The Bloated Beast

Dear Reader,

3,500-Page Maths Curriculum Is Failing Our Students

Below is a photograph taken at my desk that speaks volumes.

On the left side of the image is a towering stack of just under 3,500 pages. That is the Australia mathematics curriculum. On the right is a slim 80-or-so pages that comprises the Singapore maths curriculum.

The bloated Australian curriculum is not a sign of sophistication; it’s a symptom of confusion and ideological ambition.

Australia’s curriculum is cluttered with politically charged cross-curriculum priorities such as Sustainability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Culture, and is drowning in vague competencies that distract from its core purpose of teaching maths and do nothing to improve student outcomes.

Singapore on the other hand keeps it simple. Their success is built on a clear, coherent, and knowledge-rich approach. They teach fewer things in greater depth and with precision. Singapore ranks number one in the OECD PISA results – and produces some of the world’s best maths students.

Our National Curriculum is unwieldy and not-fit-for-purpose. Australia must strip away the unnecessary and politically-driven content, and return to a back-to-basics model that prioritises mathematical understanding and academic excellence.

The picture makes it clear: we don’t need more pages—we need more clarity, rigour, and respect for the discipline of mathematics. Let’s stop overcomplicating education and start teaching it properly.

‘Reading Recovery’ May Hinder Student Outcomes in the Long Term

Backed in by the Australian Education Union, many Australian schools continue to double down on the so-called Reading Recovery intervention.

Developed in the mid 1970’s, Reading Recovery is an interventional program implemented for ‘at risk’ year one students. Its instructional method was originally grounded in the ‘whole language’ approach and believed “children construct their own understandings, and that the teacher’s role is to support the literacy learner as the child takes responsibility for their own literacy learning”.

I have criticised this method and the union’s position and have written of the imperative to return to explicit teaching of phonics, in multiple publications.

New research has reinforced the lack of evidence that Reading Recovery benefits struggling or dyslexic readers – the very children identified as needing explicit assistance. Nathaniel Hansford, author of The Scientific Principles of Teaching, says longitudinal meta-analysis canvassed the findings from 19 studies on Reading Recovery’s (RR) efficacy, concluding short-term positive outcomes from the program were ‘negligible’, and found evidence to show students who received RR instruction actually performed worse over time compared to those who did not.

2024 NAPLAN results show that at grade three, already 31.8 percent of the nation’s students are failing to meet minimum expected standards. Early intervention is key. Doing more of the same is a waste of funds and precious time.

We know what works. Can we please just do it?

‘There’s Going to be an Election’ IPA Schools Program new release:

In my past career in education, I have witnessed teachers teaching students that Australia’s government works like a pyramid with the decision maker- being the Prime Minister- sitting at the top. The process of preferential voting and how our government is formed is not well understood. Few adults, let alone students, have a sound understanding of the Australia electoral voting system.

Capturing the moment of an imminent federal election, IPA Schools Program’s latest release focuses on civics and citizenship: a practical election and preferential voting unit that aligns with the National Curriculum for upper primary but can be utilised by any class conscious of the upcoming election.

You can download the unit here:

IPA Schools Program Out and About

• In previous newsletters, I have referred to the extraordinary success of Michaela Community School in Wembley, under the leadership of principal Katharine Birbalsingh. While in London recently, I was fortunate to spend a day at Michaela, meeting teachers and students and observing the school’s routine in action.

• On Sky News with Rita Panahi discussing the over-presence of ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture’ in our educational institutions.

• On ABC 774 radio with Raf Epstein discussing the USA tariffs, Victorian bail laws.

• On ‘At Your Service’ FM 89.1 with Mike Cairns

• On Rita Panahi Sky News discussing activism and DEI the university sector

IPA Boardgame – now offered for pre-order to IPA Members.

‘First Fleet – Will You Survive?’ is a historically accurate board game where players assume the role of a REAL convict aboard the First Fleet. Players learn of the convicts’ personal stories, and experience some of the things that really occurred on the voyage. Players keep a tally of their mental and physical well-being as they undertake a journey that had extraordinary consequences for those who arrived in what we now know as Australia, and for the aborigines who were already here.

As a creative first for the IPA, the IPA Schools Program developed and manufactured this game about the First Fleet and – thanks to the significant financial support of IPA donors – ‘First Fleet – Will You Survive?’ has been delivered free-of-charge to every primary school in the country – and the feedback has been extremely positive.

Go to: First Fleet – Will you survive? And select the ‘Non-Schools’ option to order your copy of the game.

Associated teaching resource

You can also download a FREE detailed teacher/learning resource introducing the historical context of early explorers, the industrialisation of Britain, the mapping of Australia, British/ French rivalry and the First Fleet journey, all which contextualizes the times and the initiative of one of the greatest voyages.

Activities in the unit include the examination of a wide range of primary and secondary resources including artworks, journals and ship manifests. The ‘Great Journey’ teacher resource includes all reference materials and sources, resources, worksheets (and answers), templates. Everything needed to teach this unit (including the Australian National Curriculum markers) is provided in the download.

Download here: The Great Journey Worksheet – PDF Download

Quote of the month:

Given the outrageously unwieldy, cluttered Australian National Curriculum, the Education Unions’ steadfast insistence on adhering to what are known to be failed teaching methods, and contrasting our situation with the well-known best practice successes of the Michaela School London and Singapore’s achievement’s – particularly in maths – this quote from Paulo Coelho speaks volumes:

“When you repeat a mistake, it’s not a mistake anymore it’s a decision”

Paulo Coelho

Thank you for your support.