We were thrilled to welcome more than 160 educators from across the ACT — the majority from public schools — to a workshop with leading literacy expert Professor Lorraine Hammond AM. The outstanding engagement on the day reflects a strong appetite for evidence-based reading instruction in Canberra’s public schools, with 100% of survey respondents indicating they plan to apply what they learned in their own classrooms.

The 2024 NAPLAN results show that 1 in 3 Year 9 students in Canberra are not proficient in reading and maths. Among these struggling students, those who are educationally disadvantaged are overrepresented, indicating a significant equity gap.

The free professional development workshop Teaching Reading Explicitly – held at the National Convention Centre – brings together teachers, school leaders, allied health professionals, and education policymakers. The event builds on the ACT Government’s Strong Foundations initiative, focused on closing the equity gap in education by promoting consistent, high quality teaching practices across the system.

Professor Hammond is recognised nationally for her expertise in the science of reading. She played a key role in introducing high-impact teaching practices in Catholic schools across Canberra and the surrounding region, which have already led to measurable improvements in student reading outcomes through dedicated coaching and leadership support.

Professor Hammond has also led the Kimberley Schools Project in Western Australia, where reading outcomes improved significantly in remote schools, despite challenges like low attendance and high disadvantage.

Workshop attendees included representatives from the ACT Education Directorate and multiple school leadership teams. Several public schools have sent their entire teaching staff, while others are represented by principals, deputy principals and executive teachers.

“Teachers are inherently altruistic, when given the right tools and support, they’re eager to adopt methods that demonstrably improve learning,” said Scarlett Gaffey, Executive Director at Snow Foundation. “We know that high-quality, evidence-informed teaching changes lives, and today’s turnout shows a real appetite for this in our public schools.”

The workshop covers structured literacy, daily review, and how neuroscience, cognitive, and behavioural science inform effective reading instruction. Teachers learn to deliver fast-paced, engaging lessons using mini whiteboards for spelling and writing, with immediate, specific feedback that creates a fun, dynamic environment with plenty of practice.

See the full media release here.
Scarlett Gaffey’s Op Ed here.
WIN TV Coverage here.

For more information on how to lift reading rates see the Grattan Institute’s The Reading Guarantee: How to give every child the best chance of success – https://lnkd.in/gAnDWpgU