CYP Matters
Respect and listening
Advocates call for national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
A number of state and territory children’s commissioners are among a group of official advocates calling for a dedicated national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. More >
Enjoying and achieving
Australian female scientists almost entirely excluded from high school curriculum: Research
Despite millions of taxpayers’ dollars being spent to encourage young women into the STEM field, researchers warn the lack of female representation in the Australian curriculum is furthering the gender gap. More >
Nearly 500,000 Australian kids go to after school care – it needs to be more than a babysitting service
Outside school hours care is booming. It was the fastest-growing childcare sector in Australia in 2020, however, there is a lack of consistency in quality with around 14% of services falling short of the national quality standards. More >
How students learn best: an overview of evidence from cognitive science and effective teaching practices
This paper explores 4 key areas that shed light on the student learning process and how effective teaching aligns with these processes to maximise progress and outcomes to improve educational outcomes for all students. More >
Pioneering music program has Sydney primary school students playing alongside world-class musicians
Playing music is unlike any other activity, including other arts. It enhances language processing pathways and improves executive function, which is the part of the brain that makes decisions, regulates emotion and solves complex problems, making it a particularly unique tool for improving learning and behavioural outcomes in school-aged children. More >
Inclusion is vital to student wellbeing, but more can be done to support diverse students and families
When it comes to gender and sexuality diversity, research shows that an inclusive school environment has positive impacts for the entire student community. More >
Participation
Being seen: Braille books for children to appear in stores, classrooms
A new series of children’s books, funded by Vision Australia, are the first children’s Braille books to be sold in Australian mainstream bookstores and taught in primary schools. More >
What influences supportive peer relationships in the middle years?
This article provides tips on how to support the development of positive peer relationships during the ‘middle years’ (8–14 years) and explores the factors which influence peer relationships amongst early adolescents. More >
Prepared for adult life
More than a ‘disability person’; What finishing school is like for youth with intellectual disability
Leaving school and figuring out what’s next is challenging for young people. For those with disability, it is even harder. It is often a time when supports are withdrawn as they leave the heavily structured school environment. More >
First Nations care leavers: Supporting better transitions
Approximately 1,265 First Nations youth aged 15–17 years exit out of home care (OOHC) annually, and this figure is rising. First Nations care leavers commonly face poor social, economic, and health outcomes and inadequate and culturally insensitive services contribute to these poor outcomes. More >
Calls for national overhaul to career advice to tackle uni-centric focus for school students
At 23, Chelsea Taylor had three unfinished degrees, $30,000 in student debt, and no idea what she wanted to do with her life. She has now been a train driver for five years, loves it, and wishes she had discovered it sooner. More >
Health and wellbeing
2023 Keeping Our Promises
In the language of children and young people, the commitments that governments make to them through laws, policies, strategies and plans are treated as promises. They are promises made to ensure resources of government are channelled into meaningful improvement to their lives. More >
We have to do more: examining school leader perspectives on hygiene poverty within Australian schools
Understanding the critical role that access to hygiene resources plays in the life of a child is of immense importance. The benefits of access to these products transcend hygiene alone, with significant benefits to reduced absenteeism, reduced presenteeism, improvements in mental health and better engagement with school and civic systems. More >
World Health Organisation: ‘Ban smoking and vaping in school to protect young people’
The WHO says that the tobacco industry relentlessly targets young people with tobacco and nicotine products resulting in e-cigarette use increasing and nine out of 10 smokers starting before the age of 18. More >
Excessive screen time can affect young people’s emotional development
Important social experiences such as emotion recognition, reciprocal play and perspective-taking are potentially being sidelined by screen-time. When children are preoccupied with their screens, what are they not learning? More >
‘A massive public health problem’: Australian children as young as 10 are hooked on gambling
Data provided by Gambling Help Online revealed a 16% increase in the number of young people aged 24 and under contacting the help service in the 2022-23 financial year. Public health experts say the data represents just a fraction of the young people being harmed, either from their own gambling or that of others. More >
Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants during the first 2,000 days
In this podcast episode, cultural consultants Dana Shen and Shirley Young explore practices that support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants and families’ wellbeing during the first 2,000 days. More >
A Toolkit on Bodily Autonomy according to Young People
Based on a year-long youth-led participatory consultation with historically marginalised groups of young people this toolkit gives their own definition of bodily autonomy, as well as how it is embedded in international law. More >
Social exclusion and the mental health of young people
This report examines the mental health and mental health help-seeking behaviours of young people, 12–19 years, who completed the 2022 Mission Australia Youth Survey, and the impact that experiences of disadvantage or difficult circumstances have on them through the concept of social exclusion. More >
Safe and nurtured
Calling for a united cross-border approach to child safety
The NPY Lands region covers 350,000 square kilometres across the central desert region of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Children and families living in these areas have to navigate three different Australian government legal systems, with different child protection systems, police powers and responses, and criminal justice laws. More >
International Trauma‑Informed Practice Principles for Schools: expert consensus of best‑practice principles
Recognition that schools should be responsive to children who are impacted by adversity and trauma is burgeoning. However, consensus regarding the necessary components of a trauma-informed school is lacking. This research developed expert-informed and internationally relevant best-practice trauma-informed principles for schools. More >
Why language matters: using ‘non-accidental head injury’ and not ‘shaken baby syndrome’
Using the term ‘shaken’ to describe infants experiencing head injuries is misleading. It focuses on one action and limits professional thinking around the other potential causes of a head injury in an infant. More >
Shouting at children can be as damaging as physical or sexual abuse, study says
Research finds verbal abuse leaves young people at greater risk of self-harm, drug use and going to prison. More >
Child safeguarding and immersive technologies: An outline of the risks
Immersive technology such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) offer children incredible opportunities. They can also put children at risk of child sexual abuse (CSA) and child sexual exploitation (CSE). More >
Preliminary Report: The Inquiry into the application of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle in the removal and placement of Aboriginal children in South Australia
This preliminary report makes early recommendations to the South Australian Government’s proposed reform of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017. More >