Newcastle schools didn't make the funding cut

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp is calling for Premier Gladys Berejiklian to honour the Gonski funding agreement to schools before Newcastle lose more than $5 million from their budgets.

According to figures obtained by the NSW Teachers Federation under Freedom of Information laws, Lambton High will lose around $670,000, and Hunter School of Performing Arts will lose nearly $620,000.

Across NSW, more than $846 million due to be delivered in 2018-19 for public schools will be slashed under the federal government.

Tim Crakanthorp can't understand how the Premier can praise a government and a budget which means schools lose out.

"The Hunter is losing out and it's simply not good enough. This government is absolutely flush with money from huge stamp duty income as well as selling off our assets at bigger than expected sale prices. They really should be putting money into health and education," he said.

Tim Crakanthorp says as a father himself, he's very disappointed in the Government's commitment to Gonski.

HSC Students At Some Hunter Private Schools Exploiting Loophole

BY IAN CROUCH

 A large number of private school students in the Hunter are being classed as disabled, allowing them to receive special treatment in their HSC exams.

The Daily Telegraph reports nearly a third of Year 12 students at Belmont Christian College and one in five at Newcastle Grammar were given disability provisions last year.

It entitles those who demonstrate pain, anxiety disorder or concentration issues to receive extra time, breaks or someone to help them read or write.
 

Board of Studies data shows some elite schools are applying for disability assistance at double or triple the rate of public schools.

The NSW Teachers Federation has accused private schools of "gaming" the system to improve student outcomes so they can publish artificial HSC results for marketing purposes.

A spokesman for Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli says the Board of Studies used a stringent process to assess applications for special tratement.

Teachers Losing Out in Cessnock Jail Expansion Plans

BY BRIDGET GUNN

Multiple teachers are set to lose their jobs in the controversial 1,000 bed expansion of Cessnock jail.

These proposed changes to the numbers of teachers employed at the jail have raised serious concerns, as the proposed teaching staff will be untrained and not fully qualified.

The government has made plans to cut the 9.5 full time teaching positions back to 2 positions as part of an employment outsourcing scheme.

Phillip Chadwick from the NSW Teachers Federation says these changes will have serious long term effects, as inmates won't learn skills necessary to reintegrate into society.

"One third of the people who might find themselves in prison have very poor language, literacy and numeracy skills, and it is vital that they have the right people in front of them giving them those skills so that when they do leave prison they can reintegrate and make their way back into society," says Chadwick.

"One of the key things that the education systems currently do is they interrupt that cycle of long term generational crime, and so it is vital to have highly trained teachers in place to break that chain."

"Under the new system, the people doing the education in our prisons won't have a proper teaching qualification, it will be a Certificate Four qualification and this is a real disaster for rehabilitation in our correctives services."

An immediate action training drill at Cessnock Jail
Source: The Newcastle Herald