Early Childhood Royal Commission may boost teaching opportunities

South Australia’s preschool teacher workforce may be due for a shakeup after the final report from the Early Childhood Royal Commission is released.

Playing catch up

Fewer than 1 in 5 Australian children who fall behind their peers in Year 3 catch up and stay caught up over the course of their school education.

Children can thrive in after school care

A pilot study shows how after-school care can play an important role in building children’s well-being and social connection. The program involves children in the design process and gives them a voice and role to shape their own experience.

The music of maths

Learning music and bringing music into maths lessons can help students improve their maths scores, according to an international meta-analysis of 55 studies testing the impact of music lessons, learning a musical instrument and integrating music into maths lessons on a student’s mathematical ability.

Pass go for maths skills

Playing board games like Monopoly and Snakes and Ladders can help improve children’s ability to count, do basic addition and compare the size of numbers.

Let the children play

Climbing trees, making mud pies, or simply playing outside, parents and educators know that being in nature is an important part of every childhood. But when it comes to messy or risky play, it’s a whole different story according to new research from the University of South Australia.

Community connections at rural public schools

A new report identifies the need for flexible policy approaches to meet the needs of rural and regional schools.

Arrested development

There are more children struggling with developmental difficulties than every before in Australia and better early childhood education is only part of the answer.

Play school

Brain imaging studies have shown that children grow more grey matter if they are stimulated by play, and other studies have demonstrated the developmental payback is all the greater when adults participate. NZ researchers have analysed the research in this area for a policy brief, concluding it’s a no-brainer to give caregivers every opportunity to maximise the fun.

Teach it yourself

There is a long tradition of parents and local communities starting their own schools if they feel what’s on offer is not suiting their families’ needs.

An F for school reports?

Schools must report on every pupil’s progress twice a year, but standardised reports have replaced handwritten evaluations, meaning parents may have little idea how well their child is doing.

Get muddy

Once upon a time children simply played outside, but now the same experiences of running around in the woods can be delivered to you for just a few hundred dollars a week through ‘bush kinder’.