Steve Capp’s decision to get on board a grassroots movement that is shaking up Australian classrooms came after he witnessed the power of taking an evidence-based approach to how children are taught.

In the short time he has been principal at Chelsea Heights Primary School on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, Capp’s approach has borne fruit. The proportion of children in his school above the national benchmark in literacy has jumped from 69 to 90 per cent.