Magnify
Magnify Sandhurst – 2nd year update
This year marks our second year participating in Magnify Sandhurst, a Catholic Education Sandhurst initiative designed to strengthen teaching and learning across all schools in the diocese. Magnify brings together the science of learning, evidence‑informed teaching practices and our Catholic identity to ensure every child receives the highest‑quality education.
What Magnify Sandhurst Focuses On
Magnify is built around the belief that all students can learn and thrive when teaching is:
- Explicit
- Well‑structured
- Informed by research
- Consistent across classrooms
The initiative draws on decades of cognitive science research about how the brain learns best. This includes how students remember information, how they build new knowledge and how teachers can design learning that is clear, engaging and effective.
What This Looks Like in Our Classrooms
In our second year, teachers at Sacred Heart continue to embed high‑impact, evidence‑based practices such as:
- Clear learning intentions and success criteria so students know exactly what they are learning
- Explicit teaching of new skills and concepts
- Guided practice with teacher support
- Independent practice to build confidence and mastery
- Regular review and retrieval practice to strengthen memory
- Consistent routines that help students feel secure and ready to learn
These approaches help ensure that every child, regardless of their starting point, can make strong progress.
Why It Matters for Your Child
The science of learning helps teachers design lessons that:
- Improve student understanding
- Strengthen long‑term memory
- Reduce confusion and cognitive overload
- Support students who need extra help
- Stretch students who are ready for more challenge
- Build confidence, independence and success
Parents may notice that learning feels more structured, more intentional and more consistent across year levels.
Our Commitment in Year 2
This year we continue to:
- Deepen teacher expertise through professional learning
- Strengthen whole‑school consistency in teaching practices
- Use data to guide instruction and support student growth
- Ensure every classroom reflects the Magnify principles of clarity, purpose and high expectations
We will also be introducing Science into the Yr3-6 timetable, SpellEx into Yr3-4 and InitialWrite into P-1. (More information about these areas will be shared soon).
Magnify Sandhurst is helping us build a strong, evidence‑informed learning culture where every child is supported to achieve their best.