While policymakers are in the unenviable position of seemingly having to trade off between public health and children’s education, nonetheless it remains essential that they be held to account for their policy decisions. Evidence-based public policy is more important during a pandemic — not less.

Educators and early childhood services work hard every day to prevent, identify and respond to bullying between children and young people. This strategy focuses on strengthening responses to children’s bullying both inside and outside the school gates.

Many parts of Australia have been experiencing a long-running heatwave, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees in some areas. So what impact is this having on schools? And is it time for the government to roll out a national policy on heat protection? Research shows...

Aurukun School in Cape York, far north Queensland, closed in May this year after a series of violent episodes directed at teaching staff. The school is one of the Cape York Academy schools operating under the stewardship of prominent Indigenous leader, Noel Pearson. Pearson was...

The Aurukun campus (the school) of the Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy (CYAAA) is the hub of the Aurukun community. The teachers and staff of the school are dedicated and motivated by a collective desire to ensure the children of Aurukun become successful learners. Collectively...

ACECQA has published the second in its series of occasional papers, analysing one of the most challenging quality areas - Children’s Health and Safety. Quality Area 2 addresses one of the primary objectives of the National Quality Framework – to ensure the health, safety and...

Auditor-General’s comments In February 2015 I released my first audit following up on audit recommendations from 2012–13. The inaugural report was the basis for further follow-up audits to verify the information agencies provided. This report, focusing on the Department of Education and Training (DET) and...

This research project investigated the safety of students with cognitive disability in and around school.

Opportunities for play must be nurtured if children are to develop physically, emotionally and socially. While playground designs have recently become more complex, they do so against a background of increased community expectations of safer environments. Fortunately, research has shown that a substantial number of...

This National Safe Schools Framework builds on the original 2003 Framework and is based on the following overarching vision: All Australian schools are safe, supportive and respectful teaching and learning communities that promote student wellbeing. The Framework adopts a whole school approach to safety and...

School bullying attracted considerable attention worldwide as it became apparent that this widespread behavior was neither innocuous nor stamina-building but harmful and insidious. A considerable and growing body of research has examined the prevalence and consequences of bullying, and has evaluated the effectiveness of various...