BULLY PREVENTION
Excessive praise makes bullies?
ABC News, 30 May 2012
 Excessive
parental praise creates a sense of superiority in some children, turning
them into bullies, research apparently shows...
ABUSE OF STAFF
 Staff being abused
The Advocate, 30 May 2012
School
staff are being physically and verbally abused by children and parents,
AEU Tasmanian president Terry Polglase says....
 BUDGET ESTIMATES COMMITTEE
Work for $200,000 pa bureaucrat
The Mercury, 30 May 2012
Education
minister Nick McKim says there is plenty of work in the Department of
Education for Mark Sayer who is returning from the Department of Premier
and Cabinet...
 BUDGET ESTIMATES COMMITTEE
Not monitoring cuts
Michael Ferguson website, 29 May 2012
Education
minister Nick McKim is not monitoring the effect of budget cuts on
schools, Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson says...
BUDGET ESTIMATES COMMITTEE
Too slow on single VET provider
Michael Ferguson website, 29 May 2012
Greens leader and education
minister Nick McKim should have fulfilled his own Greens policy and
achieved a single VET provider by now, Opposition education spokesman
Michael Ferguson says...
BUDGET ESTIMATES COMMITTEE
Fewer teachers now
Michael Ferguson website, 29 May 2012
Education minister Nick McKim
admits Tasmania now has 150 fewer full-time teachers and 118 fewer
teacher assistants in government schools, Opposition education spokesman
Michael Ferguson says...
STUDENT SUSPENSIONS
Suspended students fall
 The Examiner, 29 May 2012
The
total number of student suspensions in Tasmania fell from 2010 to 2011,
the proportion being due to refusal to obey instructions rising from 17
to 23 per cent, education minister Nick McKim told a Budget Estimates
committee today...
TEACHER NUMBERS
Fall in teacher numbers is only an illusion
Tas Govt media release, 29 May 2012
A
drop of 373 in Tasmanian teacher numbers is mainly due to a reporting
change that requires only paid staff to be included in the statistics,
education minister Nick McKim told a Budget Estimates committee today...
 EDUCATION FUNDING
Figures paint Tas government education
system in good light
Tas Govt media release, 29 May 2012
Education
minister Nick McKim told the Budget Estimates committee today that
Tasmania's 71 per
cent of students attending government schools was well above the
national average of 65 per cent
Tasmania's
education bureaucracy was the second leanest in Australia, yet
funding for students with a disability in Tasmania was well ahead of
that in other states...
STUDENT SUPPORT
 Autism service budget cuts denied
ABC News, 28 May 2012
The
state government has dismissed claims that school support services for
children with autism will be cut...
STUDENT SUPPORT
No official advice over autism aide
The Mercury, 28 May 2012
A
Kempton mother was not officially told her autistic son would be unable
to have full-time aide support, the Education Department says...
USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY
 Bring Your Own Tablet
The Age, 28 May 2012
It
is more efficient to have students bring their own technology such as
tablets to school instead of requiring them to adjust to school-provided
equipment, argue the BYOT and BYOD proponents...
EDUCATION SYSTEM
Higher leaving age benefits hindered
SMH (Opinion), 28 May 2012
The benefit to students of being kept at school longer is hampered by
the effects of other policies, writes associate professor Carol Reid...
NAPLAN
 Time for NAPLAN itself to be assessed
The Examiner, 28 May 2012
It
is five years since NAPLAN testing began...
STUDENT SUPPORT
No further education cuts occurred, says McKim
Tas Govt media release, 27 May 2012
There
have been no further cuts in the 2012-13 education budget and special
needs funding increased by $4.1 million for the 2012 school year,
education minister Nick McKim said today in response to claims by the
Opposition.
And Liz Banks, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education, says
there has been no official notification of lack of funding to the family
of the boy with autism mentioned in today's news...
STUDENT SUPPORT
Minister responsible for lack of autism aide funding, says Ferguson
Michael Ferguson website, 27 May 2012
The
lack of funding for a full-time aide for an autistic boy was the result
of education minister Nick McKim's cuts to school budgets, Opposition
education spokesman Michael Ferguson says...
STUDENT SUPPORT
Budget hits boy with autism
The Mercury, 27 May 2012
An
autistic Kempton 5-year-old can no longer have a full-time teacher's
aide, as a result of budget cuts...
INDUSTRIAL ACTION
Unions give warning over politicians' pay
The Mercury, 26 May 2012
The AEU and the Community and
Public Sector Union may take industrial action if politicians' pay
increases by 38 per cent as a result of Legislative Council action that
prevents the Government's planned increase of only 2 per cent going
ahead...
-
AEU media release, 25 May 2012
ROAD CLOSURES
due to heavy rain
Friday, 25 May 2012
See
Police community alerts page
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Few truancy prosecutions
The Examiner, 25 May 2012
There have been just five
prosecutions for truancy over the last six years in Tasmania, legal
action having been used only as a last resort, Education Department
deputy secretary Liz Banks says ...
ANIMAL SAFETY
Dogs attack Polytechnic sheep
The Advocate, 24 May 2012
Ten sheep at the Burnie
Polytechnic farm have had to be put down following a dog attack...
STUDENT
HEALTH
Jump in whooping cough cases
(Reported on ABC News, 24 May 2012)
Tasmania is experiencing a
rise in the number of children suffering from whooping cough...
- Tas DHHS
Whooping cough alert sheet
-
More information [pdf file]
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Tasmania's attendance improving
The Examiner, 24 May 2012
Student attendance has
improved in Tasmania, latest figures show...
EDUCATION FUNDING
Legislation this year, says Garrett
SMH, 24 May 2012
Federal Schools Minister
Peter Garrett says he will introduce education reform legislation by the
end of the year...
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
Brooks High students checked four times a day
The Examiner, 23 May 2012
Brooks High School is
checking student attendance four times a day...
EDUCATION FUNDING
Government schools could lose out
SMH, 23 May 2012
Public education funding
could be the loser and private schools the winners, unless the Gonski
reforms are introduced very soon, according to a NSW academic.
This argument contradicts the position of the private schools which is
that they will be the losers (see SMH, 22 May, below)...
ALTERNATIVE STATE BUDGET
Libs confirm TAFE restoration
ABC News, 22 May 2012
The Liberals would restore
TAFE if they achieved government, Opposition leader Will Hodgman said in
announcing his alternative Budget today...
KINDERGARTEN
Kindergarten could become "Foundation"
Herald Sun, 22 May 2012
The Australian Primary
Schools Principals Association is campaigning to have a consistent name
across Australia for the year known variously as kindergarten, prep,
foundation and transition, as well as for a compulsory starting age...
 SCHOOL ZONE ROAD SAFETY
Council gives school parking officer power
The Mercury, 22 May 2012
Launceston's
Sacred Heart Primary School has been empowered by the City Council to
have staff act as parking officers in an attempt to reduce congestion
caused by parents picking up children...
EDUCATION FUNDING
Private school group now against Gonski plan
SMH, 22 May 2012
The Association of
Independent Schools in NSW says the level of indexation used for the
current Gonski plan on school funding would lead to private schools
losing...
EDUCATION FUNDING
Education gap widening
The Examiner, 22 May 2012
Australian education
standards are falling and the gap between the top and bottom students is
widening, education funding review chairman David Gonski says...
TEACHER SALARIES
Salaries of up to $150,000 needed
SMH, 20 May 2012
Unattractive salaries have
led to a teaching career being shunned by the best university students...
EDUCATION
ADMINISTRATION
 Strahan Primary charges laid
The Advocate, 18 May 2012
Police
have laid charges over the alleged theft and misuse of about $60,000
from Strahan Primary School...
STATE BUDGET: EDUCATION
 Money for schools to close or merge
The Examiner, 18 May 2012
The
State Budget includes the School Transition Fund, with $3.5 million over
the next two years, to encourage schools to close, merge or co-locate...
WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY
School road safety under spotlight on Walk Safely to School Day
The Mercury, 18 May 2012
The
dangers for school students near the Huon Highway / Summerleas Road
intersection have sparked calls for better road safety in Tasmania...
WALK SAFELY TO SCHOOL DAY
Penguin Primary makes great strides
The Advocate, 17 May 2012
Penguin Primary School
students prepared well for Friday's Walk Safely to School Day ...
College closed
Claremont College
is closed to all students tomorrow, Friday 18 May 2012, due to a burst
water main
- ABC Radio, 3.57pm, 17 May 2012
 SCHOOL ROAD SAFETY
Kingston road safety fear
The Mercury, 17 May 2012
A
woman who came close to hitting a boy with her car at the Huon Highway/Summerleas
Road intersection has called for greater efforts to make roads near
schools safer...
STUDENT SUPPORT
School sued for lack of support
SMH, 17 May 2012
A former student of Geelong
Grammar is suing the school after she failed to achieve a final
secondary school score that would have allowed her to study law at the
University of Sydney...
BULLYING OF STAFF
New book details bullying of school staff
SMH, 17 May 2012
A
book by Deidre Duncan and two other academics, Bullying of Staff in
Schools, says bullying of school staff by parents, principals and
others has been ignored...
FOUR-TERM YEAR
Minister confirms four terms but AEU may appeal
ABC News, updated 17 May 2012
 Following
today's decision of the Tasmanian Industrial Commission, the Minister
for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, has confirmed that government
schools will have four terms next year, but Australian Education Union
spokesman Chris Lane says the AEU will look closely at the Industrial
Commission's decision and may appeal...
-
Mercury report, 17 may 2012
-
Examiner report, 17 May 2012
FOUR-TERM YEAR
Minister
announces four-term go-ahead
Tas Govt media release, 16 May 2012
The
Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, has announced that the
implementation of the four-term year will proceed as planned next year,
now that the Tasmanian Industrial Commission has decided he has the
authority to adjust term dates as long as there is no reduction in
teacher entitlements...
NAPLAN
Higher NAPLAN
participation in Tas this year
Tas Govt media release, 16 May 2012
There
were 6 per cent fewer requests for withdrawal from NAPLAN tests in
Tasmania this year...
INDUSTRIAL ACTION
NSW teachers to strike on Friday
ABC News, 16 May 2012
Teachers in New South Wales
plan to strike this Friday over the "Local Schools, Local Decisions"
reforms which will give more power to principals...
NAPLAN
NAPLAN boycott warning
The Age, 15 May 2012
Principals
have been warned not to support "conscientious objectors" who might be
planning to take their children out of NAPLAN tests on philosophical
grounds...
STATE EDUCATION BUDGET
Education budget cuts limited
The Examiner, 15 May 2012
Funding from the federal
government will help to reduce the impact of any cuts in the State education
budget to be announced this Thursday...
NAPLAN
Academics debate as students sit
SMH, 15 May 2012
Almost
100 academics have condemned the NAPLAN tests but ACARA head Barry
McGraw says any suggestions that the tests are creating test-driven
schools are nonsense...
NAPLAN
NAPLAN opt-out grounds not mentioned
SMH, 15 May 2012
A
brochure for parents omits to mention that they may remove their
children from the NAPLAN tests on philosophical or religious grounds...
NAPLAN
NAPLAN
testing begins tomorrow
Tas Govt media release, 14 May 2012
About
25,000 Tasmanian students will sit for their NAPLAN assessments this
week.
The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, said the NAPLAN
National Summary Report is released in mid-September each year and
individual reports will be sent home in the first week of Term 3...
AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM: YEARS 11 & 12
Years 11 and
12 Australian Curriculum comments sought
Australian Curriculum website, 14 May 2012
 The
draft Australian Curriculum for English, Maths, Science and History is
now available for comment...
Draft senior secondary
download page
Media release by Federal Minister for School Education Peter
Garrett, 10 May 2012
AGE DISCRIMINATION
Fear over age discrimination
Adelaide Now, 6 May 2012
 A
South Australian teacher in her 60s says she was called "mentally unfit"
by her principal because she forgot a student's name.
The Age Discrimination Commissioner is concerned about the position of
older teachers...
NAPLAN
NAPLAN tests tomorrow
The Advocate, 14 May 2012
Punchbowl
Primary co-principal Denise Hay says NAPLAN testing was a good way to
gather data that helps teachers focus on areas for improvement but warns
that the tests measure just one point in time ...
NAPLAN
NAPLAN detail useful
The Mercury, 14 May 2012
The
NAPLAN Toolkit enables teachers to identify areas where individual
students need to do more work, Tasmanian teachers trialling the new
system to analyse NAPLAN data have found ...
AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM
Maths
conference opened
Tas Govt media release, 12 May 2012
 Opening
the Mathematical Association of Tasmania's Annual Conference today, the
Parliamentary Secretary, Education and Skills, Paul O'Halloran, said
that this year's implementation of Phase 1 of the Australian Curriculum
with Maths, English, Science and History was an opportunity to focus on
a consistent statewide approach...
VET REVIEW
 Release VET Review before Budget
Michael Ferguson, 11 May 2012
Opposition
education spokesman Michael Ferguson has reiterated his call for the VET
Review to be released...
 TEACHING PROFESSION
Teacher made students wear cone dog collar
Fox News, 10 May 2012
A
US science teacher's job is uncertain after she made some of her
students wear a plastic "cone" dog collar, apparently in fun...
 LOTE
LOTE push from Abbott
West Australian, 11 May 2012
Federal
opposition leader Tony Abbott has promised to considerably increase the
study of Asian languages in schools.
Languages other than English that Mr Abbott mentioned were Mandarin,
Japanese, Indonesian, Korean and Hindi ...
-
Tony Abbott media release, 10 May 2012
FINANCIAL LITERACY
 $10,000 financial
literacy awards
Commonwealth bank website, 11 May 2012
The
Commonwealth Bank is inviting applications for 15 awards for teachers
involved in "building their students' essential money management
skills"...
-
Commonwealth bank teaching awards site
STUDENT SAFETY
Rene's family's pain
The Advocate, 11 May 2012
 The
older sister of Rene Levi said she was pleased with the decision of the
Coroner, Rod Chandler ...
EDUCATION MINISTER
McKim
looks back
The Examiner, 11 May 2012
The Minister for Education
and Skills, Nick McKim, will have been in the job for one year this
Sunday ...
VET, VITICULTURE
Wine industry
courses saved
Tas Govt media release, 10 May 2012
Traineeships and
pre-employment training in viticulture will now be continued, the
Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, said today ...
POST YEAR 10
Power outage hits Burnie Polytechnic
The Advocate, 10 May 2012
Burnie Polytechnic is closed
today due to a power outage...
FEDERAL BUDGET
Gonski omission a blow
The Mercury, 10 May 2012
 The
Tasmanian education minister, parents and the AEU have noted that the
federal Budget lacked the hoped-for commencement of Gonski funding,
although it did continue literacy and numeracy programs...
EDUCATION FUNDING
Fear for profession with baby boomers retiring
SMH, 9 May 2012
With education savings to be
exploited from the imminent replacement of retiring top-scale
baby-boomer teachers with younger teachers on lower salaries, the move
to decentralisation that allows local principals to hire the new
teachers could lead to a change in the culture of the teaching
profession through casual and short-term appointments being made, the
NSW Teachers Federation says...
FEDERAL BUDGET
Mixed bag for education
The Mercury, 9 May 2012
Some
education funding for Tasmania will rise as a result of last night's
federal Budget, but a number of special programs in education will
receive reduced funding or be dropped altogether...
THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Call for sleep education
Herald Sun, 8 May 2012
 A Deakin University professor
who ran a sleep study on high school students has recommended the
introduction of sleep hygiene education in high school...
TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Kingston HS
celebrates
Tas Govt media release, 8 May 2012
Kingston High School is
celebrating its 40th Anniversary...
VET REVIEW
Release VET review call
Michael Ferguson website, 8 May 2012
The Opposition spokesman on
education and skills, Michael Ferguson, has called on education minister
Nick McKim to release the findings of the VET review...
LATROBE HIGH STUDENT DROWNING
DoE legal head on excursion guidelines
ABC Mornings, 8 May 2012
The DoE's head of legal
services, Katherine O'Donnell, spoke to the ABC's Leon Compton about the
Department's improvement of guidelines for educational activities beyond
the school.
Listen or download the audio file.
LATROBE HIGH STUDENT DROWNING
DoE Secretary comments on findings
DoE website, 8 May 2012
DoE Secretary Colin Pettit
says the Department will give urgent consideration to the findings of
the coronial inquest into the death of Latrobe High School student Rene
Levi and adds that there is now an updated handbook for off-campus
school activities.
- Off Campus
Activities requirements (DoE intranet - password required)
LATROBE HIGH STUDENT DROWNING
Pain won't go away
The Mercury, 8 May 2012
LATROBE HIGH STUDENT DROWNING
Levi family to sue
The Advocate, 8 May 2012
NAPLAN
NAPLAN unease
The
Age, 7 May 2012
This year's NAPLAN tests will
soon be undertaken but there is certainly a widespread debate for and
against this particular annual use of school time...
-
The case FOR NAPLAN
-
The case AGAINST NAPLAN
SPELLING
Spelling challenge returns
 SMH, 7 May 2012
In
the OzSpell Challenge for Australian students aged 10 to 14 years the
winning student receives $5,000...
-
OzSpell Challenge website
FEDERAL BUDGET
 HIPPY program will provide tutoring for disadvantaged
SMH, 7 May 2012
This year's federal Budget
will provide funds for the Home Interaction Program for Parents and
Youngsters to help children in disadvantaged areas commence grade 1 on
an equal footing with others...
- HIPPY
Australia website
STUDENT SAFETY
Minister asks
DoE for response to Coroner's findings
Tas Govt media release, 7 May 2012
The
Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim, said he had asked the
Department of Education to carefully consider the Coroner's findings in
the inquest into the death of Latrobe High School student Rene Levi, and
said improvements to support schools planning and undertaking outdoor
activities had been put in place...
STUDENT SAFETY
Coroner rules on NW Tas schoolboy's death
The Examiner, 7 May 2012
The
Coroner who ran the inquest into the death of Latrobe High School
student Rene Levi has ruled that a systematic failure by the Education
Department contributed to his death...
-
Read the Coroner's findings (Magistrates Court website)
STUDENT SAFETY
Planning and supervision inadequate
The Mercury, 7 May 2012
The
Coroner has said that Latrobe High School student Rene Levi would not
have drowned if risk management and supervision had been better ...
STUDENT SAFETY
Rene's death could have been avoided
The Advocate, 7 May 2012
The
Coroner has found that Rene Levi was not being observed properly when he
drowned in the Mersey River on a school excursion ...
STUDENT SAFETY
Teachers not watching, says Coroner
ABC News, 7 May 2012
The
Coroner has found the failings of a senior teacher, the Education
Department and the principal contributed to the death of Latrobe High
School student Rene Levi ...
EARLY CHILDHOOD
 New home for Oatlands young learners
The
Mercury, 7 May 2012
Oatlands District High
School's Launching into Launchings program now has new premises...
STUDENT SAFETY
Drowning inquest findings due tomorrow
The Examiner, 6 May 2012
The
Coroner's findings from the inquest into the drowning of Latrobe High
School student Rene Levi are due to be handed down tomorrow (Monday)...
TAX SYSTEM AND PARENTS
Replacement for Education Tax Refund
Courier Mail, 6 May 2012
 The
Education Tax Refund is set to be replaced in next week's federal Budget
with means-tested "SchoolKids Bonus" payments of $820 for
high school students and $410 for primary school students, no receipts
required, with a one-off payment to be made in only a few weeks' time...
FOUR-TERM SCHOOL YEAR
Decision on four terms in about two weeks*
The Examiner, 5 May 2012
The
Tasmanian Industrial Commission's decision on the dates for school terms
next year should be available in about two weeks...
*
ABC News reports the time of the decision as being in "at least
a week".
MOBILE PHONES IN SCHOOL
Smart use of mobile phones at Taroona High
The Mercury, 5 May 2012
 Schools
are having to find a balance between allowing students to have mobile
phones for parent contact purposes, exploiting the educational
opportunities provided by the use of smartphones in lesson activities,
and preventing students from being distracted in the classroom...
UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA
 Fear over Ed faculty staff cuts
The Mercury, 5 May 2012
Eight
staff in the education faculty at the University of Tasmania are
concerned they could lose their jobs as a result of budget cuts, leading
to a drop in good quality teachers being produced for Tasmanians schools...
SCHOOL CLOSURES
Rise in numbers coming
The Mercury, 5 May 2012
A demographer warns a rise in
student numbers in Tasmania is on the way but the education minister
says the rise was taken into account in preparing enrolment projections
as part of the school viability consultation...
FOUR-TERM SCHOOL YEAR
Now waiting
for decision on terms
Tas Govt media release, 4 May 2012
Final
submissions on school term dates were presented to the Tasmanian
Industrial Commission today ...
 TEACHER SALARIES
No real pay rise for almost 20 years
ABC News, 4 May 2012
The
Productivity Commission's latest report shows that the pay of
Australia's top teachers has not kept pace with other professions since
1995 ...
TEACHER SALARIES
Scrap the bonus, reform the pay structure
SMH, 4 May 2012
A
Productivity Commission report says the federal government's planned
teacher bonus scheme should be abandoned, and that a more expensive
performance-based career structure should be considered ...
FOUR-TERM SCHOOL YEAR
Flexible holidays needed
The Mercury, 4 May 2012
The Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania says all they need is one-week
of flexibility in the new school term dates to avoid travel capacity and
pricing problems...
EDUCATION FUNDING
Funding fundamental
The Examiner, 4 May 2012
AEU
president Terry Polglase says education funding is the most fundamental
reform to be addressed from the Productivity Commission Schools
Workforce report that has just been released...
- Productivity Commission
Schools Workforce research report page
 MALE TEACHERS
More
men wanted in primary schools
The Mercury, 4 May 2012
Parents and the community want more male teachers in primary schools...
VET, MOTOR MECHANICS
Course spanning school and VET sparks interest
The Examiner, 4 May 2012
Thirteen students from Brooks High and other Northern high schools are
benefiting from the Sparks and Spanners pre-vocational program for
students interested in a mechanics career in the automotive industry...
FOUR-TERM SCHOOL YEAR
Four terms would pose air capacity problem
ABC News, 3 May 2012
The
tourism industry has told the Tasmanian Industrial Commission there will
be insufficient air capacity for vacation travel overlapping with the
Mainland if there are four terms, but the Department of Education says
it should have raised this point earlier...
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Early learning program has proven benefits
The Mercury, 3 May 2012
Significant
improved educational outcomes and better school attendance had resulted
from the Launching into Learning program in Tasmania, education minister
Nick McKim said yesterday...
NAPLAN
Survey shows NAPLAN harming curriculum
West Australian, 2 May 2012
A
survey of teachers is so far showing that preparation for NAPLAN tests
fails to significantly improve literacy and numeracy and takes time away
from other subjects...
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Early
learning now for all Tas children
Tas Govt media release, 2 May 2012
The
Launching into Learning program has now been expanded to every primary
school in the State, education minister NickMcKim said today...
TASMANIAN SCHOOLS
Rokeby High
craft shop opened
Tas Govt media release, 2 May 2012
The Minister for Education
and Skills, Nick McKim, today opened a craft shop that will sell
student-made products...
LEGAL LIABILITY, STUDENT SUPPORT
Teen sues over lack of basic skills
WA Today, 1 May 2012
An
18-year-old with a complex learning disability is suing the WA Education
Department, his barrister arguing "The longer Beau has been at school,
the more his intellectual functioning has actually declined." ...
VET REVIEW
AEU hoping for return to TAFE
ABC News, 1 May 2012
 AEU
TAFE division president Rex Calvert hopes yesterday's completed VET
Review recommends a return to the TAFE system but he is concerned the
State government's tight fiscal situation could delay the process...
SCHOOL CLOSURES
School mergers need $5m
The Advocate, 1 May 2012
If the State Budget provides a
carrot for schools to amalgamate, the amount would need to be at least
$5 million, schools viability report chairman Royce Fairbrother says,
adding that some schools would be smart enough to understand that
rationalisation was inevitable...
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