Primary school principals are calling for a nationwide, single funding model to ensure government, private and Catholic school students are assessed according to individual needs. ABC News, 19 March 2010.

Queenslanders are encouraged to join the newly-launched Queensland Ready Readers program which will begin in Townsville, Wide Bay and Toowoomba schools in semester two 2010. The project, which will be rolled out across the state in 2011, is aimed at providing trained volunteers to engage with young readers in schools. Volunteering Queensland, March 2010.

The Minister for Education has asked the House Standing Committee on Education and Training to inquire into and report on school libraries and teacher librarians in Australian schools. The Committee invites interested persons and organisations to make submissions addressing the terms of reference by Friday 16 April 2010. Parliament of Australia, March 2010.

The children of older mothers perform better in tests than those of younger women, Australian research has found. Sydney Morning Herald, 18 March 2010.

High school teachers should be encouraged into universities as 'expert teachers' to boost student retention and counter a looming shortage of academics. The recommendation comes in a Victorian government report on higher education, which says TAFE teachers could also be included in a move that would see teachers build careers through work in more than one sector. The Australian, 17 March 2010

Microsoft Australia has released research showing that more than 60 percent of Australian parents allow their children to surf the net unsupervised and unrestricted at home. ITnews, 17 March 2010.

Over the last ten years, the number of students in non-government schools rose eightfold compared to the number of students in government schools. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 16 March 2010.

The NSW Government is considering relaxing its block on government high school students using social networking sites. A series of stakeholder round tables had been held involving parents, students and school P&C representatives to discuss the current blocking policy. iTWire, 15 March 2010.

More than 1600 Victorian schools are about to get the Ultranet - an online portal and 'virtual classroom' that promises to transform the way students learn. Parents will be able to use the Ultranet to check their child's attendance records, monitor academic progress and give teachers immediate feedback. The Age, 16 March 2010.

Dr Edward De Bono, who coined the term 'lateral thinking', has called for the national school curriculum to include teaching thinking. Dr De Bono said teaching school children how to think would reduce the rates of depression in society. Sydney Morning Herald, 14 March 2010.