This week Curriculum Leadership publishes a statement from the Director General, Department of Education and Training Western Australia, providing an overview of the Department’s position on managing student behaviour. The statement notes that a safe and orderly learning environment is best achieved by creating an atmosphere in the school where students are actively engaged in the curriculum and are provided with interesting ways to learn, where they feel cared for by school staff and develop a sense of belonging to the school, and where teachers know them well, build on their strengths and encourage them to persist with tasks until they succeed.

A new research report by the Victorian Department of Education & Early Childhood Development (DEECD) engages with the current debate in the media regarding the merits of learning languages other than English (LOTE) in schools. The report highlights the complex range of issues associated with teaching languages, including teacher availability, continuity in learning and the choice of languages to be taught. The importance of LOTE is discussed from a global perspective, drawing attention to the long term economic and employment benefits likely to accrue to those who learn a language other than English. Perspectives are given on how LOTE learning enriches learners intellectually, educationally and culturally, enables communication across cultures and enhances employment and career prospects for individuals.