Rosebud High teachers named among Victoria’s best for behaviour, literacy overhauls

A small Mornington Peninsula high school is tackling two of the biggest problems in Australian education – classroom behaviour and literacy levels – thanks to the dedication of two teachers.

For a school with less than 1000 students, Rosebud Secondary College punches above its weight – especially when it comes to fixing Australia’s rising problems with school behaviour and literacy.

Principal Lisa Holt and English teacher Wendy Coustley have dedicated their careers to tackling some of the biggest issues facing Australian students, and teachers.

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They were recognised for their achievements at Victoria’s Education Excellence Awards last year, taking out two of the six teacher categories: most outstanding secondary principal and teacher.

“Coming off the back of Covid, we started seeing dysregulation in (student) behaviour and a lack of learning resilience,” Ms Holt said. “The students had forgotten social cues, and they were not coming to school to learn.”

For Ms Holt, educating young people about the behaviour expected of them in school and in the workplace – and any other social context – “should be taught like any other curriculum”.

“Schools reflect their communities, so (it is our job) to prepare our young people for life,” she said. “If we’re not doing that overtly, we’re doing them a disservice.”

Rosebud Secondary College principal Lisa Holt and literacy leader Wendy Coustley with students Hani Mears, 17, Ethan Jeffery, 13, Troy Tait, 17 and Hayley Searl, 13. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Inspired by cognitive science and informed by a conference on classroom mastery, Ms Holt’s approach also supports a wave of new teachers entering the profession without traditional placement experience.

Every class follows the same routines: how to line up, enter, exit, respond, and speak. “The teacher says, ‘Good morning 7B’ and they reply – it’s about reciprocal relationships and setting a tone,” she said.

Ms Holt’s approach is vital in light of an international report showing that Australia has a “problematic situation” with classroom discipline, ranking our classrooms among the most disorderly of the OECD nations.

In 2023, a senate inquiry into the report’s findings heard that Australian teachers spent 15 per cent of class time managing student behaviour. Ms Holt’s goal is to change that.

For Ms Coustley, another report cemented the need for literacy overhaul in her school. Shocked by the Grattan Institute’s findings that 40 per cent of all Australian students were significantly below benchmark, she instigated a bold, school-wide literacy program.

Ms Holt and Ms Coustley both won Victorian Education Excellence Awards in 2024. Picture: Wayne Taylor

“We were seeing students enter Year 7 with reading levels as low as Grade 1,” she said. “Teachers didn’t know what to do. They weren’t trained to teach reading – they were teaching their subject area.”

Today, because of Ms Coustley’s efforts, literacy testing, phonics-based intervention and explicit direct instruction are embedded into intervention programs and English classrooms across Years 7 to 11. English teachers and “pre-service” or student teachers are both trained to deliver literacy support. More than 300 students now benefit from the program each year.

“We’re making sure every child who needs help gets it,” she said.

The school now attracts national attention, with secondary educators visiting to learn from Ms Coustley’s approach.

“There’s still more to learn, but we’re sharing what we’ve discovered,” she said. “Literacy is the foundation – and every student deserves to stand on solid ground.”

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Originally published as Rosebud High teachers named among Victoria’s best for behaviour, literacy overhauls