Director of Teaching & Learning Update

Strengthening Learner Competencies: Our Journey with Matching for Success

Being a partnership school with the University of Melbourne and exploring complex competencies through the New Metrics framework is transforming the way we approach learning design and assessment. As part of this research project, Year 12 IB Diploma students and teachers volunteered to participate in the Matching for Success project.

The Matching for Success project brings together schools, universities, and researchers to rethink how we recognise and support student success. It focuses on understanding what students need to thrive in and beyond school, and how these competencies better connect them to future learning, employment, and pathways. The project investigates new, reliable ways of assessing and credentialing learner capabilities beyond traditional grades and the ATAR. Its recent recognition as an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project highlights its potential to shape educational practice and policy across Australia.

The Friends’ School, along with other participating schools, is a key contributor to reshaping an equitable and future-focused education system. The University of Melbourne provides a detailed explanation of the New Metrics project here.

For Friends’, this represents a strengthening of the collaborative work with New Metrics that has been underway across the school this year. Examples include:

• Year 4: integrated Active Citizenship into their "Who We Are" unit of inquiry
• Year 7 Outdoor Education: embedded opportunities to develop Agency in Learning during camps
• Middle School Student Council: reps reflected on how their strengths can support student initiatives

Participation in the Matching for Success project also provided our Year 12 IB students with feedback on targeted competencies at the conclusion of their secondary education. Thirty-one IB Diploma students and twenty-one teachers volunteered to contribute to this significant national study. As a result of their involvement, students received a Fan Report, which summarises the assessments completed by various teachers.

Our collective efforts continue to be valued by the University of Melbourne team, who are keen to amplify the work happening in schools like ours. Their support this year led to five students receiving a 2025 Australian Learner Competency Credential, co-issued with schools participating in the research. To obtain a learner credential, students must have been assessed by at least two teachers on three or more competencies across Semester 1 or 2. This is an exciting development in our New Metrics journey, and one we intend to build on in 2026.

Our involvement in the Matching for Success and New Metrics partnerships reflects our commitment to rethinking how learning is recognised and how students are supported to thrive, both now and beyond school. These achievements—including ARC Linkage recognition, the release of the 2025 credentials, and the ACEL Leadership Award—underscore the impact our community is having on education nationally.

We extend our gratitude to the students, teachers, families, and partners who continue to shape this important work. We look forward to the next chapter of innovation, collaboration, and leadership in this space.

Megan Eddington - Director of Teaching and Learning (K to 12)