What's newQueensland Government strengthens relations with key parents organisationEducation Queensland has strengthened its relationship to the peak parent body, Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens' Association (QCPCA), through the signing of an agreement to support state school Parents and Citizens groups. The agreement will see the establishment of a position based in the QCPCA offices and will be funded by Education Queensland. See statement 20 July 2010 by state Education and Training Minister Geoff Wilson. More school data to be published in South AustraliaThe South Australian Education Minister Jay Weatherill has announced the government's intention to publish a wider range of data on schools, on issues such as enrolment numbers, retention, attendance and truancy rates as well as problems such as violence and bullying on school grounds. See Minister's statement 19 July 2010. More schools in Western Australian move to Independent Public statusWestern Australia's Education Minister Liz Constable has announced that 64 more public schools will take on 'Independent Public School' status from next year. See Minister's statement 20 July 2010. See also article in PerthNow and article in the Sydney Morning Herald, both 20 July 2010 and report on ABC News 21 July 2010. Expansion of Tasmanias library servicesTasmania's Minister for Education and Skills, Lin Thorp, has announced that the role of the state's libraries, and the skills base of library staff are being expanded. See Minister's statement 15 July 2010. Concern over high levels of stress faced by principals in VictoriaAn article in The Age 6 July 2010 reports on high levels of stress experienced by school principals in Victoria. Industrial Arts teachers in NSW call for continued support for technology teaching in schoolsMembers of the Institute of Industrial Arts Technology Education in NSW have argued against a reduction in the number of hours assigned to technology teaching in schools. See article in the Sydney Morning Herald 20 July 2010. NSW teachers struggling with number of special needs studentsA NSW parliamentary inquiry has been told that teachers in the state are struggling to cope with the number of students with special needs. See article in the Sydney Morning Herald 21 July 2010. Sharp rise in reports of suspected child abuse in QueenslandEducation Queensland has reported a sharp rise in the number of cases of suspected child abuse reported by school staff. However, only a small number of the reports have been confirmed. See article in The Courier Mail 23 July 2010. |