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

“A farce”: Thousands of students to re-sit NAPLAN after technical glitches

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that students whose NAPLAN tests were affected by technical glitches will be allowed to re-sit the exam next later this month, with critics saying the move will pollute the results and shows that this year's tests have turned into "a farce". More than 400 schools across New South Wales and more across the country reported network dropouts that affected their ability to do the nation-wide test, which used to be a written test but is in the middle of transitioning to an online format. An estimated 10 per cent of all Victorian schools doing NAPLAN online and one-third of Western Australian students using the platform experienced problems. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority issued a statement acknowledging that the glitches may have caused distress to students, and announcing another test date on May 28. "Participation will be optional. Students who do not wish to retake tests will not be required to do so. The result of the second test is the result that will be recorded for those students for NAPLAN 2019."

There’s more ways than NAPLAN to choose a school: Former teacher

An article in The New Daily reports that parents need to look beyond the My School website data when choosing schools for their children, an education expert says. The data, which is freely available to anyone, creates competition and anxiety among teachers and students alike, author and former teacher Gabbie Stroud says. There have long been whispers of schools asking problem or under-performing students to stay home on testing days, so the school’s overall score isn’t affected. Ms Stroud said it was beyond rumours: “That definitely happens.” But the managing body of NAPLAN, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority says that the test results provide a snapshot into the education system, and allows the government to target areas that need improvement. Former ACARA chair Professor Barry McGaw told The Australian Financial Review this week that the testing was a “useful indicator for individual students and their parents”, as well as school administrators. Ms Stroud told The New Daily that parents were better off finding a school for their child by doing their research.

“No logic”: calls for a review of state-federal school funding split

The Age reports that the head of the Gonski Institute for Education, Adrian Piccoli says that the division between state and federal governments' school funding responsibilities has hampered fair funding across private and public sectors and should be scrapped. Under the school funding formula, the Commonwealth contributes 80 per cent of the Schooling Resource Standard for private schools, and the state government is responsible for the remaining 20 per cent. Proportions are reversed for public schools. Professor Piccoli, a former NSW education minister, said that the split - formalised in 2017 - was arbitrary. Public school funding grew by just $155 a student over the decade after accounting for student numbers and teacher wage growth, while private school students each received $1429, an analysis of Productivity Commission data by the Grattan Institute found. The disparity was due to significant increases in Commonwealth money. There has long been an informal split in the state-federal responsibilities for private and public education funding, but it was formalised in 2017 in a bid to make all governments accountable.

Not every school’s anti-bullying program works – some may actually make bullying worse

According to The Conversation, school bullying can have serious consequences for victims including depression, psychosis, self-harm and suicide. With increasing evidence of harm, a groundswell of school anti-bullying programs and campaigns in Australia and internationally have vowed to stamp out bullying. The schools’ intentions are good, but often these programs have not been properly evaluated for effectiveness, and studies show some types of programs can actually make bullying worse. Most programs cite a theoretical base to support their approach but not an evaluation of the specific program. Schools are under great pressure to visibly take action against bullying. However, caution is needed, especially in high schools, because many programs that sound like a good idea can make bullying worse. Schools should stick with what they know works and only adopt new programs that have been adequately evaluated.

Consent to social media or sit out: NSW public schools' ultimatum to students over big events

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, students in NSW public schools have been told that they cannot participate in major school events without giving permission for their name and photo to appear on social media channels. Permission forms for children to attend a number of events conducted by the NSW Department of Education now require parents to acknowledge that permission extends to "still photography, electronic media and social media, the use of the participant's name, image and voice and biographical material in connection with [the event]". The forms are a departure from traditional Department of Education permission slips that included a separate option for parents to either give or withhold permission to publish their child's name, photograph, voice or video. Privacy expert and principal at Ground Up Consulting Nicole Stephensen said that asking for an acknowledgement rather than separately seeking permission to publish students' details could put the Education Department "at risk of scrutiny from the state's privacy body". However Sydney University law school professor Barbara McDonald said that the Department's forms did not appear to breach any laws.

Internal and external suspension: what the research says

According to The Educator, to manage challenging student behaviour, school staff may use suspension. External suspension is associated with a range of negative outcomes for the suspended student. Given the concerns about the use of external suspension, another option is to use internal suspension. In what is known as deviancy training, students who are engaging in challenging behaviour and are then placed in a group together can learn and encourage more challenging behaviours from each other, resulting in an increase in such behaviour. This is especially likely when the group receives minimal supervision and the group is unstructured. It is important that consideration is given to how internal and/or external suspensions are implemented to minimise the potential negative consequences for students – in particular, ensuring students are well-supervised and completing structured activities. There are also alternatives to using suspension and the evidence is growing that these can be effective.

Families take extended breaks from city living and turn their kids into “road scholars”

The ABC News reports on the "Big Lap" — a circuit of Australia's coastline favoured by many families who take their children out of school and hit the road for several months, if not years. One family admitted that the one thing that nearly made them give up and head home was schooling their boys. They worked with their school for the first six months, then had to find another model that would allow them to keep travelling. They chose distance education but soon found it far too onerous, and so switched to a home schooling program, which they now cover off in two or three days at the start of the week. The President of the Australian Primary Principals Association, Malcolm Elliot, acknowledged that extended trips offered many learning opportunities for children and could be great for fostering strong family bonds, but he cautioned against parents thinking they could easily replace trained teachers.

Eaton teacher who restrained student during brawl allowed to return to work

According to the ABC News, a teacher who was stood down from his job after physically restraining a 14-year-old boy while trying to break up a school fight is being allowed to return to work. WA's Director-General of Education, Lisa Rodgers, said the teacher would be returning to his job, but would receive further training in managing student behaviour. The Director-General's decision followed a protest of about 40 parents and students outside the school, calling for the teacher to be reinstated. The mother of the boy who alleged that the teacher assaulted him said she was forced to remove her son from the school soon after the incident after being bullied by other school community members. Premier Mark McGowan watched the video of the incident and described the students' behaviour as unacceptable. He urged the Education Department to deal with the matter quickly.

Are we teaching children to be afraid of exams?

The Conversation reports that some Australian students are reportedly shunning Year 12 exams in favour of more favourable, and less stressful, pathways to finishing school. These reports come amid warnings of rising rates of anxiety and depression among young people, with psychologists calling for better mental health support services in schools. Exams are certainly challenging but our rhetoric may be having an impact on the way young people perceive exams. Despite troubling reports, an analysis of several studies on the prevalence of anxiety actually suggests that there has been no such increase. This means while some young people have serious anxiety issues, others may be perceiving normal levels of stress as anxiety and this may have some significant side effects. Challenges are an essential and normal part of our development. Allowing students to avoid exams so that they avoid stress might be robbing children of the opportunity to deal with the emotions evoked by the challenge.

Dollars and sense: making money management child's play

The Age reports that financial literacy has a huge influence on how people's lives pan out, and the OECD has said that financial literacy education should start at school and as early as possible. Every three years, the OECD conducts a worldwide study of 15-year-olds, including Australians. The most recent results, for 2015, showed above-average results in financial literacy for Australian students, although a decline from the test three years prior. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed Australian 15-year-olds were much more likely than the average 15-year-old to have a bank account and/or prepaid debit card (81 per cent) but slightly less likely to earn money from some type of work activity (at 59 per cent). In addition, girls outperformed boys in Australia, and the relationship between student performance and socio-economic status was stronger in this country than average. In Australia, schools are encouraged but not required to teach financial literacy beyond the basics that are required in the mathematics curriculum. The OECD said younger generations needed financial literacy more than previous generations.

INTERNATIONAL

Technology firms to give secret evidence at child sexual abuse inquiry (United Kingdom)

The Guardian reports that Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google are to give secret evidence to the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) as it examines the growing problem of online exploitation. Representatives of the four global technology companies will make part of their submissions in closed sessions of the inquiry, which is being held in Southwark, south London. At the opening of a new strand of IICSA hearings, William Chapman, a barrister representing grooming and abuse victims, called on the major technology companies to do far more to “curb the modern scourge” of sex crimes carried out via the internet. “In the real world,” he said, “a playground created for children would have to be safe … It would not be sufficient to put up a notice which said: ‘Enter at your own risk.’” Parts of the technology companies’ evidence sessions are being held behind closed doors, according to the inquiry, so that they can answer questions about documents covered by previous restriction orders. 

High levels of cat allergens in some classrooms, asthma study finds (New Zealand)

TVNZ reports that one in four classroom carpets is harbouring high enough levels of cat dander (skin flecks) to trigger allergic reactions, according to new research published in the New Zealand Medical Journal. As part of the He Kura Asthma Study, researchers vacuumed dust from 136 classrooms in 12 primary schools in Wellington and Whanganui, and analysed them for allergens from cats, cockroaches, horses, cows, dustmites and peanuts. Lead author Rob Siebers said cat allergens were detected in 100 per cent of samples. Of the 136 classrooms, 37 had detectable levels of cow dander allergen, while 82 showed horse dander, albeit at very low levels. Three of the classrooms had barely detectable levels of cockroach allergens. Despite New Zealand having some of the highest levels of house dust mite allergens in the world, the researchers found relatively low levels in the classrooms. Only one of the classrooms had any trace of peanut allergen and that was at such a low level as to be barely detectable. That finding has been welcomed by Allergy New Zealand head Mark Dixon.