Teaching and Learning 

Staff Excellence 

Staff excellence and continuous learning at Karoo Primary School foster a culture of high-quality teaching, innovation, and professionalism that directly benefits student achievement and wellbeing. By continually developing our teachers' skills and knowledge, staff are better equipped to adapt to changing educational needs and provide engaging, effective learning experiences for every student.

Below is a little snap-shot of some of the learning currently happening with staff at Karoo Primary School. 

Middle Leaders

PLC Leaders (year level leaders) are taking part in professional learning with Bron Ryrie Jones focusing on improving key teaching practices linked to the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM) 2.0.

"Participating in professional learning with Bron Ryrie Jones around Leading Teacher Teaching has supported our growth as both a teacher and a leader. The professional learning deepened our understanding of effective teaching practices and provided practical strategies to strengthen classroom instruction and collaboration with colleagues. It also reinforced the importance of continually developing content-specific knowledge to improve student learning outcomes. Through this learning, we have become more reflective in oupractice and more confident in supporting others to strengthen their teaching." Sarah Dobson and Gemma Wild

English leaders and English PLT members are taking part in an ongoing professional learning program with our network. This learning is focused on Structured Literacy in F-2 and 3-6 with Emina McClean. We are using this learning to support the continual reflection on our current practices and enhancing them with student’s growth and outcomes at the centre.

“Emina McLean’s literacy professional learning session reinforced the importance of intentional, evidence-based literacy practices in the early years. The session offered practical ideas and clear strategies that will support differentiated teaching and help build student confidence and success in literacy. I particularly appreciated the focus on explicit instruction, student engagement, and building strong foundational literacy skills in a way that is purposeful and accessible for all learners.” Naomi Simpson

Learning Specialists are taking part in ongoing professional learning with Nathaniel Swain as part of deepening our understanding of the VTLM 2.0 and using this to lead Professional Learning with our staff.

Teaching Excellence Program (TEP) – Tiana Dias has been accepted into the Teaching Excellence Program for 2026

The program is run by the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership and is a year- long professional learning program for skilled teachers. It supports teachers to build upon their teaching practice through inquiry-based investigations to deliver outstanding outcomes for students. Our staff involvement in this program benefits our students and school by inspiring teaches through evidence-informed research and building staff capabilities to support the school strategic plan focus.

Lead Facilitator: Literacy Practice and Pedagogy:  

Amy Ellis (LS) is working with the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Learning as a facilitator of the ‘Literacy Practice and Pedagogy’ Program at the academy. As a lead facilitator Amy runs Professional Learning sessions for teachers across our state to learn best practice in implementing a structured literacy approach. As a result, Amy continues to bring her knowledge to our school to improve staff capacity in literacy teaching and as a result our students’ outcome.

Growth Coaching:

Our Leadership team have recently attended Growth Coaching and mentoring in schools training which is recognised as a key ingredient in school improvement and an important way to build teaching and learning capacity, develop leadership capability and, ultimately, to improve student learning outcomes and wellbeing. The Growth Coaching way demonstrates how a coaching approach is not just for formal coaching and mentoring programs but can be applied throughout a school day to create a culture of growth for the whole community!

Victorian Education Excellence Awards:

Karoo PS has been asked to nominate by our Senior Educational Implementation Leader in the following areas: 

• Outstanding Inclusion Implementation, 
• High Abilities program (MTQ) and 
• Outstanding Teacher (Fiona Marker).

I hope that I have been able to share with you all a little insight on all the ways our staff are committed to ongoing professional growth, whether it be by engaging in professional learning opportunities such as the ones listed above, engaging with current educational research through professional reading and educational podcasts, or by working collaboratively each week within teams. 

I look forward to seeing you all around our amazing school!

Best wishes,

Assistant Principal

Peta Phillips