Playground duty really is quality time: how joyful learning happens outside the classroom

Olivia Karaolis

By Olivia Karaolis
Community contribution / October 13, 2021

The Quality Time Action Plan is described by the department of education as an approach intended to reduce and simplify administrative processes for teachers and provide them with more time for “high value tasks”.

It is here that I have a quibble with this document and its definition of playground duty or supervision at ...

Early Years Teaching Assistant

Veritas Wakefield

Teaching - Early childhood / Feb 23, 2026

Deputy Principal - Gaven State School

Department of Education and Training (Queensland)

Gaven State School is seeking a temporary full-time Deputy Principal (Curriculum focus) commencing 20 April 2026 until 11 December 2026, unless otherwise determined. Y...

Teaching - Secondary / Feb 23, 2026

Principal (Level 6) - Nanango State High School

Department of Education and Training (Queensland) Darling Downs

An exciting opportunity exists for a skilled and experienced educational leader to join the team at Nanango State High School. As the Principal, you will be a strategi...

Teaching - Secondary / Feb 23, 2026

School news / The urgency and promise of lifting STEM ed in non-metro NSW: research

STEM education in regional NSW schools offers actionable policy opportunities that recognise and leverage the unique strengths of non-metropolitan NSW, new research has found.

School news / Half of nation’s teens projected to face anxiety or depression, ‘crucial we act on evidence’

A generation of young Australians is at risk of experiencing a mental health crisis, according to new modelling.

School news / ‘We don’t talk about that in this class’: History teachers at risk with new hate speech laws

NSW history teachers are fearful about what the state’s new hate speech laws will mean for their practice, with one expert warning critical knowledge and discussion about the Holocaust is at risk of being silenced in the classroom.

School news / ‘Literacy underlies all achievement’: popular author Andy Griffiths speaks out

A “ridiculous” emphasis on testing and grading is totally antithetical to the business of creativity and genuine learning, our Australian Children’s Laureate for 2026 and 2027 says.

School news / Eye-tracking study reveals how experienced teachers shut down disruption

Teachers’ eye movements in the classroom could determine the extent to which disruptive students interfere with the lesson underway, new research has indicated.

School news / ‘We don’t talk about that in this class’: History teachers at risk with new hate speech laws

NSW history teachers are fearful about what the state’s new hate speech laws will mean for their practice, with one expert warning critical knowledge and discussion about the Holocaust is at risk of being silenced in the classroom.

School news / Survey shock behind push for extra paid out-of-classroom prep time

Teachers are juggling more complexity in the classroom than ever but lesson preparation hours have not changed in decades, according to a new survey.

School news / Our tokenistic sustainability education is missing the mark: peak science associations

A new position paper prepared by three peak science teacher associations has lifted the lid on deep dissatisfaction across the sector regarding climate change education and the way it is taught in schools.

Opinion / How leaders cultivate teachers’ social-emotional confidence for wellbeing

Teaching is a highly rewarding profession, yet it is also recognised as inherently complex and often challenging.

School news / Union sets stop-work date for Vic public school staff seeking fair pay and conditions

The Australian Education Union’s Primary and Secondary Sector Council has set a date for 24-hour stop-work action in Term 1.

Comments