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.
Education minister concerned school curriculum changes could convey a 'negative view of our history'
SBS News reports that Australia's education minister Alan Tudge has called for the overhauled national curriculum to have a greater focus on Western history, after indicating current proposals would present a "negative view of our history" and not help lift education standards. The previous draft of the curriculum, released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority in April said the changes may involve "debating the difference between commemoration and celebration of war". The minister said in his speech he was concerned there was not enough focus on concepts such as Australia's liberal democracy, suggesting young Australians would not be willing to support and defend those ideas. The plan for the national curriculum would need to be signed off by state and territory education ministers. Labor's Tony Burke described Mr Tudge's proposal as "a bit weird". "In terms of history. I don't think it's complicated. History should be the study of what happened. Some of that'll be good, some of that won't be," he said.
National centre to provide leadership in supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse
According to a media release from the Prime Minister of Australia, 22 October marked the third anniversary of the National Apology for Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, commemorating the childhoods that were stolen and renewing the Government’s commitment and responsibility to protecting Australia’s children. In honour, the Morrison Government announced that the Blue Knot Foundation, along with its key consortium partners the Australian Childhood Foundation and The Healing Foundation, would establish and deliver the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. “The National Centre will be an online central point of information that will help build capability of the sector to better support survivors of institutional child sexual abuse and ensure the wrongs of the past never happen again.” “The National Centre will shine a national lens on preventing child sexual abuse, improve outcomes for survivors, and increase awareness and understanding of the impacts of abuse.” The National Centre is expected to be established by the end of 2021.
Does the government’s new national plan to combat child sexual abuse go far enough?
According to an article in The Conversation, the national strategy to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse was recently released. It identifies five key elements, including raising awareness, providing sexual abuse prevention education and building child-safe cultures, supporting and empowering victims and survivors; enhancing responses to children who display sexual behaviours that are harmful to themselves or others; offender prevention and intervention; and improving the evidence base on what works in child sexual abuse prevention and supporting survivor recovery and healing. While the plan responds to many of the recommendations from the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the author contends its initiatives must address the limited recognition of the fact that some children are more at-risk than others, and ensure the strategy will be overseen and evaluated in dialogue with survivors, young people and their families to ensure its effective implementation.
A new proposed privacy code promises tough rules and $10 million penalties for tech giants
According to an article in The Conversation, the Federal Government recently announced proposed legislation to develop an online privacy code (or “OP Code”) setting tougher privacy standards for Facebook, Google, Amazon and many other online platforms. The higher standards would be backed by increased penalties for interference with privacy under the Privacy Act and greater enforcement powers for the Federal Privacy Commissioner. However, relevant companies are likely to try to avoid obligations under the OP Code by drawing out the process for drafting the code, as well as excluding themselves from the code’s coverage. The draft bill includes a provision for the OP Code to add protections for kids and other vulnerable people who are not capable of making their own privacy decisions. A more controversial proposal would require new consents and verification for kids using social media services, as well as data practices that have the best interests of the child as the primary consideration.
The importance of communication for successful change management
According to an article in The Educator, a strong change communication strategy can ensure changes are welcomed (or at least accepted), energise staff, and encourage innovation. It recommends communicating early in the change management process the who, what, when, where, and why change is happening and continuing to do so until changes have been fully implemented and accepted. Identifying a school's key influencers can be a huge help in this process. Research from McKinsey & Company shows that every workplace has 'hidden' influencers that don't typically align to organisational charts, roles, or tenure length. Such influencers can be identified using McKinsey & Company's "snowball sampling" methodology. Finally, failing to provide opportunities for feedback means that you won't get a chance to hear or respond to concerns. Using a variety of channels to encourage participation is recommended; with face-to-face or online meetings, group chats, and other instant communication channels better for facilitating more natural conversation, compared to emails.
MPs from across the political divide call for better sex education
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Members of Parliament from across the political divide have called for more robust sexual consent education to be introduced across NSW schools during a parliamentary debate triggered by activist Chanel Contos’ petition, which launched earlier this year. Greens MP Jenny Leong, who sponsored the petition with the support of government MP Felicity Wilson and Labor’s Marjorie O’Neill, told the Legislative Assembly that young people were not getting the information they needed nor the help they were asking for. “If we don’t see change in how we educate our young people, it will happen to our daughters and granddaughters as well.” Ms Contos’ petition, signed by more than 20,000 people, called for the NSW school curriculum to start teaching consent earlier and include lessons on rape culture, slut-shaming, sexual coercion, toxic masculinity, victim-blaming, enthusiastic consent and queer sex. The government improved consent resources for schools and parents this year and led a statement of intent signed by all three school sectors, but has not updated course content since 2018.
Health concerns over silica dust from proposed Mornington Peninsula quarry
The Age reports that more than 120 doctors and health workers are calling on a prominent philanthropic charity to halt its plans for a large quarry in bushland on the Mornington Peninsula, citing concerns over the health effects of silica dust on nearby primary school students and communities. Hillview Quarries, which is owned by the philanthropic Ross Trust, has applied to expand a disused quarry adjacent to the Arthurs Seat State Park and remove about 38 hectares of native bushland, an area the size of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. In an open letter, 122 signatories – including respiratory and allergy specialists, eight paediatricians and 29 local general practitioners – write: “There is ample evidence that silica exposure is dangerous in an occupational setting [but] little is known so far about how silica exposure affects people outside this setting. We believe that the risks are serious.” The local branch of the Australian Education Union has passed a resolution opposing the proposed quarry.
Year 12 school exam result 'integrity' in doubt, SA union claims in letter to SACE Board boss
ABC News reports that days after the start of Year 12 exams, doubts have been raised about the reliability of South Australian school results amid upheaval within the state's education assessment agency. Public Service Association (PSA) general secretary Nev Kitchin has written to the chief executive of the SACE Board of South Australia, expressing concern about high staff turnover and "dissatisfaction" in the last 12 months, citing a "destructive culture" within the organisation. But the SACE Board has hit back, insisting the "integrity" of results will not be impacted and accusing the union of "scaremongering" at a potentially stressful time for students. The PSA letter, signed by current and former SACE Board employees and addressed to Professor Martin Westwell, states that 51 staff have left the agency in the past 12 months, including 19 curriculum and assessment officers. The government said it was confident in the exam process, and that results would be delivered on time.
Child sexual abuse in Tasmanian institutions inquiry hears about 'culture of cover-up'
ABC News reports that the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings has begun in Hobart. The work of the commission will focus mainly on public schools, hospitals, youth detention, and out-of-home care. Counsel assisting the inquiry, Maree Norton, said "we are concerned that such abuse may have been…made possible by structural weaknesses in how these institutions understand and respond to child sexual abuse". Ms Norton said that "at worst there may have been an active culture of cover-up or minimisation to protect reputations and institutional interests". Regarding Government schools, Education Department documents associated with a civil court case show two teachers who were the subject of numerous complaints, and who were later convicted of child sexual abuse, were moved from school to school. Ms Norton said the commission would look at whether complaints were referred to police and whether children and their advocates were listened to.
Student spurs Stirling name change
According to an article in The National Indigenous Times, a Perth school has taken a stand to ensure its students no longer chant the name of a historic figure who led a massacre of Aboriginal people. Across WA, Stirling is a common name for factions [Editorial note: sport houses] within schools. Previously, one of Mosman Park Primary School’s factions was also named after Captain James Stirling, the State’s first governor and commander-in-chief who led the Pinjarra Massacre. Mosman Park Primary School Associate Principal Pamela Chatfield said it was a letter from one of the school’s Year One students asking for the name to be reconsidered that prompted the change. “We can’t stand there and tell students that this person did this awful thing, and it is OK to have a faction in his name,” Ms Chatfield said. Bindjareb Noongar woman Karrie-Anne Kearing welcomed the change. “It shows our communities understand how this is disrespectful to Aboriginal people to honour these people...It does not alter or write their name out of history,” she said.
Former Manchester United star Patrice Evra alleges he was sexually abused as a child (United Kingdom)
According to an article in The Irish Times, former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra was sexually abused by a teacher when he was 13, the Frenchman alleged in an interview to The Times newspaper on Friday. Evra, now 40, said that while it was difficult to speak about the abuse in an interview, it was even more challenging to break it to his mother, who was told about the incidents only two weeks ago. “It was a big shock for her. A lot of anger. She said she was sorry. She said ‘you must not put it in your book, it’s private Patrice’, but that’s when I say ‘mum, it’s not about me, it’s about [Editorial note: helping] other kids’, then she says OK, she understands.” Evra added that he hadn’t thought about formally pressing charges, but his mother had encouraged him to sue the perpetrator. Evra joined United in 2006, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League. He later played for Juventus, Olympique de Marseille and West Ham United before retiring from the sport in July 2019.
Should LGBTQ+ history be taught in Virginia schools? Students, advocates weigh in (United States of America)
According to an article by WRTV CBS 6 News Richmond, across the United States, six states have passed legislation requiring schools to implement LGBTQ inclusive curriculum, including California and New Jersey. On the other hand, there are a few states that ban instruction on LBGTQ issues in public schools, like Texas and Mississippi. Virginia does not mandate or forbid teaching LGBTQ curriculum but instead allows local school divisions to include it in their lessons if they choose to do so. Dr Judith Dunkerly-Bean, an assistant professor of literacy at Old Dominion University, has said representation is important. According to GLSEN, 90 per cent of LGBTQ students say that they hear discriminatory comments in school. 84 per cent report verbal harassment and 25 pr cent say that they've been physically hurt by another student because of their sexual orientation. Still, some parents view LGBTQ representation as a political agenda or a special interest. No matter where you fall on the debate, 16-year-old Alexander Campbell encourages people to "have an open mind, to listen, to have an open perspective. We just want to make sure everybody is included."