Visiting Reservoir Primary School in Melbourne’s inner north to announce the release Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll said making best practice common practice is setting up Victoria’s youngest students for life-long reading success.
The Government has mandated that all students from Prep to Grade 2 will be taught using a systematic synthetic phonics approach as part of their reading programs, with a minimum of 25 minutes daily explicit teaching of phonics and phonemic awareness.
The English lesson plans, the Government said, help primary and secondary students build their vocabulary, read increasingly complex fiction and non-fiction texts, and strengthen their spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax.
Carroll said the evidence-based, ready-to-use Phonics Plus lesson plans will reduce teacher workloads “so they can spend more time engaging with students and setting them up for life-long success”.
“With more English lesson plans on the way, and the excellent work of teachers who are implementing Phonics Plus, we are ensuring Victorian students get the best start to their education,” Carroll said.
The lesson plans, developed by teachers, will, the Government said, help reduce teacher workloads so they can spend less time preparing lessons and more time engaging with students.
The Year 1 Phonics Check takes about 10 minutes, compared to the current 40 minutes per student, saving teachers approximately 12 hours in assessments.
Announced in October last year, Reservoir Primary School principal Carolyn Bamberg said the program is already an essential part of her school’s literacy learning and is "helping Prep students make meaningful connections with letters and sounds".
The school’s Prep teachers use Phonics Plus to introduce different letter/sound relationships to their class, she said.
Bamberg said since implementing Phonics Plus this year, the school has already been seeing great results in the writing skills of its youngest students.
“Teachers love the program, and it is giving students the literacy skills that are known to reduce the risk of poor life satisfaction into adulthood,” Bamberg said.
“Literacy gives students the ability to navigate the complexities of the world, and we have a great moral imperative to make sure they have the right skills to thrive by the time they’re ready to transition into secondary education.”
The Government said schools have indicated a strong demand for more professional learning and resources, with 8200 downloads of Victorian Lesson Plans since February.
Carroll launched the Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 on the new Victorian Curriculum website on June 20, 2024.
At the time, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority board chair Diane Joseph said the version “is a testament to Victoria’s expert teachers and school leaders who provided valuable feedback, insight and contributions that have led to the revised curriculum”.
