What makes a Vocational Education and Training (VET) program successful? In this article, we talk to Linda Snoxall, VET Coordinator at Mildura Senior College – host of one of the eight successful VET programs identified in a recent report from the National Centre for Vocational Education on the factors of successful VET programs in schools.

Taking turns and sharing in early childhood develops children’s pro-social skills in the early years, helping them to thrive in school and later life. In the second part of a Q&A with Teacher, Lauren Armstrong – Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the University of Tasmania – discusses how early years and primary teachers can support the development of these important skills.

Our guest for this episode of School Improvement is Judith Weir, Principal of Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) Heidelberg. We caught up with her at the start of the school year here in Australia, to talk about leadership, strategic planning, how to balance competing priorities, the impact of COVID on student wellbeing and the importance of professional mentoring.

Financial technology developments such as cashless transactions and in-game purchases, and risks such as scam emails and texts warrant teaching about. Carly Sawatzki, Jill Brown and Peter Saffin ask: ‘In what ways are your students financially active, and how is your school preparing them for informed financial participation?’

Our guest on episode 72 of The Research Files is Professor Joseph Ciarrochi from Australian Catholic University’s Institute for Positive Psychology and Education. He’s the lead researcher for projectHOPE – a program that’s notched up success in re-engaging at-risk secondary students with their schooling.

An overwhelming majority of teachers don’t get enough time to prepare for effective classroom practice or high-quality lesson planning, according to new Australian research. The Grattan Institute report says teaching quality is suffering and students are losing out.

In his second article on data-driven school improvement, Patrick Sanders from Brighton Grammar School shares examples of how staff have used data to influence decision-making and improve the teaching, learning and wellbeing of the school community.

In this special podcast episode, we’ve gathered a panel of experienced teachers and leaders, who will be sharing their priorities, strategies and tips for the first few weeks of term and for a successful year. Topics include classroom displays, professional learning and positive behaviour management.

With Term 1 just around the corner in Australia, it’s a great time to start brainstorming events and themes to tie in to your lesson planning for the new school year. We’ve rounded up some of the key dates in each term to help get you started.

As a school, fostering strong relationships with the wider community has wide-ranging benefits to student outcomes. In this edition of Researching education: Five further readings, we’re sharing five readings on the topic of school-community relationships.