Teacher Magazine

Infographic: School-provided lunches

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +1000

A survey of almost 400 parents has assessed their interest and preferences in a school-provided meal offering for Australian primary schools. Respondents were asked about cost, nutrition and quality, environmental sustainability, access, menu options, and the school approach to food. Here are some of the findings.

The Research Files Episode 106: Unpacking effective supports for teacher and leader induction

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +1000

‘Induction and mentoring is about bringing your academic capability to life in the reality of a classroom.’ In today’s podcast, CEO of AITSL Tim Bullard joins Teacher Deputy Editor Rebecca Vukovic to talk all about improving induction for both early career teachers and school leaders.

Planning for learning in mathematics – a collaborative intentional effort

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +1000

In our latest reader submission, Dr Aylie Davidson, Lecturer in Mathematics Education at Deakin University, explains that planning for learning necessitates intellectual and collaborative effort, and outlines what an effective planning meeting for maths looks like in practice.

School culture is built in the little moments by us all

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +1000

‘Perhaps the most important realisation for any school community is that culture is never owned by leadership alone.’ In her first column for Teacher, Associate Principal Rachael Lehr explores how strong, positive school cultures are deliberately built through everyday actions and shared responsibility.

Agency in the age of AI: building foundational AI literacy for every child

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +1000

‘If we equip the next generation with the foundational literacies to understand how AI works, the creative confidence to build with it, and the critical judgement to know when and how it should be used, the possibilities are extraordinary.’ In this Q&A, Andrew Sliwinski, Vice President and Head of Product Experience at LEGO® Education, answers questions about computer science and artificial intelligence instruction in the classroom, and what we can do now to empower student agency in a changing world.

Infographic: Schools in 2025 – student enrolment and retention

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +1000

The Australian Bureau of Statistics release data on schools and students in Australia each year. The latest data for 2025 show increases in student enrolment and retention. Find out more in this infographic.

Podcast special: Co-designing a podcast lesson with students and experts

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +1000

Our guest on today’s podcast is Kayla Borg from St Mary’s Primary School in Whittlesea, Victoria. She shares how she went about co‑designing a podcast lesson for her year 5 and 6 students in partnership with the eSmart team at the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, what her students learned from this experience, and why real‑world, student‑led digital learning can have such a powerful ripple effect across the entire school community.

Swifties and Stranger Things – teen fandoms, scientific engagement and critical thinking skills

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 07:00:00 +1000

In today’s article Samantha Ephraims from Kalkie State School in Queensland uses the teen fandoms of Taylor Swift and television show Stranger Things as examples of students mirroring the scientific process, and suggests that the fandoms can be used to address a decline in scientific engagement in students.

Partnerships in education: Aviators in schools helping engage students in STEM

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +1100

As a school, establishing partnerships that tap into external resources and expertise can enhance student outcomes. At Findon Primary School, a partnership with CSIRO has engaged students with the aviation and aerospace industries and even supported the design of a whole-school STEM program. Find out more in this article.

Teacher Staffroom Episode 74: Implementation of programs in the curriculum

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 07:30:00 +1100

In our latest reader survey you let us know that you’d like more content on the topic of curriculum implementation. We’ve been hard at work having a look at this in the first few months of 2026, and in this episode of Teacher Staffroom, we take you through some highlights.

Teachers as co-learners – teaching languages in daily 15-minute chunks

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

To address staffing concerns and improve language provision in primary schools, an innovative program known as TCL (Teachers as Co-Learners) supports the provision of languages through daily allocation of 15-minute chunks during the school day, run by a classroom teacher with the support of a language assistant.

Research news: ‘The gap between empathy and action’ – how children respond to bullying at school

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

New research shows students recognise bullying to be intentional and emotionally harmful behaviour, and they want to help, but many don’t feel able to intervene. In this article we speak to Dr Aneeza Pervez about the implications of these research findings for schools, specifically when it comes to anti-bullying program design.

School Improvement Episode 67: Supporting students of all ages to read successfully – phonics, morphology, vocabulary and word study

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

In today’s podcast, CEO of the Dyslexia-SPELD Foundation and Educational and Developmental Psychologist, Mandy Nayton, joins Teacher’s Dominique Beech to share frameworks to support all students to read successfully. We cover essential phonics knowledge, morphology, vocabulary and word study, and also discuss how to support older students’ literacy skills.

The invisible backpack of childhood trauma – 3 classroom strategies

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

Trauma enters classrooms through the invisible backpacks students carry each day. While educators cannot remove that weight, they can help make it more manageable. In today’s article Associate Professor Bryan Matera and Jenna Larsen from Winona State University, in the US, share 3 strategies teachers can use to support students.

Teacher’s Bookshelf: Leadership burnout – one principal’s personal experience

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

In his new book, From Burnout to Breakthrough: The Leadership Reset, educational leader and author Brad Gaynor explores the growing pressures on school leaders and the toll these demands can take on wellbeing. In this extract for Teacher readers, Gaynor draws on his own lived experience of burnout to unpack the warning signs and share why naming it gave him the first foothold toward recovery.

Using music to nurture wellbeing – simple and sustainable teacher practices

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

Participating in professional learning can be energising and inspiring, but introducing what you’ve learned into your own practice – and sustaining it over the long term – can be hard. Taking small, simple steps on a regular basis was a key feature of what endured for teachers in a recent Australian research study of music-based approaches to nurture wellbeing.

The Research Files Episode 105: A whole school approach to teacher wellbeing

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

In The Research Files Episode 105, Jo Earp is joined by Dr Alexandra Hennessey from the University of Manchester to talk about a research study exploring how different schools in the UK have adopted the Well Schools framework. Their conversation focused on 2 aspects – the role of teacher wellbeing and the importance of a whole school approach.

Questions for Thinking – a school program to move teacher professional learning from information to impact

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

For the last 4 years, Gus Humphries has been working to develop and implement the Questions for Thinking (Q4T) Program at Caulfield Grammar School. In our latest reader contribution, he shares the key ingredients of the opt-in professional learning program, which allows teachers to investigate and develop an area of their practice with the support of a dedicated ‘partner’.

International TALIS insights – relationship-building skills and strategies

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +1100

‘Supporting relationship skills often requires empathy, active listening and sustained dialogue.’ OECD Director of Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher shares international insights from TALIS 2024 on how teachers respond when students disengage or struggle with relationship skills.

The great equaliser – why access to laundry should never be a barrier to education

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +1100

For some students, the difference between walking through the school gate or staying home is as simple – and as heavy – as a clean uniform. Not-for-profit Orange Sky Australia is now partnering with schools to install free, on-campus washing machines and dryers, guided by a simple belief: access to laundry should never be a barrier to education.