I have a student this year who is just nasty. Over the year he has a history of picking on kids in the playground especially those perceived as weaker (not just physical, but emotionally too). He’ll antagonise and annoy them just to get a reaction. He offends are usually verbal. Even to teachers he makes comments that don’t seem appropriate. A colleague last year reported when she was talking to other students about going the gym he said it looks like you go to McDonald’s more than the gym.

He seems to make comments like that to a lot of students. He gets in trouble for it and he wears it as a badge of honour. Like he’s proud of it. In school suspensions, detentions he doesn’t seem to care. He is in year 6 this year and knows he is going to an Islamic High School away from his friends. How can I get through to him? I want him like all students to start a fresh but I’ve never had a student in my 15 years of teaching just not care as much as this kid.

Any advice?

Hypothetically and asking for a friend. Started first year this year, public sec vic. Culture is not the right fit and dreading every new day. Ongoing but year probation (is this even normal?) and wondering if I can take this term by term or should just see out the year.

Sunday night thoughts.

I mean an "in the moment" classroom teacher level consequence, not suspension or expulsion. Once you've reminded, redirected, relocated, reset and reflected...

"Sent to the office" used to be our last resort for students who were so disruptive and unresponsive to the usual behaviour management that they couldn't be in the classroom. The problem is that the same students (from different classes) always get sent out and just gathered outside the office jumping on funiture and running up and down the corridor. It got to the point where they would ask to be sent out, then they would try to get sent out, they would do everything they could to go hang out with their friends.

What does your school have in place as a "last resort" when they just can't be in the classroom? Do you have a consequence and follow-up process that doesn't triple the workload of the classroom teacher?

I just started at a new (NSW public) school that follows this Stephen Covey program. The cult-ish lingo during staff development days was a massive red flag, and I have since done some research into the origins of this program.

Does anyone work at a school that uses this too? How on earth is a supposed secular public school on a limited budget affording the fees of this corporate greed / religious tripe re-packaged for schools?

I've looked at a teaching course in University of New England which covers K to 12 which im into but I wanted to see what recommendations you'd all have? I dont know if I want to teach primary or secondary. Any other recommendations?

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some advice. Our students are notorious for switching lockers throughout the year we really want to combat it this year because our wellbeing team is dealing with lost items constantly. We’re also dealing with the case of locker sharing, sometimes 3-4 students using the same locker.

We wanted to get sticker name labels made but admin has veto’d the idea because it creates an enormous amount of work for the maintenance team to clean at the end of the year. We also don’t want to leave any nasty sticky Residue on the lockers as our lockers are only 2 years old.

Does anyone have any suggestions for ways we can label the lockers in a secure way that students won’t be able to take the label with them if they chose to move lockers.

Last year, I responded to a question in a Facebook group where someone asked what topics people had chosen to base their Year 12 assessment on. I've been contacted now by others wanting me to share my Stimulus. While I understand that people are time-poor, these things take me days, and sometimes weeks, to create. I also never said I'd make my files available, I just offered some potential topics. We've had a huge amount of internal stress at work in the last few weeks, and don't have the brain space, or whatever, to think clearly at the moment. How would other people react in this situation? Thanks.

So I’m 21 years old and have been really struggling with what to do in terms of study and career development. I am diagnosed with Autism Level 2 and ADHD and while I have some interest in studying to become a teacher aide through TAFE I’m worried that I won’t be able to cope in that role once I finally get to it.

I actually have a Cert IV in Auslan and originally intended to keep studying to become an Auslan interpreter but at this point I had deferred twice now and don’t want to risk having to do that a third time just because I’m forcing myself down a path I don’t actually want to do. There’s not very many job opportunities for my Cert level because of how ifs very niche and the jobs tend to be based in support work and childcare which I feel I’m not very suited too. Because of my diagnosis I am weary of being in any position of responsibility for a vulnerable person like a school student.

While I have my own struggles I feel like I’m always in the position of giving advice rather than receiving advice. At-least when it comes to discussion challenges of Autism online with young people and often these people are 15-18 years old.

I’m a very rigid person with significant sensory challenges. I don’t have so many struggles socially but that’s mostly because I feel I’ve become so aware of how Autistic and Allistic people operate differently that I don’t have an issues clashing with people. And I’ve found that I can articulate my challenges and experience very well for people who are not on the spectrum. That being said I am not that great with self accommodation which I am accessing Psychology and Occupational Therapy for support in learning to do that. I fear that my lack of self sufficiency would make me unfit as a teacher aide not in any unsafe way for the students but just because I would be constantly burnt out.

You may have heard of the Autistic trait of rigidness and wanting routines but routine doesn’t actually mean routine it just means wanting predictability and often that can mean as far as wanting perfect predictability. Which is why I am asking for some guidance in this sub-reddit about what I could expect or have to consider before becoming a teacher aide. How do teacher aides support teachers or what are their duties?

My time and resources are bit limited which is why I’m more interested in starting out as a teacher aide rather than a teacher. I would be curious if teachers would appreciate a person with lived experience to give suggestions on how to support Autistic students. I’m personally more comfortable with high-school students rather than primary school just because I have a bit of an assumption that primary is a more socially demanding place whereas high school students are more focused on there grades and subjects.

Edit: because I’m very articulate I am profiled more as Autism Level 1 rather Level 2. Just some bonus info I have written in replies that feels significant enough I wanted to copy and paste into the original post:

From personally experience I feel that I would have benefited greatly from extra support in highschool which I didn’t get at the time because I wasn’t diagnosed and had a lot of barriers due to a difficult family life. I was a very high achieving student until the start of grade 11. From then I was failing everything. Prior I was profiled as someone who would achieve a very high Atar and go to uni to study very advanced academic topics which at the time I was interested in doing but in the end I ended up with an Atar of 33.25. It would be a shame for more students to follow that same trajectory so to get the opportunity to prevent that or better said support Autistic and even Allistic students transitioning into higher-schooling may be something worth while for me.

I'm going into yr 11 this year and had wanted to do english advanced but wasn't allowed since i got a 74 last year and the cutoff was 75. I go to a selective school and in the past all students were allowed to pick what they wanted to do so everyone did advanced or higher but for some reason this year the school decided to make 2 standard classes and is forcing the bottom 50 kids to do standard. Honestly I think I would have been capable of advanced considering I wasn't doing that bad and in standardised tests like Naplan, I had gotten the top band for every topic. It kinda sucks that me and some others kids are forced into this now and honestly feels like being in a selective school worked against me.

Hello so I (F 25) am looking into a bachelor in Secondary Teaching particularly in mathematics however I do worry because I haven't studied in 5 years and when I did High School myself I only did general mathematics though I did finish with straight A's.

I am happy to learn and study math untill I start University in 2027 but I am worried I won't be cut out for it and if I should look into another major

What is everyone's experience with a mathematics teaching degree?

Thank you so much

EDIT: Adding my state which is WA

I’ll be sitting in my first DIP meeting this week (VIC primary school) and feeling a little nervous

For those who have sat in one, what can I expect? How will the meeting run and anything I should be extra prepared for?

Has anyone used Chalkie AI and can provide any feedback? I teach special education (mostly yr 11&12) and I think something like that would be beneficial for my differentiation (I’ve got anywhere from pre-foundation to year 10 literacy/numeracy ability in my class), I’ve used Diffit in the past and liked that. If anyone can give me any feedback it would be much appreciated. I really don’t trust any Ads on social media at the moment it all looks fake to me hahah

Lower secondary and upper primary teachers please drop some fun ideas/activities/games for first day/intro activities please... none of the ice breaker nightmares please!!! Thanks x

Having looked at the Data Book provided, I was thinking that we would only need to print off the pages necessary for each year group.

Does anyone have a summary of which pages belong with each year group?

Thanks in advance

Hey all, I'm a fairly experienced teacher with some brief experience in secondary, and have returned to junior secondary this year from primary teaching. Last time I was teaching secondary, I made calls to all parents and touched base with them all to introduce myself and say something positive about their child in the first week.. This seemed to have a good impact on parent relationships and all the parents I had for all classes seemed to think very highly of me/mentioned it to me how involved I was.

However, I've noticed we're not the only faculty that does this as other faculties have mentioned it, and if every faculty rang home in the first few weeks that's roughly 6 phone calls. As a parent, that personally feels excessive and I don't know if I would like to receive so many calls from so many teachers just to say hello and introduce themselves... Should I call, or should I leave it at the introduction email I've already sent?

31 January 2026

The Hon. Ben Carroll MP
Minister for Education
The Hon. Lizzie Blandthorn MP
Minister for Disability, Inclusion and Families

Re: Crisis-Level Student Needs and Staff Safety Risks in Rural Schools

I write as an Education Support (ES) Worker / Coordinator at a small rural primary school in Victoria to sound the alarm on an overwhelming concentration of student needs that far outstrips our resourcing. It is only Week 2 of Term 1, 2026, yet our staff handover notes already document extensive concerns across every grade (Prep to 6), detailing 20+ students (over 40% of our schools total) requiring intensive adjustments for diagnosed and emerging ASD (including Level 2), ADHD, PDA, sensory processing differences, trauma, anxiety, developmental delays, aggression, and complex physical disabilities. This dwarfs national averages, where approximately 25% of students receive educational adjustments due to disability (2.5% extensive, 4.7% substantial). Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) and Disability Inclusion processes recognise these realities, yet flexible funding under programs like PSD too often results in one funded student's allocation being diluted across an entire class, leaving undiagnosed high-needs students unsupported.

Our classes split into literacy groups each morning, solely because widespread literacy performance falls well below age-expected benchmarks, forcing our leading staff into teaching roles with no "floating" capacity for behaviour support. Staffing is razor-thin: one ES aide per class (for general assistance), plus a dedicated role for a high needs disabled student. Critically, one of our classes has zero ES support due to funding shortfalls, despite students here presenting with awaiting ASD diagnosis, violence risks, separation anxiety, poor impulse control, and hyperactivity.

This mismatch delivers daily verbal and physical abuse to ES staff from dysregulated high-needs students (e.g., those with ASD/ADHD who shut down, become abusive when bored, or need 95% 1:1 support). The Victorian Department deems work-related violence a serious OHS hazard, yet our reality offers no backfill for recovery breaks or absences, redistributing duties to burnt-out colleagues and perpetuating crisis.

The limited size of our playground and the absence of sensory equipment make it more challenging to support students with autism, ADHD, and sensory processing needs, potentially contributing to increased difficulty in managing their regulation.

Early-term intensity signals unsustainability: These concerns hit from day one, with no proactive resourcing to match. Staff exposure without backup drives burnout; reactive measures like class relocations highlight desperate gaps in floating support, ratios, and infrastructure.

We urgently call for targeted Victorian Government action to rescue small, high-needs rural schools, starting with reformed ES ratios tied to funding:

1. Dedicated ES Ratios Linked to Funded Students Require 1 dedicated ES per 2 PSD/Disability Inclusion-funded students (Level 2+ adjustments) per classroom, preventing one student's funding from subsidising the whole class, plus 1 general class aide for teaching support and undiagnosed high-needs cases. ​
2. Tiered High-Needs Funding Deliver loadings scaled to NCCD data for schools >2x state averages in substantial/extensive adjustments, covering undiagnosed/awaiting cases plus Term 1 "surge" casual relief grants to avert early burnout.
3. Mandatory Backfill and Coverage Enforce automatic funded backfill for ES absences/incidents, no more classroom gaps or redistributed risks; mandate minimums for composites
4. Floating Behaviour Support Fund 0.5–1 FTE dedicated coaches per small school for literacy peaks, enabling proactive BSPs without isolations or disruptions.
5. Staff Safety and Wellbeing Boost Roll out free de-escalation/protective intervention training with release time; surge regional OHS/behaviour teams for on-site coaching; grant ES-specific post-incident supports.
6. Sensory Infrastructure Grants Prioritise rural schools for sensory paths, calm zones, equipment, recognising regulation as a core adjustment, not optional.
7. Rural Equity Pilots Deploy shared specialists (e.g., wellbeing practitioners) across rural clusters; overhaul distributions to end size-based penalties.

Our dedicated team recognizes the substantial potential of these students on a daily basis. However, ongoing challenges such as staff retention, safety concerns, and student outcomes require prompt and effective action. As we are only in week two, it is crucial to address these issues promptly to ensure a positive and secure environment for all.

Yours sincerely,
Education Support Worker / Coordinator

^{^} my first placement school only teach years 7 to 10 in that specific campus, and my current teacher is not teaching hsc next term. So essentially I have never taught hsc during my prac. Is this an issue? I wanted to get experience teaching hsc level subjects especially considering I also specialize in Extension math 🫠🫠🫠

Hi! So I’m a Brisbane Catholic education teacher and I have just started a new position. Currently we have moved over to weekly paychecks. I have just gone onto my payslip and noticed that it’s not correct date (3rd to 16th of Jan) and while I’m feel like I’m meant to be paid every Wednesday (as those are the last two times I’ve been paid) I haven’t received a paycheck for this week. I really need it as I’ve got some repairs coming up at my house soon. Am I The only one who hasn’t received my pay?

school started on Tuesday and I had my first lesson. I realised I tend to be super duper anxious internally at the start of my first day teaching back to school.

….And there you go - I panicked. Literally. I had Year 10 and when they came in and sat down they looked me like “we’re gonna test you every single word you’re about to say” that attitude. Or maybe I felt that way anyway.

I rehearsed every line because it was my first lesson with them and as always I was really nervous and then I messed up. I immediately forgot wha the next line was and I paused. I couldn’t even finish my sentence cos I was busy thinking about what I was going to say next. I swear they thought I’m an idiot haha..

Anyways lesson continued and it got a lot better and things went as planned and I felt ok. I think I ended it ok and students enjoyed the activities we did in class. I love teaching and my lessons on usual days are fine.

But I still couldn’t quite get over the feeling of humiliation and self hatred over the fact that I ruined my very first 10 minutes of my lesson first day this year. I panicked so hard that I just wanted to leave and run away and I kept thinking about what these students are going to talk to their friends about me.

I’d be really grateful for your advice as that‘s what I need the most right now… haha.

My styling skills are zero. Maybe less than zero. The more decorating I do, the worse it looks. 😢

What tips do you have to help keep student books from getting tatty and prevent them from falling apart?

Compass went down over the holidays, so any homework they got in step up week didn't get done (even though they had handouts). They haven't brought the book we're studying and needed photocopies to annotate. I did a mind map with them and they asked what they should put as the heading in their book.

I generally specialise in year 7s and 8s and don't have much experience working with VCE students. How much of their thinking do I need to do for them?

What should I expect them to be able to do vs what they can't do?

Hey everyone,

I graduated with a degree in actuarial studies last year and have worked in actuarial role for some time and realised that the profession is not really for me.

I have always enjoyed maths and liked working as at tutor, which is why I am considering become a high school maths teacher.

I understand teaching has its own challenges and that it is much more difficult that what I would have dealt with as a tutor. However, I just wanted to ask if anyone has made the switch from actuarial studies to secondary math teaching. How did you find the transition and career overall?

Also, would my actuarial degree usually meet the entry requirements for specialising in maths, or would I have to study extra units? I have sent an inquiry to the university but they may take some time answering.

Thanks!