Last week, Catholic Education Tasmania (CET) had the honour of being invited to present at the 2025 Australian Catholic Education Conference (ACEC) in Cairns. This triennial event brings together over 1,400 leaders from across Australia and was a wonderful opportunity to share our transformational journey through Insight into Learning.
We were thrilled to collaborate with our trusted friends at Catholic Education Canberra & Goulburn (CECG) as Jennifer White, CET System Lead: Curriculum and Pedagogy and Patrick Ellis, Education Lead from CECG, took the stage to present ‘A Tale of Two Systems’.
Over 200 delegates heard how our two systems have successfully embedded evidence-based teaching practice across our schools and how, whilst our goals were aligned, there were marked differences in our approach to achieving them.
Since 2023, CET has been working towards our bold goal to be the most improved education system in Australia delivered through our Insight into Learning program. Jennifer’s presentation explored our unique model to transform our system, with a framework of exceptional professional learning, expert coaching and our Instructional Leadership program.
Our Insight into Learning program encapsulates the critical components of Science of Learning methodology by ensuring that every educator
- Understands the cognitive science on how students learn, process, retain and recall information
- Is supported by a comprehensive, knowledge-rich curriculum with scope and sequence by subject
- Receives regular, intensive coaching, observation and feedback
As Jennifer explained, this approach re-establishes the teacher as directing and evaluating learning – in every subject – everyday.
Through targeted professional coaching, CET has created over 600 Instructional Leaders across our system, shifting our focus from external support to a sustainable, internally driven model. As we embark on a new phase of maintenance and refinement, we strengthen our focus on core Principles of Instruction through intensive teaching sprints, workshops and whole system professional learning.
It was with great pleasure that Jennifer shared our 2025 NAPLAN results as clear evidence that our approach is working. CET students exceeded the Tasmanian average across all domains and year levels. In addition, students in Year 5 in 2025 showed measurable gains when compared to the same cohort in Year 3 in 2023, improving 4% in reading, 9% in spelling, and an impressive 11% in grammar and punctuation.
Our student success is just one of the ways our system has transformed. Our teachers report feeling empowered and energised, with 98% stating that they are equipped with the resources to effectively teach reading. Our parents also advocate for our approach, displaying strong confidence in our curriculum’s consistency and appropriateness for their children’s developmental needs.
Jennifer expressed her delight at being invited to present at such an auspicious event. “We are proud of all that we have achieved at CET through Insight into Learning. It is my hope that the reflections from our journey inspire other systems to continue their own transformation, so that we can elevate teaching practice Australia-wide.”
We extend our gratitude to the National Catholic Education Commission for the invitation and look forward to fostering the connections made through future collaboration.
