Shadow education minister announces $156m pledge
We’ve now moved on to our second politician for the day, Liberal MP and shadow minister for education Brad Rowswell, who is discussing the topic of neurodiversity in schools.
The member for Sandringham has also officially announced the Liberal Party’s education election promise – a $156 million pledge to support neurodiverse students, which he says would commence in the first term of 2028.
Under the proposed Successful School Starters program, occupational therapists and speech pathologists would be embedded in the schools, helping to identify neurodiverse students at the start of their schooling.
“Neurodiversity is not just a challenge. It can also be a strength. It can also be a gift,” Rowswell says. “Right now, too many students start school without the support they need … too many children fall through the cracks.”
“No parent should have to fight the system just to get help for their child. And no child should miss out on support because their family can’t navigate the system fast enough.”
The future of teaching: AI, data and workloads
Our next panel is discussing the future of teaching, and how the profession can be reimagined moving forward.
The four education professionals, moderated by Age education reporter Caroline Schelle, have broached some important topics including the workload of teachers, how data can be effectively utilised within the classroom and the use of AI within the education profession.
This masthead has extensively covered the use of artificial intelligence within the state’s schooling system, including a recent case of mass cheating at a Mulgrave high school and the call for universities to adopt clear guidelines.
“We’ve started building models within our school that lock AI within the boundaries of our school, so that in those moments where we’re capturing conversations or meetings, that those can be stored well,” says Greg Milholland from Melbourne Grammar School’s Grimwade House at the summit.
“I think there’s a real place for [AI], and I think we worry a lot about the consequences,” he adds.
Is teaching a trusted profession?
Attendees are now hearing from Martin Fletcher, chief executive of the Victoria Institute of Teaching, who is speaking about value and trust within the teaching profession.
Fletcher says that the data shows that teaching is already a highly trusted industry. But he believes that it’s important to consider how this respect can be maintained, particularly considering the increased pressure that’s being experienced within the profession.
The head of the education industry’s professional watchdog previously told this masthead that the way in which teachers are regulated needs to be “reimagined” under a fresh regulatory regime.
“We need to ensure that regulation creates a framework in which teaching professionalism can flourish,” Fletcher says.
“Regulation does not create professionalism. Rather it is the professionalism of tens of thousands of individuals that … delivers safe, high-quality education to children and young people.”
Leaders discuss idea implementation within schools
Following on from Dr Jenny Donovan’s presentation on “evidence-based” teaching, we now have four education leaders discussing how the method should be implemented in practice.
Moderated by Age education reporter Bridie Smith, the panel is discussing how education institutions can shift from simply understanding the research to actually embedding it into classroom life.
“We’ve been asking our students questions about their experiences in the classroom, to make sure it’s translating from what teachers want to happen,” says Nick Baff, dean of staff professional growth at St Kevin’s College.
“That gives us the scope to focus on things that are important.”
Another key topic is how changes can be sustained over the long term, which Katie Roberts-Hull, managing director at Teach Well, has been discussing.
“The sustainability is really hard. There’s been a lot of talk about shifting leadership, I think that’s the biggest risk for schools … it’s about developing those different levels of leaders with that deep knowledge,” she says.
The case for ‘evidence-based’ teaching
We’ve wrapped up morning tea here at The Age Schools Summit (mini chicken and leek pot pies, if you were wondering) and are now onto the next keynote speaker.
Dr Jenny Donovan, chief executive at the Australian Education Research Organisation, is on stage for her presentation about “evidence-based” teaching.
Donovan is a strong supporter of this style of teaching – which has driven recent changes such as phonics and explicit learning at schools, as well as uniform standards for teacher training at universities.
It is supported by both the state and federal governments. However, there has also been growing resistance from teachers and academics to the “evidence-based” methods.
Donovan’s presentation is focused on debunking some of the myths surrounding the teaching method, and discussing the ways in which it will be able to improve the state’s education system.
“Most teachers want to do what works. But learning new practices requires time … and consistent leadership … which are in short supply,” the chief executive says.
School principals discuss staff wellbeing
We’re now listening to a group of Victorian principals and deputy principals speak about the issue of staff wellbeing within the state’s schools.
There are four speakers on stage – including Irymple Secondary College principal Jo McQuinn, who travelled six hours to attend today’s summit.
Some of the topics that are being discussed include successful initiatives that have been implemented in schools, how leaders can actively support their staff members, and how long-term wellbeing can be measured within the education system.
The panel is being moderated by Age education reporter Alex Crowe. After this, the room will break for morning tea.
Carroll addresses leadership (again) in foyer
Ben Carroll’s address at the summit might have concluded, but he hasn’t quite managed to escape questions about the future of his party’s leadership.
The education minister was stopped by journalists and TV cameras in the foyer here at the convention centre. He was asked by an ABC reporter whether he would put his hand up to lead his party, were the situation to arise.
“There’s no vacancy … for the leadership,” Carroll says. “I’m the deputy premier. It’s a job I love every day, being education minister, and I’m working hard every day.”
“[Allan] is doing a very good job … [she’s] out there door knocking. She’s putting her best foot forward. We know we’ve got to get our primary vote up. That’s what we’re working very hard to do.”
Education department secretary on ‘evidence-based’ teaching
The Department of Education’s schools and regional services deputy secretary David Howes has downplayed the views of some education researchers who have been questioning the state’s shift towards explicit teaching methods.
“I just want to make the observation, if that pushback is happening, it’s not happening in schools, it’s not from Victorian government schools,” Howes said.
The Age reported in the lead up to today’s Education Summit that resistance was growing among some teachers and academics to the “evidence-based” teaching methods that governments are increasingly mandating for the nation’s classrooms.
However, Howes said while this might be coming from some academics, it was not an issue teachers or schools were raising with him.
“I have had one email from one principal who expressed concern about the reading position; we had an interchange about that and reached a point of agreement,” Howes said.
School grading system faces criticism
Schools and regional services deputy secretary David Howes has criticised Geoff Masters, a member of the International Baccalaureate board of governors, after he said in The Age that the way children’s work was traditionally graded should be replaced with measurements that show what they have learnt since starting school.
Howes said the Victorian Department of Education had moved away from that kind of reporting some years ago, and “you wouldn’t find that in many schools now”.
“It’s an important issue, but my plea is to say, can we acknowledge what is happening in schools before completely damning what’s happening,” he says.
“I am not, for a moment, claiming things are perfect, not at all to say the Department of Education has got everything right, I think these discussions are incredibly important, but I don’t think they’re assisted by misrepresentations.”
Howes says it would be better to say “here is what’s been done, and here’s the limitation and here is where things could go further”.
Masters will speak at the summit at 12.40pm today.
Chief executive’s ‘reimagined’ regulatory regime
The Victorian Institute of Teaching chief executive will tell The Age Schools Summit today that information about punishments handed to badly behaved school teachers could become publicly available under a “reimagined” regulatory regime.
Martin Fletcher says the regulation of school teachers must evolve if it is to retain the trust of parents, students and the public.
The institute had nearly 160,000 registered teachers and received about 1300 complaints or notifications about the behaviour of educators in the 2024-25 financial year. You can read Noel Towell’s previous reporting here.
He’s on stage at 11.30am.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
