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

Trends in Key Economic Parameters: An Economic Context for Independent Schools in Australia

Independent Schools Australia has released a research report examining trends in key economic parameters using ABS price index data, school-based ABS data and ACARA data to provide a picture of the economic environment in Australia as it relates to schooling. The Guide provides easy reference to trends in key indicators and relevant school-based data to provide a picture of the economic environment in Australia. The latest October update contains new CPI figures by major city (September quarter), unemployment rates by state (September month) and consumer confidence index figures (September month). The information is provided to assist independent schools and their Boards to consider the context and outlook for their school communities as part of their decision making and planning processes.

Study reveals benefits of all-girls schools

The Herald Sun reports that girls at single-sex schools outperform their peers at co-ed campuses, new data shows. There is less bullying and less skipping class and fewer friendship fights at single-sex schools, according to a new analysis of international educational data. The report, commissioned by the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia, was conducted by Macquarie Marketing Group using OECD data. It found girls from single-sex schools reported a positive difference on 227 out of 314 measures, or 72 per cent. These include higher scores and more confidence in science classes, better academic engagement and a greater sense of school belonging than girls at co-ed schools. Girls learning with girls also a higher intention of completing a degree or doctorate – 69 per cent at same-sex schools intend to go on to tertiary education compared to 51 per cent of co-ed girls.

Victoria likely to miss out on international students in 2021

The Financial Review reports that universities in Victoria risk missing out on international students next year after the state's International Education Advisory Council was allowed to disband in September and a five-year international education strategy expired in June, without a replacement for either. The revelation comes as South Australia and the Northern Territory prepare to fly small numbers of overseas students to Australia as a "proof of life" that universities are open to overseas business. International Education Association of Australia chief executive Phil Honeywood, who was a council member, said compared with other states Victoria had no mechanisms available to ensure a substantial return to normal business. "Every state has an international student strategy. It sets out the policy framework, student services, numbers that can be supported and so on," Mr Honeywood said. "It sets the agenda for international high school students as well as university students etc and works with unis on things like welfare.”

Explainer: why is Victoria fast-tracking reforms to sexual violence “gag laws” and to what effect?

According to an article in The Conversation, changes to a Victorian law back in February made it an offence to publicly identify victim-survivors of sexual violence. These changes removed the capacity for survivors to give permission for their names or images to be published, as was the case under the previous law. These “gag laws” were brought to light by the #LetUsSpeak campaign, led by Rape & Sexual Assault Research & Advocacy, End Rape on Campus Australia, Marque Lawyers and journalist Nina Funnell. Now the Victorian government is “fast-tracking” reforms to the gag laws that would reinstate the rights of victim-survivors to speak out about their experiences of sexual violence and the criminal justice response. But, in the rush to respond, have they got the details right? While some of these proposed changes are steps towards restoring the agency of victim-survivors of sexual violence, the Bill still has some flaws. The new law states that the prohibition on identification applies to both living and deceased victims of sexual offences. Because a deceased person cannot give written permission, naming them would require a court order.

Sydney high school threats initially came from eastern Europe, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says

The ABC News reports that NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has revealed initial emailed threats to a number of Sydney schools last week came from eastern Europe. Students were allowed to return to a North Sydney school following threats made in a phone call last Thursday morning. Year 12 students were unaffected and were relocated to a nearby facility for their HSC exams. However, at least 300 students from 10 schools stretching from the Hunter to the NSW South Coast were forced to drop their pens while sitting their final HSC biology exam on Wednesday. That followed the evacuation of hundreds of students, teachers and staff from more than 20 schools across Sydney on Tuesday after they received threatening emails. Ms Berejiklian said that the initial email threats "actually emanated from eastern Europe". "The Police Commissioner is working very closely with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Federal authorities in relation to those threats," she said. Ms Berejiklian said the North Sydney threat was different, and at this stage was not connected to the earlier threats.

Bomb scare in Brisbane schools for second day in a row

The Courier-Mail reports that a Brisbane school was targeted with a supposed “bomb threat” on Friday morning, evacuating students temporarily, and causing delays to year 12 external exams. Mount Gravatt State High School received an emailed “bomb threat” at 7.50 am, evacuating students and preventing students from entering the school grounds. Kenmore State High School also received a threat, leading to the evacuation of students. It followed the evacuations of about a dozen schools across southeast Queensland last Thursday. In relation to Thursday’s incidents, the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority wrote to schools urging them to reassure students sitting exams, which each contribute 50 per cent to their subject results, that they would not be disadvantaged.

WhiteBox Chat extension blocked by Qld state, Catholic schools

The Courier-Mail reports that a browser extension that allows students to set up secret chat rooms has been blocked by both the state and Catholic education systems, with parents issued a warning about the potential dangers for their children. Brisbane Catholic Education schools last week emailed parents advising them that they had blocked the Google Chrome browser extension from the schools network. WhiteBox is a Google Chrome extension and free to download. It allows users to chat one-on-one, make group messages and play games. The Education Department told The Courier-Mail that it had deemed that the platform was not sufficiently secure for Queensland state school students, having blocked the extension from its school systems and devices. Top cyber safety expert and former police officer Susan McLean said schools and education authorities should be more proactive and prevent these sites from ever being used.

Busselton teacher who allowed students to view TikTok suicide video can return to work

The ABC News reports that a teacher who was stood down after allowing students to watch a suicide video in class will be allowed to return to work at their school in Western Australia. The teacher was immediately suspended in September after a video of a man taking his own life was watched by more than half a dozen students at Busselton Senior High School. It came just a day after a warning was issued to teachers and parents that the video containing distressing content was circulating on social media platform TikTok. The Department of Education has since carried out a review of the incident and said, while the behaviour was not acceptable, the teacher would be allowed to return to work. Despite labelling the teacher's actions "completely inappropriate", State School Teachers' Union of WA president Pat Byrne said letting the teacher return to work was the right decision. Ms Byrne welcomed further training for the teacher ahead of a return to school.

Review of Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has issued a media release, stating that The Australian Government’s review of the Privacy Act is a landmark opportunity to ensure our privacy framework can respond to new challenges in the digital environment, according to Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk. The review is being led by the Attorney-General’s Department which on Friday released its terms of reference and timeline for the review, along with an Issues Paper. Commissioner Falk welcomed the review as an important step to ensure effective regulation that protects the community’s personal information and supports an innovative economy into the future. The deadline for submissions for the issues paper is 29 November 2020.

Improving Safety in Victorian Boarding Schools

The Victorian Premier has announced that Minister for Education James Merlino last Wednesday announced that the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Regulation of Student Accommodation) Bill 2020 (Vic) had passed in the Upper House, paving the way for requirements to be implemented next year. The Bill expands the functions and powers of the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) to include the registration and regulation of school boarding premises. This will apply to all boarding premises at government, Catholic and independent schools. The Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 (Vic) will be amended to outline the standards school boarding premises must meet, including compliance with the Victorian Child Safe Standards. The VRQA will develop guidelines for school boarding premises, outlining what is required to meet the minimum standards. These new requirements will commence by mid-2021.

INTERNATIONAL

Why schools probably aren’t COVID hotspots (Global)

According to an article in Nature, data gathered worldwide is increasingly suggesting that schools are not hot spots for coronavirus infections. However, research also shows that children can catch the virus and shed viral particles, and older children are more likely than very young kids to pass it on to others. Schools and childcare centres seem to provide an ideal setting for coronavirus transmission because large groups gather indoors for extended periods of time, says Walter Haas, an infectious-diseases epidemiologist at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. Yet, globally, COVID-19 infections are still much lower among children than among adults, he says. “They seem rather to follow the situation than to drive it.” In the state of Victoria, Australia, where a second wave of COVID-19 infections surged in July, large outbreaks linked to schools and childcare centres were also rare, although schools were only partially open. Two-thirds of the 1,635 COVID-19 infections in schools were limited to a single case, and 91 per cent involved fewer than 10 people.

Canada's largest school board cites pandemic for thousands of students leaving system (Canada)

According to CTV News, Canada's largest school board is trying to assure parents that it can provide a safe, stable and successful learning environment during the pandemic as it deals with the fact that thousands of students have left its system. The chair of the Toronto District School Board said while it's unclear where the students who were expected to enrol have gone -- whether to private school, a homeschooling situation or a public school in a different city -- the Board wants to ensure that those who remain feel comfortable. Earlier this week, the Board revealed that it has seen 5,500 fewer students show up to classes compared to what it had anticipated for the school year. Of those students, 4,700 were expected to enrol in elementary school - more than half in kindergarten - and 800 were expected to attend secondary school. Meanwhile, the neighbouring Peel District School Board said it had seen 3,000 fewer students than it expected. Amanda Dervaitis, executive director of Ontario Federation of Independent Schools, said there's been an increase in interest in independent schools since the summer.

Most black British children report experiencing racism at school (United Kingdom)

The Guardian reports that seven out of 10 young black people in the UK have felt under pressure to change their hair in order to appear more professional in school or at work, according to a new survey. Research by YMCA among young people of black and mixed ethnicity found many felt they had to change to be accepted in society, prompting warnings that rigid school and workplace policies could result in “cultural erasure”. Asked about racism in education, more than nine out of 10 (95 per cent) said they had witnessed racist language at school and almost half (49 per cent) said they believed racism was the biggest barrier to academic attainment. Equality campaigners have become increasingly concerned in recent years about strict school policies on hair which have resulted in some black children being excluded. Black Caribbean pupils are around three times more likely to be permanently excluded than white British pupils.