Most students spend the minimum recommended time (3 hours per week), on writing activities in their classrooms, with some teachers reporting students spend only 15 minutes and others 7.5 hours per week on writing practices. 
   Teachers place more time on teaching spelling than on any other writing activity; most teachers don't teach typing, and little attention is placed on teaching handwriting, planning and revision strategies. Read more

Australia hosts the oldest continuous culture in the world and recognition of its value is sparking interest in learning Indigenous languages and preserving them.
   All Aboriginal languages are currently considered endangered. There were once more than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages with over 750 dialects - but now only 40 are still spoken, and just 12 being learnt by children.
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If an organisation undergoes a lot of staff change, its recruitment processes will come under increased strain, and there may be pressure to dilute standards or to widen the pool of available candidates to expedite filling roles.
   Maintaining strong screening and selection practices designed to screen for abuse risk is an organisation's first line of defense in controlling who has access to children and vulnerable adults. Read more

Applications are open for this year's NGS Super Scholarship Awards giving education workers the chance to win one of six $5,000 scholarships.
   The NGS Super Scholarship Awards are designed to identify and fund ideas that create a positive impact and respond to challenges within education.
   2021 winner, Jennifer Greenland designed and constructed solar and wind charging stations at her school. Read more

Early learning helps kids to hit the ground running when they get to school proper and the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters – HIPPY – provides an inexpensive structured, home-based curriculum for families.
   It works too, 98% of graduates perform above average in abstract pre-numeracy skills, 79% perform above average in literacy skills, 90% of parents reported that their child was school-ready after HIPPY. Read more

Attention to wellbeing, and in particular, teacher wellbeing, has grown in recent years in the wake of emerging findings that associate positive wellbeing with a range of favourable life outcomes. As teachers play an increasingly significant role in the educational and psychological development of their students, it is the wellbeing of teachers that determines the degree to which they can support their students.
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