Latest news with #Naplan
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Coalition coy on curriculum changes despite Dutton's claims of student ‘indoctrination'
The Coalition has refused to detail changes it would make to the national curriculum after Peter Dutton said students were being 'indoctrinated' and pledged in his budget reply speech to 'restore' a curriculum focused on 'critical thinking, responsible citizenship, and common sense'. Dutton has made repeated references to the education system in recent weeks, including floating on Sky News placing a 'condition' on funding to ensure kids weren't 'guided by some sort of an agenda that's come out of universities' and pledging 'we need to stop the teaching of some of the curriculum that says that our children should be ashamed of being Australian' in the Channel 7 debate. Guardian Australia asked the shadow education minister, Sarah Henderson, for an interview to detail the Coalition's plans, after she flagged on the ABC at the beginning of April there would be 'more to say' on the curriculum during the campaign, but she repeatedly declined. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Instead, she provided a statement which contrasted with Dutton's strong language that 'classrooms should be for education, not indoctrination'. Henderson said the Coalition was 'strongly focused on getting back to basics to raise education standards in our schools', pointing to declining Naplan proficiency in literacy, maths and science. 'Students learn best when taught explicitly, which is why the adoption of explicit instruction and other evidence-based teaching methods is so vital,' she said. 'Primary principal organisations from every sector say the national curriculum is impossible to teach, but Labor has failed to listen to the concerns of educators. If elected, we will work hard to listen and consult in order to drive practical, positive improvements in our schools.' Henderson also pointed to a recent Coalition announcement to provide $100m to build and expand boarding schools for Indigenous students, and an early years literacy program for children living in disadvantaged communities. The National Catholic Education Commission welcomed the boarding school funding announcement. It has been lobbying throughout the campaign for the major parties to allow schools to preference the employment of staff who support their religious worldview. 'Maintaining the authenticity of our mission is critical to the educational, pastoral and spiritual care we provide and our schools must be able to continue to employ staff who support that mission,' its executive director, Jacinta Collins, said. Earlier this month, the education minister, Jason Clare, wrote to Collins and the CEO of Independent Schools Australia (ISA), warning a Coalition government could 'use funding as a lever to determine what students in non-government schools are taught'. 'This shows an absolute abrogation of responsibility when it comes to the role of the majority government funder of the non-government school sector,' he wrote. When asked about the letter, the CEO of ISA, Graham Catt, said the body strongly believed 'governments should not dictate how teachers deliver education in the classroom'. 'Federal funding already carries requirements around standards, accountability, and curriculum frameworks,' he said. 'Teachers are the experts and they know their students and school context.' Catt said the curriculum was already subject to regular review and too many changes could be 'highly problematic' due to the resourcing and time it took to implement. Any reforms, he said, must 'respect sectoral diversity, school autonomy and the diverse needs of all learners'. The national curriculum was last reviewed and updated in 2021-2022, under a federal Coalition government. Executive officer of the Australian Association of Christian Schools, Vanessa Cheng, said there should be less government regulation and oversight in schools, not more. But she said the curriculum had scope to be decluttered, adding 'ideological overlays' were making it cumbersome and it didn't tailor to individual school contexts. 'It needs to be fit for purpose and adaptable for different types of education philosophies,' she said. 'I feel [the curriculum agreed to in 2022] didn't give a strong sense of identity, in hope and confidence in who we are as a nation. 'It's not about culture wars, it's about pride as Australians … There's been an emphasis on negative parts of our history rather than celebrating positives. I would hope that balance would go back other way.'
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Australia news live: Dutton criticises PM's ‘shocker' after Trump tariff decision; suspicious packages wash up on Queensland beaches
14:56 Naplan testing begins across Australia for 2025 Naplan – loathed by students and loved by data analysts – has kicked off across the nation, with 1.3 million students across more than 9,400 schools expected to take part in the annual tests. This year, data will be able to be comparable after proficiency levels were changed in 2023 and testing was moved to March, not May. Preliminary results will be distributed from early Term 2, with full results to be published by early August. Schools affected by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in Queensland and NSW will have the option to delay testing until next Monday. Australian Catholic University associate professor in teaching education, Steven Lewis, welcomed the more timely delivery of results but cautioned against teaching to Naplan. Teaching to any test is never going to work to create long-lasting, rich learning among students. Evidence-based practices addressing the needs of each student are always the way to go. The testing window will end on 24 March.
The Guardian
10-03-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred: what we know about flooding, roads, public transport and services disruption
As ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred dissipates, parts of northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland are still facing severe weather, with roads closed, some schools shut, and public transport limited in the worst-affected areas. Here's what you need to know. As of 10am AEST, there were still several flood warnings in place in Queensland, including: Flood watch for south-east Queensland, Condamine and Border rivers Major flood warning for the Bremer River and Warrill Creek Major flood warning for the Laidley Creek and moderate flood warning for the Lockyer Creek Major flood warning for the Logan and Albert rivers Moderate flood warning for the Stanley River and minor flood warning for the Upper Brisbane River Initial minor flood warning for the Mary River Initial minor flood warning for the Upper Condamine River Minor flood warning for the Brisbane River downstream of Wivenhoe Dam Minor flood warning for the Maroochy and Noosa rivers Flood warning for the Nerang and Coomera rivers Final flood warning for the Cooper Creek In northern NSW, there is a severe weather warning for the north-west slopes and plains, northern tablelands, parts of the northern rivers, and mid-north coast districts. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Flood alerts include: Flood watch for parts of the north-west and central west catchments Minor to major flood warning for the Tweed River Moderate flood warning for the Wilsons River Moderate to major flood warning for the Clarence River Minor to moderate flood warning for the Bellinger River Minor to moderate flood warning for the Macleay River Final flood warning for the Hastings River Moderate flood warning for the Orara River Final flood warning for the Brunswick River and Marshalls Creek Minor flood warning for the Nambucca River Minor to major flood warning for the Richmond River More information can be found on the Bureau of Meteorology's website. On Monday morning, the BoM said there was an area of low pressure lying across south-east inland Queensland, causing severe weather across south-east Queensland and north-east NSW. There will continue to be heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms and significant flooding through much of those areas. Rainfall in the most-affected parts could reach as much as 150mm in 24 hours on Monday in Queensland and NSW. There are three evacuation centres open in Brisbane. A list of evacuation centres in northern NSW can be found here. A number of roads in the two states in weather-affected areas remained closed. Road closures for Queensland can be found here. Road closures for NSW can be found here. Several schools in NSW and Queensland were closed on Monday. State governments will be updating websites on future closures throughout the day. The list of NSW school closures is here. The list of Queensland school closures is here. The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said on Sunday that Naplan tests, scheduled for Wednesday this week, will be rescheduled to Monday 17 March for schools closed by the floods, and this will be communicated to parents and carers. For schools still open the tests will go ahead as scheduled. In Queensland, most train lines are running to a Sunday timetable while repairs are conducted. Some lines, including the Gold Coast, remain closed. A number of bus services are suspended in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Kilcoy, Lockyer Valley, and Logan, among others, while other services are running to varied timetables. Brisbane ferry and light rail services have been suspended. There has been a partial restoration of public transport services in northern NSW. As of Monday morning, there were still 230,000 homes and businesses without power in NSW and Queensland. Authorities said it could take up to a week to restore power in some places, because of changing weather, debris and dangerous conditions. There were still 192,000 NBN connections on fixed and fixed wireless out of action on Monday, including 185,000 in south-east Queensland, and 11,000 in northern NSW. As of Monday morning, Telstra reported 154 mobile sites, 7,100 landline services and 1,700 ADSL services offline. Optus reported 267 mobile tower sites offline, as of Monday morning. Vodafone reported 201 sites down, as of Monday morning. Read more of Guardian Australia's Tropical Cyclone Alfred coverage: Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred update: residents warned to head for high ground as flood waters rise Almost 230,000 properties without power as ex-tropical cyclone brings more dangerous rain Valerie drove her bright red Suzuki into the eye of Alfred. Now she's heading home to the northern rivers
