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 an article in The Educator, 1.2 million students in more than 9,500 schools and campuses across Australia recently sat the NAPLAN test, which tests students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 on reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy. For the first time, all exams except the Year 3 writing task, were completed online. The transition to online testing is designed to adapt the test to a student’s test performance and quiz them according to their individual achievement level as they progress through the sets of questions. NAPLAN has been the subject of much controversy in recent years, with experts sparring over whether it is fit for purpose. Karen Murcia, an Associate Professor at Curtin University’s School of Education, says there is a need to balance external assessments such as NAPLAN with important and ongoing teacher-based assessments. Assoc/Prof Murcia also said that while NAPLAN’s transition to an online test has been lauded by many educators, there are equity issues that must be addressed, with students with limited access to the internet and opportunities to learn with digital devices being disadvantaged.
According to an article in The Educator, the Australian Education Union (AEU) says it will “fiercely defend Initial Teacher Education (ITE) from any Morrison Government attacks on hard-won quality standards”. The comment, by AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe, was made in response to Federal Education Minister Stuart Robert’s announcement that $40m would be spent on training and recruiting new teachers nationwide to address the growing staff shortages in schools. Haythorpe said the Federal Government is “dumbing down” initial teacher education through funding for “gimmicky programs” like Teach for Australia (TFA), micro credentials in classroom management, phonics and explicit instruction and a return to one year graduate teaching qualifications. Haythorpe said programs that Minister Robert proposes to fund are “not the answer to workforce shortages.” First funded by Minister Gillard in 2009, TFA has since recruited nearly 1,300 teachers for hard-to-staff positions in 250 schools. Today, 88 per cent of TFA’s alumni remain teaching or leading in schools or working in the education system.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that alumni and parents from Anglican schools fear church guidelines saying students struggling with their gender identity should honour the maleness or femaleness of their god-given body are a further sign of the diocese imposing its social conservatism on the classrooms. Parents on Friday angrily wrote to Anglican schools and their boards, concerned about the Herald’s revelations that principals and directors appointed to schools run by the Anglican Diocese of Sydney will have to affirm their opposition to gay marriage. The story also prompted supporters of gay marriage within the church to propose a motion for next week’s National Synod, which said the rule was “unprecedented” in the history of the church and was a “marked departure from the practice of ... individual freedom of conscience on moral matters”. Next week, Sydney Anglicans will formally ask the Australian church to “declare its mind” in opposition to gay marriage.
The Guardian reports that disgusting toilets and overcrowded, demountable classrooms are pushing more parents to send their children to private schools, an inquiry into New South Wales public school infrastructure has been told. A state parliamentary upper house education committee is examining the planning and delivery of school infrastructure, after reports from the NSW auditor general, Margaret Crawford, last year. Public school infrastructure is so bad that students avoid eating or drinking throughout the day so they don’t have to use their school’s “absolutely disgraceful” toilets, Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of NSW vice-president, Yvonne Hilsz, told the inquiry’s first hearing on Monday. “We have parents complaining their children have [urinary tract infections], bladder issues, because children refuse to go to the toilet during the day,” Hilsz said. Parents were being left in the dark over what work would be carried out at their schools and there was too much secrecy surrounding school infrastructure, the Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of NSW secretary, Alan Gardiner, said.
According to an article in PerthNow, schools in Sydney have canned Mother’s Day events because they’re just not inclusive in 2022. Several education and childcare facilities have moved towards renaming the event in a bid to make everyone feel welcome. A Montessori School in Sydney this week chose to celebrate a “parent’s and carers’ morning tea” which replaced the traditional day designed for matriarchs. Another preschool on the East Coast followed in its footsteps and dubbed its annual event a “family day breakfast”. It comes as Early Childhood Australia sent a Rainbow Families pamphlet to educators which explained how they could include diverse families on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. “We know Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are important days to celebrate, but they can be tricky for children from diverse families,” the notice read. “Schools can be supportive of all families by honouring how individual families choose to celebrate the day,” it said.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that top girls’ school SCEGGS Darlinghurst has become the latest to restrict phone use amid concerns about increasing dependence and distractibility as teachers across school sectors say students’ screen habits have intensified since last year’s lockdown. The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said parents are struggling to wind back permissive attitudes to social media that applied during the pandemic. There was a 69 per cent increase in the number of cyberbullying reports in 2021 compared with 2019. Several principals and teachers from across school sectors contacted by the Herald also reported that students were struggling to shake their lockdown screen habits. There is fiery debate in the education community over phone bans, with some teachers and principals arguing that students must be taught to use their phones responsibly and bans will drive them underground, while others say their presence in the classroom is difficult to police and has a major impact on learning.
According to an article in news.com.au, Coles has established a one-of-a-kind mini store on the grounds of a school in what is hoped will have a meaningful impact on students. The fully functioning supermarket has been installed at St Lucy’s School in Wahroonga, on Sydney’s upper north shore, where it will act as a learning tool for students with disabilities. The shop will give senior students a place to practise work experience tasks like stocking shelves and customer service, while junior students will be able to practise shopping for themselves and helping their family. St Lucy’s is an independent school for students with disabilities from kindergarten to Year 12. Coles general manager and fellow co-chair of the Coles accessibility steering committee Martin Smithson said the supermarket was designed to provide students with practical skills. “Gainful employment is a pathway to security and autonomy and as one of the country’s largest employers we know we have an important role to play,” Mr Smithson said.
According to an article in The Herald Sun, a young mum-to-be undergoing her first ultrasound was told that doctors found multiple tumours, caused by inhaling deadly asbestos dust as a primary school pupil. Jasmine Thomas, just 27, will have her life cut short after she was exposed to asbestos dust and particles at Footscray North Primary School in the early 2000s. Ms Thomas sued the State of Victoria, arguing it was liable for the negligence of staff at the public school for allowing her to be exposed to asbestos released during renovations and extensions. Her trial expected in March was dismissed before it began after the State of Victoria agreed to settle the case for an undisclosed sum. The Herald Sun asked the Education Department whether the school was now deemed safe, whether other former students or staff had been diagnosed with asbestos illnesses and what the settlement was with Ms Thomas. “As this matter is before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment,” a spokeswoman said. The case was no longer before the courts.
According to an article in The Herald Sun, a series of vile social media bullying pages targeting Traralgon College students in Latrobe Valley has emerged on TikTok and Instagram. It comes less than a month after the Herald Sun revealed similar bullying social media pages targeting Greater Shepparton College students, with their frustrated parents calling for the school to take immediate action. The bullying pages encourages students to play a “guess who” game by guessing the identity of the victims by listing the person’s nationality and other images of their characteristics. Students then publicly comment on the photo by guessing the name of the student. A Department of Education spokesman said the college had taken strong disciplinary action for the perpetrators and full support for impacted students, and that “the Victorian government is delivering extra mental health services in the Latrobe Valley”. The college is now also running an eSafety program and a mental health program specifically addressing online bullying.
According to an article in PerthNow, a pupil who lost the sight of an eye when it was impaled by a computer stand thrown by a friend in class has been awarded more than $350,000 in damages — after a court ruled his teacher was negligent by leaving the classroom before the catastrophe happened. The year 12 student, who is now 25, was one of four pupils who were throwing the stands around in the classroom of Shenton College in 2013. After being castigated by the teacher, Sandra Davis, the group of pupils were told to sit on the floor — and one of them told to leave the room. And it was when the teacher also left to speak to the boy, that another of the plastic computer stands with a sharp point was thrown — piercing the boy’s left eye and inflicting lifelong injuries. In Perth’s District Court, the boy sued the Minister for Education for negligence – claiming the school had failed to adequately supervise the students in the classroom. In particular, he claimed the teacher failed to adequately supervise him when she knew, or ought to have known, that he had ADHD and may behave impulsively in the absence of adequate supervision.
ABC News reports that school crossing guards in Tasmania will start wearing body cameras in a trial to record and deter bad driver behaviour, with one guard saying he has narrowly avoided being run over "many times". Transport Minister Michael Ferguson announced the trial for term 2, saying the cameras would "record evidence" and "deter dangerous driver behaviour". "Driver impatience, inattention, and distraction endanger both our children and their crossing guards … the minority of drivers doing the wrong thing may be smaller in number but pose an unacceptable risk to kids." Mr Ferguson said the crossing guards' focus was on keeping children safe in the street, so were unable to record offenders' details like registration numbers. The cameras would allow for those details to be recorded. Depending on the offence, drivers face a penalty of at least $173 and three demerit points, or the loss of their licence.
The Guardian reports that sitting exams using pen and paper could soon be a thing of the past, as England’s qualifications regulator, Ofqual, said it is exploring technology to transform the way GCSEs and A-levels are administered. The regulator’s latest corporate plan says Ofqual will remove regulatory barriers to allow exam boards to study the use of remote assessment, digital delivery and “adaptive testing” software that tailors exam questions to student responses. Ian Bauckham, Ofqual’s chair, said: “The pandemic has, rightly, catalysed questions about not if but when and how greater use of technology and on-screen assessment should be adopted. All proposed changes need to be carefully assessed for their impact on students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.” School leaders said the use of exams delivered online could resolve security concerns and allow exams to go ahead in lockdown-style conditions in the future.
According to an article in NewsHub, the New Zealand government has unveiled a new multi-million funding package designed to improve student attendance in New Zealand's schools. In a pre-Budget announcement from Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti on Sunday, Hipkins said attendance rates "haven't been good for a long time". He said it was a complex issue that had to be addressed right across government. "There are many reasons why students disengage from learning and this has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, so we are putting measures in place to help turn that around." The funding will include a regional response fund of $40 million over four years to meet local education needs. The Government will also spend $18.9 million on a "refresh and enhancement" of the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) programme, which has been in place since 2011. It includes $11.2 million to deliver 14 new School-Wide practitioners and $7.7 million to expand Check & Connect: Te Hononga and Te Mana Tikitiki.
According to an article in NZ Herald, a teacher has been charged over his efforts to get a student back into maths class while she wanted to play with a frisbee outside. Craig Alan Henderson faces two days of hearing before the Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal in Christchurch over incidents at Westland High School, Hokitika. He is charged with serious misconduct for one incident where he allegedly threw a rubber at a pupil and struck the student on the head, and another incident where a pupil said he tried to take her spectacles off her and she was led back towards the classroom by the arm. The hearing is before a panel led by lawyer Theo Baker. Henderson is representing himself but has only been allowed to put questions to the students through the panel.