Should kids at least do a little bit of school work over the holidays?
Miljko/Getty Images As the summer holidays begin, parents may feel concerned their children will “forget how to spell their own names” during the long school break. Or there may be worries about forgetting times tables, slipping reading levels and generally falling behind. Parents may wonder if it’s better to maintain some kind of academic routine […]
Uh oh, my child just discovered the truth about Santa
GettyImages ArtMarie/ Getty Images Christmas can be a magical time of year for kids. Writing wish-lists, seeing Santa at the shops, leaving carrots for the reindeer out on the porch. And then of course, the presents under the tree. So what happens when the penny drops and a child realises the guy who brings toys […]
Not sure you picked the right uni or TAFE course? 6 ways to help you think it through
Yevhenii Ometsynskyi/Unsplash For the class of 2025, exams are done and results are coming in. Attention is turning to plans for next year. With the benefit of a bit more free time and brain space, some students might be wondering if they have made the right decisions about courses. Perhaps your results have made you […]
Leave notes, play games, go shopping: how to boost your child’s multilingual skills these holidays
Kamaji Ogino/ Pexels About 5.7 million Australians speak a language other than English at home. Most multilingual children spend their school days speaking English and during term-time, home languages often take a back seat. So holidays – particularly the long summer break – offer a chance to hear and speak their heritage languages more often. […]
How can parents talk to their kids about the Bondi terror attack?
As the community begins to grapple with the horror and tragedy of the Bondi shootings on Sunday, children will likely have questions. Parents may also be wondering how to talk to their little kids and teenagers about what happened. I am a clinical psychologist and researcher with a focus on children, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. […]
New research shows it’s never too late to help students learn to read – even in high school
Jonathan Cooper/ Unsplash Learning to read is a complex process. It requires children to master and integrate multiple skills, from mapping abstract symbols to the right speech sounds to understanding what all the words mean. This is why reading is one of the first and most important things children are taught in the early years […]
Year 12 results are being released. What if you don’t want to share your ATAR with friends and family?
Cottonbro Studio/ Pexels For the class of 2025, the next week may be particularly nerve wracking, as ATAR or Australian Tertiary Admission Rank results are released online. Victoria is the first state to release results on Thursday. Some students will be overjoyed with their ATARs and will be happy to share them publicly. Newspapers will […]
On a typical school day, 11% of students are absent. How can Australia fix this?
On a typical school day in Australia this year, about 11% of students were absent. In 2014, the figure was 7%. Two in five students now miss about a day of school each fortnight on average. This makes improving school attendance an urgent, national priority. In a new policy brief, the Grattan Institute details how […]
How important is the ATAR? 30% of Year 12s who go to uni don’t use it
Year 12 Students across Australia will receive their ATARs this week and next. It’s a significant moment, with the ATAR often dominating media coverage of schooling at this time of year. But as the 2025 results come in, it’s worth taking a closer look at the ATAR’s evolving role and relevance. Our new report looks […]
NZ needs more entrepreneurs. Will its new tertiary strategy reward real risk takers?
Getty Images The government’s recently released Tertiary Education Strategy 2025–2030 signals a shift towards harnessing the sector to address New Zealand’s long-standing productivity issues. But the strategy and its goals aren’t necessarily aligned. Universities and polytechnics are now expected to promote innovation, accelerate commercialisation and build significantly stronger entrepreneurial capabilities. Measuring those things will be […]