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Recent headlines . . .
International growth rates set to compromise
education standards
NATIONAL - IDP Education chief executive
Tony Pollock warns that Australia cannot continue to accept
overseas students at such an unsustainable rate, without
causing damage to our educational standards.
Read
newspaper report
Competitive school sports 'in jeopardy'
SA - A court case over a student injured
during a supervised school activity may have jeopardized
competitive sport in schools. In an affidavit from the Education
Minister, Jane Lomax-Smith, she writes that "all sporting
and outdoor activities conducted by the (Education) Department
that contain a competitive element" would need to be
reviewed. Sports including tennis, football, cricket, netball,
dance and bushwalking could be under threat.
Read
newspaper report
Big construction companies 'gouge' school
stimulus funds
NSW - The New South Wales opposition
claims that up to a quarter of the school stimulus package
is 'gouged' by big construction companies, with some schools
paying building companies up to $250,000.
Read
newspaper report
Money 'better spent'
NT - The Australian Education Union is
unhappy with the Northern Territory Government for using
$2.5 million to evaluate its new Indigenous education policy.
Union President for the Northern Territory, Rodney Smith,
believes that "$2.5 million could be better spent".
Read
newspaper report
Call for states to make complaints public
NATIONAL - The Federal Opposition is
insisting the Government force the states to make public
the complaints made about the $16 billion school stimulus
project.
Read
newspaper report
Gillard denies claims of being over budget
NSW- Education Minister Julia Gillard
has completely denied claims that more than 50 per cent
of New South Wales school building projects have gone over
budget.
Read
newspaper report
Extending the suspension period
ACT - A legislation to extend the amount
of time a school principal can suspend a student, without
referring to the Education Department, has been denied after
the details of the changes couldn't be decided upon.
Read
newspaper report
Catholic school teachers to strike
QLD - Catholic school teachers across
Queensland are set to strike over pay on the 28 October.
Read
newspaper report
Breathalyzer ball
QLD - St Edmund's College in Ipswich,
a Queensland school, introduces random breath tests as a
condition of entry to its school dance. They will also test
students randomly throughout the night to ensure the event
stays trouble free.
Read
newspaper report
Opinion . . .
'Driven by indignation at injustice'
NATIONAL - Julia Gillard's account on
her education and the schooling opportunities of Australian
children, from a series of articles about what it means
to be 'on the Left in Australia in 2009'.
Read
newspaper report
Good news . . .
Students win bikes to ride to school
VIC - Students received free bicycles
as part of the Victorian Government's 1000 bike Ride2School
giveaway, a program which aims to tackle Australia's obesity
epidemic.
Read
newspaper report
International
Ministers 'excessive meddling' distracts
teachers: Tesco boss
UK - The boss of the largest private employer
in the United Kingdom and member of the National Council
for Educational Excellence, Sir Terry Leahy, has said in
a speech in London that education standards in state schools
are 'woefully low'. Sir Terry also accused Ministers of
'excessive meddling' which causes teachers to be distracted
from their job.
Read
newspaper report
Report cards to improve
the success of students
CANADA - Toronto District School Board have proposed to
make report cards more meaningful to students and parents,
by making technical language easier to understand and translating
them for students whose parents were born outside Canada.
Read
newspaper report
ACEL Noticeboard
How can corporate Australia support our schools?
Business Class: How Can Corporate Australia Support
Our Schools? is to be held at Melbourne's iconic
NGV International on October 20 and will feature a panel
of leading figures from some of the most influential and
respected organisations operating in the Australian education
landscape today.
The panel put in place by Spheres of Influence to debate
the issue of how corporate Australia can support our schools
features:
Prof. Brian J Caldwell, Managing Director, Educational Transformations;
Adam Smith, CEO, Foundation for Young Australians; Dr Steve
Holden, Managing Editor, Teacher Magazine; Jenny Lewis,
CEO, Australian Council of Educational Leaders, and Rupert
Macgregor, Executive Director, Australian Council of State
School Organisations.
''The aim is to disseminate the major issues on the
subject of corporate Australia's involvement in education
and create some tangible outcomes to help shape the future
of a subject that is gaining an increasing amount of attention
and has a significant bearing on the future education of
Australia's children and young people,' said Patrizia Torelli,
Managing Director, Spheres of Influence International.
The event comes at a time when the answer to the question
of corporate Australia's role in supporting our schools
is yet to be answered by Government. Speaking recently on
the
topic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education
The Hon Julia Gillard MP said: ''Clearly, we [The Rudd
Government] believe the engagement of corporate Australia
with schools has to be on the basis of making a genuine
difference, not on the basis of product promotion [...].
But I do believe that corporate Australia can play a role
in supporting our schools.'
It is critical that in the next few months the education
sector takes steps to develop a concerted viewpoint on how
corporate Australia can support our schools and Business
Class provides a significant opportunity to foster dialogue
on the subject.
Spheres of Influence aims to produce tangible outcomes with
which to move forward and ensure Australia is a world leader
in the responsible and mutually beneficial engagement of
the corporate world with schools.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting: http://www.sofiibusinessclass.eventbrite.com/
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