Across Australia, four, five and six-year-olds are feeling anxious, exhilarated, or possibly both. Their first day of ‘big school’ is imminent. Although this year goes by various names – prep, kindergarten, year K – there is one commonality: parental uncertainty ...
More »Swimming pool kiosks filled with junk food: study
Soon after the school year begins, it's time for the annual swimming carnival. But, as a new study from Deakin University has shown, all the calories burnt off by the kids in the pool are often quickly replaced by a ...
More »‘Autism epidemic’ driven by doctors diagnosing kids with mild symptoms
The so-called autism epidemic is being driven by doctors diagnosing more children with less severe symptoms, researchers say, not by more children being born with the condition. A study published in Autism Research, titled Evidence of a reduction over time ...
More »Youngest in class more likely to be medicated for ADHD
Researchers have found that the youngest children in classrooms are twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD as their older peers, raising concerns that kids are being medicated with amphetamine-based drugs for age-related immaturity. The study found that among ...
More »Add fun to maths and learning will multiply
Maths should be fun – that’s the message to teachers from one expert. Western Sydney University’s associate professor Catherine Attard, an expert in primary maths education, said fun is the best medicine for relieving maths boredom. “When children are actually ...
More »Communication between schools, parents key for managing type 1 diabetes
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated in 2014-15 that 158,000 Australians had type 1 diabetes. This is up from the same survey by the ABS in 2011-12, where 113,400 Australians were reported as having the condition. Furthermore, according to the ...
More »Private school costs skyrocket by 64 per cent
The parents of children born in 2017 may have to fork out $487,083 to put their child through K to 12 private schooling. This is the estimated national average bill for a private education by the latest iteration of the ...
More »Schools, parents urged to prepare for back to school asthma
Parents and teachers are being warned to be vigilant about asthma as they prepare for the new school year. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data shows there is a spike in emergency department visits due to asthma in the ...
More »Children given alcohol by parents less likely to binge drink later
Parents who give their children alcohol double their kids’ chances of taking up drinking but decrease the risk of them binge drinking, new research has found. The study followed 2,000 students in year 7, and their parents, for four years ...
More »Malek Fahd Islamic School to fight funding cut, again
Sydney’s Malek Fahd Islamic School will continue the fight for public funding, with its management now intending to lodge an appeal to the Federal Court. On December 23 2016, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) upheld the federal Education Department’s decision to ...
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