Education
Parents scrambling after Willoughby Council shuts down childcare centre
Parents are racing to find suitable childcare after the council voted to close an Out of School Hours (OOSH) centre with just five weeks’ notice despite community protest.
- by Kiran Gupta
Latest
Letters
Premier needs to listen and learn
We now have a premier who wants to be known as “the education premier”. How about consulting those who do the job every day, premier?
Sydney limo driver ‘couldn’t cope with the stress’ after sparking COVID outbreak, lockdown
A year after lockdown began, Michael Podgoetsky - also known as the limo driver who was patient zero - says he still thinks about the controversy every day.
- by Jordan Baker and Amelia McGuire
Exclusive
Plan for plunge pool at headmaster’s residence at King’s fuels tension
The news comes on top of fee rises for students and a fierce debate about a recent rowing trip by the headmaster to the UK.
- by Lucy Carroll and Jordan Baker
The Age photos of the week, June 24, 2022
The week in photos from our award winning staff photographers and regular contributing photographers at The Age.
Unvaccinated teachers allowed back to work from next term under new proposal
Unvaccinated teachers will be able to return to work from the first day of term three under a plan that could see hundreds of casual staff allowed back in classrooms from next month.
- by Lucy Carroll
Mia used to barely attend school. Now she has perfect attendance
Independent school Key College in Merrylands aims to get non-attenders back in the classroom.
- by Daniella White
Opinion
Teachers the fall guys for a failing system
Proposed changes to education policy - like performance pay for teachers - are unlikely to work if systemic problems and societal factors continue to be ignored.
- by Jenny Gore and Nicole Mockler
NSW Labor vows to deliver pre-kindergarten sooner than state government
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns has revealed the first of the policies he will take to next year’s state election, saying Labor would build 100 government preschools located alongside primary schools in its first four years in office.
- by Lucy Cormack
St Catherine’s parents enlist more schools to fight same-sex marriage statement
The Anglican Church shocked schools and parents when it revealed incoming principals at its schools would have to attest that they believe marriage is between a man and a woman.
- by Jordan Baker
Exclusive
Crowded classes: Schools promised four years ago yet to start construction
The NSW government four years ago announced that six new schools would be built. To date, none have moved beyond the planning stage.
- by Lucy Carroll
Opinion
When you fail teachers, you fail children
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the teacher shortages in NSW were so bad two years ago they were keeping her awake at night. If that was her response then, she must hardly be sleeping a wink right now.
- by Angelo Gavrielatos and Mark Northam
Exclusive
Universities on workplace watchdog’s wage theft priority list
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker says underpayments in the tertiary sector have become a systemic issue, which has been linked to the use of casual academics.
- by Angus Thompson
Teachers to hold ‘unprecedented’ strike as anger over shortages, pay boils over
The state’s public school and Catholic school teachers are set to stage an “extraordinary” joint 24-hour strike on June 30 as anger over staff shortages, mounting workload and pay escalates.
- by Lucy Carroll
King’s School defends regatta trip, says business class trips with spouses are standard
The King’s School has defended a controversial trip by its headmaster and his wife to the Royal Henley Regatta, west of London, after the First VIII qualified for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup.
- by Jordan Baker and Lucy Carroll
Grade-A schoolgirl admits role in teacher murder plot
The high-achieving 13-year-old responded to her friend’s messages, speculating on where to stab someone to sever an artery, with “that sounds fun” and “so cool”.
- by Heather McNeill and Holly Thompson
What we know so far about the NSW budget
From a $4.5 billion boost for the introduction of an extra year of education and a plan to radically overhaul stamp duty, here are some measures coming in Tuesday’s state budget.
- by Alexandra Smith, Tom Rabe and Lucy Cormack
Opinion
High-salary, key teaching roles must be part of education reform
Australia’s best teachers are under-utilised, and efforts to identify, encourage and reward them do not go far enough.
- by Jordana Hunter
Student accommodation like we’ve never seen before wins praise
Far from the dark and institutional spaces that typified types of co-housing in the past, two Sydney projects were driven by research about what their residents wanted.
- by Julie Power
Editorial
Little rest for the young and the homeless
The focus of domestic violence is commonly on women or young children affected, yet young people leaving home because of family conflict are one of the biggest groups of people in the so-called “hidden homeless” population.
- The Herald's View
National Trust accuses Education Department of lax attitude to heritage
The National Trust’s conservation director, David Burdon, says the state government had “no credibility” when it came to heritage protections for school buildings.
- by Daniella White
Special Report
Walking in two worlds: the Territory kids discovering a new school
Victorian school Haileybury has taken over a crucial Aboriginal boarding program in Darwin. Early results are promising, but the scale of the challenge is huge.
- by Adam Carey
Exclusive
Performance pay, revamped school hours: Premier flags education reforms
Premier Dominic Perrottet has flagged major changes to NSW education including the introduction of performance pay for teachers, saying the sector has not had the reform it needs because of too many vested interests.
- by Jordan Baker
‘Not like an essay for school’: Sydney teen published in prestigious medical journal
A family conversation at Christmas turned into an academic project that found music assisted people with pain and anxiety, reducing the need for painkillers.
- by Mary Ward
Opinion
Game-changing reform promises a better future for our children
The pandemic exposed inequalities in our society, which start in pregnancy. It has also shown that real policy decisions can be made quickly and can have positive benefits for families.
- by Sharon Goldfeld and Anne Hollonds
Exclusive
Anger at King’s School over plans to fly headmaster to prestigious British regatta
An old boys’ representative on The King’s School board quit over plans to fly the headmaster, his deputy and their wives first class to the Henley Royal Regatta.
- by Lucy Carroll and Jordan Baker
Teacher shortages could undermine plan for extra year of education
The NSW government’s universal pre-kindergarten reforms were met with praise from the early childhood sector, but experts warned more educators were needed.
- by Daniella White
Exclusive
Bondi school parents slam decision to ban outdoor play before class
A decision to restrict students from using the playground before school started has sparked an angry response.
- by Lucy Carroll
‘A game-changer’: NSW to introduce an extra year of education
In the biggest reform of schooling in a generation, the NSW government will offer five days per week of pre-kindergarten to every four-year-old by 2030.
- by Jordan Baker
Analysis
How Australia is failing its highly educated women
Australian women are among the most educated in the world. Why are they still so far behind when it comes to pay and opportunity?
- by Jordan Baker
Opinion
My all-girls education failed to give me the skills I now value most
An underlying assumption about all-girls schooling is that boys are an impediment to a girl achieving her potential. This shows an offensive distrust in both the strength of our girls and the humanity of our boys.
- by Anita Punton
Why do private girls’ schools outrank boys when it comes to the HSC?
The answers are complex and contested, but some say it’s because boys’ schools are more focused on all-round achievement.
- by Jordan Baker
Fee support for NSW preschoolers in $1.4 billion program
Parents who send their preschoolers to long day care will for the first time receive subsidies from the NSW government.
- by Alexandra Smith
‘My sacrifice until she’s an adult’: Parents reduce work to support year 12s
To help their children through the difficult final years of high school, a number of parents - mainly mothers - are scaling back their work and making themselves more available at home.
- by Wendy Tuohy
Exclusive
Boys falling far behind girls in HSC and at university
An analysis of academic results found being male was “greater than any of the other recognised disadvantages we looked at”.
- by Jordan Baker
Sydney students take lead to boost mental health, address online challenges
About 300 student leaders from 40 schools across Sydney last week gathered to learn how they could boost young people’s wellbeing during a student-led and designed conference.
- by Daniella White
Opinion
Why girls’ schools succeed at producing women who lead
More than half of the female independents in the new federal parliament attended a single-sex school. The result highlights the benefits of girls attending all-girl schools.
- by Loren Bridge
Opinion
‘Education’ is why federal voting patterns are changing
Education levels, particularly among women, and not income, are a key reason why voters have shifted away from the federal Liberal Party towards independents and Labor.
- by Ross Gittins
Exclusive
Parent says she was deceived by Scientology-linked ‘grammar’ school
A Melbourne primary school that was hiding its links to Scientology has now disclosed to prospective parents that it is teaching the educational methods of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
- by Ben Schneiders and Simone Fox Koob
Two inner west single-sex schools to merge into new co-ed college
Sydney Catholic Schools says the merger of two schools will cater to high demand for co-education options in Sydney’s inner west
- by Jordan Baker
Analysis
NSW has a principal problem that is difficult to fix
Many across senior ranks in and around the state’s education sector quietly admit there is a leadership quality issue.
- by Jordan Baker
Graphic content
Sufferer – or snowflake? What’s up with all the bullying claims?
Bullying is a loaded term that’s being levelled a lot these days. The righting of long-tolerated wrongs, or politically correct overreach?
- by Tim Elliott
Opinion
Why don’t you just chill, Mum? (Apparently this is not jumper weather)
Yes, it’s winter, but my son is dressed for the tropics.
- by Meena Evers
Sydney’s universities have record enrolments but falling teacher numbers
The University of Sydney has recorded the biggest increase in student-to-staff ratios after shedding hundreds of jobs but gaining almost 15,000 students.
- by Daniella White
Border closures blamed for Sydney’s top universities slip in global rankings
The latest rankings show there are still five Australian universities in the world’s top 50, despite all but one dropping position from last year.
- by Daniella White
WA universities rise in world rankings, with UWA at 90 on list
The Australian National University in Canberra retained top spot among Australian tertiary institutions but slipped from 27th to 30th and is now just three places ahead of Melbourne.
- by Adam Carey
Victorian universities buck national trend to rise in world rankings
All but one of Australia’s top universities slid down the international rankings this year, as their recognition among global academics and employers declined.
- by Adam Carey
Students flock to humanities degrees despite huge fee increases
The federal government tried to reduce the demand for humanities degrees at universities by hiking fees. It hasn’t worked.
- by Daniella White
Opinion
Wominjeka Melbourne! Why we need to teach kids First Nations languages
Australia should follow the lead of New Zealand and get serious about saving our Indigenous languages, with renaming places and teaching in schools to play a big part.
- by Nicholas Reece
Opinion
I stand with Kate Middleton (pre-schoolers are not meant to be tamed) and with Prince Louis (pageants are boring)
The backlash against the Duchess of Cambridge over her four-year-old son’s behaviour at the Queen’s Platinum Pageant is absurd.
- by Kerri Sackville