School Assembly is the podcast that explores what it takes to build a new school from the ground up. In Series 1 we’re following Principal Dr Ray Boyd and Associate Principal Rachael Lehr as they navigate the exciting and challenging journey. Each month, we touch base for updates and reflections on their progress in the newly developing suburb of Dayton, located in the eastern metropolitan city of Swan in Perth, Western Australia. Well, we’ve reached our series final. In this episode Ray and Rachael reflect on the events of the last 18 months – including achievements, anxieties and imposter syndrome – and look to the future for Team Dayton.

Host: Jo Earp

Guests: Dr Ray Boyd, Rachael Lehr

Sponsor: QT Academy

What does it mean to be a Totally Inclusive School? The latest instalment of Teacher’s Bookshelf includes an extract from the book Becoming a Totally Inclusive School: A Guide for Teachers and School Leaders, written by Angeline Aow, Sadie Hollins and Stephen Whitehead. According to the authors, ‘a Totally Inclusive, equitable and just institution is where all learners have access to the curriculum in learning spaces that continually strive to eliminate oppression’. In today’s episode, we're going to be talking a bit more about this Teacher’s Bookshelf article, as well as a School Improvement podcast episode featuring Angeline and Sadie, which explores this topic of diversity, equity and inclusion in greater detail. Later on in the episode, we’ll also be sharing some of the outstanding contributions we’ve published this month, from both Teacher readers and academics working in education.

Host: Rebecca Vukovic

Sponsor: The Victorian Government

In a Teacher’s Bookshelf article last month, we shared an exclusive extract from Becoming a Totally Inclusive School: A Guide for Teachers and School Leaders, written by Angeline Aow, Sadie Hollins and Stephen Whitehead. In this episode of School Improvement, we're joined by 2 of the authors, Angeline and Sadie, who are based in Germany and the UK. We’ll be talking about what we mean by Total Inclusivity, and taking a closer look at the Continuum on Becoming a Totally Inclusive School – that’s a framework to help schools and educators move from theory to practice. There are 6 stages of the continuum and we’ll be going through each, thinking about what that might look like in a school and what the next steps could be the move to the next stage.

Host: Jo Earp

Guests: Angeline Aow, Sadie Hollins

Sponsor: Planet Ark

Any kind of change can be exciting and sometimes daunting, and moving from primary to secondary school is no different. So, what are the worries and challenges for students, and what would help to make the process easier? Guide to Thrive is a new evidence-based transition program from Life Ed that brings together teacher professional development mapped to the AITSL standards, practical classroom activities and supporting resources for parents and carers.

In this episode of School Improvement, we’re joined by Murray Baker, a teacher of 20 years who’s now a Program Development Co-ordinator at Life Ed, and Dr Shani Sniedze, a Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research who’s been involved in the program. We’ll be discussing some of the findings from the research literature and student feedback forums, and how this student voice has informed the program and activities.

Host: Jo Earp

Guests: Murray Baker, Dr Shani Sniedze

Sponsor: Teacher Awards

Today, nominations open for the inaugural Teacher Awards. In this special episode, Teacher Editor, Jo Earp, introduces the award categories, our Judging Panel, and information on how you can enter.

Host: Jo Earp

School Assembly is the podcast that explores what it takes to build a new school from the ground up. In Series 1 we’re following Principal Dr Ray Boyd and Associate Principal Rachael Lehr as they navigate the exciting and challenging journey. Each month, we touch base for updates and reflections on their progress in the newly developing suburb of Dayton, located in the eastern metropolitan city of Swan in Perth, Western Australia.

Building a great school and an expert team of leaders, teachers and support staff means nothing, of course, without the students. So, how do you start from scratch when it comes to getting new students? In this episode we’re discussing enrolments. Let’s get started.

Host: Jo Earp

Guests: Dr Ray Boyd, Rachael Lehr,

Sponsor: Bank First

The latest results from PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) were released this month. The data sheds light on the literacy achievement of year 4 students in Australia, and in today’s podcast, we’ll take you through what you need to know.

Host: Dominique Russell

Sponsor: The Victorian Government

As an educator, finding the time to discuss matters you are finding challenging with colleagues, to seek advice and reflect on your practice, might seem impossible.

In this episode, from LaTrobe University in Victoria, we're joined by Dr Anne Southall and Associate Professor Fiona Gardner. For the past few years, Anne and Fiona have been researching the impact of implementing the reflective circles education model they’ve developed for use in schools, to give educators the opportunity to reflect on challenging situations they’ve faced. In this episode, they’ll share the details of how the model works and what the research has shown about its positive impact.

Host: Dominique Russell

Guests: Dr Anne Southall and Associate Professor Fiona Gardner

School Assembly is the podcast that explores what it takes to build a new school from the ground up. In Series 1 we’re following Principal Dr Ray Boyd and Associate Principal Rachael Lehr as they navigate the exciting and challenging journey. Each month, we touch base for updates and reflections on their progress in the newly developing suburb of Dayton, located in the eastern metropolitan city of Swan in Perth, Western Australia.

It's been a big start to the month for the team with the official opening of the school. Congratulations to everyone involved on that massive milestone for the community. Our focus for this episode of School Assembly is educational research and reading, and how this evidence base is the foundation for everything that’s happening at the school, from classroom teaching to leadership. A heads-up on terminology – when talking about keeping up to date with research, Ray mentions WAPPA (that’s the Western Australian Primary Principals' Association) and ACEL (that’s the Australian Council for Educational Leaders).

Host: Jo Earp

Guests: Dr Ray Boyd, Rachael Lehr

Sponsor: Bank First

As a teacher, have you ever been in a situation where a death in your school community has occurred? Experiencing grief is something we will all confront at some point in our lives, but navigating a death in the school community, when you also need to support your students, can be really challenging.

The book, Grief and Loss in Schools: A Resource for Teachers was published earlier this year and is written by author Hazel Edwards. If that name sounds familiar to you, you might have her best-known book on your shelves at home, There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake. We sat down with Hazel to hear more about her new book for teachers and the topic of grief and loss more broadly.

Hazel is a former teacher and wrote this book based on her own experience and research. Her goal with this book is to work towards removing the uncomfortable feeling associated with grief and loss. As you’ll hear in this episode, the book is filled with practical advice and suggested learning activities to open up conversations and help teachers work through such a difficult time with their students.

Host: Dominique Russell

Guest: Hazel Edwards