Education Matters SEPTEMBER 2022

A content rich, comprehensive, buyer’s guide for schools.

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- MAR E R 2022 EPTEMB

C H 2023

PUTTING THE ‘C’ INTO STEM Cultivating critical capabilities with Nüdel Kart – Pg 12 The new Australian curriculum – Pg 17 Why the role of the middle leader remains pivotal – Pg 22

EDITOR’S NOTE

The reverberations of the pandemic continue to be felt throughout the education sector with teacher workloads and shortages becoming a primary concern. This issue culminated in industrial action earlier this year and the release of the Teacher Workforce Shortages Issue Paper on 8 August. The paper sets out the nature of the problem and responses to date, aiming to prompt discussion on priority areas of focus and potential actions to address teacher shortages. We touch on this matter throughout this edition; Professor Mark Hutchinson, President of Science & Technology Australia, discusses how teacher shortages will impact the crucial field of STEM in his Expert Contributor feature, and Andrew Smith, CEO of Education Services Australia, discusses how technology could help teacher shortages in his Last Word Column.

Many of us are enjoying the positives of being back to face-to-face in the classroom and professionally. EduTECH took place in Melbourne’s Conference and Exhibition Centre on 10–11 August which was attended by over 10,000 professionals including the Education Matter’s team!

It was a great to immerse ourselves in the latest on thought leadership, technology and trends shaping the education industry and to meet with clients both old and new in person.

More change is afoot with the now endorsed Version 9.0 of the Australian Curriculum set to be rolled out in 2023. In this edition’s Hot Topic feature Education Matters looks in more depth at the process of these revisions and discusses what the next steps may look like for teachers and educational professionals.

Our cover story – Putting the ‘C’ into STEM – delves into this often overlooked yet important aspect of STEM education with Marcus Veerman, Founder and CEO of Nüdel Kart/Playground Ideas.

The wellbeing of students continues to be a primary focus. We speak with Diane Furusho, Deputy Principal (Student Wellbeing, Respectful Relationships & Consent), Haileybury about its awardwinning wellbeing programs. The Good Village, Willplay and Expert Contributor, Dr Van Der Smee offer inspiration on how to incorporate physical activity into the school day and improve student wellbeing.

We take a look at the latest technology, and much more.

I hope you find this an insightful edition of Education Matters Primary.

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Copyright Education Matters is owned by Prime Creative Media Pty. Ltd. and published

by John Murphy. All material in Education Matters is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic, or mechanical including information retrieval systems) without the written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequenses arising from information published. The opinions of the magazine are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated. All photographs of schools (including students) depicted in feature articles and advertisements throughout this magazine have been supplied to the publisher (and approved) by the contributing school. All material supplied by schools is done so with the understanding that such images will be published in Education Matters and may also appear on the our website: www.edumatters.com.au.

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contents

PRIMARY SEPTEMBER 2022 - MARCH 2023

REGULARS

Editor’s note 4 News

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APPA column

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Hot Topic: V9.0 – The new curriculum

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A snapshot of the latest news and developments in the education sector.

President of the Australian Primary Principal’s Association, Malcolm Elliot, outlines APPA’s five principles for action to invigorate and stimulate education and improve outcomes.

The new Australian curriculum has been endorsed with a view to be implemented in 2023. Education Matters looks at the process of the revisions and what this will mean going forward for teachers and education staff.

Principally speaking

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The last word

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Diane Furusho, Deputy Principal (Student Wellbeing, Respectful Relationships & Consent), Haileybury, Melbourne, discusses the school’s award-winning wellbeing programs.

Opinion pieces featuring CEO of ACARA – David de Carvalho; CEO of Education Services Australia – Andrew Smith; eSafety Commissioner – Julie Inman Grant; Professor Marjory Ebbeck – University of South Australia.

FEATURES

12 Putting the ‘C’ into STEM

Education Matters looks at how the Nüdel Kart can cultivate critical capabilities including creativity, wellbeing and social skills in primary school children.

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Leading from within

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Taking creative action in primary schools

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It takes a good village

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ctioning research to build confidence about A First Nations contexts in the classroom

Dr Stephen Brown, Managing Director of The Brown Collective, discusses how the role of the middle leader remains pivotal for the successful running of a school.

Dr Tim Patston discusses what action teachers can take to maintain and build students creativity in the classroom.

Nestlé’s Health and Physical Education program, The Good Village, has been developed by teachers for primary students to learn about health, wellbeing, fitness, nutrition, teamwork and sustainability.

The release of the AITSL report has made identifying cultural inclusion in the classroom and reviewing teaching practice a requirement. Dr Tracy Woodroffe discusses what can teachers do to ensure their professional development is relevant to their classroom practice.

40 Consolidate, assess and engage with NEO from Cypher Learning

At a time when staff workloads are under immense strain, and schools are scrambling to consolidate their systems, NEO by Cypher Learning can offer a solution that aims to reduce workloads both in the long term and short term.

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Addressing the highly skilled teacher shortage

Crucial to our country’s future is the looming shortage of highly-skilled teachers in our schools says Professor Mark Hutchinson, President of Science & Technology, Australia.

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NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS

Parents back introduction of school meals Aussie paretns are backing the introduction of school provided meals.

“Families have described how challenging the provision of healthy, enjoyable and affordable lunchboxes can be, so we need to start thinking about how what we can do to better support families.”

Dr Brittany Johnson

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Preliminary results in a national survey show that Aussie parents are backing the introduction of school provided meals to ensure national dietary requirements are being met with a range of quality options.

The survey of parents with children aged 4–17 demonstrates their support for a national transformation of lunchbox meals relying on parents to make informed choices, says Flinders University Dietitian and PhD Candidate Alexandra Manson, who will present her findings at the Dieticians Australia Conference (14–16 August) in Adelaide.

Researchers say school provided meals have been shown to improve attendance, classroom attention, cognition, academic performance, social skills, nutrition and health of children, while also providing a way to address food insecurity.

Parents perceive current spending on lunchboxes to be around $4 per day. Investment of $4 per day in a school provided meals system would deliver benefits for parents and children alike. Parents preferring to maintain home–

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made lunches said nutrition and food safety concerns were their key reasons.

Co-author Dr Brittany Johnson says the school food system increasingly relies on families and charities to provide food to children at the most important stages of educational and physical development.

“Families have described how challenging the provision of healthy, enjoyable and affordable lunchboxes can be, so we need to start thinking about how what we can do to better support families. It’s the right time to start a national conversation about embracing school provided meals,” says Johnson.

“Embracing school provided meals requires transformation of the existing Australian system, to create an equitable system which achieves benefits for children and families. Our preliminary data demonstrates an emerging parental interest in adopting such a system.” EM For further information visit, www.flinders.edu.au/caring-futures-institute

Plans ahead to fix teacher shortages and lift standards The government plans to lift teacher entry standards and boost teacher numbers, as part of a plan to raise the status of the teaching profession, fix teacher shortages, and improve student results.

“If the federal government doesn’t act now, we’re going to have a massive teacher shortage in coming years – we’re already facing shortages and Australia will be about 4,000 teachers short by 2025, according to Senate testimony from the federal education department,” stated Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese in a recent press release.

To tackle these issues, Labor plans to: • Seek to double the number of high achievers studying teaching over the next decade. To help achieve this we will pay 5000 students who get an ATAR of 80 or above a bursary of up to $12,000 a year to study an initial teacher education degree.

• Boost the High Achieving Teachers Program to support 1,500 qualified professionals in other fields – including mathematicians and scientists – to retrain as teachers through an employment-based pathway that will pay a

part-time wage while they complete an intensive master’s degree in education. The 1,500 extra places will include 700 new Teach for Australia teachers and 60 new teachers through LaTrobe University’s Nexus Program.

• Labor will work with States and Territories, through the next National School Reform Agreement, to make sure teachers have a better career path with more opportunities to become recognised and rewarded as experts, and to pass on their skills to other teachers without having to leave classroom teaching.

• Labor will invest $146.5 million to deliver the plan, over four years. This investment will improve outcomes for our kids, and lift education standards for our nation – helping to secure a Better Future for Australians.

“We want to make sure our kids get the best education they can. That means we have to make sure they get the best quality teaching. Labor’s plan will incentivise the best graduates to join the teaching profession, leading to a brighter future for our students and for the nation,” said the Prime Minister. EM

Education researchers receive grants for vital research Some of Queensland’s brightest minds in education research have been granted a combined $1 million in government funding to respond to modern challenges in education and build solutions.

Education Minister, Grace Grace has announced the 14 successful projects to receive Education Horizon grants for high-quality early childhood and school education research for 2022 – 10 of which are led by women.

“We are always looking to improve outcomes for all Queensland students,” Ms Grace said.

“The Education Horizon grants are more than just funding to support quality research, they are an investment in our students’ futures. I’d like to congratulate all of the successful applicants. It’s heartening to see so

many women represented among the grant recipients as well,” continued Ms Grace.

Each of the 14 projects were selected by a departmental panel from a total of 42 applicants, with the successful projects to be delivered over a six-month period.

Minister Grace said the Education Horizon grants were first launched in 2016, with this the fifth grant round to be awarded.

“As with previous years, this year’s research projects will create valuable resources for schools and inform improvements across the education system,” Ms Grace said. EM

“We want to make sure our kids get the best education they can. That means we have to make sure they get the best quality teaching.

Labor’s plan will incentivise the best graduates to join the teaching profession, leading to a brighter future for our students and for the nation.”

Anthony Albanese

For further information visit, https://education.qld.gov.au

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APPA COLUMN // MALCOLM ELLIOT

Five principles for action THE APPA’S SUBMISSION TO THE PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION’S REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL REFORM AGREEMENT (NSRA) WAS AIMED AT SUPPORTING THE NSRA AS A TOOL FOR REFORM. THIS COMES AT A TIME WHEN THERE ARE PRESSING TEACHER SHORTAGES AND REPORTS OF A RAPIDLY DIMINISHING POOL OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP ASPIRANTS.MALCOLM ELLIOT OUTLINES AN APPROACH FOR ACTION.

Malcolm Elliot is the President of the Australian Primary Principals Association. He is a member of the board of AITSL and chairs the School Leadership and Teaching Expert Standing Committee. In 2021 he was a member of the expert panel for the Quality Initial Teacher Education Review.

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At a time that’s being referred to as a crisis point in Australian primary education, APPA (Australian Primary Principals Association) sets out five principles for action which can invigorate and stimulate education and improve outcomes. APPA wants to develop partnerships with governments which will create an environment where children can flourish amidst creativity and the high levels of expertise of their teachers.

the education programme in their schools for which leaders are held so accountable.

Schools need input into decisions that impact upon them. While it is recognised that governments set policy agendas, those agendas should be enriched by school perspectives. Serious school reform needs a school/bureaucracy interface which works – an interface premised on working with schools in developing workable policy positions.

APPA’S 5 PRINCIPLES 1. The need for policy development input from schools.

2. Equality.

3. Interagency and NGO coordination.

4. Accountability. a. through establishment of a manageable matrix of measures to assess the health of the whole system and b. national testing to focus on the system performance, not that of the child.

5. A new primary curriculum.

2. APPA calls for genuine needs-based, sectorblind resourcing. This is essential for school leaders to effectively differentiate support to ensure success for all. A focus on equality through equitable distribution of resources leads to excellence and yet, while Australia is recognised as having an excellent education system, it is not excellent for everyone.

International organisations including UNICEF and the OECD rate Australian education as unequal and highly segregated, leaving too many children behind (Sahlberg, 2022).

1.The annual Principal Health and Wellbeing Survey conducted by the ACU and partners has repeatedly shown work intensification to be the main stressor for school leaders. In our NSRA submission we describe the workload in schools as cruel. It is constant, demanding and forces school leaders away from closer connection with their teachers, the children and

3.To be a true mechanism for reform the NSRA must extend beyond schools to the myriad of agencies and services children and their families have to deal with. Further to this, Australia can set a world standard by systematically engaging all three levels of government, across all portfolios at each of those levels, in education. Performance

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“Schools need input into decisions that impact upon them. While it is recognised that governments set policy agendas, those agendas should be enriched by school perspectives.” targets have been shown to be effectiveat improving performance in a variety of contexts but they are also criticized for promoting siloed working and discouraging cooperation with others. We need working relationships which are the opposite to this. The future simply must be about collaboration between agencies and organisations, a focus on the child and support for their family, and the greater good.

4. a) The development of the child is the core business of schools and is a continuous process of targeted teaching coupled with appropriate continuous monitoring and assessment.

This, though, should not be confused with the assessment of jurisdiction performance. APPA calls for the development of a manageable set of indicators measuring the welfare of children in their communities – a ‘health of system’ matrix across services and supports. b) Student performance data is important but this doesn’t need to be harvested through high stakes national testing of all students. Instead, statistically significant data can be productively collected through sample testing. In recent years, NAPLAN has become increasingly high-stakes in response to accountability expectations. However, the gains have been less than encouraging (Queensland Association of State School Principals, 2020).

LEADING FROM WITHIN: Leadership Development Program for Middle Leaders For more information call Helen on 0427 219 664 or email: admin@thebrowncollective.com.au

The Brown Collective’s flagship program, ‘Leading from Within’ acknowledges the importance of middle leaders to a school’s overall performance. The vast majority of middle leaders want to remain in these roles.

Leading from Within supports and enhances the formation of middle leaders through exploration of key aspects of their leadership such as leading teaching and learning, and leading teams. Every program is customised to ensure contextual relevance to the school, network, region or system that it is being delivered to.

The program is typically conducted over a nine-month period with a minimum of 20 participants.

Successful completion of the Leading from Within program enables participants to make application for a 1 unit credit towards a Master’s Degree offered by Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Broken Bay Institute—The Australian Institute of Theological Education (BBI TAITE).

thebrowncollective.com.au admin@thebrowncollective.com.au

5. APPA has consistently called for the development of a less crowded, manageable curriculum. A new story of primary curriculum is needed. In the NSRA submission we call for a curriculum which celebrates children and their curiosity and which encourages a diverse conception of skills and knowledge – a curriculum which addresses ‘the basics’ while creating space for each learner’s potential to be unleashed. In their 2014 Review of the Australian Curriculum, Donnelly and Wiltshire noted that the development of the curriculum documents “should have begun with school and classroom practice realities, especially in primary school and particularly in the early years”.

In our submission on the National Schools Reform Agreement we call for a re-think of the primary and early childhood curriculum leading to a concise curriculum which recognises and builds on the expertise of teachers. EM

Amanda Ypinazar, Principal Consultant

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM // NÜDEL KART

Nüdel Karts are designed for primary school children to develop their STEM, creativity and 21st century skills.

Putting the ‘C’ into STEM CREATIVITY ISN’T ALWAYS WHAT SPRINGS TO MIND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE EXPERTISE OF A SCIENTIST OR ENGINEER, YET IT’S A PROVEN FUNDAMENTAL STEM SKILL AS WELL AS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST IN-DEMAND FUTURE SKILLS. NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE, PLAYGROUND IDEAS, MANUFACTURES THE NÜDEL KART - A DECONSTRUCTIBLE, MOBILE LOOSE PARTS CART WHICH IS DESIGNED TO CULTIVATE CREATIVITY, WELLBEING AND SOCIAL SKILLS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN.

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The gap between the knowledge generated by the education system and the skills demanded by employers is widening, according to the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) National STEM Education Resources Toolkit. With future careers also relying heavily on ‘21st century skills’, which include critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and problem-solving.

The DESE suggests that overcoming these limitations requires a priority focus on the development of 21st century workplace skills. “When done well, STEM education complements the development of 21st century skills,” states the DESE. “So many STEM classes are full of robots and technology and coding but they are secondary to the foundations of STEM. The fundamentals of STEM are all about how to think, how to come together to problem solve and how to collaborate in teams. Nüdel Kart does that in a highly physical, practical way through children experiencing it first hand,’’ says Marcus Veerman, Founder and CEO of Nüdel Kart/Playground Ideas.

TEACHING CHILDREN THE SKILLS THEY NEED FOR THEIR FUTURE CAREERS The World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Report found that by 2025 approximately 50% of all employees will need re-skilling. The report highlighted creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, originality and initiative amongst the top 10 skills that will be required for future work. The report also highlighted

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newly emerging data that skills in selfmanagement such as active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility would become more prudent.

“People who are strong in creativity – even if they are not strong in other areas – are able to solve problems and get through things even when they come across difficulties. If they are struggling with literacy and numeracy or other things – creative people find other ways to get around those things to thrive in life,” says Veerman.

A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE Nüdel Kart is a social enterprise created by the non profit, Playground Ideas. All profits from the sale of Nüdel Karts provide global support to empower communities around the world to build stimulating spaces for play using only local materials, tools, and skills. The Nüdel Kart was born after seeing the huge developmental value of including loose parts equipment in these areas and has now been rigorously tested with children and educators around the globe for use across the

curriculum in the classroom or playground, and in any size space.

“We started realising how important and how amazing loose parts are as a self-directed learning tool and as a tool to teach these critical skills; such as social skills, maintaining wellbeing, problem solving and collaboration. Skills that are in the curriculum but most educators are not trained in and find hard to teach,” says Veerman.

Being a charitable organisation and social enterprise continues to underpin the organisation’s ethos with Nüdel Karts recently being donated to flood and bushfire affected communities in Australia and to Romania for Ukrainian refugee children. As of 2021 Playground Ideas had supported more than 6000 projects, across 143 countries, impacting over 3 million children. ‘’The roots of the Nüdel Kart were created in developing countries, in places such as refugee camps, which is why it’s so robust and so rigorously designed . It’s designed to last for years and years and years as a highly versatile tool for teachers to use in almost any subject,’’ says Veerman.

TEACHING CREATIVITY IN STEM In a research paper titled, ‘Creativity in STEM education: Reshaping the creative project’, author T.Larkin writes; ‘’There is a great demand for creative and innovative thinkers in STEM. While scientists and engineers are often perceived as only being concerned about hard facts and numerical data and computations, a great deal of creativity is required. The fact that it takes a great deal of creativity when performing tasks within the STEM domains is often overlooked.”

“This fact is overlooked not only in terms of perceptions, but also within the formal STEM curriculum. Perhaps it is because the curriculum is already so over-packed with technical courses that there is just no room for creative projects,” Larkin continues. According to the University of Western Australia, students should develop the following key skills through STEM: • problem solving creativity • • critical analysis • teamwork

Marcus Veerman, Founder and CEO of Nüdel Kart/Playground Ideas.

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM // NÜDEL KART • independent thinking • initiative • communication • digital literacy A 2017 research paper by Pollard, HainsWesson, and Young titled, ‘Creative Teaching in STEM’ states: ‘’Creative teaching needs to become more prominent in STEM.’’ The research investigated attempts to teach creatively, as experienced by nine STEM educators in an Australian university and found that, “creative teaching afforded fulfilment for teachers.”

Nüdel Karts are designed for primary school children to develop their STEM, creativity and 21st century skills. The carts are also designed to help students explore fundamental topics such as, development, self-regulation as well as a growth mindset through creative, unstructured play.

Nüdel Kart’s create an environment for children to explore ‘first principles thinking’ - sometimes called ‘reasoning from first principles’, where the idea is to break down complicated problems into basic elements and then reassemble them from the ground up. The Nüdel Kart has been tested to provide hours of play and learning with infinite possibilities.

NÜDEL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS There are a wide variety of training resources available from Nüdel Kart for teachers including assembly, pack up, curriculum linked training manuals, and videos.

Nüdel Kart’s Teacher Creativity Manual, written in collaboration with Dr Tim Patston from the University of South Australia is a useful guide for teachers on how to integrate 21st century skills into their lessons. It details the four steps of the creative process and includes lesson ideas.

Nüdel Kart’s Teacher Creativity Manual is a guide for teachers on how to integrate 21st century skills into their lessons.

“Our Nüdel Kart continues to be one of the highlights in our school day. The creative interactions are endless and unique every time we use it. I can testify that, I had the Nüdel Kart out for over 1.5 hrs and there was not a single squabble,” says Shannon Ruskin, Teacher, Newrybar Public School, NSW. “Every single child was totally engaged for the duration, they were collaborating, problem solving, creating and innovating. My senior class are always just as engaged, the year 6 boys said they wished they could take the Nüdel Kart home. I look forward to the many years of fun and adventure with our cart,” adds Ruskin. EM All profits from the sale of Nüdel Karts go towards building stimulating play spaces using only local materials, tools, and skills.

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HOT TOPIC // CURRICULUM The revised Australian curriculum, Version 9.0, will be available to teach in schools from 2023.

The new Australian curriculum THE REVISED AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM WILL BE AVAILABLE TO TEACH IN SCHOOLS FROM 2023.

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS OF IMPLEMENTATION AND WHAT DO THESE CHANGES MEAN FOR TEACHERS AND EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS AT A TIME WHEN STAFF ARE ALREADY STRUGGLING WITH HEAVY WORKLOADS? EDUCATION MATTERS FINDS OUT. Version 9.0 of the revised Australian curriculum was endorsed on Friday 1 April 2022 when commonwealth, state and territory Education Ministers agreed that the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) met the key objectives to refine, realign and declutter the curriculum, with a focus on reducing content in primary years and lifting quality.

“The key word was decluttering,” says de Carvalho. “Teachers also felt that they were, particularly at primary level, skating across a curriculum that was a mile wide and an inch deep and they felt pressure just to rush on to the next topic. So decluttering allows them to teach for deeper conceptual understanding and grasping of key concepts before moving on was another objective.”

“It was also important to look across different subjects - mathematics, science and technologies – at the connections. In the

previous curriculum, subjects like science were introducing students to mathematical concepts that they hadn’t even learnt in the maths curriculum because they were developed at different times the first-time round,” de Carvalho continues.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM The first Australian Curriculum was launched in 2009, after ACARA was established in 2008. When ACARA was reviewed in 2015 it was agreed that the Australian curriculum would be reviewed every six years - this is the first cyclical review. Ministers gave ACARA terms of reference in 2020 and the review was conducted in accordance with those terms of reference. This is also the first time that the Australian Curriculum has been reviewed in full, across all subject areas.

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CONSULTATION WITH TEACHERS ACARA had been working with consultation groups on the refinements in order to get a consultation draft together for about 12 months before the revisions were released for open consultation explains Sharon Foster, Executive Director, Curriculum, ACARA. “We would engage teacher reference groups to work with us to give us their feedback and to test ideas with them. That was a powerful part for us - hearing the teacher’s voices all the way through. We also had curriculum reference groups with representatives from each of the jurisdictions and sectors who were specific to a particular learning area and subject. This was all really valuable information to help us firm up the consultation draft,” says Foster.

The consultation was open for 10 weeks and approximately 6000 online surveys and 900 email submissions were received.

ACARA then engaged with the University

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HOT TOPIC // CURRICULUM

The first Australian Curriculum was launched in 2009.

of Queensland’s Institute for Social Science Research who undertook an independent analysis of the data. “We took that onboard to work through further refinements of the consultation draft to reach the version which then went through to the board and then finally was endorsed as approved curriculum,“ continues Foster.

THE NEXT STEPS It’s widely known across the industry that workloads and teacher shortages are at an all-time high. This crisis loams large and was recently addressed with the release of the Teacher Workforce Shortages Issue Paper on 8 August 2022. The paper sets out the nature of the problem and responses to date, aiming to prompt discussion on priority areas of focus and potential actions to address teacher shortages. With this in mind, some may consider this bad timing, that a new curriculum must now be rolled out, across all subject areas nationally.

“I think it’s not very well understood perhaps out in the community that the launching of a new curriculum is not the end of the work. For teachers in schools, it’s the start of the work,” says Veronica Yewdall, Professional Officer, Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU), NSW Branch.

Yewdall explains that various states and

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jurisdictions will now be in the process of rewriting large numbers of syllabuses in line with the new curriculum. “If you include all the languages and the various iterations, say of mathematics, all the way through from K to six to seven to 10, and then 11, to 12, across standard, advanced, extension, and so on. It’s a huge number of syllabus documents,” continues Yewdall.

When a syllabus is launched it then must be turned into a programme at school level by being turned into teaching scope and sequence which sets out the order of the syllabus content and the amount of time spent on each section. Teachers then break it down even further into a week-byweek programme and then again into lesson-bylesson explains Yewdall.

“It’s like a double-edged sword, if you say that there’s a strong appetite for this kind of change and then having to put those changes into practice with them,” says Yewdall, “It’s really important for teachers to have appropriate levels of support and an appropriate timeframe.”

SUPPORT AND RESOURCES ACARA is working on provision for teacher support, and the individual states will also consider current issues when setting timelines for implementation explains Foster.

“Some states will decide to phase it in, they

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may choose to take English and Maths first, others may choose to tackle primary school first and secondary school second. Similarly, to the way they implemented the Australian Curriculum the first-time round,” says Foster.

ACARA is currently working on creating new work samples for version 9.0. “These play a particular role in helping teachers unpack what the achievement standards look like,” says Foster.

ACARA will also publish new illustrations of practice, including case studies demonstrating how teachers have gone about implementing the changes. “We also know that the jurisdictions will develop up quite explicit information that deals with their policies and requirements to support their teachers to develop the curriculum. ACARA staff will also be running some professional learning sessions to help teachers unpack and understand the intent of the curriculum,” adds Foster.

“From our perspective this curriculum sets high standards that is for what students have to learn no matter where they are across the country.

Every student deserves access to a high-quality curriculum, and we think we’ve now given them that,” says de Carvalho. EM For further information and to the view the curriculum digitally visit, v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au

Designed by big people, for little treasures. . .

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PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING // HAILEYBURY

Wellbeing at Haileybury STUDENT WELLBEING HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE FORE OF SCHOOL PRIORITIES SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN. EDUCATION MATTERS TALKS TO DIANE FURUSHO, DEPUTY PRINCIPAL (STUDENT WELLBEING, RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS & CONSENT) AT HAILEYBURY, MELBOURNE, ABOUT ITS AWARD-WINNING WELLBEING PROGRAMS.

Diane Furusho, Deputy Principal (Student Wellbeing, Respectful Relationships & Consent).

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WHAT WELLBEING PROGRAMS DOES YOUR SCHOOL OFFER? We have a strong wellbeing program in place which is led by Heads of Wellbeing, Heads of Schools, Heads of Houses and tutors. It draws on the five key elements of the Government’s Australian Student Wellbeing Framework – leadership, inclusion, student voice, partnerships and support.

Essentially our wellbeing program across the school is about promoting good mental health, healthy relationships, a growth mindset, a sense of belonging, and resilience. Our students are encouraged to strive for their own personal excellence, safe in the knowledge that we believe every student matters every day.

Knowing our students as individuals helps us to quickly see any changes in their behaviour. Each morning, students spend 10 minutes with their tutor and we’ve found that’s an effective way to ‘check in’ every day and to let students know that their teachers genuinely care about them. In addition, we have a strong team of psychologists available for students who need extra and bespoke support. Many of our staff have also undertaken Youth Mental First Aid accreditation which assists them in understanding Youth Mental Health.

Along with our wellbeing subject, which all students take part in, and covers age-appropriate content, we also offer many parent education programs and parent webinars as we know the importance of the whole community working together when it comes to the wellbeing of children.

WHAT CHALLENGES HAS THE SCHOOL FACED REGARDING WELLBEING RECENTLY? Understandably, the return to face-to-face learning and reconnecting with peers after working remotely for lengthy periods of time have been challenging for young people.

Children learn about social interaction through being together and they’ve missed that experience for the past two years.

Some children are anxious, they are rediscovering the skills of engagement, managing conversations and problem solving together. They’re also adjusting to being back in classroom routines – younger children are learning how to sit quietly on the floor with others while older students are adjusting to moving from one classroom to another again.

When you combine all these together along with the demands of their learnings it can become overwhelming and impact negatively on their wellbeing.

HOW HAS YOUR APPROACH TO STUDENT WELLBEING EVOLVED IN THE LAST 2 YEARS? There has been an increasingly important focus on student wellbeing. Previously we talked more about ‘pastoral care’, which is more about looking after the students. This still happens

but now we’re looking more specifically at the actual wellbeing of every student – their physical and mental health – and focusing on the skills and knowledge they need to manage these.

For children to learn at their best they need a clear mind. If they are worried and anxious, this impacts their ability to learn. While we may once have said ‘if the child is happy, they will learn’, we now think more deeply about what ‘happy’ actually looks like and the importance of resilience and understanding one’s emotions.

That to feel not ‘OK’ at times is normal, that one cannot be ‘happy’ all the time.

There has been a shift in explicitly teaching wellbeing, having dedicated time each week for the subject of wellbeing. This time includes working through many scenarios where students discuss how they would respond to different situations and why.

These sessions help our students learn about emotions and values and develop strategies to build and manage their own positive wellbeing. They learn the importance of relationships and what respectful relationships look like and how to build them. Of course, all this is done in the context of age-appropriate topics and knowledge.

I think another evolution in student

wellbeing has been the recognition that it’s important to listen to what the students themselves want to know. As adults, we think we know what to teach but our students’ voices are so important and so we listen carefully to what they tell us they need to know.

HAILEYBURY WON THE BEST STUDENT WELLBEING PROGRAM AWARD AT THE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION AWARDS IN 2021, WHAT MAKES THE WELLBEING PROGRAM AT HAILEYBURY SO SPECIAL? For a wellbeing program to be successful it has to be a whole school approach and it has to be championed and valued by everyone - I’m very proud that this is the case at Haileybury. The whole school approach starts at the very top with our CEO | Principal, Mr Derek Scott, and flows through to our leaders and to all teachers.

You can only have a great program if everyone is on board and believes in the importance of wellbeing and this is why our wellbeing program is so successful. Our mantra of ‘every student matters every day’ is wellknown and believed in by students, teachers, the whole school and the greater community. EM For further information visit, www.haileybury.com.au

Haileybury won the Best Student Wellbeing Program Award at the Australian Education Awards, 2021.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT // THE BROWN COLLECTIVE

Leading from within AN ANCIENT ROMAN GOD AND THE WORK OF MIDDLE LEADERS IN A SCHOOL ARE ANALOGOUS, ACCORDING TO DR STEPHEN BROWN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE BROWN COLLECTIVE. HE DISCUSSES HOW THE ROLE OF THE MIDDLE LEADER REMAINS PIVOTAL FOR THE SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP OF A SCHOOL.

Given the ever- increasing expectations and demands on schools and school leaders from various quarters, the role of middle leader has become ‘pivotal’ to the effective functioning of a school. Typically, the work of middle leaders varies depending on context and schooling sectors. Middle leaders generally have a teaching allocation with defined, negotiated and agreed areas of additional responsibilities.

The breath of foci in these roles’ ranges from curriculum leadership, pastoral care, wellbeing and faith formation.

Why are middle leaders so important in a school or indeed any organisation? The behaviours and leadership practices typically are about connecting, linking, leading and providing a bridge between stakeholders, classrooms and a principal.

In her seminal article entitled The Real Value of Middle Leaders (June, 2021), Zahira Jaser compares a key aspect of the role of a middle leader to that of Janus, the ancient Roman god. He, Janus, is typically depicted as having two faces - the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, duality, passages and doorways. Leading from the middle requires a capacity to balance an array of tensions, dilemmas, loyalties and priorities: • Communicating with team members the strategic direction of the school whilst listening to and advocating for the perspectives of staff.

• Balancing the tension of individual priorities or needs of their area of focus and responsibilities and the common goodwhat’s best for everyone.

Leading from Within, Middle Leader training in action.

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Managing the duality of the professional practices of teaching and responding to the many broader administrative and leadership expectations of the position.

• Sustaining their moral purpose for becoming an educator-a leadership credo, a personal ‘why?’ informed by the desire to making a difference for and in the lives of young people.

It is acknowledged that middle leaders along with other leaders face the ongoing challenges of work intensification, people and time. The lingering COVID 19 and teacher shortages are two significant issues that amplify the challenging nature of the work.

Simon Sinek (2020), the global thought leader, suggests that the hardest job in any organisation is that of a middle manager.

Why? He contends that despite the importance and centrality of this layer of leadership in any organisation there is little leadership formation of an individual to undertake such roles. Moreover, Sinek contends that ‘everything breaks in the middle’ providing further validation of the necessary investment in development of the middle layer of organisational leadership.

The vast majority of middle leaders in schools want to remain in this role. In 2015 a research study entitled, Middle Leaders: Career pathways and professional learning needs, affirmed this by concluding ‘that twothirds of middle leaders see themselves as leaders of teaching and learning rather than as promotional applicants for Principalship’ (Flückiger, B, Lovett, S, Dempster, N and Brown, S, p.71). A subsequent study commissioned by the NSW Department of School Leadership

Institute (December 2020) affirms the 2015 role perspectives and career aspirations of middle leaders with again two thirds of surveyed respondents wishing to remain in their roles.

Rhodes and Brundrett’s (2009) study in the United Kingdom mirror this national trend with 70 per cent of middle leaders not aspiring to headship.

Given the aspirations of middle leaders and the importance of the role in a school, what professional learning and support is most beneficial to or desired by such leaders?

• Middle leaders generally want to refine their professional practices and those of others that they lead so that they can make a positive difference in the lives of the students they engage with. Given the diversity of the areas covered by the catch all term, ’middle leadership’, the needs will vary. However, developing an understanding how students learning and how to support and engage them in schooling; support their well-being; plan quality curriculum and refine teaching practices are enduring priorities for all middle leaders.

• Understanding self before leading others is a crucial phase in the imperfect pursuit of leadership excellence for all leaders. In the case of middle leaders, it is arguably much more a focus for middle leaders given that many of them are experiencing leadership for the first time. It is important for middle leaders to explore their values, approach to

Dr Stephen Brown, Managing Director, The Brown Collective.

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leadership, communication and as noted earlier, their ‘why?’

I often say that as a leader ‘the best work you do is the people work and equally some of the most challenging work a leader does is with people’. Priorities for middle leadership development in relation to the ‘people work’ are team development; delegation; undertaking difficult conversations; managing staff performance and engaging effectively with others.

It can be argued that leading change is a consistent remit for all leaders. In a school setting the role of middle leader in mediating, enabling, encouraging and leading change is just so important. Mc Hale (2020, p.150) notes that, ‘unless you get middle leaders on board, you will see very little meaningful change at the front lines of your business.’

Middle leaders need to be equipped with skills

to enable them to gain ‘buy-in’ from their staff in relation to innovation and or improvement initiatives (Flückiger, Lovett, Dempster and Brown, 2015, p.64).

• Like all leaders, those in middle leadership roles have a shared responsibility in creating and contributing to work cultures that are positive exemplified by mutual respect, high levels of trust, curiosity, and shared accountability.

• Coaching and mentoring are necessary dispositions for any leader. In the context of the work of middle leaders, leadership capabilities fundamental to the provision of feedback and the growth of others.

The above reflections on middle leadership and their learning needs are based on my experience as a middle leader, school principal, system leader and my work in supporting the formation of over 10,000 middle leaders nationally and internationally. As noted above most middle leaders want to remain in the role and lead from within an area of focus or responsibility rather than at a principal, whole of school executive level. One of The Brown Collective’s flagship programs is entitled Leading from Within, a program designed to support the leadership development of middle leaders. Our program is offered in a mixed modality format at a school, network and whole or system level. The program is customised to meet contextual needs. Leading from Within articulates to one unit of a Master’s program at a number of Australian universities.

An investment in middle leadership is a must for schools in the ongoing aspiration for performance improvement and ultimately, making a difference for students. EM For further information visit, www.thebrowncollective.com.au

The role of middle leader has become pivotal to the effective functioning of a school.

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TECHNOLOGY // HAWKER BROWNLOW EDUCATION

Taking creative action in primary schools DR TIM PATSTON DISCUSSES WHAT ACTION TEACHERS CAN TAKE TO MAINTAIN AND BUILD STUDENTS’ CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM.

Dr Tim Patston is Senior Adjunct at Uni SA STEM, University of South Australia, Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, and Teaching Associate at Monash University.

Tim’s interests lie in the use of data-based evidence from the science of creativity to improve educational practice and student outcomes. His research has identified positive links between elements of creativity and academic performance.

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Australia is one of many countries around the world that has recognised the importance of building students’ creativity in the classroom.

Children experience the wonderful and exciting world of creative discoveries from a very young age. They are curious risk takers who explore the world through all their senses. What action can teachers take to maintain and build these qualities in their students throughout their schooling? A useful way to think about this is the 4C model of creativity developed by professors James C Kaufman and Ron Beghetto.

When students start school, they are at what is called the mini C level. This is essentially the level of unbounded exploration and the experience of many new things. At this level, what the children are experiencing is only new and useful to them. In order to build their creativity to the next level, which is called little C, they need four things – knowledge, feedback, instruction and motivation. Children can build their little C in the classroom, at home, or in their sport or hobbies. All creativity is underpinned by knowledge in the area in which you are attempting to be creative.

Teachers in the classroom play an essential role in building students’ creativity.

It is important to note that creativity is not just thinking. Creativity is a four-part system.

For a student to grow their creativity in the classroom, they need a physical and social environment which supports creativity. An important element of the social environment of creativity strongly influenced by teachers is psychological safety. Students need to

feel they can answer questions or make suggestions without fear of receiving overly harsh or dismissive negative feedback. This is true for students of all ages.

The social environment can have a strong impact on the next component of the creativity system, the attitudes and dispositions of creativity. If students receive nonpunitive formative feedback, they are more likely to develop positive attitudes towards creativity.

These include such things as openness to new experience, curiosity, risk-taking, resilience and persistence. We know from the research that students as young as grade 4 can develop positive or negative views about their ability in various subjects and their creative self-efficacy in subjects. With appropriate and engaging instruction, students can develop their dispositions of creativity, and grow in both skills and confidence. How do you currently develop the attitudes of creativity in your students?

The third component of the creative system is what many people think about when they think about creativity - the processes of creative problem solving. It is essential that these processes are taught, in the first instance, as separate facets of a component.

It is also essential that they are taught in conjunction with the acquisition of subjectbased knowledge and skills. Critical thinking when working out which skills a student needs to build in physical education is different to the critical thinking skills needed for a student to solve a maths problem. There are many different methods of idea generation, idea

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Creativity is a system.

recording, idea summarising, critical thinking and presenting solutions as well as problem-posing. By teaching these briefly and explicitly in a range of subjects students will gradually develop skills as a competent and creative problem solver. How many different tools do you know of to generate ideas or summarise ideas?

The final component of creativity is the creative product. This can mean many things, from an idea, to an artwork, to a performance, to a tangible product, from a piece of written work to a

mathematical solution.

Many teachers express concerns about assessing creativity. If we go back to the 4C model, we soon realise that the elements of creativity that are present in students are at a fairly basic level.

Here are some examples. If you are working in a social environment which requires collaboration, which elements in terms of the attitudes and skills of collaboration has a student demonstrated, and to what level? For example, the skills of social negotiation take some time to develop and require

an amount of explicit instruction and feedback.

Just this facet can be observed and assessed, often informally.

If you wish to observe that students have developed their curiosity, perhaps teach them a series of What If? questions, and see how many they come up with.

Just as students take a long time to develop the knowledge and skills and attitudes in any of the subjects they study at school they also take time to develop the knowledge skills and attitudes of creativity. By teaching small parts of the creativity system through creative actions across a range of subjects, teachers will see their students becoming more confidently and capably creative. EM For further information, and to learn more about the upcoming book, Creative actions: Embedding creative competencies in every classroom by Tim Patston, James C Kaufman and David Cropley visit, www.hbe.com.au

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CURRICULUM // NESTLÉ - THE GOOD VILLAGE

It takes a good village…

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SPORT, NESTLÉ’S HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM, THE GOOD VILLAGE, HAS BEEN DEVELOPED

BY TEACHERS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT HEALTH, WELLBEING, FITNESS, NUTRITION, TEAMWORK AND SUSTAINABILITY.

The main challenge of The Good Village program is for students to design a new athlete village, undertaking engaging activities along the way. Students will be lead through the village by The Good Village Ambassadors - inspirational Australian Athletes. As well as being professional sportspeople the ambassadors are also qualified educators. A friendly face across the platform, demonstrating concepts and providing a sporting context for the activities, as well as an inspiration to kids through high performance sport.

“It’s important for me to give back to the next (athletic) stars and share what has helped me,” says Cameron Girdlestone, AIS Athlete Ambassador and Olympic rower.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN A MODERN CLASSROOM When it comes to the health and wellbeing of students, there’s never been a more important time to get accurate information into the classroom. Since – and even before – the implementation of the Australian Student Wellbeing Framework, teachers have recognised that happy students are better learners. Still, the line between implicit modelling of ‘good’ wellbeing, and explicit instruction can be blurred through overuse of

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AIS Athlete Ambassador, Edwina Bone - Hockeyroos defender has competed at both the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

buzzwords, oppressive whole school policy and a lack of age-appropriate resources.

THE PROGRAM The Good Village HPE program is the latest in holistic, flexible, project-based learning, to help teachers support students make the right choices for their bodies, minds and the world around them. Written for teachers, by teachers, and designed to be student-led, the interactive platform offers over 50 differentiated activities designed to challenge students’ thinking, promote exploration, and develop creativity.

The activities in each area of The Good Village encourage students to learn by applying

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concepts to their own experiences in order to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to complete the main challenge – to design a new athlete village!

Linked to the Australian Health and Physical Education curriculum (with the exceptions of outcomes around gender and puberty) and with plenty of opportunities for supporting literacy, mathematics, science and visual arts outcomes and the cross curriculum priority of sustainability, The Good Village will have no trouble fitting in with your scope and sequence. The non-prescriptive nature of the resource means that the program can fit into any primary classroom across Australia

and be explored within a week, term or across a year’s worth of planning. All activities in The Good Village include details of curriculum links as well as notes for teachers.

The bright and attractive platform will entice students to keep coming back, ticking off each activity as they develop their learning within the four sectors; the Canteen (nutrition), AIS Sports Oval (physical activity), the Games Room (relationships and culture), and the Community Garden (sustainability).

HOW DOES THE GOOD VILLAGE WORK? 1. Work your way through each activity.

2. Build up skills and understanding in each area.

3. Get to know the AIS Athlete Ambassadors.

4. Commence the main challenge – to design a new athlete village!

AIS PARTNERSHIP Nestlé teamed up with the AIS back in 1999 to inspire families towards good nutrition and getting active. With the AIS’s expertise in sport and physical activity and Nestle’s experience in nutrition, The Good Village is able to fully leverage this partnership to create fantastic resources for schools.

DEVELOPMENT The Good Village draws from the Reggio Emilia pedagogy and offers a number of avenues for students to express themselves through their learning. From creating a podcast to designing a treehouse there is something for everyone to love! The program takes project-based learning (buzzword, anyone?) to a new level with minicollaborative challenges to develop skills in entrepreneurism, events management and historical discovery.

During the development of the program, Nestlé has not only collaborated with Australian educators to ensure the village’s curriculum value, but also leading nutritionist Tracy Hardy and sporting development designers at the AIS to ensure it presents modern and science-based information in age-appropriate ways.

“Having a resource designed by teachers was a key consideration when developing The Good Village. The links to the curriculum and activities designed around modern pedagogical thinking ensure that this program is fit for use

The main challenge of The Good Village program is to design a new athlete village.

in any Aussie classroom,” says Katey Street, Former Teacher, Learning Designer and Education Consultant.

“Consulting with educators was a key part of the development of The Good Village. It created a resource that reflects the needs of teachers and modern classrooms as well as being engaging for students across the Primary age group,” continues Street.

Providing your class with accurate and inspirational learning experiences in HPE is more important now than ever. The Good Village is a modern resource that will propel your class further, deliver your curriculum outcomes without hours of prep work, and set your class up for healthier, happier lives. It takes a village! EM For further information visit, www.n4hk.com.au

AIS Athlete Ambassador, Cameron Girdlestone with students from Holy Family Catholic Primary School.

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EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR // DR TRACY WOODROFFE

Actioning research to build confidence about First Nations contexts in the classroom THE RELEASE OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE FOR TEACHING AND SCHOOL LEADERSHIP REPORT HAS MADE IDENTIFYING CULTURAL INCLUSION IN THE CLASSROOM AND REVIEWING TEACHING PRACTICE A REQUIREMENT. DR TRACY WOODROFFE DISCUSSES WHAT TEACHERS CAN DO TO ENSURE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS RELEVANT TO THEIR CLASSROOM PRACTICE.

Dr Tracy Woodroffe is a Warumungu Luritja woman with years of experience in the field of education - Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. The majority of that time has been spent in the classroom teaching and in associated leadership roles. She is a lecturer at Charles Darwin University who coordinates, develops and delivers teacher education units about teaching Indigenous learners and the importance of Indigenous knowledge in education.

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When busy with work and the general hum drum of every day, we can find it very difficult to make time for ourselves. The idea that we should spend even more time on work doesn’t always sit well, and teachers can already feel overwhelmed with the happenings in their classroom. However, as teachers, we are expected to participate in a certain amount of professional development to enhance our practice, perhaps even apply for a promotion, and meet the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

With the release of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) report on Building a Culturally Responsive Australian Teaching Workforce, being able to identify cultural inclusion in the classroom and reviewing teaching practice becomes a requirement. AITSL will be releasing resources in the coming months. These resources will ‘help teachers understand their level of cultural responsiveness and improve or enhance their practice’. According to an AITSL communication dated 26 July 2022, the resources and the work done in the Cultural Competency Project are a response ‘from the profession to be better

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equipped to provide culturally safe learning environments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and to teach about their histories and cultures’. This statement indicates that teachers may still feel underprepared to teach Australian First Nations students and First Nations content, hence the need for the resources.

So, what can teachers do to ensure professional development is as relevant as possible to their classroom practice?

Teachers can be researchers in their classrooms, not researching the children but examining themselves. Teachers as researchers is not a new concept, but often, teachers’ time gets taken up with other seemingly more urgent matters. Good teaching must include time management and balancing the act of teaching with developing the art of teaching. Taking time to reflect on practice and then making time to try doing something different is the start of an action learning process. Plan, Act, Reflect and Learn are the critical components of an action learning cycle. To begin the action learning cycle, you must start with reflection. Reflection may be a sticking point. Which aspect of

Dr Woodroffe recommends teachers read texts written by First Nations authors.

cultural responsiveness, cultural competency or cultural safety should you reflect on? There are times when we don’t know what we don’t know.

Initial questions might help, such as – what do you think you know already? What resources could you use to find out more about the concepts?

How are they relevant to you as a teacher, your classroom, and your practice? Reflecting will help you focus on areas you are unsure of and perhaps assumptions that you hold about the concepts that are not necessarily correct.

Using a mix of your reflections and identified areas of potential learning combined with AITSL resources, when released, will provide you with a good starting point for further developing your skills and knowledge through an action learning research cycle to enable you to be confident in your cultural responsiveness. Once you have reflected and identified an area of potential learning to work on, planning is next. What are

“Good teaching must include time management and balancing the act of teaching with developing the art of teaching. Taking time to reflect on practice and then making time to try doing something different is the start of an action learning process.” you going to trial in your practice, and how will you evaluate the outcome? How much time are you going to allocate to the activity? What will success look like? Once the plan is set, you can act on it. During the action stage, you will need to

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keep anecdotal notes similar to a learning record.

The cyclical nature of the process means that we will reflect further on the outcome before deciding what else to tweak in our practice, and the cycle can start again.

Teaching requires rigorous processes of measurement and adjustment as part of the teaching and learning sequence. The goal is to be the best teacher we can be to provide the best learning for all our students. Providing more resources to assist teachers in being culturally responsive is reasonable, primarily if research and teachers’ sentiments identify feelings of being unconfident or under-prepared. The test will be if teachers access the resources and take steps to be researchers in their classrooms, committing to reflecting on practice and implementing action research as advocates for change and improved educational outcomes for Australian First Nations students. EM

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CURRICULUM // RSPCA

Educating children to reduce animal cruelty and learn responsibility THE RSPCA AWARE (ANIMAL WELLBEING: AWARENESS, RESPONSIBILITY AND EDUCATION) PROGRAM IS A FREE EDUCATIONAL PLATFORM PAVING THE WAY IN ANIMAL WELFARE EDUCATION NATIONALLY.

Not every child grows up with animals or knows how to relate and care for them. Children need to be taught how to responsibly and safely interact with animals, to keep both the child and animal safe. Learning to care for animals has also been shown to help teach children how to build trusting, compassionate relationships with other people later in life.

Last year, the RSPCA investigated over 73,000 reports of animal cruelty and cared for more than 100,000 animals in RSPCA facilities across the country. Many of these reports resulted from the owners’ lack of awareness of how to properly care for their animals. Education is by far the most powerful tool to reduce animal cruelty in Australia. The RSPCA AWARE program provides the resources to address these issues in an interesting, enjoyable and effective way, helping students to build empathy towards animals. It is a free educational platform paving the way in Animal Welfare education nationally.

AWARE teachers and schools understand that education is key to prevention of animal cruelty and neglect. According to a recent report by Animal Medicines Australia, 69% of Australian households now own a pet. With an estimated 30.4 million pets across the country, animals have a significant presence and impact on our society. Empathy development through positive interaction with animals is well known, therefore animal welfare education at school encourages development of social awareness and ethical understanding with students. By integrating RSPCA AWARE into schools, RSPCA aims to inspire generational change in attitudes towards animals among young people.

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Children need to be taught how to responsibly and safely interact with animals.

WHAT IS RSPCA AWARE? AWARE is the RSPCA’s free educational program created by teachers for teachers, as well as parents and other educators. Using real world animal welfare examples to deliver curricula-aligned educational outcomes, to create generational change in young people’s attitudes towards animals.

There are two online portals—one for teachers and one for students—that provide loads of ready-to-use activities, downloadable from the selection of units and lesson plans.

RSPCA AWARE Teacher’s Portal is designed for primary and middle school teachers looking for engaging and innovative resources. The dedicated Teachers’ Portal contains units of learning for students from Foundation to Year

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8 and includes additional resources such as bilingual glossaries, PowerPoint presentations, videos, and research papers to support various animal welfare subjects. These downloadable, ready-to-use units and resource materials are specifically tailored to align with the Australian National Curriculum and contain applicable Australian Curriculum codes for ease of integration. Students will gain age appropriate, real-life knowledge to develop empathy, compassion, respect, and responsibility for the lives of animals in their community.

Resources for teachers have been designed to integrate into subjects that schools already teach and align with the Australian Curriculum. For example, one unit – ‘The Cost of Having a Companion Animal’ uses maths to teach children about the cost of caring for pets. This way, animal welfare becomes a real-life, meaningful topic. It also prevents AWARE resources from being yet ‘another thing’ for busy teachers to fit into their school day. The unit is adaptable for Years 2-6, delivering Maths and English with the general capabilities tabulated for easy cross-reference.

“The AWARE by RSPCA program is an amazing resource to support high levels of student learning engagement,’’ says Maree Palmer, Teacher, Springwood Road State School. ‘’Capitalising on the student’s natural interest in animals enabled the authentic introduction of animal welfare education.

As an educator, I value the program’s use of STEM principles to facilitate learning and assessment that aligned with both Australian Curriculum standards and general capabilities,” she continues.

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Education is key to prevention of animal cruelty and neglect.

100% of teachers stated that the units of learning were well aligned to the National Curriculum.

94% of teachers felt that the units of learning provided sufficient detail for effective teaching and learning.

WHAT ENGAGES YOUR STUDENTS? AWARE offers full Units of Learning including resource materials so teachers can pick and choose what works best for their classroom! Log in to the dedicated Teachers’ Portal and download resources at any time.

RSPCA AWARE aims to create generational change in attitudes towards animals by delivering strong, positive animal welfare messages through education. EM

Filter water faster

SUCCESS WITHIN THE CLASSROOM! Already, 3500 teachers in Australia are registered to use the free RSPCA AWARE resources.

Feedback from teachers revealed that:

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100% of teachers felt that the engagement levels of their students were heightened when involved in the units of learning, with teachers explaining that all students were eager to partake.

For further information visit, teachers.rspca.org.au

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EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR // DR CARLY STEELE

How to make school assessments fairer AUSTRALIA IS MORE CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE THAN EVER BEFORE, YET DOES NOT ADEQUATELY RECOGNISE ABORIGINAL STUDENTS’ WORLDVIEWS, KNOWLEDGE OR LANGUAGE IN ITS SCHOOL ASSESSMENTS, SAYS DR CARLY STEELE.

Dr Carly Steele is a Lecturer and Early Career Researcher in the School of Education at Curtin University, Perth.

She completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2021 which explored the role of language awareness and the use of constrastive analysis for teaching Standard Australian English as an additional language to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in primary school.

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Recently released census data shows over 250 ancestries and 350 languages (ABS, 2021). Over 5.5 million people use a language other than English at home and 850,000 people report they do not speak English well or at all (ABS, 2021).

Often not recognised in this census data are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who speak traditional languages as well as newly formed Indigenous contact languages such as Aboriginal Englishes and Kriol (Steele & Wigglesworth, 2021). Despite Australia’s highly diverse population, our education system measures student success according to Western linguistic and cultural systems which calls into question the fairness of these assessment regimes for its diverse students, particularly First Nations students. In our newly published paper (Steele, Dovchin & Oliver, 2022), we argue that the languages and modality of classroom assessment tasks need to be expanded to be more inclusive and fairer for all.

Current school assessment practices are English only. They do not adequately recognise the knowledge that speakers of other languages possess. Using the example of a bilingual child who speaks two languages. If judged in each of these languages separately, their knowledge could be considered deficient. If their knowledge and understanding is only judged in English, the assessment wouldn’t give a true indication of what the student knows. This wouldn’t be a fair or accurate assessment of the child.

We can make assessment fairer by allowing students to use other languages to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding. This

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doesn’t mean 10 different assessments for students who speak 10 different languages. It means allowing students to use all the linguistic resources that they have available to them to communicate so teachers can accurately judge their knowledge and understanding of the topic being assessed. This is a translanguaging approach to learning.

“Translanguaging” is a term used to describe the ways individuals will use all their available meaning-making resources to communicate - such as signs and languages (Cenoz & Gorter, 2022). In a classroom that uses a translanguaging approach to learning, this practice is not only allowed, but actively valued. It sends the message that all languages and therefore all children, are welcome in this classroom.

Some would argue that teachers would not be able to understand what students are saying. We argue that it provides teachers with an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue with children to learn about their social, linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

This will help teachers to see what these students are capable of in their own language/s.

Others confuse the messaging of translanguaging and say that English is necessary for success in society. We are not suggesting that students are not taught English, of course, learning a new language is a wonderful thing. We are suggesting that the best way of teaching English is through an approach that recognises and values students’

Current school assessment practices are English only.

first language/s and by using these languages as a knowledge base to build upon.

Current assessment practices are not only English only, but they also favour written forms. For example, in the current system, a student’s ability to produce a Western style narrative or persuasive text is a key measure of academic success. But this is only one mode and style of communication, students from other language backgrounds use diverse modes of communication to express themselves which includes nonverbal communication. Judging these students with this narrow measure is unfair and does not adequately allow them to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.

We need to expand the methods of assessment beyond dominant written forms.

Students from other cultural backgrounds, including many First Nations children use a range of modes of communication, including verbal language and forms of non-verbal communication such as signs, gestures, drawings and symbols. Inge Kral and her colleagues (2019) provide an excellent example of this in their research where a group of young

women used ipads to tell traditional sand stories using their fingers on the screen which they recorded into film. These films were highly innovative as they mixed traditional icons with contemporary symbols. Why can’t these creative practices be used and valued in assessment?

Children are highly skilled language users.

They employ multiple modes of communication with purpose and creativity and this needs to be recognised. Assessment practices should be expanded to include multiple languages and many modes of communication to be fairer for all. EM

We can make assessment fairer by allowing students to use other languages to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.

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EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR // DR CAMERON VAN DER SMEE

Examining children’s physical activity engagement in early primary education DR CAMERON VAN DER SMEE DISCUSSES A SCHOOL’S ROLE IN ADDRESSING DECLINING PHYICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN.

Dr Cameron Van der Smee is a lecturer of Health and Physical Education in the Institute of Education, Arts and Community at Federation University.

Cameron has worked in education for the last 10+ years. Cameron completed his undergraduate degree in Physical Education in 2009 and then worked for five years as a classroom/PE teacher in the United States. He recently finished his PhD and continues to use his research to inform his teaching practice, and viceversa. His areas of interest include early primary HPE, the playground and physical activity engagement. Cameron has been teaching at the tertiary level since 2016.

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There has been an increasing focus on the under-achievement of children engaging in sufficient physical activity (PA). According to health guidelines, children need to reach approximately 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day to be deemed sufficiently active. Much of this daily activity is meant to occur within the school, with the playground and PE space operating as key sites in achieving this goal. Unfortunately, current data from the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing shows that by the age of 10 (year five/six) only 15% of Australian children meet the MVPA achievement standard. This finding resonates with the recurring concerns voiced by educators, health practitioners and parents about a decrease in PA levels.

So, what role does the school really play in this process? A range of research has shown that students bring a wide range of physical activity experiences to the school, however, there is little doubt that something happens between the ages of 5 and 13 that corresponds to a drop in the average amount of PA at school. Unfortunately, in recent studies we have found that rather than positively influencing physical activity levels the school plays a role in narrowing children’s physical activity engagement over time. Accordingly, as children progress through primary school, many start to feel disconnected from PE and many choose not to engage in PA on the playground, during

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recess and lunch. This trend is not irreversible but will take some examination of what is happening in these spaces in the early years.

The PE class is a weekly space where children engage in structured physical activity lessons. Primary PE is typically delivered by a PE specialist (four-year HPE qualified) or a generalist teacher, who teaches all the subjects, depending on the resources and budgetary freedoms of the school. Either way, there is often an overwhelming focus on sport. Early PE is often perceived as a period of ‘pre-sport’, where children are expected to learn the skills for sporting participation in the latter years.

This emphasis on sport is often translated to a focus on several sporting focused objectcontrol skills, such as throwing, catching, bouncing, kicking, and striking. These skills are typically taught through small-sided games and individual practice. Ultimately, the focus on sport, particularly competitive team sport, in early primary PE privileges those students who bring sporting experience into the school, while not acknowledging the previous experiences of other students and making it harder for them to succeed within class. This creates an environment where children with sporting experience continue to develop, while students with differing PA experience often struggle to learn and master these skills. This process continues onto the playground.

The school playground is a space where children are provided a good deal of freedom

Health guidelines state that children need to reach approximately 60 minutes of physical activity per day.

to engage in a wide range of physical activities.

Within Australia, most of the space on primary school playgrounds is designated to large, open spaces for sports and organised games.

These spaces typically provide the opportunity to engage in a variety of competitive team sports, such as footy (Aussie rules), soccer, basketball, and cricket. Typically, other spaces on the playground are much smaller but provide the opportunity to engage in a range of other activities. Again, this emphasis on sport privileges the experiences and interests of those students with previous sport experience.

Accordingly, these students tend to dominate these sporting spaces, choosing who can play and in what capacity. For the other students, they have multiple spaces in which to engage in their chosen physical activities, but these areas are much smaller and overpopulated by students trying to engage in a range of different activities.

So, the emphasis on sport on the playground gives the sporty kids access to larger spaces, which they dominate, providing the opportunity to further excel at their chosen sport, which provides further chances to excel and succeed in PE classes. As a result, the gap between ability levels in PE continues to increase.

How do we address this problem? Firstly, if we want to address the declining levels of PA as children age, then we must address children’s

engagement with physical activity in the early years. To achieve this, we must introduce a more democratic approach to early primary PE that provides the opportunity to enhance the interests and meet the needs of all students. This approach should explicitly acknowledge the diversity of experiences that children bring to early primary

and take this diversity into account when planning the curriculum. This must be accompanied by changes to primary playgrounds to recognise and support a wider range of PA and play opportunities. This will allow all children to build stronger relationships with PA and develop their interests along a wider range of trajectories. EM

By the age of 10 only 15% of Australian Children meet the required amount of physical activity.

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM // WILL PLAY Thabeban State School, Bundaberg.

School playgrounds designed by big people for little treasures WILLPLAY IS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S LEADING PLAYGROUND MANUFACTURERS, PROVIDING EXCELLENT PLAY VALUE. DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN AUSTRALIA FOR AUSTRALIAN CONDITIONS, ALL MATERIALS HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR RESILIENCE AND DURABILITY FOR A LONG-LIFE.

The importance of play for a child’s development is well known. Yet the role a school plays in this is sometimes overlooked.

The pandemic has clearly shown the importance of wellbeing and the clear links between the lack of play and social interaction and negative affects on student wellbeing. A report by the Gonski Institution for Education, University of New South Wales titled, ‘Why is play important’ states: “It is vitally important that your child has access to play at school.

And not only in early years but throughout the entire school. In a recent poll, 85 per cent of Australians agreed that children today spend less time playing compared to when they were growing up. A further 93 per cent agree that

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play helps children to build the skills they need for the future.“ WillPlay understand the importance of play for physical and mental well-being, especially when children have so many digital, nonphysical play options. Improved educational and behavioural outcomes can be attributed to play in a school setting, and it enforces how important play and fitness equipment can be in a school environment.

With 10 years of designing and manufacturing play and fitness equipment in Australia, WillPlay offer full design and construct services to bring any project to life, regardless of size or budget. WillPlay’s National Sales Manager, Nathan Lee explains;

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“In designing our Australian made range of play and fitness equipment, we chose to use Australian recycled plastics, aluminium, stainless steel and ensure that all elements are manufactured in our own factory to ensure quality control is second to none. Not only does this enable the best value and product life for schools, it also allows a degree of customisation and theming that is difficult to match.”

DESIGN WillPlay’s design and management team have extensive experience in turning a school’s concept into a reality that keeps students engaged and challenged, all within the

confines of Australian standard designs. WillPlay work with individual schools to custom design a play solution based on user age, user needs, budget, existing shade and natural elements. An investment in play can be a challenging time for schools as there are many alternatives, and not every piece of equipment is right for every school.

WillPlay’s designers can determine the best use of space and the most suitable equipment for your project.

ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION When working toward solutions in schools with special needs, there needs to be a balance between accessibility and inclusion. Getting this balance right will make your play area inviting for all students and all abilities. Social inclusion is just as important as physical inclusion and designs can be customised to ensure that all children can play together in a fun and safe environment.

SUPPORTING AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES Australian manufacturing supports Australian families. WillPlay’s strong local supply chain means that every system has a high content of Australian sourced materials - supporting Australian businesses and Australian families.

Avoca State Primary School, Bundaberg.

CUSTOMISATION When buying a play system from WillPlay, a school is not simply purchasing from a catalogue range of standard products. With their in-house design and manufacturing, customisation of design elements, colours and themes mean school’s will get the

WillPlay designs resilient and durable school playgrounds for Australian schools.

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perfect system for their students and budget.

With representatives and distributors all over Australia, WillPlay can turn your next project into something that other schools will be envious of. Offering a full design and construct service WillPlay can offer complete turn-key packages including equipment, softfall and shade structures.

“There are very few equipment manufacturers that can offer the level of design customisation as WillPlay,” Lee says.

When looking for something a little different, why not combine play and fitness with WillPlay’s Urban Warrior range. These systems can also be incorporated into the school’s physical education program, and be used to benchmark children’s fitness and functionality over time.

WillPlay’s latest generation ‘Boxie’ and ‘Giant Tunnel’ ranges of products take school play to a whole new level. When schools need to cater to a wide range of user abilities, the ‘Sensory’ and ‘All Abilities’ ranges keep kids engaged and playing together.

WillPlay’s design team will change the way you look at play forever. EM For further information visit, www.willplay.com.au

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM // GODFREYS

Think Godfreys Commercial for your cleaning needs IN A TIME WHEN CLEANLINESS IN HIGH FOOT FALL ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS SCHOOLS, IS HIGHLY VALUED, GODFREYS COMMERCIAL IS A RECOGNISED LEADER IN DESIGNING, DISTRIBUTING AND MARKETING CLEANING SOLUTIONS FOR OVER 90 YEARS.

With a vision to become the leader in cleaning innovation that empowers customers, Godfreys Commercial creates forward-thinking solutions that make the way we clean more effective and efficient.

Godfreys Commercial cleaning offering includes equipment used to maintain both indoor and outdoor surfaces, parts, service and maintenance to help ensure superior cleaning performance. Godfreys Commercial proudly provides clients with industryleading brands, including Pullman and exclusive international third-party brands Comac and Rosemor.

Godfreys Commercial was established

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to provide innovative, exclusive branded products via direct sales channels and specialist commercial floorcare solutions for key segments.

Godfreys Commercial’s distribution network is extensive, covering all areas of Australia and New Zealand and just recently, officially opening the doors to a new showroom in Melbourne. The state-of-theart facility has been specifically designed with all floor care needs in mind. In addition, the purpose-built training facility will assist customers and their teams with any new or existing machines from our range.

The centre provides ongoing excellence

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in customer service and boasts over 5,000 sqm of stock and maintenance areas — so customers will always receive the best service and care for their machines.

Godfreys Commercial prides itself on superior customer service, aftersales care, product training and ongoing education.

Godfrey Commercial has extensive experience in the education sector, including schools, colleges and universities, and applies these insights to offer solutions that provide the highest quality standards to ensure all environments will be hygienically and environmentally clean.

Godfreys Commercial’s mission was

“The state-of-the-art facility has been specifically designed with all floor care needs in mind. In addition, the purpose-built training facility will assist customers and their teams with any new or existing machines from our range.” created with the goal of building a company with intelligent team members and innovative products at its foundation. As industry leaders with a relentless drive to supply cutting-edge floor cleaning equipment and training, they also build long-term customer relationships, providing more than just a floor cleaning solution. EM

Godfreys commercial cleaning offering includes equipment used to maintain both indoor and outdoor surfaces.

foster a climate of

creativity where students thrive What is creativity in education?

Why is it essential?

Where is the evidence?

Increasingly in the last ten years, creativity as a key competence has appeared in curriculum documentation globally but there is much inconsistency in approach, definition, and assessment. Authors Tim Patston, James C Kaufman and David Cropley bring readers an incredibly practical resource which looks at creativity through the lens of research, and offers immediately implementable solutions for teachers, school leaders and students in the classroom. Featuring lesson plans that guide educators in the practice of creative education and a toolkit of creative practices, this exciting new release arms students with the creative competencies to survive and thrive in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

LEARN MORE AND ORDER AT HBE.COM.AU/HB3578

Available at

Hawker Brownlow Education

a Solution Tree company

TECHNOLOGY // CYPHER LEARNING

Consolidate, assess and engage with NEO from CYPHER LEARNING SCHOOLS ARE STILL CONSOLIDATING THEIR SYSTEMS AFTER THE EXTREME CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE PANDEMIC. AT A TIME WHEN THE WORKLOADS OF TEACHERS, SCHOOL LEADERS AND ADMINISTRATION STAFF ARE UNDER IMMENSE STRAIN, NEO BY CYPHER LEARNING OFFERS A SOLUTION THAT MAKES ONLINE TEACHING AN ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE FROM DAY ONE.

A recent Grattan Institute survey of 5,442 Australian teachers and school leaders across all states and territories in both primary and secondary schools found that more than 90 per cent of teachers say they don’t have enough time to prepare effectively for classroom teaching – the core focus of their job.

CYPHER LEARNING’s NEO LMS is designed

from an academic perspective, so teachers don’t need any technical knowledge to create safe, dynamic, and highly customisable online classes. NEO removes the time-consuming hassle of switching from one edtech application to another, moving data from one system to another, and trying to make various tools work together.

CYPHER LEARNING’s NEO LMS is designed from an academic perspective.

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NEO is a powerful K-12 learning management system (LMS) for designing lessons, building engaging content and managing all learning activities and assessments. It has been designed as a complete solution for use by teachers, students and school admins to stay connected and collaborate with each other.

NEO is currently used in 129 schools worldwide in over 36 countries. A survey of schools using NEO found that 92% of schools agreed that it had transformed their institution, making it easy for teachers to create online classes, and for students to stay engaged and have an enjoyable learning experience anytime, anywhere.

“NEO allows us to really structure our lessons so that our students are familiar with what we start off with, what comes next, what’s expected of them, and when they’re done. Through this structure, we’re able to teach these students information that they typically wouldn’t be able to access outside of high school or even in high school,” says Cathi Allen, Executive Director, Higher Education Certificate Program, Denver.

“In the face-to-face classes, we would have spent two or three hours grading each exam by hand. However, now that we use the platform, I’ve found that this grading takes just one or two minutes because the platform provides us with the answers,” says Dr. Emily Mabborang, Principal, The University of Saint

•

•

•

NEO is a user-friendly platform for young learners.

Louis, Tuguegarao.

“Online learning platforms, such as LMSs, have become a crucial component for successful teaching and learning in the pandemic, with remote learning appearing to be here to stay.

Of course, face-to-face teaching is also an important aspect of the educational process.

However, this time span has also shown how learning in a virtual environment can offer unique benefits and be a more open, engaging, and inclusive choice for students who benefit from non-traditional learning methods,” Mabborang continues.

WHY CHOOSE NEO? • NEO integrates with all the tools you’re already using - including a SIS integration to safely import all your data into the system.

Learning can also be enhanced by integrating NEO with Google Tools for Education and Microsoft Tools for Education.

• It’s a user-friendly platform for young learners – NEO has an intuitive design that is highly customisable, making it easy to be used even by a year one student.

• It makes learning inclusive for all students – online learning has no limitations for students’ learning abilities thanks to NEO’s innovative accessibility features.

• NEO allows teachers to choose their class

style – select the type of class that best suits your teaching style, whether it’s instructorled, blended, self-paced, or micro learning.

It’s easy to create and deliver diverse educational content, tapping into different useful features.

It makes assessment a breeze - teachers get instant analytics on student progress, allowing them to pinpoint where students might need additional help.

NEO creates an enjoyable learning experience – students love using NEO thanks to features such as gamification or adaptive learning, which makes learning more fun.

Plus, they can access the system anytime, on any device.

It helps increase student mastery through personalisation – teachers can track a student’s progress on a competency basis and personalise the teaching content. Thanks to automation, the system can even make recommendations based on both student progress and learning goals. EM

For further information visit, cypherlearning.com/en-au/neo

NEO can integrate with the tools a school is already using.

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EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR // PROFESSOR MARK HUTCHINSON

Addressing the highly skilled teacher shortage WHILE MANY INDUSTRIES AND SECTORS FACE ACUTE CHALLENGES FINDING AND KEEPING GREAT STAFF, PERHAPS NONE IS MORE CRUCIAL TO OUR COUNTRY’S FUTURE THAN THE LOOMING SHORTAGE OF HIGHLY-SKILLED TEACHERS IN OUR SCHOOLS. PROFESSOR MARK HUTCHINSON, PRESIDENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AUSTRALIA, DISCUSSES THIS PRESSING ISSUE.

The Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit has focused minds on what Australia needs to do to build the highly skilled workforce we need to secure our economic future.

A recent report from Universities Australia predicted demand for high school teachers will outstrip supply by 4000 in coming years.

By any measure, that’s a dramatic shortfall.

And where that shortage is going to have the biggest bite are the crucial fields of science,

technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Already, we have a significant proportion of teachers teaching science and maths and technology across the country without strong prior subject knowledge.

On the latest data, around one in four Year 8 students (23 per cent) is taught by nonspecialist maths teachers and one in ten (9 per cent) by non-specialist science teachers.

Professor Mark Hutchinson, President of Science & Technology, Australia.

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Yet the evidence is in: when taught by outof-field teachers, no matter how hard a teacher works, students’ enthusiasm and desire to continue in maths and science often falls.

To fix this, we need to attract more quality candidates, lift completion rates for teaching degrees, and boost the supply of specialist teachers in science and maths and technology.

Teaching is a stimulating and inspiring career choice. Teachers do one of the most important jobs in our communities.

They nurture the next generations of young minds, give students a strong foundation of knowledge, and instil a lifelong love of learning.

And still the teaching profession is not yet as rewarded, recognised and respected as it needs to be. We need to tackle this to give Australian children the very best start in life.

Higher teacher salaries would telegraph the immense value society places on teaching and boost the academic achievement levels of the candidates applying for teaching courses.

One disincentive for academic high achievers to go into teaching is the perception that they might feel bored teaching the same thing year after year. To solve this problem, teaching needs to be reframed as the intellectually challenging and incredibly rewarding career that it is. This requires clear pathways for advancement into roles as specialist teachers – where teachers are supported and rewarded to improve teaching practice in their fields.

And we really need those specialist teachers in STEM. Research by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute highlights that, at the current rate of training, it would take 20 years to ensure every Australian student is taught by a maths teacher with specialist training.

In the short-term, a quick fix would be to give current specialist STEM teachers an opportunity to work across multiple schools.

An extra benefit of this solution is that specialist teachers would be exposed to different teaching methods across multiple schools. This would also help to accelerate career paths for those teachers, create more full-time or larger time fraction positions, and further elevate the status of teaching.

In the medium-term, there is an opportunity to retrain and deploy some of the thousands of talented science and technology staff who lost jobs in the university sector during the pandemic – and others keen to move out of short-term research employment contracts.

Doing so will help to tackle the shortages of specialist STEM teachers in schools, including in regional Australia where this shortage is most pronounced.

To identify and prepare this untapped STEM teaching talent, a ready solution is at hand.

A national STEM organisation with access

A recent report predicted demand for high school teachers will outstrip supply by 4000 in coming years.

to this specialist workforce, in partnership with an accredited teaching training provider, could be tasked to provide an end-to-end STEM-specialist program similar to Teach for Australia. Collectively this would prepare STEM professionals with the necessary experience and skills for an intensive teaching program.

Teaching needs to be reframed as the incredibly rewarding career that it is.

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Such a program could also be expanded in the future to provide opportunities for STEM educators to engage with STEM professionals as part of their career progression.

In the long-term, we need to do more to encourage students to study maths and science at school in Australia. Our economic future depends on it. The drop in the desire to study these subjects is not only an immediate problem - but one that will damage our long-term workforce capabilities, national income and living standards.

All of the big new emerging technologies poised to revolutionise our lives and economy - artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing - will need a highly-trained workforce with strong maths skills to build and maintain strong sovereign capabilities.

To fix this problem, careers education and advice needs to provide broader information to students about the strong benefits of studying STEM subjects, and the immense and hugely rewarding career opportunities that can provide for them.

Australia’s future economy - and our future workforce - will depend on our students having that essential bedrock knowledge of science and maths.

Without it, we’ll be lost. EM

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TECHNOLOGY // JB HIFI JB Hi-Fi Education’s BYOD program supports schools with their family communications.

JB Hi-Fi Education JB HI-FI EDUCATION HAS BEEN SERVING THE EDUCATION SECTOR FOR OVER 20 YEARS AND IS ONE OF THE LARGEST PROVIDERS OF TECHNOLOGY TO THE PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND TERTIARY MARKETS IN AUSTRALIA - INCLUDING BYOD AND 1:1 PROGRAMS. In an exciting development for the commercial division of JB Hi-Fi Group Ltd, JB Hi-Fi Education Solutions recently re-branded to JB Hi-Fi Education. “JB Hi-Fi Education is our recognition of the unique needs of the education sector. It reflects our expertise in supporting education institutions as a specialty area,” says Sandy Hyland, Head of JB Hi-Fi Education. “This includes our refreshed online BYOD program that makes it easier for schools and parents when it comes to managing and purchasing school technology. It’s an important consideration when promoting consistency of learning, whether at home or in the classroom,” adds Hyland.

JB Hi-Fi Education recognises the unique needs of the education sector.

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SIMPLIFYING TECHNOLOGY FOR SCHOOLS AND PARENTS Technology is complex. When choosing devices for the rigours and demands of student life, there is a wide range of concerns from education needs to technical specifications to support arrangements that need to be weighed up. JB Hi-Fi Education’s BYOD program aims to simplify this for

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schools and parents alike. Its education experts work with schools to identify the right education-specific products for students’ learning outcomes, as well as the school’s ICT infrastructure and processes. Schools are able to offer these devices and accessories to parents at special commercial prices, with extended warranty and insurance options.

“With the JB Hi-Fi Education online BYOD program, parents can confidently make their purchase knowing that they’re choosing from a range of devices and accessories pre-selected and approved by their school. It’s a very different experience to retail,” says Hyland.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS Clear school communications play a key role in successful BYOD or 1:1 programs.

Communications should emphasise the benefits for students including improved learning outcomes, honing 21st century skills, and increased collaboration and engagement with teachers and peers. For parents, important information includes required or recommended

device specifications, accessories to support and complement their child’s learning, school IT support processes and purchasing options.

A thoughtful communication and engagement plan could include letters or flyers, web pages, email communications, parent information sessions and social media.

“A strength of JB Hi-Fi Education’s BYOD program is the support we can provide schools with their family communications. Our Account Managers are very happy to assist by attending parent information sessions, online or in person.

We’ve also produced some fantastic new resources for schools to leverage in their own communications - such as parent overviews, tool kits, videos and presentations,” continues Hyland.

ZERO TOUCH DEPLOYMENT AND SEAMLESS LOGISTICS Traditionally, schools had to manage complex logistics in order to have the right devices in

students’ hands for the start of the school year.

Ordering, delivery, installation, distribution and post-deployment support all required planning and staffing – often a tall order for stretched IT support resources.

Modern device management tooling and processes eliminate the need for schools to even touch a device before a student powers it up for the first time. Leveraging the reach of JB Hi-Fi’s extensive retail network, parents can order a device online, pick it up from their local store, and it will automatically self-configure when connected to the internet. This process ensures it matches the school’s security and software requirements and supports on-the-fly changes if an issue arises or an upgrade is urgently required.

“New software capabilities such as Microsoft’s Autopilot, and Apple’s Device Enrolment Program have enabled JB Hi-Fi to create a truly unique offering through their

distribution network. Schools partnering with JB Hi-Fi Education enjoy the benefits of our deep expertise in modern device management, and the convenience of participating JB Hi-Fi stores across the nation,” says Hyland.

There’s an invigorating energy and vision at the new JB Hi-Fi Education for the future of education technology. JB Hi-Fi Education’s commitment to developing a breadth of offerings and expertise to support schools aims to provide a powerful platform for the next generation of Australian educators and students.

“We’re more ready than ever to support our education customers with investment in nationwide reach and fulfilment backed by hundreds of retail stores, an experienced team of education specialists, and strong partnerships with leading global brands,” adds Hyland. EM For further information visit, www.jbhifi.education

JB Hi-Fi Education’s BYOD program aims to simplify technical specifications for schools and parents.

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TECHNOLOGY // LENOVO

Learning without barriers – a world class high school meets world class technology WE ALL KNOW THE IMPORTANT ROLE A GREAT TEACHER CAN PLAY IN SETTING A STUDENT UP FOR SUCCESS AND EQUIPPING THEM WITH THE SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE TO TACKLE WHAT’S NEXT. Something that is often overlooked is the contribution a great network of technology solutions and partners can play in making an

Technology is key for today’s school students.

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impact on a student’s journey. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, technology is key for today’s high school graduates, as

they step outside the classroom and navigate the increasingly complex ‘real world’.

With smart technology at their disposal, students can connect, collaborate and engage with their passions, and be empowered to reach for the stars.

A VIBRANT AND PROGRESSIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY, WITH BIG AMBITIONS A world class school accredited by the Council of International Schools, Norwood International High in Adelaide, South Australia caters for 1,700 students from a variety of cultural backgrounds.

Norwood celebrates its diversity in its student body, and also in its diversity of programs.

Graduates leave global citizens, armed with career and life skills from a range of academic disciplines and extracurricular activities.

One pursuit on offer is the arts – Years 9 to 12 can explore their passion in the fields of graphic

design, art, architecture, 3D modelling and film production in elective classes at the school’s newly revamped Innovation Hub. “Technology is what we do – technology plays a part in pretty much everything that our students do. The way that we coach and train our students to use technology appropriately means that they can then function in a really complex world,” says Amanda Walsh, Deputy Principal at Norwood International High School A purpose built area, the school’s Innovation Hub recently needed a facelift – it was important to Norwood that the tech on offer mirrored exactly what students would experience in a career in the arts, music or media industries in 2022. Turning to Lenovo for its extensive portfolio of hardware, software, and services, Norwood replaced an ageing suite of products with brand new Lenovo workstations for students to experience first hand while working on their school projects. Teachers reported seeing students jaw’s drop when they first saw the new space!

AN AGILE TECHNOLOGY PARTNER WITH THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB Norwood’s students were accustomed to Windows, so new hardware with the same operating system was the logical option. Yet Norwood’s Innovation Hub desktops had a higher performance need than that of standard desktops – that’s where Lenovo’s customisable CPU solutions came in.

The new workstations Lenovo and Norwood’s ICT team installed were best optimised for the faculty’s use case and specialist tasks; fitted with NVIDIA graphic cards, the workstations run high performance applications without skipping a beat. Students designing graphics, 3D modelling, editing videos and game coding have the ability to render creations much faster and smoother.

“Lenovo for us was a no-brainer, because the work and the support that we get from the company is impressive, and most importantly, we wanted to have devices that were recommended and reliable,” says Walsh.

Fast forward a few terms, and the complexity and quality of the work students are submitting has increased significantly reported the school.

Students’ creativity and outcomes have improved, with higher enrolments and interest than ever before in arts electives.

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For those students looking to pursue a career in the arts, their exposure to industry-leading technology during their formative years has equipped them with invaluable experience and knowledge.

“Technology is what we do - technology plays a part in pretty much everything that our students do. The way that we coach and train our students to use technology appropriately means that they can then function in a really complex world.”

“We’re planning on installing two more computer lab pools, with similar specifications so that the teachers can have a similar experience [as the arts Innovation Hub] across different curriculum areas,” says Liam McMahon, ICT Team Lead, Norwood International High School.

Enabled by smart technology, Norwood International High School’s vision to help students understand that they can make a real difference in the world with their unique talents, comes to life every day. EM For further information visit, techtoday.lenovo.com/au/en/solutions/education

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THE LAST WORD // eSafety

The boy who loves buses: A tale of online safety JULIE INMAN GRANT, ESAFETY COMMISSIONER, TELLS A TALE OF ONLINE SAFETY ABOUT A BOY NAMED BEN, AND HIGHLIGHTS HOW TO SEEK SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE REGARDING ONLINE SAFETY OF CHILDREN. Meet Ben*.

Ben is 13 and has a special interest in buses. He spends his lunchtimes alone calculating local bus routes on the school oval.

This special interest is remarked on by fellow students and some of them have created Instagram accounts that reference his name and buses, such as @_BENloveshisstupidbuses. They post pictures of buses and add hashtags, such as #dontgetrunoverben #bensbuses and #iseeuonthebusBen. Viewed from a distance and in isolation, these posts can seem relatively innocuous.

But from the perspective of a 13-year-old boy who doesn’t know who’s creating and sharing this content, it was highly distressing.

Ben’s parents reported the posts to the social media platform but the posts didn’t violate their community standards. The school was made aware of the issue and suggested the parents make a report to the eSafety Commissioner.

At eSafety, we focus not only on the harm but on the individual context, circumstances and mental health, wellbeing and safety impact.

WHO IS THE ESAFETY COMMISSIONER? The eSafety Commissioner is the world’s first government regulator dedicated to keeping people safe online. We’re a team of educators, investigators, lawyers, policy and technology experts, digital specialists and other professionals who share one goal: a

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safer and more positive online experience for all Australians.

HOW DO WE HELP CHILDREN WHO ARE TARGETED BY CYBERBULLYING? Our main goal is prevention. We want children and young people to have safe and positive experiences online. Through eSafety.gov. au, we provide a range of tips and advice for children and young people on how to be informed, safe, online users.

In addition to prevention, we also have unique powers to protect and safeguard children and young people. This includes taking action against serious cyberbullying.

When platforms fail to remove harmful content within 48 hours, you can then report to eSafety.

What do we mean by ‘serious cyberbullying content’? It means the content sent to the child or young person– or posted or shared about them – must be likely to harm their mental health, wellbeing and safety and is considered seriously threatening, intimidating, harassing or humiliating.

From the outside, some cyberbullying incidents may seem harmless or an isolated incident. But it is the impact on the child or young person that our eSafety investigators assess. For Ben, the collective impact of this targeted content was deemed to be intimidating and humiliating, so we could advocate knowing the effect on Ben. In this instance, we were able to have the content removed using our powers under the Online Safety Act.

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HOW DO WE SUPPORT SCHOOLS AND EDUCATORS? We are all operating in a complex online ecosystem, where keeping up with the latest opportunities and challenges can seem like a never-ending task. That’s why we have a comprehensive range of support, resources and professional learning opportunities available for educators, including the ‘Best Practice for Online Educations and the Toolkit for Schools’ to support a whole-school approach.

As a proactive and responsive organisation, our Education team is listening, collaborating and responding to emerging needs and issues. We are hosting free, live webinars for teachers and wellbeing leaders to enhance their ability to prevent, respond and report critical online incidents. Our newest webinar explores case studies, incident assessment tools and how to support both primary and secondary school students and their families.

Register for the free ‘Responding and reporting critical online incidents in school settings’ webinar: esafety.gov.au/teacherwebinars EM For further information visit, esafety.gov.au/report *Ben’s name and details of the complaint have been changed.

Australian Curriculum // THE LAST WORD

The continued evolution of NAPLAN DAVID DE CARVALHO, CEO OF THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING AUTHORITY, TALKS ABOUT THE MILESTONE CHANGES NAPLAN HAS SEEN RECENTLY. The last 2 years have been significant for the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA); the why of our work has not changed but the how and the what have undergone significant shifts.

In terms of the important work of assessment, the NAPLAN test event completed in May this year was a milestone that marked the first year all schools took the test online and the last year that the test took place in May. The test event went exceptionally well, with a record 4.3 million tests successfully submitted by more than 1.2 million students in 9,315 campuses and schools across Australia.

I want to say thank you to the students, teachers and schools who helped make that happen, particularly those who grappled with the unique challenges of staffing and attendance impacted by COVID-19 and, in some cases, floods.

It was an important milestone for the program and for ACARA, and we know NAPLAN online is a better, more precise assessment that is more engaging for students.

Earlier this year, we had more significant changes made to the National Assessment Program.

In July last year, education ministers asked ACARA to investigate the feasibility of moving NAPLAN as early in the year as possible.

We worked with our partners in the states and territories and determined that it was possible to hold NAPLAN in Term One, starting from 2023, which the ministers agreed to.

We have also had significant changes to the national curriculum, with the Australian Curriculum Review and the launch of the new

Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0 website, which teachers tell us is set to change the way they use the curriculum.

A national curriculum ensures the same high standard of curriculum content and expectation of learning is available to every student, regardless of where they live and the updated Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0 is one that sets high standards.

Our driving focus throughout the review was the direction from the terms of reference, which asked us to refine, realign and declutter the curriculum. This meant substantially reducing the amount of content to make it more teachable.

One of the ways we facilitated streamlining the curriculum was with our new Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0 website. The website is not just the host for the updated curriculum but also one of the few digitalised curriculum websites in the world, with interactivity and features that will make it easier for teachers to plan their work.

A key aim of the review was to give teachers more time to teach for deeper understanding.

This website does that. Teachers from across Australia were involved in user experience testing to make sure the new website has specific features to help teachers view, explore and plan.

The main feature is the selector tool, which is the gateway to the Australian Curriculum.

Everything the user needs is accessible from the top menu: all the information about the F–10 curriculum as well as advice about planning and implementation. This is also the jump-off point to explore the different dimensions of the

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curriculum and access various resources.

There’s a quick menu to download curriculum materials, help pages to answer questions and a search tool to help explore.

All curriculum materials are also now in Word rather than PDF format, which makes it easier for teachers to edit and work with the content to suit their purposes when lesson planning.

One of the most useful features is the inline glossary, which saves the user from having to toggle back and forth to look for word definitions. Instead of having to look things up in a separate document, teachers can now simply hover over a word to see a pop-up with its definition displayed.

Teachers used to the Version 8.4 curriculum will know well how laborious it was to move between the 3 dimensions of the curriculum.

The new website has done the work so the user can clearly see the connections between the 3 dimensions as well as between the learning areas.

We will maintain the existing Australian Curriculum website with the Version 8.4 curriculum and all support resources while Version 9.0 is now available on the new website.

Both websites will remain live until all states and territories have transitioned fully to the Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0. EM

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THE LAST WORD // Education Services

The role of technology in addressing teacher shortages TEACHERS ARE LEAVING THE PROFESSION IN RECORD NUMBERS AND WITHOUT A COMPREHENSIVE LONG-TERM APPROACH THAT FOCUSES ON ATTRACTING AND RETAINING QUALITY TEACHERS, THIS PROBLEM WILL CONTINUE TO WORSEN OVER THE COMING YEARS. ANDREW SMITH, CEO OF EDUCATION SERVICES AUSTRALIA, DISCUSSES HOW TECHNOLOGY COULD HELP. For good reason, the attention of education ministers and policy makers has turned to the teacher shortage that is confronting schools across the country. There is no single solution that will reverse the trend because the causes are varied and complex.

I am confident that with the full attention of education leaders from ministers to principals, we will find an effective response.

In the meantime, there is much we can do to support those already applying their expertise and skill in classrooms across the country through effective design and deployment of digital technologies.

Education technology, or edtech, is not new to our classrooms. Since the early 2000s, the education sector has been willing to explore ways in which technology can help students to learn better, help teachers to teach better and reduce the administrative burden in schools. Not all our efforts on this front have been successful but there is no doubt that the role and impact of technology in education has grown exponentially.

These education technologies, new and emerging, are important assets in our efforts to support teachers and allow them to focus on what they do best, shaping the learning of young Australians.

Some of the ways we can achieve this objective is to leverage existing high-quality digital resources to support curriculum implementation. Between 2008 and 2012, a bank of around 20,000 resources was

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developed and curated to support the implementation of the original Australian Curriculum. Scootle, the portal through which teachers access this important national asset, continues to be heavily used by teachers.

The availability of a comprehensive suite of digital resources and units of lessons not only reduces teacher workload as they implement the revised Australian Curriculum, it also means that no student need be at risk of learning loss in the event of a pandemic, floods or other circumstance that mean physical participation in a classroom is impossible.

These resources and lessons can be provided to students who cannot attend school; used for homework or revision; used in the classroom to support differentiated learning; and support professional development of teachers.

Data shows that up to 40 per cent of teachers are teaching out of field and many students spend up to a year of their schooling taught by casual relief teachers. Edtech has an important role to play in supporting teachers as they navigate unfamiliar territory in areas such as literacy, mathematics and language learning. The Australian Government’s Early Language Learning Australia (ELLA) program has been shown to be an effective tool in fostering language learning in classrooms staffed by teachers who have no formal training in this area.

Maturing technologies, including artificial intelligence, are increasingly prominent in our

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daily lives. These technologies have great potential to support teachers by personalising the learning experience of individual students through easily digestible information about what each student knows and can do along with suggestions for next steps.

There are also opportunities to use AI to anticipate and develop models for early identification of students at risk of falling behind on their learning journey or in dropping out of school altogether. These predictive models can provide an additional data point for teachers to complement their own expertise.

Of course, privacy and information security must be paramount in the design and deployment of edtech. Programs such as the Safer Technologies 4 Schools (ST4S) initiative that undertakes risk assessments of commonly used products can reduce the burden created for teachers who will want to ensure the cyber-safety of their students.

None of these education technologies are a replacement for the expertise and personal connections that teachers establish with their students but they, and others, offer opportunities to address some of the challenges that we face in building and developing a teaching workforce that can develop future generations of young Australians. EM

Early Childhood Education // THE LAST WORD

Teaching self-regulation in early childhood EMERITUS PROFESSOR MARJORY EBBECK, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA DISCUSSES HOW TEACHING SELF-REGULATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD IS IMPORTANT FOR POSITIVE LEARNING OUTCOMES. We’ve all seen it before: a child screaming in a supermarket, their exasperated parent wrangling the trolley while, more often than not, judgemental shoppers pass by. It’s a not a great situation to be in, but it’s a common example of how a child’s emotions and lack of selfregulation can escalate at the most inopportune times.

Learning about self-regulation and being able to express feelings and behaviours in socially acceptable way, is a process that begins in childhood. Defined as the ability to control or direct one’s attention, thoughts, emotions and actions, it is considered by experts to be a marker for later life success.

For parents and teachers, an understanding of self-regulation will not only help to understand a child’s behaviour but also help to guide them.

The foundations of self-regulation begin early in life with self-regulatory behaviour evolving during toddlerhood, preschool, and primary school. During these years, children need to learn how to cope with their feelings, how manage their behaviour when they feel overwhelmed, how to focus their attention so that they can learn new things, and of course, how to get along with others and work towards achieving common goals.

Children differ in their ability to develop self-regulation, and this is influenced by the child’s temperament, home life and school environment. Yet, parent and teacher support can help moderate and strengthen a child’s growing sense of self-regulation.

In the early years, parental warmth,

responsiveness, and positive relationships can help protect children from a range of environmental stressors at home, in school and the wider environment. Similarly, teachers have the opportunity to see children in a more objective space – at school - where they can identify any additional supports or needs. For example, there will be times when a child may need added support – it could be when there’s a new baby in the family, if there are difficulties at home, during crises like the dreadful bushfires seen in Australia in the past few years, and of course, the most current stressor – COVID. All these scenarios place strong emotional and physical demands on children of all ages, and all can delay development of self-regulation.

SO, WHY IS SELF-REGULATION IMPORTANT? A child who lacks self-regulation may find it difficult to engage in learning tasks, be distracted easily and lack motivation. But as self-regulation emerges in a child’s skill set, they’re more able to learn effectively and can pursue activities with a sense of purpose and belonging. At the same time, their identity strengthens, and their sense of agency increases; for a child it’s now about I can do it! This sense of belief continues throughout secondary school, tertiary studies, and adult life and helps people to cope with adversities across life.

SO, WHAT CAN TEACHERS DO TO ENCOURAGE SELF-REGULATION? Some of the key strategies that teachers can use to strengthen a child’s self-regulation include:

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Modelling respect for the rights of others, including children.

Creating responsive, reciprocal relationships with children so that they feel secure to practice new skills and learn from their mistakes.

Providing a class environment where diversity is respected and acknowledged.

Developing positive, reciprocal relationships which engender communication.

Using opportunities to strengthen relationships with children.

Creating a calm, well-organised classroom environment.

Allowing children to have choices, where possible.

Creating consistent and predictable routines so that children know what to expect throughout the day.

Happier, more confident children who enjoy preschool and school make for far more engaged learners. When it comes to the crunch, children with high levels of selfregulation are less demanding of teacher time, can be deeply involved in learning, and will contribute to a positive and productive classroom climate. EM

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