Coles is running it’s Sports for Schools campaign again in 2012

Last year Coles gave away over 7 million to 7500 schools around Australia. Joining up is simple.

Register now to be a part of the 2012 Coles Sports for Schools Program .

Make sure your school is registered, click here

Everyone loves to talk about the climate crisis. But talking alone isn’t going to stop the glaciers from melting. Or the rain-forests from disappearing. And each time adults just talk and don’t act, it’s up to us, the children, to take matters into our own hands. Quite literally. Plant-for-the-Planet is an organisation where kids all over the world plant trees as a sign of climate justice.

Register your school today. Help us save our planet

NAB Schools First is brought to life by NAB in partnership with the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) and Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).

What is NAB Schools First?At its heart, NAB Schools First brings together students, teachers, parents and community members to help young people grow. Launched in October 2008 by the Hon. Julia Gillard, MP, NAB Schools First is a national awards program pledging $15 million over three years.

The program provides:

# financial recognition of success in establishing effective
# school-community partnerships; and
# financial support to build stronger school-community partnerships.

In its first two years, 195 school-community partnerships have benefited from NAB Schools First with over $10 million in funding provided to enhance and develop these school-community partnerships.

Any school in Australia can apply for a NAB Schools First Award. To date, over 20% of Australian schools have applied for a NAB Schools First Award.

Read More about it here

Parents of Australia are being reminded to save their school resources and uniform receipts as up to 50% of such resources are now tax deductible.

The Government website, Education Tax Refund advises parents and caregivers of the items they can now claim.

This is a welcome package for all Australians suffering from increasing prices for all things educational, shoes, sporting equipment, tuition fees, voluntary contribution fees, book fees and everything else you can imagine.

Bullying. No way! (BNW) is an educational website for Australian school communities and the general public that commenced in June 2002. As well as providing information for individuals, the website is visited for its extensive and increasing range of online curriculum and other resources to support the medium term and long term prevention work of schools.

The website is developed and managed through the Safe and Supportive School Communities: Finding workable solutions for countering bullying, harassment and violence in schools (SSSC) project – a collaborative intiative involving all participating Australian education authorities: State and Territory government education systems, the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), the Independent Schools’ Council of

Australia (ISCA) and the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

The project is overseen by the Australian Education Systems Officials Committee (AESOC) and jointly funded by State and Territory government education systems and the Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

The work of the project is supported by teachers, parents, students, staff and curriculum officers throughout Australia.

The Queensland Department of Education, Training and the Arts (DETA) currently manages the web site and publishes the project materials on behalf of all participating Australian Education Authorities.

More Info

Portfolio: Education

Minister calls on parents and carers to get children to school
Communities must support school programs to make a difference

Education Minister Liz Constable said parents and carers must do much more to get their children to school after 2011 attendance figures showed too many students were still regularly missing public schooling.

Writing in today’s The West Australian, Dr Constable said that, despite concerted efforts by the State Government, principals and teachers to encourage regular school attendance, data continued to show that while some schools were making progress, overall attendance rates were static despite some individual schools showing gains.

Aboriginal student attendance was still of particular concern.

The Minister said parents, students, businesses, schools and the wider community needed to work together to improve the overall student attendance rate which remained stable at 90.93 per cent, and the Aboriginal student attendance rate of only 77.25 per cent.

“I am calling on all parents and communities to join with us as we try to lift school attendance rates,” she said.

“The schools with supportive communities, and parents who realise the real benefits of schooling for their children, are those where poor attendance records can be turned around.”

Dr Constable said, despite the overall lack of improvement, initiatives developed by some schools to boost student attendance were beginning to show results.

Visiting Yule Brook College in Maddington, which had been using positive reinforcement to improve attendance of its students, the Minister said all schools needed to look at their own student populations to examine how best to get students back to school.

“We know students who have poor attendance are disadvantaged severely in their future education and career prospects,” she said.

“When I launched the State Government’s Better Attendance, Brighter Futures strategy, I asked schools to implement local solutions to solve attendance problems with their communities.

“For example, after noticing that the regular attendance of girls was about half that of boys, Yule Brook College began a ‘Girls Academy’, which includes resilience and personal development programs. It has helped to nearly double the number of girls regularly attending school.

“Through the Clontarf Foundation, the Yule Brook Football Academy encourages Aboriginal boys to attend school with incentives such as outings, camps and football matches, and the school has worked hard to foster strong connections with families and encourage regular parent contact.

“These are innovative examples of a school which is working hard to get students to school but needs many more parents on board to help bring overall attendance up to an acceptable level.”

Dr Constable said a number of schools had also formed partnerships with local businesses to ensure they do not serve students during school time.

The Minister congratulated schools that had achieved notable improvements in student attendance in 2011.

“I am particularly pleased that 28 schools with 20 Aboriginal students or more achieved an Aboriginal student attendance rate of 90 per cent or higher,” she said.

“By working closely with disengaged Aboriginal students and their parents, Albany Primary School improved attendance of its Aboriginal students by nearly nine per cent; and Bertram, Curtin and Woodbridge primary schools all had improvements of more than five per cent.

“This shows what can be done but for too many schools this remains an elusive target and it requires support from parents all across WA to make sure students do not continue to miss out on their education.”

Fact File

Appendix 1 – 2011 attendance data
Appendix 2 – WA public school attendance information

Minister’s office – 6552 5700

Attachments

appendix1.pdf
appendix2.pdf

Most students attend more than three schools, and many across State borders
Award-winning new software allows teachers to monitor student mobility
Share learning programs across all school sectors in three States/Territories

Figures obtained from 285 remote schools near the Western Australian, Northern Territory and South Australian borders quantify the level of Aboriginal student transience for the first time, Education Minister Liz Constable revealed today.

“In June 2008, the Tri-border Attendance Strategy was launched,” Dr Constable said.

“This involved the use of a new live data system that allowed attendance, enrolment and learning information to be easily shared across public, Catholic and independent schools with the aim of addressing Aboriginal absenteeism and providing smoother transitions for students between schools.

“The transiency of Aboriginal families in northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia has long been the biggest issue impacting on the quality of education received by indigenous young people in these areas.

“Previously, the mobility of families meant schools were unable to provide continuous learning programs, and many students appeared to be lost from State and Territory systems.

“Now we have an accurate picture of the movements of Aboriginal families, we can continue to tailor our education system to meet their needs. The system allows us to track each student’s movement between schools.

“This Government believes that the one-size-fits-all education approach does not work for everyone. We need to make the system work for all, and a major aim is to improve the learning of Aboriginal students.

“This software allows teachers across all schools to share student learning programs, so teachers can help a student who arrives at a new school at any time to pick up where they left off.”

Data gathered by the Central Schools’ Systems database for the period February 2009 to December 2011 reveals that of 80,000 students:

one student attended nine schools
one student attended eight schools
two students attended seven schools
21 students attended six schools
121 students attended five schools
552 students attended four schools
2,270 students attended three schools.

Data for the period February 2009 to October 2011 shows that of 1,496 students:

641 have enrolled in schools across three State and Territory borders
483 were enrolled in WA and NT schools
46 enrolled in both SA and NT schools
91 enrolled at Catholic and public schools in the Kimberley.

“This comprehensive sharing of live data across sectors and jurisdictions is a first in Australia,” the Minister said.

“Participating schools are able to view and monitor the attendance and enrolment histories of students, regardless of where they have come from.

“The Central Schools’ Systems database is a valuable tool that we are using to help close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal achievement in education.

“The State Government aims to continue to rollout the system this year through schools in the Kimberley and Pilbara.”

Fact File

The Tri-Border Attendance Strategy won two awards at the recent Australian Regional Instructional Management Systems Learning Impact Awards (Australian Regional Winner and People’s Choice Award)
The strategy will be assessed by a panel of global experts for its ability to affect educational outcomes at the International Learning Impact Awards in Toronto in May
The strategy is managed by the Western Australian Department of Education

Minister’s office – 08 6552 5700

As we approach the Qld State Election, QLD parents are being invited to give their feedback through a series of public meetings being held during February

During these evenings the Government wants your feedback about the two options,

• Individual Trust Accounts for Education – an individual endowment that would mean every newborn child would have a nest egg valued between $7800 and $9500 when they turn 18 or;
• Dedicated Education Fund: an investment fund where the proceeds are reinvested by Government in education and training initiatives beyond the basics throughout the schooling years and potentially beyond.

Details for the six community forums are:

• Wednesday, 1 February – Cairns – Cairns State High School
• Tuesday, 7 February – Townsville – Townsville State High School
• Wednesday, 8 February – Brisbane South – Mount Gravatt State High School
• Wednesday, 8 February – Gold Coast – Varsity College
• Thursday, 9 February – Brisbane North – Rainworth State School
• Thursday, 9 February – Rockhampton – Rockhampton State High School.

All forums run from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

A full copy of the Governments Press Release and associated documents can be found in our forum section

Read it here

Every Queenslander can have a say on the State Government’s proposed multi-billion dollar Queensland Education Trust (QET) and how it should operate.

Education Minister Cameron Dick said six community forums would be held across the state from Wednesday, 1 February, to provide an opportunity for Queenslanders to talk about the mining royalties-funded QET.

“Ministers, including myself, will visit locations in Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Brisbane and the Gold Coast to talk to community members about the QET,” Mr Dick said.

“The State Government wants to ensure all Queenslanders have an opportunity to share their views on how we use the boom in our resources sector to transform the opportunities available to children.

“The QET would be established by taking a 50 per cent share of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) royalties.

“This money could then be invested for the future education and training of Queenslanders.

“Over the long term , the QET would control billions of dollars to support education and training initiatives, giving Queensland’s young people a flying start into education and the workforce.”

Mr Dick said two different operational models for the QET were proposed:

• Individual Trust Accounts for Education – an individual endowment that would mean every child born on or after 1 July 2012 would have a nest egg valued between $7800 and $9500 when they turn 18; or
• Dedicated Education Fund – an investment fund where the proceeds are reinvested by government in education and training initiatives beyond the basics throughout the schooling years and potentially beyond.

“We want people’s feedback about the QET and how it should operate,” Mr Dick said.

“For example, if individual endowment accounts are established, what eligibility criteria should apply?

“This is just one example of the questions we are asking Queenslanders,” Mr Dick said.
< br>“I look forward to meeting local community members at the forums and hearing what they think.

“We want as many people as possible to benefit from Queensland’s resources boom.”

Details for the six community forums are:
• Wednesday, 1 February – Cairns – Cairns State High School
• Tuesday, 7 February – Townsville – Townsville State High School
• Wednesday, 8 February – Brisbane South – Mount Gravatt State High School
• Wednesday, 8 February – Gold Coast – Varsity College
• Thursday, 9 February – Brisbane North – Rainworth State School
• Thursday, 9 February – Rockhampton – Rockhampton State High School.

All forums run from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

To learn more and RSVP for a community forum visit the Queensland Government website at www.qld.gov.au/educationtrust

Responses to the QET proposal paper can also be made online via the Get Involved website at www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au/gi /consultation/205/view.html; by emailing Education.Trust@premiers.qld.gov.au or by writing to: Education Trust, PO Box 15185, Brisbane 4002.

Consultation on the QET closes on Friday, 17 February.

Media contact: Minister for Education and Industrial Relations 07 3237 1000
24 January 2012

School social workers play an integral role in assisting students to be the best they can be, the Minister for Education & Skills Nick McKim, said today.

Officially opening the 2012 School Social Worker Conference, Mr McKim said social workers were vital in supporting students by bringing schools and families together.

“We want every student in our public education system to have the opportunity to achieve their potential in an environment where they feel safe, supported and happy,” Mr McKim said.

“Social workers, carers, families and communities all have an important role.”

Mr McKim said that the mental and emotional wellbeing of students was linked to learning participation and achievement and enabled successful educational pathways.

“Education must be tailored to the individual needs of each student, with their health and wellbeing considered as integral factors to their learning.

“School social workers are vital in supporting schools to provide happy, healthy and safe environments where students are equipped to reach their potential.

“They are responsible for mentoring, assisting and guiding our students, and contribute to the achievement of outcomes in Tasmanian education.”

The professional learning forum is an opportunity for Department of Education school social workers to network with colleagues from around the state, discuss relevant issues affecting schools and communities, update knowledge and listen to dynamic guest speakers.

Further information: Tasmanian Government Communications Unit

Phone: (03) 6233 6573