Former teacher Sarah Pietrzak finds herself a little tested by her son’s reaction to the impending literacy and numeracy assessments. “Please Mum, don’t make me do it. I’m going to fail, aren’t I?” My eldest child looked at me imploringly. And in that moment I understood....
Here are 4 ways to keep them studying, write Beryl Exley and Donna Pendergast Australia’s state and federal education ministers recently agreed to work on a plan to fix the country’s teacher shortage. The plan is due in December and one of five priority areas is “strengthening...
Australia has a new online-only private school. Rebecca English looks at the many options available. As of next year, a Melbourne private school will open to online-only enrolments for years five to 12. It will cost A$18,000 per year in fees, and parents will have to supervise...
NSW is trying to make the selective school application process fairer – but is it doing enough? asks Christina Ho The NSW state government has recently announced a major overhaul of its selective school program. From the 2023 intake, up to 20% of the places on...
What parents should and shouldn’t say when talking to their child about NAPLAN results, writes Jessica Holloway It’s that time of year again when parents and students anxiously await their NAPLAN results. NAPLAN is a nationwide test of literacy and numeracy that all students in years 3,...
School playgrounds are getting squeezed, write researchers Brendon Hyndman, Jessica Amy Sears and Vaughan Cruickshank. Here are 8 ways to keep students active in small spaces. As enrolments climb and urban spaces become more crowded, some Australian schools have been left with less play space per...
Another school has banned mobile phones, writes Joanne Orlando, but research shows bans don’t stop bullying or improve student grades Recently, one Sydney high school made headlines for banning mobile phones during school hours. Phones can come to school but must stay in locked pouches allowing...
It’s hard for parents to help kids with homework without doing it for them, writes Joanne O'Mara It can be especially difficult to work out where to start when your child is preparing a speech for school. You might find your child is procrastinating more about getting...
COVID changed drop-off and pick ups – but parents can still have a strong relationship with their child’s educators, write researchers Katherine Bussey, Deborah Moore, Natalie Robertson and Shelli Giosis One of the most obvious changes COVID has made to early childhood education in Australia has...
To give schools real choice about secular school chaplains, the latest change needs to go further, writes Luke Beck New federal Education Minister Jason Clare has announced a change to the National School Chaplaincy Program to allow schools to “choose” between having a religious chaplain and...
