening Australia’s “Cooling the Schools” program, the organisation hopes to get students involved in planting activities and also have educational opportunities linked with the curriculum to learn about the environment, climate and urban heat.

Government backflip on “bizarre” move to refer to kids as numbers, not names

The Courier-Mail reports that Education Queensland has backflipped on a controversial decision which forced kids to be referred to only by numbers instead of their names at swimming events. Parents were left outraged after Queensland School Sport swim meets this month began assigning kids random codes to replace their names on score board displays, in programs and on final results sheets. The bizarre change also led Swimming Queensland to announce times recorded at QSS meets would no longer be able to be used as official qualifying times. Though no parents received an official reason for the change, some were vaguely informed it was for “privacy reasons”. In a statement an Education Queensland spokesman said: “The department continues to work with parents, students and other stakeholders, including Swimming Queensland and Queensland Athletics to ensure that the personal information of students remains protected, and that the success of our swimmers in all trials and competitions is recognised”.

Primary school teachers getting high school ready as part of Year 7 move

The South Australian Premier has announced that more than 100 primary school teachers have already signed up to the move into high school next year and will now be formally upskilled as part of a $13 million professional development program. The initial recruitment process of teachers for the Government’s Year 7 move was launched last year and invited applications from permanent primary teachers who wanted to make the move. The Education Department will cover the cost of temporary relief teachers for primary schools while professional learning is undertaken, to minimise any disruption for primary students and ensure their learning continues seamlessly, as well as travel and accommodation costs for those teachers travelling to Adelaide from country locations. In 2021 primary schools will also receive additional funding to cover the cost of temporary relief teachers for three days, to allow primary teachers to attend their new high schools for induction activities, whole-schools professional learning or planning for 2022.

WA school kids as high as Year 1 turning up to school in nappies, pull-ups

PerthNow reports that Perth parents are being urged to toilet train their kids, with teachers increasingly reporting that children are turning up for classes in nappies. The West Australian reports the State School Teachers Union is receiving requests for advice from teachers in kindergarten, pre-primary and even Year 1. The Continence Foundation of Australia says toilet training should start between the ages of two and three. Kids should be toilet trained by the time they are 3.5 years old. Authorities say that students can experience serious emotional harm and self-esteem issues if they’re not, especially when it’s such a critical time for youngsters as they create friendships and interpersonal relationships. The union says there’s growing reports of students as high as grade one wearing pull-ups and lacking basic toilet training skills. Experts say one reason for this is that parents are allowing the child to decide when they’re ready, instead of putting their foot down.

INTERNATIONAL

English school leaders despair over new rules on COVID tests and masks (United Kingdom)

The Guardian reports that headteachers fear that the reopening of England’s schools could be undermined because parents will not consent to COVID testing for their children and because guidance on the wearing of face masks in classes is unenforceable. The warnings came after a slew of education announcements from the government, culminating in a flurry of guidance on summer assessments that will pile pressure on already overstretched teachers. Announcing its plans last week for a full reopening of schools on 8 March, the government promised a series of measures designed to enhance COVID safety, including twice-weekly testing for secondary pupils and a recommendation to wear face coverings in classrooms. However, school leaders complained to the Guardian that the message was undermined when the school standards minister, Nick Gibb, admitted in television interviews last Thursday that neither was compulsory and it was up to parents to decide.

Teacher deregistered for cultivating relationship with ex-pupil (New Zealand)

Radio NZ reports that the Teaching Council has deregistered a primary school teacher who deliberately pursued and married a vulnerable former pupil 34 years younger than himself. The council's disciplinary tribunal said the man's behaviour was at the most extreme end of serious misconduct. Its finding said the man taught the girl in Years 7 and 8 at primary school. He continued to see her after she moved to secondary school in 2012 through visits to his classroom and visits to his home and other locations, often with a friend. The visits to the teacher's class prompted the principal at the man's school to warn him in 2015 about maintaining professional boundaries with former students. As a teen she left secondary school at the end of 2016, and married the teacher in early 2019. The tribunal dismissed the man's evidence that their relationship became romantic only in January 2017, after she had left school. It said the relationship did not have to be romantic for it to be inappropriate.