Sam Page

Inclusion Outreach Coaches (IOCs) play a key role in strengthening inclusive education across Victorian schools. Through tailored coaching, collaboration and professional learning, they help schools build confidence and capability to embed inclusive, evidence-based approaches to support staff in meeting the needs of all learners – particularly students with disability and diverse learning needs. Watch how an IOC has helped Ascot Vale Heights School adopt more inclusive practices 🎥 Read more: https://brnw.ch/21wUlwi #TheEducationState #InclusiveEducation #DisabilityInclusion #InclusiveSchools #EveryStudentMatters

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Advocacy isn’t only about pushing forward, it’s about holding the line against policies that could do harm, The Group of Eight CE Vicki Thomson told the Keynote panel discussion this morning at the Association for Tertiary Education Management (ATEM) conference in Canberra. In an excellent discussion that kicked off day two at the conference and examined advocacy in higher education, she said that the current climate demands a different kind of advocacy than when she first started in the sector two and a half decades ago. A “defensive advocacy” was now needed which not only promotes policy but pushes back against misinformation and harmful policies. Ms Thomson also told the conference that Go8 research had shown that universities – especially research-intensive ones – were increasingly being viewed as part of the “elite” and that was presenting a strategic challenge to advocating for higher education and getting cut-through with both government and the public. The panel, entitled “Impact through advocacy - leading tertiary education in Australasia,” included Ms Thomson, Professor Barney Glover AO, Jobs and Skills Australia Commissioner, Chris Whelan, Chief Executive Officer, Universities New Zealand - Te Pōkai Tara, Jenny Dodd, Chief Executive Officer, TAFE Directors Australia and facilitated by Dr Tom Carruthers.   #ATEM202 #HigherEducation #TertiaryEducation

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Two significant reforms to cut red tape and position Victoria - the #EducationState as a globally attractive destination for overseas qualified teachers: - 1. Increased flexibility & transparency in recognising overseas teacher qualifications. 2. Modernising the Permission to Teach framework to provide schools with more clarity to meet their staffing needs. These reforms follow lots of feedback from principals, teachers and the broader education sector and will give principals and schools greater confidence when hiring highly qualified overseas teachers for classrooms in Victoria.

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We’re proud to announce a new partnership between AnglicareSA's Autism Services and TAFE SA to strengthen the skills of tomorrow’s early childhood educators. Through this partnership, our Autism Services team – including the Autism-Specific Early Learning & Care Centre (ASELCC) and Outreach AnglicareSA Therapeutic Services (OATS) – will: ✅ Share autism-specific expertise to shape content for the Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care ✅ Provide training and support for TAFE SA lecturers ✅ Help future educators build neuro-affirming practices Read the full story on our website: https://bit.ly/3JqReKO

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Teachers lead charge shaping classrooms Thank you to Peter Hanlon at The Australian Financial Review for this article. It was great to contribute to a piece that recognises the leadership, critical thinking, and responsible decision-making educators are demonstrating towards GenAI. The article reflects what many already know: teachers are leading innovation, resisting hype, and demanding responsible AI grounded in sound pedagogy. The article also points to organisations like Education Services Australia (ESA) and the eSafety Commissioner who are building capacity around digital safety and risk, and Wyndham Tech School, Brimbank Tech School and associated Communities and Practice empowering teachers and schools, which Smart Glasses Lab, coleader Dr. J Andrew Welsman has a wealth of knowledge about. What the article doesn’t point to, is academic integrity or assessment reform. With 72% of the teaching workforce identifying as women, and the rise of smart glasses, deepfakes, and covert surveillance through smartglasses, GenAI is not just a pedagogical issue - it’s a gendered workplace safety risk. This isn't down playing that work - it is uplifting the impacts GenAI has on student experience on placement. It demands we reconsider what 'classroom readiness' looks like. GenAI is reshaping student experience, and this shift cannot be ignored. To do so, is not only naïve - it is reckless. Further, in the article, I refer to www.AI4education.org, a free, open-access platform offering 40+ scenarios as a potential solution. The goal of these scenarios is simple: to improve student experience. Made possible thanks to Victoria University's Special Studies Program (SSP), these scenarios in 2025 alone, have been engaged with by educators from 29 countries and I hope they offer you practical activities to integrate into your curriculum too. Notably, however, this global interest, reinforces a broader truth: educators understand that the impact of GenAI on student experience is not limited to integrity or assessment reform. It includes digital safety, ethical innovation, protection from emerging harms, and inclusive, anticipatory governance. As universities prepare for the Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence, our AI strategies in teacher education must reflect the same principles: prevention, equity, care, and accountability. If practice about GenAI stays focused only learning outcomes, and plagiarism, it will miss deeper risks: deepfakes, biometric surveillance, and platform creep that impact student experience. Teachers are leading the way, lets do so in intital teacher education too. Our graduates must be equipped for a world where muck-up day this year could involve a deepfake of them, in a 'prank gone wrong'. This is the reality they are entering, and to equip them with anything less is a failure of duty of care. Massive thank you to Gemma Williams for VU research to have such great impact. #AIGE #AIgovernanceforEducation

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The Victorian Government has opened applications for the Bush Kinder Grants Program, offering $6,000 one-off grants to eligible early childhood services to establish or expand outdoor learning programs in 2026. The $3.6 million initiative, supporting up to 150 services statewide, is designed to strengthen children’s connection with nature while advancing sector goals in curriculum innovation, sustainability and child wellbeing. Applications close on 18 September 2025. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/gxF76wpV #ECEC #BushKinder #EarlyLearning #OutdoorEducation #NaturePlay #ChildDevelopment #Sustainability

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