PV media comment

The Herald-Sun has raised concerns about the level of absenteeism in Victorian schools. According to an article in Saturday’s edition, The average Victorian secondary student will skip nearly a year worth of high school, with experts blaming a spike in mental health issues and feelings of isolation among teenagers… The non-attendance figures were all far

A Geelong secondary college is introducing a “no hat, no play” rule – common in primary schools but not usually in place at secondary level. According to the article: It’s a significant shift at Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College in Geelong, which is believed to be one of the state’s first public high schools to

School uniform is a significant part of the ‘back to school’ costs that parents bear at the start of each school year. The current cost-of-living crisis has re-ignited a long running debate about school uniform, as reported in a recent Herald-Sun article. According to the article: Uniforms are expensive, can create “social cliques” in schools

Parents Victoria CEO Gail McHardy was interviewed by Raf Epstein on ABC Radio Melbourne this morning. The interview was sparked by new data showing that public education in Melbourne is the most costly in Australia. Gail talked about the shortfall in government funding for public schools, and the inevitable result – costs are passed on

The Age reported yesterday on the worsening teacher shortage in Victorian schools. According to the article, “Hundreds of classroom vacancies are going unfilled every week, lessons are being combined or cancelled and student report cards long delayed as a casual teacher shortage pushes already short-staffed schools to desperate measures.” Our CEO Gail McHardy is quoted