We're very happy to invite you to become a friend of the Australian Parents Council. You can join us as an individual, a school or an organisation. You don't have to be part of a particular school sector and can come from anywhere in Australia. The single most important qualification for becoming a friend of the APC is that you are passionate about education.

As an organisation, we believe that active and empowered parents and carers can, and do, make a significant difference to children’s achievement.

We have a proud tradition of supporting and advocating for parents going back to 1962. We are not-for-profit, non-denominational and non-party political, funded by parents and supported by government. We are not controlled or appointed by a school sector, although we do work closely with government and education providers. We are fiercely independent, as we believe this enables us to provide an authentic parent voice. 

We provide a genuine parent perspective on education issues, and we are widely consulted.

We advocate at a national level for:

• school choice
• parent voice
• equity in access and funding
• quality education for all students.

Friends will go onto our mailing list to receive all our newsletters, and other publications like media releases and reports. We will also invite our friends to share their insights and feedback on a wide range of issues affecting school parents.

Experts warn that the mental health of thousands of young people in Australia is at risk, in particular those in Year 12, as study stress skyrockets to unprecedented levels due to COVID-19-related disruption and uncertainty.

In January 2020, a nationally representative survey of young people by youth mental health service ReachOut found that around 30 per cent of young people rated study stress as one of their top concerns. When surveyed again in July 2020 this had increased to more than 38 per cent of young people surveyed.

Young people are seeking online support in record numbers to help them cope with study stress as end-of-year exams and assessments approach. Since COVID-19 restrictions were first put in place (16 March 2020) to 31 July 2020, almost 28,000 people sought help for study stress via ReachOut.com, a 250 per cent increase year on year.

ReachOut has also seen a spike in demand from parents looking for support to help their teen manage study stress, up 430 per cent year on year. Online content to support educators help their students deal with study stress and the uncertainty created by COVID-19 is up 320 per cent year on year.

CEO of ReachOut, Ashley de Silva said the uncertainty and disruption of COVID-19 has put exam and study stress into overdrive.

“Whether you’re a student, parent or educator COVID-19 and related restrictions are having a very real and significant impact on schooling, and causing distress and concern. Our research is showing students are primarily concerned about uncertainty about the future, work and money.

“We’re encouraging young people to take a proactive approach to study stress and reminding young people that it is particularly important to stay connected during Year 12. In particular, for those students that may be having trouble sleeping, unable to concentrate or experiencing mental health impacts, we want them to know that a range of support is available.

“We know that the majority of young people will go online for support, and that they value peer support and hearing from other young people having similar experiences.”

ReachOut’s COVID-19 research with young people saw study stress emerge as a significant issue in March this year with the disruption to schooling and the shift to learning online. In April 2020, ReachOut launched a COVID-19 specific study support hub for students, parents of teenagers and educators to help deal with the challenges of studying during COVID-19.

For more information visit ReachOut.com.

As Victorian schools, teachers and students adapt to the pressures of stage four lockdowns, questions have been raised about how inclusive education can be provided during remote learning.

Inclusive education means providing high-quality schooling that's fair and equitable for all students. It means every child is welcomed and valued without exception.

However, COVID-19 has created, and in some cases exacerbated, educational divides based on postcodes nationwide. Some students in virus-free zones have returned to face-to-face learning, while most Victorian students remain confined to their homes.

Monash University researchers have provided some suggested guidance for schools, teachers and parents to help students cope during these challenging times away from the classroom and familiar faces.

Monash Professor of Inclusive Education Umesh Sharma said teaching learners with a range of diversities including disability isn't easy, as it required teachers to make ongoing adjustments and modifications.

But Professor Sharma says there are simple ways schools and teachers can support students who have additional needs and highlights the importance of working with the student's family.

• Work with the learner and the family, be a good listener, and find out ways to provide support.
• Communicate frequently with families to identify potential barriers they may be facing to support their children with their schooling.
• Reduce rather than increase schoolwork. Consider linking school activities to home routines to make it easier and more meaningful.

If you are looking for information, guidance and inspiration on home schooling and educational activities you can do with children during the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond, check out our website.

We have put together lots of useful and unusual resources, sources of sound advice and links to official state, territory and federal government information to try and make things a little easier and perhaps even fun for parents and kids.

University of Southern Queensland researchers are looking for parents with a child in early years of school to take part in a new study investigating the impact of COVID-19 home learning on children and families.

The coronavirus outbreak sparked a massive home learning experiment as students, teachers and parents across the country rushed to adapt to remote schooling.

With the majority of students now back at school, the researchers are investigating the impact of COVID-19 home learning on children and families.

Principal investigator Michele Wright said there were many lessons to be learned from the recent experience.

“Everyone was caught off guard by how quickly COVID-19 impacted every aspect of our lives, but it also highlighted the importance of continuing education," she said.

“When schools started closing in March and remote learning was rolled out, parents were forced to take an expanded role in their child’s education while balancing work and other tasks

“It caused concerns for many who were unprepared to begin at-home schooling and struggled to adequately support their child’s learning needs at home.”

Mrs Wright said the study would initially focus on the home learning experiences of families with children in the early years of schooling, from kindergarten to Year 2.

“This period of a child’s life is arguably the most critical time for their development, not just for their academic literacy and numeracy skills, but also other important social and learning skills,” she said.

Do you have a child with a disability? If so the government would like to hear from you as part of a review of Disability Standards for Education.

The government would like to find out if the current standards are working well, supporting students, and see what improvements can be made. It would like to hear the stories and education experiences of current, former and future students with disability, their families and carers, supporters, community, and educators – anyone who is interested in the rights of students with disability.

They'd especially like to hear from families with children in early childhood education and care and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

We encourage all parents to have your say. It's really important that parent voices and perspectives are properly represented in this review.

There are several options available to take part. You can:

• complete an online questionnaire
• make a submission
• participating in a webinar
• volunteer to take part in a focus group, one-on-one interview, or online discussion.

The community consultation is open until 25 September 2020. 

Our new Vocational Education and Training Mythbusters video is now available.

Our recent work-related education and training webinar for parents is also available to view via our website, where you will also find more information and our free VET Infographics, also designed to help inform you about the wide range of opportunites on offer to young people.

The webinar covered everything from how to talk to your teen about careers, to finding out more about the options available and what different training organisations do, including different courses and apprenticeships, and what support is provided, how to identify a quality training provider and how and when to apply. We covered a lot of ground!

If you'd prefer to listen to the webinar on the go, simply download it as an MP3 file direct from YouTube.

Or you can simple view the webinar here.

We have had some great feedback in our post-event survey.

Recent disturbing content of a suicide shared on TikTok and other platforms has graphically illustrated the dangers of social media use by children and young people.

In particular TikTok has a younger usership than many other platforms and features a lot of interactive content that is the current craze. But many parents have now become accutely aware of how damaging content is 'hidden' online, disguised behind innocuous images of kittens etc, to maximise 'shock factor'.

The recent suicide content led to eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, and National Suicide Prevention Adviser to the Prime Minister, Christine Morgan, to urge all Australians to avoid viewing or sharing it.

In a media release they said: 'The deeply distressing content has gone viral across global online platforms, and is currently being shared by Australians.  

Ms Grant confirmed that contact has been made about the reports with the major social media companies.

“We will continue working closely with them to get the video removed expeditiously and to prevent re-upload. We continue to monitor the situation,” Ms Grant said. 

“We urge Australians who encounter this content to report it immediately to the social media platform they’ve seen it on, or to eSafety at esafety.gov.au/report/illegal-harmful-content. 

“This is yet another example of social media platforms struggling to incorporate safety protections at the core of their product offerings. To prevent this from happening in the first place, they need clear processes and procedures, including the technology tools to detect and remove harmful content much more quickly.  In situations like this, it becomes even clearer that safety by design and cross-platform sharing of hashes of harmful content is critical. 

“We advise parents, carers and educators against drawing young people’s attention to the issue unnecessarily, so as not to peak curiosity – once you see this horrific content, it’s impossible to unsee. Instead, keep an eye on those who are more vulnerable and at-risk, and check in with them about their interactions on and offline, help them build their digital resilience and let them know they can come to you for help if they see graphic or distressing content online.”

eSafety has developed a series of tips for parents to help limit young people’s exposure to harmful content online:

• Engage in your child’s online activities – ask what apps, sites and games they’re using and make sure they’re age-appropriate
• Use parental controls on devices to help limit what your child is exposed to
• Help them report and block upsetting content they see on social media sites or apps
• Let them know they can come to you about anything upsetting they see online
• Head to esafety.gov.au to find out the latest advice on apps, social media and online safety issues'

Parents, carers and grandparents of children aged 5-17 are invited to share their experiences of children growing up in digital Australia in a survey being conducted by researchers at the Gonski Institute of Education at the University of NSW. 

This is phase 2 of the study into the implications of digital media and technologies on young people’s health, wellbeing and learning. This research is being conducted in collaboration with Harvard University’s Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital and is undertaken in Canada by the Alberta Teachers’ Association. The survey closes 11 October.

School funding has found its way back into the headlines recently.

Funding, especially for non-government schools, is fiendishly complicated and makes understanding what is really going almost impenetrable for parents (and let's be honest many school and political leaders).

This is what makes recent media stories like the ABC's report  on 'How the Catholic school system takes from the poor to give to the rich' particularly worrying for parents.

The report accused Catholic school authorities, 'with the approval of the state’s bishops, of diverting public funding to keep fees low for families in wealthy parts of Sydney.'

The report was immediately rebutted the report in a media release from the Catholic Education Commission the same day which described the ABC’s ‘analysis’ of Catholic school funding as 'simplistic and inaccurate'.

The National Catholic Education executive director Jacinta Collins said that 'despite the sophisticated-looking graphics, the ABC’s analysis doesn’t grasp the complexity of the funding model for non-government schools, and grossly misinterprets the way Catholic schools in New South Wales distribute funding.

'First and foremost, students in regional and remote NSW Catholic schools receive substantially more funding than students in metropolitan areas and pay less in school fees which acknowledges the particular challenges of these schools.'

'The problem with this type of analysis is that it doesn’t take into account that the amount of funding allocated to non-government schools is based on an arbitrary and moveable measure of what parents should be expected to pay. It doesn’t factor into the equation other issues affecting affordable school choice such as housing stress, financial hardship, the number of children in a family, economies of scale for larger versus smaller schools, learning and teaching needs, and a range of other variable factors,' Ms Collins said.

In the wake of the ABC’s allegations, Catholic Schools New South Wales issued a series of concise ‘Fact Check’ rebuttals to ‘false claims’ on social media – with specific examples.

A further complication to note is that the ABC's analysis was actually based on analysis of funding using a method of assessing parents' capacity to contribute to school fees, which is being replaced. A new direct measure, based on parent tax data, rather than where the school is located, is now being rolled out. You can read more about the new direct measure here. This also comes with extra Federal Government money to help schools through the transition via what's known as 'The Choice and Affordability Fund'.

Many schools are concerned about the impact of the new direct measure, particularly regional and boarding schools, and we are beginning to see specific examples reported in the media - for example 'Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School lowers fees in response to 'unfair' government changes'

Principal Michael Giles says in this article: 'I don't think this takes into account costs associated with living in regional areas and it particularly doesn't take into account costs associated with parents who need to send their children to boarding school.'

The government has already said it will monitor the impact of the roll-out, but getting to grips with what is going on in school funding looks likely to get more even impenetrable and confusing for parents.

And what parents, the community and taxpayers really need is greater transparency on school funding. That's because transparency builds confidence, trust and understanding between family and school, and more generally between different school communities, and different school sectors. 

NAPLAN, Australia's standardised assessment of student literacy and numeracy, should be replaced by a new, broader test that also includes science and technology with a focus on critical and creative thinking, according to the final report of an independent review.

The review commissioned by Victoria, NSW, Queensland and the ACT education ministers came out in favour of keeping a national assessment regime, partly because it can deliver more information than sample testing, including providing parents with independent data on school and individual student performance (see the table below).

The proposed new test would:

The Australian Parents Council runs workshops for parents to help them understand how they can help their child transition to school and develop their literacy and numeracy skills.

The workshops can be delivered in person or online to groups of parents, and can be adapted to different parent audiences and settings.

They focus on the important role of parents in setting children up to become successful independent learners and are jam packed with useful information and practical tips for you to use at home to support what children are learning at school.

The workshops are ideal for parents at play groups, pre-schools and day care settings, as well as community groups. We work to tailor each workshop to meet your specific needs.