AITSL Mail: January 2026

A warm welcome back to the new school year! I hope the holidays gave you a chance to relax and enjoy yourself.

The beginning of any year provides a moment to take stock and think about what you want the year ahead to look like for you, your colleagues and especially your learners.

At AITSL, our role is to work alongside you. We offer free, evidence-informed support to help you reflect on your practice and grow your expertise in ways that feel right for you and your school or early childhood setting.

This year, we have brought that support together through our Grow in 2026 page. It is a place that you can return to across the year with new information being added at the commencement of a new term, and useful, practical guidance designed to support your work as it unfolds.

As a Chinese proverb reminds us, “Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still.” Here’s to a year of growth on your terms, curiosity and rewarding moments with your colleagues and the children and young people whose learning and lives you shape every day.

Support to keep your practice moving forward

Grow in 2026 brings together our resources, tools and guidance in one place, with updates each term so support is there when you need it.

Visit Grow in 2026

Explore what's new in Term 1

The essentials

These include the Teacher Standards, Middle Leader Standards and Principal Standard, along with practical tools for reflection, clarity and development in your context.

Explore the essentials

“Middle leaders are the engine room of improvement. These new Middle Leader Standards provide a shared national language for what effective middle leadership looks like.”

Joel Copeland, Principal of ACT Education Directorate's Instrumental Music Program

You can read more reflections from teachers and school leaders on our Grow in 2026 page.