May 2025
ACARA’s new media literacy resource for teachers
Ensuring Australian students develop a greater understanding of the modern media landscape in a digitally connected world is at the heart of a new media literacy teaching resource we have recently released.
Working in partnership with key media literacy experts, we have developed the new Curriculum connection: Media consumers and creators to support our teachers to make sure all students are engaged in developing media literacy knowledge and skills across Foundation to Year 10, specifically in Media Arts, English and Digital Technologies.
“Whether it’s a news story, a television show, an online video or a social media post, our young people need to learn how to sort fact from fiction and work out whether something is credible or not,” said ACARA CEO, Stephen Gniel.
“We need to ensure students can develop the critical and analytical thinking needed to contend with an ever-evolving digital media landscape. As the recent Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters report into civics education and political participation highlighted, this is crucially important if we want our young people to be active and informed citizens.
“This new Curriculum connection resource will also help encourage our young people to express their creativity as storytellers and creators of media,” Mr Gniel said.
Read our media release.
Watch and read the ABC news coverage about our new media literacy resource.
Find out more about the new Curriculum connection: Media consumers and creators resource.
New data released on schools and schooling in Australia
New data on schools and schooling has been released by ACARA as part of the progressive release program for the National Report on Schooling in Australia 2024.
The latest data updates cover information on schools and schooling, student enrolment and retention.
ACARA progressively releases chapters of the annual National Report on Schooling in Australia as the data becomes available, which provides more timely commentary on progress against nationally agreed policy initiatives by Australia’s school education sector.
Find out more about the key highlights from the data and explore the National Report on Schooling data portal.
Celebrating National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week runs from 27 May to 3 June 2025, and this year’s theme is “Bridging Now to Next”, which reflects the ongoing connection between the past, present and future.
National Reconciliation Week is a time to learn about First Nations Peoples’ shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how we can all contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
The Australian Curriculum’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority provides an opportunity for all Australian students to develop their knowledge and understanding about the world’s oldest continuous living cultures.
We have also produced our FIRST framework, which is a guide to assist teachers and schools to engage with their local First Nations communities to support the implementation of the Australian Curriculum.
Find out more about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority and the FIRST framework.
Celebrating Gifted Awareness Week
It’s Gifted Awareness Week from 24 May to 1 June 2025, and the theme this year is “Policy to Practice”.
Gifted learners can thrive when policies are transformed into real action in classrooms. This means creating opportunities that are rigorous, relevant, and tailored to each child’s unique strengths, interests and goals across the Australian Curriculum.
Teachers can support gifted and talented children to meet their full potential by using the 3 dimensions of the Australian Curriculum in their individual student learning plans.
Find out more about meeting the needs of gifted and talented students in the Student diversity section of the Australian Curriculum website.
Anti-Bullying Rapid Review
The Australian Government recently announced an Anti-Bullying Rapid Review. The Review will look at current approaches to addressing bullying in schools, what is working and what needs strengthening, with the aim of providing options for the development of a consistent national standard for responding to bullying and its underlying causes in schools. The Review is now accepting submissions. The Review co-chairs, Dr Charlotte Keating and Dr Jo Robinson AM, are seeking views from students, parents/carers, teachers and those involved in school education across the country.
To provide feedback through the submission process, please visit the Department of Education website, where you can find information on how to participate, along with the Review’s Terms of Reference. Submissions can be made anonymously if preferred and you have until Friday 20 June 2025 to take part.