APC's new Parent hacks for successful learning videos are jam packed with practical tips on what parents can do to support children, and encourage them to learn and develop into independent learners.

Here's a taster of the series - part 5 explains the difference between praise and encouragement and why one is better than the other in helping kids learn.

The videos are based on our Successful Learning workshops, which were created by education experts and are usually delivered as face to face group sessions to parents of children transitioning into or in the early years of school.

We have expanded the video series to include advice for parents with older children, and tips for managing home learning. A sign of the times.

There are nine videos in the series now available. Please share them with your networks.

You can find out more about our programs via our Successful Learning webpage or get regular updates by following our Successful Learning facebook page.

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.

These new resources give you straight forward advice on things you can do together at home with your child that are closely linked to what they're learning in the curriculum at primary school.

They have been put together by the Learning Potential, an app and website produced by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment for parents and for schools to share with parents.

You can also get useful resources and information for parents on the curriculum from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

Our latest survey found parents would like more meaningful information about how children are getting on at school. Parents indicated that they would like to be able to discuss wellbeing issues with teachers, as well as get more feedback about their academic progress.

The survey results published earlier this month found that parents think of parent-teacher interviews as more like a “box ticking exercise” than a useful place to discuss their child's progress.

Parents also said they wanted schools to use more up to date communication methods. Although 98 per cent of parents receive a school newsletter, parents said they'd prefer more modern forms of communication, like a parent portal.

The survey also found:

• Parents want to be able to contact teachers outside of school hours. 70 per cent of respondents said they would find this useful, although many were wary of putting an extra burden on teachers.

• 70 per cent of parents wished their child’s teacher had spoken to them earlier about an issue their child was having.

• Parents also want to be involved in decisions about technology. 57 per cent of parents wanted to be consulted about when technology was introduced in schools and 64 per cent wanted schools to provide ongoing support.

The survey was conducted between September and December 2019.

In a Courier Mail report about the survey, APC President Jenni Rickard explained "parents are experts in their own child and had a lot of insights to offer – but particularly now after being the key ‘teacher’ implementing the school work.

“It has become really apparent that you don’t know what they are doing in classroom. Let’s use this as a lever to go forward.”

Our affiliate parent organisation, the Victorian Parents Council, is part of an international research project looking at the community and public health response to COVID-19. It would be great if as many parents and educators as possible across Australia took part so please share this with your networks.

The Australian Parents Council is calling for all governments to put the wellbeing of students and stability of schooling and at the forefront in all decisions about school funding as we readjust after the current turmoil. COVID-19 is bound to have longer term impacts, so for the sake of the continuity of kids' education and the longer term continuity of schooling provision, we are advocating that support for all schools, all students and all families, in all schooling sectors, should be the priority for all governments at the moment.

The recent offer by the Federal Government to pay funding to non-government schools early to help cope with extra costs associated with Covid-19 was a move welcomed by APC and some schools. But we felt that tying the early payment to schools agreeing to go back to face to face teaching was inappropriate. We argued that a return to the classroom should only happen when it was safe for students, schools, teachers and parents, not as a result of a financial incentive.

Our media statement at the time said: 'The Federal Government should be supporting non-government schools during the COVID-19 crisis and do everything it can to maintain the stability of education provision in Australia for the sake of students. Bringing forward of budgeted payments makes good sense in times of economic hardship and APC supports the non-government system in delivering a workable solution to government. The last thing that schools, students and parents need right now is further instability.

'If the government wants to persuade parents it is safe to send kids back to the classroom, it needs to be a lot more transparent, provide detailed information and involve parents in the decision making process...The focus should be on supporting schools so they can support students.'

'Many families are already reportedly looking at pulling children out of fee-paying schools for financial reasons. This will impact the continuity of education and well-being of thousands of children, who will have to settle into new schools leaving many friends behind. It will also impact non-government schools, which currently educate about a third of all Australian students. The Australian Parents Council would prefer to see the Federal Government working collaboratively with non-government school providers to address all the issues Covid-19 has thrown up, for the sake of all the students affected.'

The approach was also criticised by school leaders. Independent Schools Victoria chief Michelle Green said it was unfair for the federal government to set a deadline.

In a report in the Sydney Morning Herald 'Private schools warning on funding deadline', she said: 'Schools have just two days to decide if they are able to provide a safe workplace for their teachers and a safe learning environment for their students, in circumstances where they are all under incredible strain and many are under financial pressure.'

Funding brought forward this year may also have a knock on effect next year.

In the same report Christian Schools Australia director of public policy Mark Spencer said the commonwealth offer was “helpful” but pointed out that certainty of funding next year is going to crucial.

“Schools are looking at a range of factors from state government approaches to the needs of their parents and staff,” he said.

“Of far greater value to Christian schools would be an immediate guarantee that Commonwealth funding for 2020 will be no less than the amount a school would receive if the funding was based on the school community as at the commencement of Term One.
 
“This guarantee would provide a lot of certainty to schools.'

Meanwhile the transition to a new funding assessment method to decide funding for Catholic and independent schools has continued. The use of tax information to assess parents' capacity to contribute is expected to be more accurate and fairer than previous methods. This will produce a number of winners and losers, as reported by The Australian 'Elite schools face fee hikes under means-tested funding'.

'The pandemic has been referred to as a collective trauma, but we should be wary of jumping to these types of conclusions,' writes Kelly-Ann Allen, Senior Lecturer, Educational Psychology and Inclusion Education in the Monash Lens.

'Trauma is characterised by a negative psychological response following an adverse event. Children’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have varied and we must be cautious in generalising collective experiences towards it and the associated outcomes.

Many children have adjusted to the new routines well. Some may have even enjoyed the extra time spent at home.

While some children may be excited, others may be more worried. Some may feel a mix of emotions. And just like returning to school after the long summer break (possibly the most comparable event through a child’s eyes), many of these feelings are normal.

Parents may be concerned that government decisions will be reversed, or worry about whether their child will be safe. Teachers may be concerned about their own health and workload. Prising apart children’s and adult’s concerns can create more realistic expectations on what a return to school will look like for children.'