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.

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AUSTRALIA

Increased funding to further support survivors of institutional child sexual abuse

According to the Department of Social Services, the Albanese Labor Government is committing an additional $142.2 million over five years to further support survivors of institutional child sexual abuse through the National Redress Scheme. This funding, part of the 2023-24 Federal Budget, will ensure that the Government can continue to deliver a scheme that is timely, trauma-informed, and accessible for all survivors. The boost aims to improve the predictability of application processing and both the quality and consistency of outcomes for those accessing the Scheme. Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said that the additional funding will ensure that the Scheme continues to build momentum and credibility with survivors and their advocates. “The Commonwealth, states and territories are resolute about creating the best possible outcomes for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse,” Minister Rishworth said.

Schools chief warns of “dystopian” rise of artificial intelligence

According to The Australian, Australia’s school curriculum chief has warned of a “dystopian future’’ for children struggling to separate fact from fiction, as artificial intelligence (AI) transforms knowledge. As the nation’s education ministers draft the first rules for AI in schools, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) chief executive David de Carvalho has called for greater focus on “facts and truth’’ in teaching. He said that students needed the “knowledge and wisdom’’ to detect lies, error, bias and deep fakes generated by AI. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said that a draft framework for using AI in schools is being prepared for his next meeting with state and territory counterparts in July. “AI tools like ChatGPT can help you learn, but they can also help you cheat,’’ Mr Clare said recently.

Record investment to improve the safety of Australians online

According to the Minister for Communications, the Albanese Government has taken action to improve the safety of Australians online by quadrupling base funding for the eSafety Commissioner in the 2023-24 Federal Budget. Australia’s world-leading online safety regulator will receive an additional $132.1 million over four years, providing eSafety with funding certainty so that they can support a safer experience online for Australians – including for vulnerable people and children. eSafety’s base funding will rise from $10.3 million to $42.5 million each year. Increased annual funding will enable eSafety to respond quickly to Australians who seek their support when subjected to harmful abuse online, and ensure that the regulator can keep up with growing demand for its takedown schemes.

Expert group to boost Respectful Relationships Education in schools

The Albanese Government has announced the members of the National Respectful Relationships Education Expert Working Group that will support the delivery of respectful relationships education (RRE) in schools. The expert working group will be chaired by the Chief Executive Officer of OurWatch, Patty Kinnersly, during its first year and meet for the first time next month. The group will guide national collaboration between states, territories, the non-government schooling sectors and experts to support the delivery of age-appropriate, evidenced-based and expert-developed respectful relationships school education. This is in line with Recommendation 10 of the Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report. Advice from the group will support the implementation of the Albanese Government’s $83.5 million Consent and Respectful Relationships Education program.

Nationwide snapshot of independent schools released

Independent Schools Australia (ISA) has published its annual Snapshot, which draws on the latest available data to provide an overview of the characteristics of the independent school sector, enrolments and more. ISA Chief Executive Officer, Mr Graham Catt said, “With a 3.2 per cent growth in enrolments in 2022, independent schools now enrol 17 per cent of all school students in Australia.” The latest data also shows that:

• 688,638 students attend independent schools, including 17,752 indigenous students and an estimated 143,500 students with disability
• independent schools employ over 19 per cent of all teachers in Australian schools
• the median annual fee of independent schools is $5,272
• the majority of independent school funding (around 52 per cent of recurrent and capital funding) comes from parents and school communities.

Children and parents take steps towards safer roads this National Walk Safely to School Day

The NSW Government and Pedestrian Council of Australia urged children and families to leave their cars at home and choose to walk to mark National Walk Safely to School Day on Friday 19 May. More than a million students travel to and from school every day in New South Wales. The annual event is part of National Road Safety Week, and all primary school children, where possible, are encouraged to walk safely to school. To find out more about Walk Safely to School Day, visit www.walk.com.au.

Can children be placed on the Child Sex Offender Register in NSW?

According to Mondaq, there's a great deal of support for the New South Wales Child Protection Register, which monitors people who have been convicted of sexual offences against children. But what if the perpetrator of the crime was a child themselves at the time? Would they end up on the register? The placement of child perpetrators on the Child Protection Register is highly controversial, and a number of safeguards, such as sections 3A and 3C of the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000 (NSW), are in place to ensure that this only occurs in limited circumstances. In short: a child can be placed on the Child Protection Register, but only if certain criteria are met. Once a person's name has been placed on the Child Protection Register, it will remain there unless the finding of guilt for the registrable offence is quashed or set aside, or the child offender is sentenced in a different way so as to no longer fit within the criteria for registration.

“Hitlist” of private schools criticised as businesses and public sector join outcry over Victorian budget

The Guardian reports that Victorian private schools are among a chorus of critics of the State’s latest budget, after payroll exemption for schools with “high fees” was cut and landlords and big businesses were hit by new taxes. To help repair the State’s budget bottom line, the Andrews Government on Tuesday revealed that more than 100 private schools will no longer be shielded from payroll tax in a budget measure that the Opposition and independent education sector warn will lead to higher fees for parents. The measure will deliver an extra $420 million over three years. Michelle Green, the chief executive of Independent Schools Victoria, said that the announcement was made without consultation and accused the Government of using an “arbitrary” definition of a high-fee school. Green said that the State Government had long adopted the definition of “high-fee” schools as those that charged over $7,500 in annual fees, but argued it captured those in the mid-range.

New mandates to enforce seatbelt wearing on Victoria’s school buses amid Eynesbury horror

According to the Herald Sun, Victorian schools are updating their policies to make it compulsory for all students to wear seatbelts on buses in the wake of last week’s horror bus crash in Eynesbury. It comes after desperate pleas from safety advocates who want tougher rules for school buses because students are not legally required to wear seatbelts. At least 12 government and independent schools have sent out notices to parents advising them of updated policies including the enforcement of seatbelts being worn on school buses and new risk management plans. The Department of Transport and Planning recommends “as a minimum children should use the seatbelts provided” although there is no provision for any adult to make sure that they do so. Catholic Education Commission of Victoria executive director Jim Miles said that the Commission “strongly supported” the move to mandate seatbelts for students in all buses as quickly as possible.

Music? Check. Stomping on the spot? Check. Schools in Victoria scrap detention to improve behaviour

The Age reports that Berry Street’s “trauma-informed” teaching model has given teachers new techniques to engage with students. Berry Street routinely works with schools where there is a high level of disadvantage and trauma. But the charity is experiencing a surge in interest from more advantaged schools also struggling with classroom behavioural issues, Berry Street’s director of education, Dr Tom Brunzell said. He said that demand for its services has doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted face-to-face learning for two years. Mental health problems among students have driven many schools to look for new solutions, Brunzell said. “We are now seeing the impacts of two years without consistent classrooms. These are kids that are not self-regulated, they’re melting down, not connecting to others, doing unsafe things.”

Faith leaders condemn ACT Calvary Hospital grab

According to The Australian, Andrew Barr’s takeover of Canberra’s Calvary Hospital will create a dangerous precedent and pave the way for government intervention in other faith-based community services such as schools, religious leaders and Catholic educators warn. The ACT chief minister’s decision to introduce legislation allowing the takeover of Calvary Hospital in Bruce – which is currently being run by a Catholic provider – has sparked outrage among faith communities and MPs. National Catholic Education Commission executive director Jacinta Collins raised alarm over the move, which she said undermined the “pluralism” that should exist in community services and brought into question whether the Government would intervene in other sectors. “I am concerned at the ACT Government’s apparent unwillingness to support long-established and highly regarded pluralism in community service delivery and any implications this might have in the future for faith-based schools,” she said.

15-year-old Adelaide Hills high school student charged over threats to kill classmates

According to The Advertiser, an Adelaide teenager has been arrested and charged over alleged threats to kill his classmates. The 15-year-old was charged after police searched his home and allegedly found a gun and a “hit list” of potential targets, 7 News reported. The boy is reportedly a student at an Adelaide Hills high school, where fellow students he allegedly planned to kill attend. The incident was reported to police on Wednesday before the teen faced the Adelaide Youth Court on Thursday. He was charged with making threats to kill or endanger life. He was reportedly released on bail with a number of strict conditions, including not contacting a number of fellow students. The boy is set to face the Youth Court again in June. An SA Police spokesperson said that Hills Fleurieu detectives had arrested the boy after an investigation.

INTERNATIONAL

Child sexual abuse compensation scheme to be set up in England (United Kingdom)

The Guardian reports that the UK Government is to launch a compensation scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse in England, the home secretary has said. The scheme is in response to the findings of a seven-year inquiry that revealed failings by schools, local authorities and other institutions to protect and safeguard the children in their care. The announcement, made in the Commons by the home secretary, Suella Braverman, followed the publication last October of a report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which found that children had faced “limitless” cruelty with the complicity of institutions. The 458-page report made 20 recommendations, not all of which have been adopted by the Government. The chair of the Inquiry later described the Government’s measures as deeply disappointing.

Abbey Caves death: Review of Whangārei BHS outdoor education program begins (New Zealand)

According to rnz.co.nz, Education Outdoors New Zealand (EONZ) says that it has begun working with Whangārei Boys' High School to review its outdoor education curriculum. Year 11 student Karnin Petera died while on an outdoor education trip to Abbey Caves two weeks ago. Education Outdoors chief executive Fiona McDonald said that staff started on the school's internal review this week. "The review will be co-constructed with the school, so we're supporting them to meet the best possible outcome," she said. "It's too early to say exactly what will be in that review."

The final report will be used to help inform a wider review of the national Education Outside The Classroom (EOTC) guidelines. They were last looked at by the Ministry of Education in 2018. McDonald said that there had been a slight increase in queries from other schools about their outdoor education curriculums. Now was a good time for schools to pause and check that they were using best practice, she said.

Schools “bewildered” by very fast rate of change in AI – education figures (United Kingdom)

According to The Irish News, UK schools are “bewildered” by the rate of change in artificial intelligence (AI) and believe that it is moving “far too quickly” for Government alone to provide the advice that is needed, leading head teachers have warned. Their comments come after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that “guardrails” are to be put in place to maximise the benefits of AI while minimising the risks to society. Mr Sunak said that the UK’s regulation must evolve alongside the rapid advance of AI, with threats including to jobs and disinformation. A letter to The Times, signed by more than 60 education figures, says: “Schools are bewildered by the very fast rate of change in AI, and seek secure guidance and counsel on the best way forward. But whose advice can we trust? The truth is that AI is moving far too quickly for Government or Parliament alone to provide the real-time advice that schools need.”