Learning and Teaching

Upcoming Staff Professional Development Day: 

Building Expertise in the Science of Reading

At St Justin's, we are committed to delivering high-quality, evidence-based instruction that ensures every student thrives. As part of this commitment, we are excited to inform families that our upcoming Professional Development Day, on Monday 11th August will focus on enhancing our staff’s expertise in the most current research on how children learn to read.

All teaching staff will participate in intensive training centred around the Science of Reading—a body of research that combines insights from education, psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience. This science has clearly shown that learning to read is not a natural process and must be explicitly and systematically taught, particularly through structured synthetic phonics instruction.

To support this approach, staff will receive comprehensive training in the UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) Foundations program. UFLI is a carefully sequenced, evidence-based phonics program that equips educators with the tools to teach essential foundational reading skills. The program is designed to support all students—whether they are just beginning to learn to read, are catching up on missed skills, or require targeted intervention to overcome learning gaps.

A key benefit of this professional development is that all staff—not just those teaching in the early years—will be trained. We strongly believe that deep knowledge of reading development is essential for every teacher, regardless of the year level they teach. This ensures continuity of instruction across the school and supports the reality that teachers often move between year levels over time. By equipping all educators with a consistent understanding of effective reading instruction, we can better identify and address the needs of students at every stage of their learning journey.

A school-wide approach to professional learning ensures we are aligned in our teaching practices and maximises our ability to support students with a range of learning profiles. It also reflects our strong belief that every child deserves a teacher who is confident, knowledgeable, and up-to-date with best practice.

At St Justin's, we place the utmost importance on ensuring our staff are continually learning and growing. By investing in professional development aligned to current research, we are investing in your child’s success—now and into the future.

We thank you for your ongoing support as we continue to build a culture of excellence in literacy teaching.

Mrs Wickens

Learning and Teaching