Jewel Topsfield
Jewel Topsfield is the education editor at The Age. She was formerly the deputy editor of the National Times and spent three years in the Press Gallery in Canberra, reporting on education, immigration and federal politics. Jewel has been a journalist with The Age since 2004.
Brands cash in on NAPLAN test fear
Jewel Topsfield and Daniel Hurst Stuffed toys that help children deal with ''difficult emotions'' are being spruiked as a way of assisting ''with the stress of NAPLAN'', as companies cash in on the emphasis placed on next week's...
Teacher faction joins campaign against NAPLAN
Jewel Topsfield Teachers, principal join campaign urging parents to boycott NAPLAN tests next week.
PM gives Catholics funding assurance
Jewel Topsfield Julia Gillard promises Catholic schools will retain their 16.8 per cent share of total public funding.
Analysis
Robbing Peter to pay pupil Paul
Jewel Topsfield The money had to come from somewhere, but it's pointless to rip funds from universities.
Just 14 recruits in push for teachers
Jewel Topsfield A $16 MILLION federal Labor commitment to stem the shortage of maths and science teachers by fast-tracking bankers, accountants and engineers into classrooms has recruited only 14 participants.
States demand Gonski details
Jewel Topsfield Thestates have complained they are still being kept in the dark over proposed school funding reforms, with one minister pulling out of Friday's meeting with the federal government amid fears it would...
State accused of lagging on school bullying
Jewel Topsfield Baillieu government accused of failing to take school bullying seriously after lengthy delays in announcing the winner of a competition to name its road-toll style anti-bullying campaign.
Teacher row delays new curriculum
Jewel Topsfield The rollout of the national curriculum - will be delayed in Victoria due to the teachers dispute.
Fresh strike threat as teachers pay dispute drags
Jewel Topsfield Catholic teachers have vowed to join state school teachers in a strike on February 14 to fight for a new pay deal if the drawn-out dispute is not resolved.
Swimming lessons help children dive into school
Jewel Topsfield CHILDREN under five who have swimming lessons develop better language, literacy and numeracy skills and are likely to be more prepared for school, according to a Griffith University study.
Lauriston Girls leads the state in VCE results
Jewel Topsfield and Craig Butt Non-academically selective independent school in Armadale tops the state in this year's VCE results, in its strongest performance in 10 years.
Year 7 students going backwards at maths
Jewel Topsfield Australian year 7 students have got worse at maths since the introduction of national literacy and numeracy tests five years ago, according to the latest national snapshot.
Perfection ATAR glance: Melbourne High's fabulous five
Benjamin Preiss and Jewel Topsfield A phenomenal five boys from Melbourne High have received the perfect Australian Tertiary Admission Rank for the first time in the selective-entry school's history.
Ultra-blowout: watchdog slams schools intranet
Jewel Topsfield A damning audit has revealed serious "probity lapses" surrounding the tendering of Victoria's $180 million online education network, which has been shunned by schools and is 300 per cent over budget.
Australia's disaster in education
Jewel Topsfield Prime Minister Julia Gillard's goal of Australia having one of the top five schooling systems in the world by 2025 has been thrown into doubt after the nation received disastrous results in the...
PM responds to schoolboy's critical tweet
Jewel Topsfield Not many 11-year-olds have received a tweet from the Prime Minister.
NAPLAN tests to go online
Jewel Topsfield Education ministers expected this week to sign off on NAPLAN tests going online by 2016 to speed up the time it takes for students to receive their results.
T is for teaching
Jewel Topsfield Campbell Walsh was sick of waiting for his NAPLAN test results. ''I wanted to know how I'd done. It had already been about four months and I still hadn't got the results,'' says the year 5 student...
Pyne vows to scrap My School rankings
Jewel Topsfield The federal Coalition would review controversial NAPLAN tests and remove the publication of individual school results on the My School website if elected to government, to prevent the ''unnecessary...
NAPLAN tests take heavy toll
Jewel Topsfield Teachers are holding practice tests for months prior to NAPLAN and children are experiencing stress-related vomiting and sleeplessness, according to a national study.
