The federal government has released a set of new national standards aimed at better protecting the 34,000 Australian children living in foster care. The draft national plan includes regular health checks and an education plan for children living in out-of-home ...

Young people want and need better access to health services, a group of aspiring parliamentarians has heard. The 90 high school age students gathered at NSW Parliament House on Monday for the 2010 YMCA NSW Youth Parliament to discuss issues ...

Anti-gambling advocates fear gaming venues are grooming children to gamble by providing arcade games mimicking poker machines. The so-called redemption games offer expensive prizes including digital cameras or televisions and are usually located just steps away from the adults-only gaming ...

Children in out-of-home care change schools often, repeat grades, drop out early and suffer higher rates of mental and physical health problems that limit their participation at school, a new report has found. Anglicare Victoria and Wesley Mission Victoria are ...

Young Australians might be more likely to rank climate change as a concern, but they lag behind their parents and grandparents in taking everyday steps to help the environment. The trend emerged in the quarterly Australian Social Trends report, released ...

School children will be better placed to understand and respond to natural disasters through a new interactive computer program. Attorney-General Robert McClelland, whose responsibilities include national emergency management, recently unveiled the new resource to a group of Years 4 and ...

Gardening can help boost a child's development and make them happier, UK research suggests. A study commissioned by Britain's Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) found that pupils in schools that encourage gardening become more resilient, confident and live healthier lives. Researchers ...

A public school "mysteriously" received $400,000 from the NSW government after it embarked on a campaign for more classrooms, an inquiry into the school buildings program has heard. The handout has been described as "hush money" by Opposition Leader Barry ...

The public servant responsible for rolling out school building upgrades across NSW has defended their cost, saying the infrastructure is good value for money. A NSW Upper House inquiry into the federal government's Building the Education Revolution program (BER) is ...

Three-quarters of Australian parents believe video games have a positive effect on their children, claims a new survey commissioned by video game makers THQ. However, half of parents are divided on whether video games are a true social experience for ...