industry & reform
A new ‘ go to school ’ campaign will run until the end of July . Picture : David Swift / NCA NewsWire .
‘ Vital ’
NSW launches new campaign to up class attendance
By Emilie Lauer
The NSW Government has announced a new campaign to lift public school attendance rates after new showed students have been missing more classes since Covid .
In May , state premier Chris Minns launched an ‘ Every Day Matters ’ campaign to help lift classroom attendance levels back to pre-Covid conditions .
“ It ’ s our job to ensure we get kids back into classrooms where they belong , learning and reaching their full potential ,” Mr Minns said .
The campaign will run across social media , TV streaming services and radio and aims to change the behaviours of parents and students to reduce absenteeism .
State education department data shows students ’ attendance has declined over the past few years .
In 2022 , students averaged 85.7 per cent of attendance - a drop from 90.2 per cent recorded in 2019 .
Public schools across the state have been implementing new strategies to boost students ’ attendance , including rewarding students who come to school daily .
Governmental figures for Term 1 have slightly increased , with the overall attendance rate reaching 89.4 per cent .
On average , public schools in NSW have a target of a 95 per cent attendance rate .
Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said students going to school every day have better learning capacity and more opportunities for their future .
“ The data shows that NSW students who develop positive attendance behaviour in Year 7 are , on average , three months ahead in their learning by Year 9 ,” she said .
“ Good attendance is vital to help students develop a sense of belonging , maintain friendships and do well in their studies .” ■
‘ Staggering ’
Students ’ sneaking vapes into Aussie classrooms .
By NCA NewsWire
Three teenage girls have admitted they are so addicted to vapes that they sneak puffs inside the classroom and get withdrawals without them .
It comes as a shocking new report released last week confirmed fears that disposable vapes contained
dangerous chemicals , such as lead and formaldehyde .
The three students – who all wished to remain anonymous – admitted that knowing e-cigarettes contained harmful chemicals was not enough for them to kick their addiction .
“ I know there ’ s harmful chemicals in it , but it ’ s not going to stop ( people ) from smoking it ,” one of the girls told 7 News Spotlight on Sunday .
“ Pretty much all my friends do it and they are all heavily addicted ,” another said .
They said students regularly got away with sneaking a puff from behind their hand in class while their teachers ’ backs were turned .
One of the girls said her addiction had become so intense that she suffered withdrawals if she went without it .
“ I get very anxious , I get the shakes , headaches ,” she described .
They said students who were unable to get away with secretly smoking at home would often return to school with a desperate craving on a Monday morning .
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ordered the groundbreaking report on vapes after growing concerns the “ lolly ” flavoured vapes were appealing to children .
The chemical composition of 17 vape samples , including strawberry watermelon ice , cherry ice , summer breeze and apple surge , all formed part of the lab study .
“ These results are staggering ,” Ms Palaszczuk said .
“ There are people who might think vaping is safer than smoking or , indeed , harmless .
“ These test results should make those people think again .”
All of the samples were found to contain formaldehyde and acetaldehyde , the former being classified with the potential to cause cancer in humans .
Arsenic and zinc were also found to be present in all of the e-liquids , while other heavy metals found included lead , mercury , nickel , chromium , aluminium , iron , barium , manganese , copper , strontium and vanadium .
It is illegal in most states to purchase vaping devices containing nicotine without a prescription .
The federal government announced a $ 737 commitment to crack down on the use of tobacco and vaping products in Australia , with a focus on banning importation . ■ educationreview . com . au | 11