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

Why every teacher needs to know about childhood trauma

According to an article in The Conversation, all school staff would benefit from having an adequate understanding of the impact of trauma and adversity on children. It’s estimated around 8.9 per cent of children experience physical abuse, 8.6 per cent sexual abuse, 8.7 per cent emotional abuse and 2.4 per cent neglect. Children may also experience trauma or adversity by observing family violence, parent separation, having a parent incarcerated or with a mental illness, or due to grief from the loss of a loved one. Trauma can occur because of conflict or war, or due to a natural disaster, such as the recent bushfires. A strong body of evidence shows trauma can affect brains structures linked to learning, and control of emotions and behaviour. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended that schools be “trauma-informed”. Being trauma-informed does not mean teachers and schools must be trained to treat trauma. Rather they must understand the impact it can have on children’s lives.

Australian schools had pre-pandemic tech advantage, says expert

The Educator reports that a new study suggests that Australian teachers may be ahead of the curve when it comes to remote learning. Last Tuesday, the OECD published the 2020 edition of Education at a Glance, its wide-ranging annual comparison of member countries' education systems, including a section on COVID-19's impact. One education expert says the TALIS 2018 data foregrounded in the report provides evidence that Australian teachers may have been better equipped than those in most OECD countries to deal with the pandemic. Associate Professor Matt Bower of Macquarie University is a researcher focused on the innovative use of technology for learning purposes. He pointed out that approximately 79 per cent of Australian lower secondary teachers let students use ICT for projects or class work, which was much higher than the OECD average of 52 per cent, and third highest in the OECD overall.

Australia skimping on public school funding – OECD report

The Educator reports that a new OECD report has found that Australia’s investment in public education is below the global average. This follows an analysis of ACARA data in July by Trevor Cobbold from public school advocates Save our Schools Australia, which found that public funding continues to flow disproportionately to private schools. According to Cobbold’s report, private school funding over the past decade has grown up to nine times faster in real terms than public school funding. The OECD’s latest Education at a Glance report ranked Australia 19th out of 37 countries when it comes to investment in public education. Australia was also found to be well below the OECD funding average per student. However, when it comes to investment in private education, Australia has the third-highest level of expenditure – more than 2.6 times the OECD average. In December, a report by Deloitte found that poorer Australian students are 18 months behind their wealthier peers at school, and regional students are on average eight months behind.

Why teacher pay has been dwindling for 30 years

The Educator reports that teachers’ salaries have been dwindling over the past 30 years. Meanwhile, a staggering 71 per cent of Australia’s educators feel underappreciated and struggle with excessive workloads. Part of the problem is that while the starting full-time salary for a classroom teacher in most Australian states is between $65,000 and $70,000, teacher pay doesn’t rise much with age or expertise. A 2019 analysis of teacher remuneration trends by the Grattan Institute found that the pay scale for a classroom teacher stops rising after about nine years, while the incomes of their university educated peers in other professions keep rising well into their 30s and 40s. The scale of this issue was further highlighted in a study released last week by Professor John Buchanan from the University of Sydney’s Business School. In February, the Grattan Institute recommended higher teacher pay as part of a 12-year blueprint to help lift the status of the teaching profession and improve student outcomes across Australia.

Bye bye VCE, farewell HSC? Call for single school leaving certificate

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the International Education Association of Australia is reviving its contentious push for an Australian certificate of education that could also be studied by international students who would then be better prepared for learning at Australian universities. The association's chief executive Phil Honeywood said a national certificate would provide a pipeline for Australia's 39 public universities, which have been ravaged by a dive in international student numbers caused by COVID-19 border closures. Education consultant Peter Adams said Australia has, in effect, a national curriculum for preps to year 10 but the states and territories are "inextricably attached to their year 11 and 12 courses and assessments". A recent report by the NSW Education Standards Authority found Australia had "substantial potential to perform more strongly in international schooling". The VCE is by far the most common Australian certificate studied overseas.

Queensland passes law to jail priests for not reporting confessions of child sexual abuse

The ABC News reports that priests in Queensland will now be compelled to break the seal of confession to report child sexual abuse or face three years in jail. New laws passed through Queensland Parliament will force members of the clergy to report known or suspected cases of abuse to police. The legislation means religious institutions and their members are no longer able to use the sanctity of confessional as a defence or excuse in child sex abuse matters. The laws apply to information received from now, even if it relates to abuse that occurred in the past. Members of the Catholic Church in Queensland have previously voiced their opposition to the laws. Earlier this year, Brisbane Catholic Archbishop Mark Coleridge told the ABC he believed breaking the confessional seal would "not make a difference to the safety of young people". The laws enact recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The passing of the law also coincides with Queensland child protection week.

Qld Catholic Education and Bravehearts call for law change

The Courier-Mail reports that child protection and education experts have issued an 11th-hour plea for the State Government to make it illegal for teachers to have sexual relationships with students, after failing to include the Royal Commission’s recommendation in legislation before Parliament last week. The omission of the position of authority offence in the state government’s Child Protection Bill has sparked Queensland Catholic Education Commission executive director Dr Lee-Anne Perry and Bravehearts’ chief executive Hetty Johnson to call for it to be included. Dr Perry said the State Government should amend the legislation to make it illegal for teachers and other school staff to enter an intimate relationship with students more than 16 years old, regardless of whether there is consent. Attorney-General and Minister Justice Yvette D’Ath told The Courier-Mail that the recommendation was important and that the government would continue to work with stakeholders.

NSW Government issues school principals with COVID-safe guidelines for formals and graduations amid coronavirus

The ABC News reports that dancing can go ahead at school formals and students are even allowed to bring a date, after the NSW Government confirmed the right-of-passage events can go ahead from the end of the HSC exams. Under the COVID-safe guidelines issued to principals last Friday, graduations are also back on the school calendar. But singing at either event will still be strictly banned. The guidelines ask schools to hold dance floors outside or in a well-ventilated area with "sufficient room for 1.5 metres physical distancing". Students can dance with a date but they must "have an established relationship" with the partner if they are outside the school community. The partner must also be from the same local community and already be socialising with the school cohort. For graduation ceremonies, each student can invite two people from their immediate family or household. Those events were first banned on August 17 but the rule was overturned just three weeks later. The change came after a petition to allow formals gathered more than 50,000 signatures online.

Victorian teachers unclear how to regain lost ground

The Financial Review reports that teachers and principals in Victoria are grappling with Premier Daniel Andrews' statement that he would change the curriculum in 2021 to help students catch up from the pandemic lockdown. That comes as it emerged that most year 12 students will have less than a month of physical classes before their final year exams, the Victorian Certificate of Education, get under way. Mr Andrews said for students in years one to 11, there would be a "big catch-up" next year, particularly on foundational basics. The Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals said the statement caught them by surprise. They would review what could be taken out of the "very crowded curriculum" so they could focus on basics. Independent Schools Victoria said the Premier's promise of a return to school by mid-October for most students offered "only a limited and gradual respite from the extremely difficult restrictions which teachers, students and their parents have endured for much of this year".

Lost your job during the pandemic? Queensland schools need you

The Brisbane Times reports that thousands of teachers will be needed in the next five years to cover a surge in students across Queensland. Launching a new recruitment campaign in Brisbane on Sunday, Education Minister Grace Grace has made a pitch to Year 12 students filling out their Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre forms, and to workers who have lost their job during the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, about 568,000 students are being taught in Queensland public schools by about 55,000 teachers. Modelling handed to the Education Department shows that from now until 2026, about 8000 additional students will join Queensland state schools annually, on top of the usual intake. More than half of Queensland's state schools are in rural and remote communities, with most permanent teaching vacancies traditionally on offer in the Darling Downs and the south-west, central, north and far north parts of Queensland.

INTERNATIONAL

No masks, no distancing: Schools in Denmark defy COVID-19 — with success so far (Denmark)

According to the CBC, countries around the world are looking to the Danes for guidance. At this stage, Denmark is allowing each school to come up with its own COVID-19 safety plans. Denmark wasn't hit by COVID as badly as other countries in Europe, like Italy and Spain, but it nonetheless went into lockdown in March. When the government started removing restrictions, it prioritised opening schools over bars and restaurants. The rules were strict at the time amid concerns there would be outbreaks. A few schools in the country experienced outbreaks, but there was no spike in overall infections attributed to the reopening. That's why the government felt safe moving to Phase 2 of its plan when the second semester of school started in August. Dorte Lange, vice-president of the Danish Union of Teachers, credits the success in Denmark to the co-operation between the government and the teachers' union, and said they were in constant communication and addressed staff concerns early on.

Mum's claim that tickling is child abuse divides the internet (New Zealand)

The NZ Herald reports that a mum's extreme view on social media has divided the internet, as she has controversially claimed that tickling should be considered "child abuse". According to the mother, if a child does not consent to tickling, the parent should stop immediately. If not, it should be construed as an act of child abuse. "If they [kids] come looking for it/ask for it, they like it [tickling]," she wrote in a message to another mum, which has since been widely shared on Facebook. "It's about consent and you are teaching them their body, their rules." As to be expected, the internet slammed the mum for taking the issue way too seriously. "Tickling isn't going to traumatise a kid in this case," said one. But others agreed with the perhaps overly protective mum. "I agree that it's a great way to teach consent," another person commented on the Facebook post.

Educators, parents work to embed the Black experience into school curriculum (Canada)

The CBC reports that the K-12 school curriculum in Canada's provinces and territories differs, but most pay scant attention to the Black experience beyond brief mentions of Black Canadians among several ethnic groups in Canada's history. Widespread anti-Black racism protests this summer have put renewed focus on that deficiency, and in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, some Black parents — tired of waiting — are taking matters into their own hands. Amid mass protests around the world following the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis on May 25, BC Education Minister Rob Fleming pledged in June to get more Black Canadian history into the provincial school curriculum. In late July, the Victoria-based BC Black History Awareness Society helped facilitate a roundtable meeting with government officials, Black community leaders and education partners, society president Silvia Mangue Alene said. Another roundtable is set for the fall, she said. But as the summer progressed, Black students, their families and advocates reiterated their long-standing calls for schools to address anti-Black racism and for increased representation within the school curriculum.