Teach Secondary -Issue 15.1

AUSTRALIA’S SOCIAL MEDIA BAN If there’s one thing that’s really annoying about how children and adolescents conduct themselves these days, it’s the interminable amount of time they spend on their phones, am I right?As I was saying on the staff WhatsApp group last week, it’s like they’re all plugged into a hive mind, unable to think for themselves. My generation – who went outdoors when wewere young,who hung out with each other in real places – we can see just how brainwashed they are. I said that on Bluesky last week and got 43 likes. Everyone agrees withme. I mean, okay, yes. So the youth clubs closed down. Sports clubs don’t get as much council funding.Mm, sure, there are laws now thatmean kids can’t gather as casually in parks and town centres as they used to. And, yeah, okay, the gig venues are shut, and record shops don’t really exist anymore.And cafes are really expensive. Yeah, fine. But social media’s really evil, isn’t it? The Australian government knows that,which is why they’ve banned it for all under 16s.ALLof them.And the fines for non-compliance are huge, like £25million or something – and it’s the social media companies that will pay them,which is theway it should be, right? No, I don’t knowwhy online gaming isn’t included. Because that’s effectively a type of social media too, isn’t it? Those companies must have really good lobbyists, I suppose... Thinkofanumber... ONE FOR THE WALL “The voice of civilization speaks an unmistakable language against the isolation of families, nations and races, and pleads for composite nationality as essential to her triumphs” FrederickDouglass, speaking in 1867 Teach Secondary ’s digest of the latest goings-on in the profession... The newsletter What arewe talking about? Switched On Who is it for? KS1–KS4 BEAT THE BUDGET The UNINFORMED teacher’s guide to… What’s on offer? Ahead of rail safety education becoming amandatory part of the PSHE curriculum as of September 2026, ‘Switched On’ is a newwebsite fromNetwork Rail with a range of free teaching resources available for download. The KS3/4 selections include safetyvideos featuring noted TikTok personality BigManny, as well as materials for stimulating classroom debate and discussion. £3 billion Size of recently announced government investment in creating 50,000 specialist places inmainstream schools for children with SEND Source: DfE “Greetings, fellow grown-ups” DON’T SAY DO SAY “#seeyouwhen im16” 500,911 The number of unauthorised holiday absences recorded by schools nationally, between September and earlyNovember 2025 Source: DfE 15.6% of schoolchildren aged 5 to 16 have a high level of social and emotional need Source: education charity nurtureuk (nurtureuk.org) Where is it available? switchedonrailsafety.co.uk WHAT THEY SAID… “Academic excellence that traumatises some pupils is not true excellence. Discipline through fear is not preparing young people for life as confident, independent adults.” Children’s services expert, Sir AlanWood CBE,writing in a Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review relating toMossbourne Victoria ParkAcademy 06 teachwire.net/secondary