

We recently sought the input of teachers, parents, and students with learning difficulties to help inform AUSPELD’s submission to the 2020 Review of the Disability Standards for Education. We received almost 1,000 completed surveys from families and educators across Australia!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the many teachers, parents and students who took the time to respond to the survey and who spoke so honestly about their experiences and views. Hopefully, we have captured your thoughts and voices in our submission.
AUSPELD’s submission can be viewed here.
AUSPELD strongly supports evidence informed practice in the teaching of literacy. In order to read well, children need to be taught to read words accurately and fluently, and they need the knowledge and vocabulary to understand what they read.
The Phonics Check is one component of a high-quality structured literacy program. The recent announcement by the Federal Government that stage one of the Year 1 Phonics Check is now available to schools and families across Australia has been welcomed by AUSPELD. It is a simple tool which checks student progress in the second half of Year 1. The results of the Phonics Check provide teachers with a useful overview of students’ individual reading skills and assists teachers to identify students who need additional support.
The Phonics Check is available now via a new online portal for teachers, school leaders and families called the Literacy Hub. The Hub includes information on how students learn to read, as well as resources for schools and families to support literacy development. Additional resources will be added over the coming months.
Go to literacyhub.edu.au to find out more.
AUSPELD is excited to announce an upcoming new webinar series, featuring conversations with international experts as they share some of their acquired knowledge, key discoveries and thoughts for the future. The series focuses on the acquisition of language, literacy and numeracy and includes interviews with Louisa Moats, Mark Seidenberg, Kate Nation, Carl Hendrick, Paul Kirschner, Daniel Ansari, Pie Corbett, Emily Hanford and Pamela Snow.
These interviews (conducted by AUSPELD President Mandy Nayton) will be essential viewing for teachers, administrators, speech pathologists, psychologists and parents concerned with evidence-informed practice in the fields of literacy and learning. More information about how to register for – and contribute to – these free webinars will be shared soon. Be sure to follow AUSPELD on Facebook or Twitter for updates – https://www.facebook.com/AUSPELD/ https://twitter.com/auspeld
Over the past few months, state SPELD associations have responded to the COVID-19 context by adapting their service delivery models to include online clinical services, professional development, and tutoring. As restrictions start to ease in some parts of the country, some state SPELDs have begun to return to face to face service delivery while online and tele-health options continue to be available at all state SPELDs.
To find out more about the services available at each state SPELD, please click here.
For further information, contact your local state SPELD.
Journalist Emily Hanford (author of Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read) recently presented an online keynote presentation as part of the PaTTAN Literacy Symposium.
The presentation focuses on Emily’s exploration of the science of reading. She shares some important take-home messages about changing the way the message of effective evidence-informed instruction is delivered.
We are looking forward to hosting Emily soon as a guest on our upcoming webinar series featuring several exciting international speakers. More news coming soon!
In the meantime, please enjoy this webinar which is highly recommended for educators, parents, and anyone concerned about how children are taught to read.
This video interview with esteemed child neuropsychologist Dr. Jack Fletcher is a must-watch! Dr. Fletcher is the Principal Investigator of the Texas Centre for Learning Disabilities and is a former member of the NICHD National Advisory Council and the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education.
In the video, he explains the importance of early intervention for children with dyslexia, the key characteristics of effective reading intervention, the danger of intervention fads, and more.
Dr. Fletcher advocates for “Strong core instruction for everyone, which absolutely reduces risk… in the context of universal screening and progress monitoring.”
Listen to (or read) the interview here: readingrockets.org/teaching/experts/jack-fletcher
Sounds~Write is an evidence-based linguistic phonics program utilising an exciting and highly successful approach to the teaching of reading and spelling. The AUSPELD team are delighted to be offering online Sounds~Write workshops to interested teachers, tutors, parents, and allied health professionals. The first AUSPELD Sounds~Write course has gotten off to a fantastic start, and the upcoming June course is already booking up quickly. Two new start dates have also now been announced in July and August.
The online course runs for six weeks (with four weeks of content) and is monitored by experienced Sounds~Write trainers. Further information and booking details can be found by clicking on the flyer below.
State SPELD Associations have made a number of changes to their services in recent weeks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim is continue to support the schools, families and organisations that we currently work with (as well as those who are new to AUSPELD) in a manner that is appropriate for these rapidly changing times. To find out more about the ways we are continuing to support our communities, please go to State SPELDs – Providing essential services and support or click on the image below.
We will be adding new resources and information to the AUSPELD website and providing regular updates on our Facebook page, so make sure to follow AUSPELD at facebook.com/AUSPELD/
For more information, please contact your local State SPELD.
Click on the image below to expand.