Nearly 500,000 Australian kids go to after-school care. Researchers Alyssa Clare Milton, Ian Hickie, Karen Thorpe and Tom McClean report that it needs to be more than a babysitting service. Outside school hours care – also known as “school-aged care”, “OOSH”, or “afters” – is booming. As of 2020,...
How do we help those most at risk? ask researchers Melissa Cain and Joanne Quick There is increasing concern about Australian students falling behind in numeracy and literacy. NAPLAN results show that 16.2% of Year 3 students are at or below the national minimum standards in numeracy,...
The next round of education reforms can fix this, researchers Catherine Smith and Helen Dickinson report The National School Reform Agreement is made about once every five years in Australia. This is the main way the federal government can steer changes in how Australian schools are...
What if you could entice your children to eat balanced lunches every day? Originating in Japan, Bento is a home-packed meal in a box-shaped container that holds rice and meats with pickled or cooked vegetables in sectioned compartments. They always look amazing, and if you can get...
These recently released books are perfect for reading to children under 4 when you need them to understand new concepts. Two Sides to Every Story introduces the concept of 'choices', which is more unusual. I Am Lupe: A Celebration of the Differences that Make Us Who...
As the 2023 school year's final term beckons, LiteracyPlanet has a special gift just for educators! These invaluable resources are now available for a free download via the LiteracyPlanet Pinterest page. In a climate of constrained educational budgets and limited classroom hours, LiteracyPlanet recognised the critical need...
by Professor Gary RanceWe all know that talking and listening in large, noisy spaces (like restaurants, shopping centres or concert venues) is tough. Trying to piece together snippets of conversation with background noise is frustrating, exhausting and a definite barrier to communication. Hearing and understanding speech...
Fewer than 1 in 5 students who are behind in Year 3 catch up and stay caught up, report researchers Olivia Groves and Lucy Lu We want all students to finish school with the literacy and numeracy skills they need to take advantage of post-school opportunities...
Jessica Holloway looks at why we need to go beyond the headline figures This year’s national NAPLAN results are out, with the news only two-thirds of Australian students met minimum achievement levels in literacy and numeracy. The headlines are everything we would expect them to be –...
Fees keep climbing, and the Australian consumer watchdog is only halfway through an inquiry into childcare prices, reports Danielle Wood The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s interim report was released on Wednesday. It comes just days after the federal government’s increased childcare subsidies kicked in on...
