BAD APPLES
Suspended Coast kids spending 600 school days every week at home
GOLD Coast students are missing more than 600 days of school every week due to suspension or expulsion.
State schoolchildren sat at home or walked the streets for at least 12,647 days in the first semester of last year, up nearly 50 per cent on the 8599 days lost in the first semester of 2014 because of bad behaviour.
About 6250 suspension and expulsion incidents were recorded during the 39 weeks of school last year. In 2014, there were 4310.
GOLD Coast students are missing more than 600 days of school every week due to suspension or expulsion.
State schoolchildren sat at home or walked the streets for at least 12,647 days in the first semester of last year, up nearly 50 per cent on the 8599 days lost in the first semester of 2014 because of bad behaviour.
About 6250 suspension and expulsion incidents were recorded during the 39 weeks of school last year. In 2014, there were 4310.
Figures on student absences due to suspension or expulsion are only released for the first semester of each year, data on second semester absences is withheld. Education and youth experts are at a loss to explain the steep increase in suspensions and expulsions, attributing the change only to population growth.
Queensland Teachers Union Gold Coast organiser Jodie Walsh said there had been no major changes in policy.
However, schools had a higher standard for behaviour for the safety of students and teachers.
“Schools are maintaining high expectations, reflective of issues in the community more broadly speaking,” Ms Walsh said.
“I think it is a deterrent, and a last resort.
“Schools are really well-versed in putting many other steps in place first.’’
But for children already struggling with behaviour issues, another week at home does not always yield the best results, says Tamsyn Hall, co-ordinator of Wesley Mission’s Youth Health and Education Service on the Gold Coast.
“Our concern is some of them (students) don’t see it as a punishment, and missed school can lead to children falling between the cracks,” Ms Hall said.
“To remove kids that are generally having trouble at school anyway, I am not quite sure it is achieving what it should be achieving.”
Ms Hall said she had seen an increase in behavioural problems on the Gold Coast.
“There are a lot more behavioural issues with young people stemming from a number of different reasons,” she said.
“And I can understand it is difficult for schools to manage that behaviour, particularly with an increase in violent behaviour.
“We can all say parents should be picking up the responsibility, but in some cases you can’t always know what home is like.
“Parents are not always the answer. Some may not be able to afford the time off work to provide the supervision. Others may be dealing with problems themselves.”
Last year Coombabah State High School dropped the most students due to behaviour on the Gold Coast, expelling 24 in total – an increase on the year before.
The number of suspensions issued at the school increased by 100, year on year. Principal Chris Kern said the school had reduced the number of days students were absent for disciplinary reasons.
“To support high standards of behaviour, we have a comprehensive recognition system for students which ensures that doing the right thing is recognised and rewarded,” Mr Kern said.
Upper Coomera State College issued 489 suspensions last year, the most of any school on the Gold Coast.
WE CAN ALL SAY PARENTS SHOULD BE PICKING UP THE RESPONSIBILITY, BUT IN SOME CASES YOU CAN’T ALWAYS KNOW WHAT HOME IS LIKE. TAMSYN HALL
Executive principal Mike O’Connor said his school worked to ensure a high standard.
“When students do not attain this standard we support them to accept personal responsibility for their choices,” he said.
A spokesman for the Department of Education said both Coombabah State High School and Upper Coomera State College’s high rates could also be attributed to their higher enrolments.
However, schools such as Varsity College, which has more than 3000 students, recorded just six exclusions and nine enrolment cancellations last year.
Springbrook State School and Pimpama State School rated among the best behaved, with only a single short suspension (1-10 days) distributed by each school in 2017.
State school students who complete a suspension are offered a reentry meeting with parents and staff to review their behaviour.