NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said Cross’ appointment was a crucial step in having a consistent approach to improving student behaviour in NSW schools.
“Professor Cross is a leader in the field of children’s mental health and brings with her decades of experience in education,public health and research,having worked with governments at a state,local and international level,including with the UN,” Mitchell said.
Schools across NSW are dealing with increasingly difficult and disruptive classroom behaviour that principals warn has been intensified following lockdowns,social isolation,remote learning and changes to school suspension policies.
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The state government led a global recruitment search for the role – which was announced by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet last September – with several candidates applying from research institutes,schools and universities.
Mitchell said the appointment was a proactive and necessary step in dealing with ongoing and new behavioural issues in NSW schools.
“We do not want a child’s behaviour in class holding them or their peers back from learning,” she said.