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 schools and roads remain closed as flood emergency continues

According to 9news, more than 160 schools remain closed across NSW on Wednesday due to flooding and severe weather. The Department of Education confirmed 146 public schools and 15 non-government schools would be shut for the third day in a row. "We are assessing the extent of the damage, particularly on the mid-North Coast, and where possible have started the clean-up to ensure that schools can be returned to normal operations as soon as possible," a NSW Education spokesperson said. "Given the continuing bad weather, it may take some days to gain access to sites to assess the damage." Officials said more than 50 other schools have been damaged so far, the majority sustaining damage from flooding and roof leaks, strong winds, fallen trees and debris. Repairs and clean-up have started where possible, to ensure that schools can be returned to normal operations as soon as possible.

If it's not broken, don't fix it: Experts question Minister's review of teacher training

The Educator reports that the week before last, Federal Education Minister, Alan Tudge, outlined sweeping reforms to lift perceived declines in Australia’s teacher standards. Within a few hours, educators were already questioning the merits of the plan. Outlining an ambitious agenda for Australia to regain a place among the world’s education superpowers, Minister Tudge took aim at teacher training, saying every initial teacher education (ITE) course must be assessed and accredited to ensure all courses are high-quality and effective. Some experts have questioned the Minister’s plan to review teacher training. However, others have welcomed the review, pointing out that while plenty of papers are published each year on theories of knowledge, there aren’t nearly as many looking at empirical analyses of classroom or school-level interventions.

Banning mobile phones in schools can improve students’ academic performance. This is how we know

According to an article in The Conversation, kids in public South Australian primary schools started the school year without being allowed to bring their mobile phones to class, unless they are needed for class activity. Public Western Australian, Victorian, and Tasmanian schools had a mobile phone ban in place for all or some of 2020. New South Wales has also banned mobile phones in public primary schools, with secondary schools having the option to opt in, since the start of 2020. In a 2015 paper, the authors used a method — called a difference-in-difference strategy — as well as student data from England to investigate the effect of banning mobile phones on student performance. They found banning mobile phones at school leads to an increase in student performance. Their results suggest low-performing students are more likely to be distracted by the presence of mobile phones, while high performing students can focus with or without mobile phones.

Concussion risks aren’t limited to the AFL. We need urgent action to make sure our kids are safe, too

According to an article in The Conversation, we’ve known for years that the dangers of mismanaging concussions are not just an elite-level footy concern that stops at the boundary lines of the MCG. This should, in fact, be regarded as a prominent public health issue. Given this, who should ultimately take the lead on this at the school and junior level — the government (the guardians of the public’s health) or the AFL (the guardians of the sport)? The answer is a mixture of both. Unlike some countries, Australian governments have traditionally adopted a “hands off” approach when it comes to the legal regulation of sport-related concussions. The Federal Government has taken some steps toward framing this as a public health concern in recent years by developing a Concussion in Sport Australia information website. Some state and territory governments have partnered with professional groups to develop their own concussion in sport protocols and education workshops for community sport programs. These are all positive steps in the right direction, but the approach remains patchy and inconsistent across the country.

“The cracks are only starting to appear”: Warning over bushfire trauma for children

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the high numbers of children personally impacted by recent natural disasters in Australia has created a large cohort of young people more susceptible to mental ill health and poor long-term educational and employment outcomes. Those concerns are contained in a new report by UNICEF Australia and Royal Far West titled After the Disaster which cites a finding from the Advocate of Children and Young People that two in five children and young people were personally impacted by the Black Summer bushfires - meaning they were either directly affected or knew someone who was directly affected - while three out of 10 were personally impacted by drought and one in four by floods. After the Disaster draws on UNICEF and Royal Far West’s joint program to employ occupational and speech therapists, psychologists and social workers to run free services in bushfire-affected communities on the South Coast, including group and individual programs. Royal Far West has also been working in bushfire-affected communities in northern NSW.

“Got no friends? Sit on the buddy bench.” Untested anti-bullying programs may be missing the mark

According to an article in The Conversation, all Australian states have policies to address school bullying. And many schools also run educational programs aimed at preventing bullying. However, schools need to be aware of the possibility that some bullying programs may inadvertently harm victims. Very few of the programs offered to Australian schools have been scientifically evaluated for effectiveness. International research shows bullying prevention programs can reduce victimisation at school level by up to 16 per cent. But programs that reduce whole-school bullying may still lead to worse outcomes for individual victims. Examples of programs available in Australia, which have been scientifically evaluated, include Friendly Schools, Friendly Classrooms and Positive Behaviour for Learning. Both of these programs have been found to reduce bullying at school level in primary schools. But we still don’t know the impact on students who remain victims after the programs have been implemented.

All students to receive improved consent education

The Educator reports that, speaking to Sky News about the petition called “Teach Us Consent”, Federal Education Minister, Alan Tudge, said he was “shocked” at the extent of the number of people who came forward to share their stories and would roll out its Respect Matters program to all schools nationally in the coming weeks. The Respect Matters program, established with an investment of $5 million under the 2015 Women’s Safety Package, builds on the government’s Australian Student Wellbeing Framework, released in 2018. Earlier this month, the government provided an additional $2.8 million towards the program over three years to support teachers to educate students about safety, consent and wellbeing. Several states and territories, including Victoria and Queensland, have announced new programs that go beyond the scope of existing “Respectful Relationships” education, in a push to ensure meaningful change in students’ education about these critical issues.

Sexual consent lessons more important than babies and body image, according to SA teens

The Advertiser reports that sex education is too focused on babies and body image and not enough on safe, modern sexual relationships, South Australian school students say. SA Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly said that, since she took on the role four years ago, sexual consent and its absence in formal education had been raised by young people as a serious issue of concern. The state’s leading boys’ and girls’ colleges are due to meet for discussion within weeks, and the State Government is awaiting the Federal Government’s review of the Australian curriculum, including sex education. The State Government is also updating and expanding its 2019 cross-sector guidelines on recognising and responding to sexual behaviour incidents to include prevention of concerning and harmful sexual behaviours. SHINE SA, which runs relationship and sexual health programs in schools, said it was important for consent to be understood as a fundamental concept beyond being just tied to touch or sexual activity.

State funds continue to flow for non-state schools

The Queensland Minister for Education, the Honourable Grace Grace, has announced that 13 independent and Catholic schools have received the final instalment of a $100.7 million State Government capital injection, creating more work for local tradies. Ms Grace said schools would use the latest $3.2 million to help with capital projects like pick up and set down areas. The grants range from more than $3000 to more than $1.3 million, and will go to schools from Rosslea in Townsville to Chinchilla in the west, and south to Pimpama on the Gold Coast. The funds are made available on the recommendations of the two non-state schooling sector Capital Assistance Authorities – the Queensland Catholic Capital Assistance Authority and the Queensland Independent Schools Block Grant Authority. The media statement contains a link to the full list of grants.

NSW public schools sign on for mini NAPLAN

The Australian reports that students in NSW public schools will have their progress tracked annually via a scaled-back version of NAPLAN as the government expands the role of check-in assessments piloted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Launched in mid-2020 to investigate the impacts of disrupted schooling, the optional online assessments were initially offered for Years 3, 5 and 9. However, following strong demand, with more than 80 per cent of eligible government schools participating, the assessments will also be available for students in Years 4, 6 and 8 from next month. While the program remains optional, the NSW Government is considering whether to make it mandatory. Other states, including Victoria, are understood to be watching the initiative closely in the wake of mounting pressure to overhaul NAPLAN. NSW, together with Victoria, Queensland and the ACT, has been pushing for reformed national standardised student testing, arguing that it is no longer fit for purpose.

INTERNATIONAL

Five-year-old with diabetes goes without lunchtime insulin with care plan in limbo (Canada)

The CBC reports that a Halifax mother is calling on the Nova Scotia Government to mandate that every school that requires it has a medical professional on site to administer insulin in the absence of an individual care plan. Under the current guidelines, implemented in 2010, school staff can be trained to monitor blood glucose levels and supervise insulin injection. They're not required to be trained to administer the injection. After the story was published, Violet MacLeod, a spokesperson for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, told CBC News that, "no young child is giving themselves injections at school. Injections may be given by a VON [Victorian Order of Nurses], a parent or a family member, or supported by staff. The school works with the families to plan this". The mother confirmed that she is working on a plan with her son’s school, but no plan has been finalised yet, leaving her son in limbo. According to Joan King, government relations director with Diabetes Canada, to her knowledge, British Columbia is the only province that requires someone in the school to be trained to administer insulin. Diabetes Canada has been advocating for this to change for years.

Schools which contract own bus services not told of safety issues (New Zealand)

RadioNZ reports that in 2019 Auckland company Kiwi Coaches was found to have been running a dozen school buses that weren't roadworthy. It was only when RNZ contacted the schools which used the company that they had any idea that Kiwi Coaches had been under investigation by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. Operators the Ministry of Education contracts are audited every year and if they are being investigated by NZTA or police, the Ministry is notified. Likewise Auckland Transport confirmed it would be told if any school bus companies it contracted were under investigation. But NZTA does not tell schools that organise their own services - of which there are about 200 - if an operator is under scrutiny. Ministry of Education Head of Education Infrastructure Service Kim Shannon said for schools funded to manage services themselves the agreements set out in the legislation was that these schools were responsible for monitoring the safety standards of their transport providers. NZTA said it had oversight of a transport service licence holder's ability to operate legally and safely, not the commercial contracts these operators had with their clients.