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.
According to The Australian, a private school funding crackdown, extra payments for outback schools and $40,000 grants for trainee teachers are highlights of a “slow-burn” education budget. The Albanese Government will spend a record $28 billion on schools in 2023/24, rising to $31.4 billion in 2026/27. Funding will grow 5.7 per cent to $10.8 billion for government schools and 4.8 per cent to $17.4 billion for private and Catholic schools next financial year. The budget papers flag a crackdown on private school funding, “to ensure funding is used for the purpose intended and reduce payment integrity risks’’. “The Government will implement further safeguards to strengthen policy and financial assurance and compliance oversight in the non-government school sector,’’ the Department of Education’s budget statement says. Education Minister Jason Clare has also funnelled funding into Indigenous education and teacher workforce reforms.
UNICEF Australia has welcomed an explicit focus on children in the budget – particularly those experiencing disadvantage – but urges further continued commitment and investment in social protection and access to early learning. UNICEF is “concerned that the Government hasn’t gone far enough in ensuring access for all children to early childhood education and care,” says Nicole Breeze, UNICEF Australia’s Chief Advocate for Children. The modest increases in income support mean that some families with children will continue to struggle to afford the basics, including fresh food, medication and school books. When it comes to climate change, UNICEF hopes that “the Government’s commitment to a comprehensive transition towards net zero, reaffirmed in the creation of the National Net Zero Authority … will deliver targeted solutions to ensure that young people and families with children are not left behind in the transition,” says Ms Breeze.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that last year, a survey of 263,075 NSW public school students reported that 27 per cent of primary children and 24 per cent of high school students said that they had been bullied in the previous four weeks. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that there had been a steady increase in cyberbullying reports to eSafety, particularly since the pandemic, rising from 338 in 2017 to 1828 in 2022. “While the increase is concerning, it should be noted our schemes operate as a safety net and the number of reports may also indicate greater awareness of eSafety and how we can help,” she said. Labor’s ban on mobile phones in public high schools begins in October, a move which has been welcomed because it reduces cyberbullying. When it comes to preventative strategies, Queensland University of Technology Professor Marilyn Campbell said that some anti-bullying programs varied in quality.
ABC News reports that the Victorian Department of Education and a Port Fairy pool operator have been charged with breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the Act) after the death of a Year 2 student in 2021. Eight-year-old Cooper Onyett died after drowning while on a school excursion at the Belfast Aquatic Centre in Port Fairy. WorkSafe Victoria has alleged that the pool operator failed to properly assess the swimming ability of students before allowing them to use an inflatable obstacle course. WorkSafe also alleged that the operator failed to have qualified lifeguards on duty, while also instructing lifeguards on the safe use of the obstacle course. The operator has been charged by WorkSafe with six charges under the Act. WorkSafe has also alleged that the Department failed to inform the pool operators of the children's swimming abilities, or of ensuring the students' abilities were tested. The Department has been charged with one breach of the Act.
According to the Herald Sun, Victorian government schools have ramped up their education efforts to prevent another chroming tragedy in the wake of the death of 13-year-old Esra Haynes. The Department of Education last week sent out updated drug education resources to all government schools to provide students with a clear understanding of the dangers associated with chroming and inhalant abuse. The updated resources include online modules and learning activities related to legal and illicit drugs including inhalants, focusing on good decision-making and harm minimisation strategies. It comes after Lilydale High School student Esra Haynes suffered a cardiac arrest from chroming and died last month. This prompted Premier Daniel Andrews to say that he would consider launching an education campaign in Victorian schools in the wake of her death. “I’ve got kids not much older. It’s every parent’s nightmare,” the Premier said last month.
ABC News reports that Queensland child safety workers say that their case loads are "problematic" and "unsustainable", a leaked government-commissioned report shows. The KPMG report into the current state of Queensland's child safety service centres – completed in January this year – also says that there is no formal system to back-fill positions while child safety officers are on leave. Case loads have been a long-running issue, with the union representing child safety workers in Queensland recently telling ABC Investigations that they were still too high and officers could not do all of the tasks required of them. A former child safety officer who previously worked with Kerri-Ann Conley – who left her daughters Darcey and Chloe in a hot car in 2019 – spoke out this year, saying that the girls' deaths could have been prevented if she had a lower case load.
According to The Australian, the Palaszczuk Government is using a legal loophole to try to block a discrimination case from being heard in the Federal Court over the police tasering of an Aboriginal girl with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability. Crown Law, acting for the Queensland Police and Department of Education, has sought to have the case dismissed because the girl’s family had initially made a complaint in the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC). The family of Tiejwana McLennan, who was 16 when she was tasered until she lost consciousness at her Townsville school in 2020, had filed only a complaint form to the QHRC when they opted last year to instead pursue their case in the Australian Human Rights Commission, and now the Federal Court. A preliminary assessment by the QHRC shows that it found potential grounds of race, disability and age discrimination in the treatment of the girl by police officers and her special needs school.
According to The Courier Mail, the State’s foremost expert on families and children has warned that there is a direct correlation between suspended and expelled students and those swept up in Queensland’s youth crime epidemic. Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) principal commissioner Luke Twyford said that evidence showed that more than half of all kids in the youth justice system were disengaged from education, and that a high rate of suspensions and exclusions could be adding to the problem. It comes after The Courier-Mail revealed that vulnerable kids – including First Nations children, kids with disability and those in care – were eight times more likely to be suspended or excluded from school than their peers. “Using suspension and expulsions does not work for children whose home environment is causing their behaviour,” Mr Twyford said.
According to the Government of South Australia, five experts have been appointed to assist Professor Leah Bromfield and the State Government in developing and driving a long-term vision to transform South Australia’s child protection system, and to work towards improved outcomes for South Australian children and young people. The South Australian Child Protection Expert Group will comprise government and non-government members from across Australia who have recognised expertise in child protection research, policy and practice. The establishment of this group will fulfil the first recommendation of Kate Alexander’s independent review of the State’s child protection system. The group will meet between four and six times per year.
ABC News reports that a former teacher at a regional West Australian school who abused a 16-year-old female student for "her own sexual gratification" has been sentenced to more than four years’ jail. The now 42-year-old woman pleaded guilty to six child sex abuse charges, before being convicted by a District Court jury of a seventh count last week. The offences happened more than a decade ago, over eight months when the victim was in her final year of school. While the teenager was over the age of consent and not actually taught by the woman that year, the sexual activity was illegal because as a teacher, the victim was regarded to be under her "care, supervision or authority". The woman also coached some of the sports teams that the victim was on, and the abuse started during a sporting trip to WA's Great Southern region. Judge John Prior described the offences as "persistent", "premeditated" and "a gross breach of trust".
The Age reports that an 11-year-old girl has been arrested and recommended for expulsion from a Perth high school, over a violent attack on a classmate. The school also suspended four others who filmed the attack as they walked home after school. In one of the videos, which was circulated online, the victim can be seen attempting to ignore the other girl who was verbally harassing her. The student then grabs her hair and pulls hard. The victim tries to run from the group, almost getting hit by a car in her attempts to get away. The attacker grabs her hair again and pulls her to the ground, before hitting her repeatedly on the head. She was left with a bloody nose and cut knees. The Western Australian Department of Education confirmed the suspension of five of the students involved, and that the main instigator had been recommended for expulsion.
According to the Government of Western Australia, the Children, Discrimination and Rights Education project will be expanded to Year Six students in a broader range of schools throughout Western Australia to find out what young people need to learn about discrimination and human rights. So far, students have indicated a strong understanding of discrimination as negative and unfair treatment directed at difference and personal attributes. As part of its strategic objectives for 2022-24, the Commission aims to produce more information about discrimination and harassment suitable for school-aged children because the Commission believes that starting conversations and educating young students about these topics is one of the most effective ways of achieving that goal. Schools that would like to take part in the next stage can contact Commission Community Education Officer, Dr Greg Watson at greg.watson@eoc.wa.gov.au.
The Guardian reports that one of a number of issues in the heated debate over how gender dysphoria and trans issues are handled in England’s education system is whether teachers are required to inform parents when a child discloses that they are questioning their gender and asks to use a different name and pronouns. After a thinktank survey in March reported that some secondary schools were not informing parents as soon as a child questioned their gender identity, Rishi Sunak promised to publish guidance for schools in England later this term. There are strident voices on both sides and it has become intensely political, with signs that the Conservatives see this as a wedge issue in the run-up to the general election. School changing facilities is another issue likely to be addressed in the government guidance.
ABC News reports that a body has been found in caves in New Zealand where a high school student went missing after flash flooding swept the teenager away. New Zealand police said that they located and recovered a body on Tuesday evening, but had not formally identified it. "We acknowledge this event has been very distressing for the school and wider community, and that there are a number of questions the public will have," police said on Wednesday. The student went missing at the Abbey Caves, near Whangārei on the upper North Island, after a group of 15 high school students and two adults got into difficulty on a school trip amid a heavy rain storm. The 16 people he was with have been accounted for. The accident happened as heavy rain swept across the upper North Island, causing flooding and closing schools and roads. One Twitter user described Abbey Caves as “a known flash flooding site”.
According to the Toronto Star, it’s been five months since students at Chatelech Secondary School on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast have been banned from using their mobile phones without permission, and school counsellor Tulani Pierce said that they’ve seen promising results. “We are seeing improved mental health, we’re seeing decreased bullying, we’re seeing more engagement in class, we’re seeing more social interaction, kids are playing again instead of being on their phones and we’re seeing increased academic success.” Pierce began lobbying for the policy change, but said that it was never meant to be a punishment for students. “Now more than ever, I feel like our students, for their mental health, need us to provide boundaries around technology and they will have to learn how to balance that,” she said.