Dr Lorraine Hammond is one of Australia’s leading voices in evidence-based literacy instruction. Photo: Kylie Coll.
David Gonski once said: “If you can educate somebody, not only can you change their life, but in turn, by making them more productive and making them happier etc, you can actually change the life of a community.”
This quote resonates now more than ever.
A landmark schools funding agreement has recently been reached between the Commonwealth and all State and Territory Governments. The new Better and Fairer Schools Agreement will inject an additional $16.5 billion over the next decade to ensure all government schools receive 100 per cent of the funding they need, as first outlined by Gonski in 2011.
The agreement focuses on three key national priorities: equity and excellence; wellbeing for learning and engagement; and a strong, sustainable workforce.
This funding is tied to specific initiatives, such as Year 1 phonics and numeracy checks to identify students in need of extra help, catch-up tutoring programs for struggling learners, and enhanced wellbeing support, including counsellors and mental health workers. Teachers will gain access to professional development, while incentives will attract skilled educators to high-need schools. National targets aim to improve Year 12 completion rates, reduce the need for remedial support and boost attendance rates.
Here in the ACT, the Government is reforming public education under the Strong Foundations initiative, which focuses on explicit teaching and evidence-informed practices.
Snow Foundation is excited to complement these government reforms by hosting a free workshop in Canberra led by Professor of Early Years Literacy at the University of Notre Dame, Lorraine Hammond, one of Australia’s leading voices in evidence-based literacy instruction.
This Monday (28 April), around 200 educators – most from ACT public schools – will attend Dr Hammond’s Teaching Reading Explicitly workshop. The strong response to this workshop is no surprise. Canberra educators know that change is needed.
The latest NAPLAN results show that one in three Year 9 students in the ACT are not proficient in reading or mathematics.
Students experiencing disadvantage, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, are overrepresented in those numbers. The statistics are no better at a national level.
We must do better, and this means working together at the school, community, and national levels.
It’s clear there is both the will and the knowledge to improve. We know what works. Structured, explicit literacy instruction – grounded in cognitive science, behavioural psychology and classroom practice – is lifting student outcomes across Australia. This approach is also being applied in some of our most complex and remote school communities.
Dr Hammond has played a key role in the Kimberley Schools Project in Western Australia, aiming to improve reading outcomes for students facing challenges such as low attendance, limited English exposure, and the impacts of trauma.
Monday’s workshop is an excellent opportunity for professional development, but to embed lasting change, teachers need more than one-off professional development – they need ongoing coaching, peer collaboration, and leadership that champions their work. That’s why it’s so exciting that the ACT has committed to these initiatives under the Strong Foundations reforms.
As Professor Hammond says: “Teachers make the difference. What we’re seeing now is a group of professionals who are curious, committed, and ready to make change.”
She also reminds us that teachers are inherently altruistic. With the right tools, support and time to see what works, they will take it and run with it – because they want the best for their students.
At Snow Foundation, we are proud to support Canberra educators on this journey. We believe in evidence, we believe in equity, and we believe in our public schools. We’re excited to be working alongside the ACT Education Directorate and others to help ensure what begins in a workshop becomes embedded in classrooms across the Territory.
This is about more than one event. It’s about every student in every school having the opportunity to thrive. And it starts with the people who show up ready to make it happen.
Change is coming – and Canberra is ready.
Scarlett Gaffey is an Executive Director at Snow Foundation and a founding member of the ACT Alliance for Evidence-Based Education. Scarlett is passionate about evidence-based learning and practical, family-focused therapy.
The Why, What and How of Teaching Reading Explicitly will be held in the Bradman Theatrette at the National Convention Centre Canberra, 31 Constitution Avenue, on Monday, 28 April, from 9 am to 3 pm. To find out more, and to book, visit Eventbrite.
