With the increase in complexities within the classroom, come along to learn how to effectively and purposefully use Functional Behavioural Assessment to assess, break down and meet the diverse needs of learners in your classroom from K to TAFE.
Discovering the purpose and function of behaviour, which is a form of communication, will allow teachers to better support the needs of individuals in the classroom.
Learn practical skills and build understanding on how to positively support student engagement in their learning.
K-TAFE teachers interested in functional behavioural assessment
2 December 2025 at NSW Teachers Federation, Surry Hills
All CPL courses run from 9am to 3pm.
$220
Please note, payment for courses is taken after the course takes place.
John Skene was elected as the NSW Teachers Federation Disability Officer in November 2024. As part of this role, he is responsible for supporting students, staff and schools in disability. He is working closely with the other areas in Federation (Organisers, Professional Support, Trade Union Training) to support Federation members.
With over fifteen years of experience as a teacher in special education, John has worked at Schools for Specific Purposes (SSPs) and Support Units (SUs). He has held roles such as Federation Representative and Assistant Principal Special Education. John was a Councillor and the Special Education Contact of Sutherland and Inner-City Teachers Association (across his time in school).
The Supporting Students with ADHD in 7-10 course is designed to support teachers to:
develop an understanding of the wide range of characteristics of students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD);
explore a range of strategies which address the needs of students with ADHD in the areas of language and cognitive development, communication skills and social behaviour;
develop specific strategies to help students with ADHD access the curriculum, and
develop an understanding for the need for explicit instruction in the essential components of literacy in every classroom every day.
Online (Term 4) Monday 10 November 2025 COURSE FULL
All CPL courses run from 9am to 3pm.
Dr Roselyn Dixon has been a special education teacher in both mainstream and special education settings in primary and secondary schools. Rose has been in academia and involved with Inclusive Education for more than 25 years. She has published research in the fields of social skills and behavioural interventions for people with a range of disabilities including students with Oppositional Defiance Disorders and Autism.
She has been actively involved in examining the relationship between digital technologies and pedagogy in special education and inclusive classrooms for students with Autism as well as the implications of the NDIS on people with disabilities in rural and remote communities. Rose is an Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Education, University of Wollongong, where she was previously the Academic Director of Inclusive and Special Education. She continues to support doctoral students in Inclusive and Special education with a focus on Autism.
Secondary Teachers
Special Education Teachers
School Counsellors
Learning and Support Teachers
$220 (Federation members only)
Please note, payment for courses is taken after the course takes place.
The Supporting Students with ADHD in K-6 course is designed to support teachers to:
develop an understanding of the wide range of characteristics of students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD);
explore a range of strategies which address the needs of students with ADHD in the areas of language and cognitive development, communication skills and social behaviour;
develop specific strategies to help students with ADHD access the curriculum, and
develop an understanding for the need for explicit instruction in the essential components of literacy in every classroom every day.
Online – Term 42025
Monday 17 November 2025 COURSE FULL
Online –Term 1 2026
Friday 20 Febraury 2026
All CPL courses run from 9am to 3pm.
Dr Rose Dixon
Dr Roselyn Dixon has been a special education teacher in both mainstream and special education settings in primary and secondary schools. Rose has been in academia and involved with Inclusive Education for more than 25 years. She has published research in the fields of social skills and behavioural interventions for people with a range of disabilities including students with Oppositional Defiance Disorders and Autism.
She has been actively involved in examining the relationship between digital technologies and pedagogy in special education and inclusive classrooms for students with Autism as well as the implications of the NDIS on people with disabilities in rural and remote communities. Rose is an Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Education, University of Wollongong, where she was previously the Academic Director of Inclusive and Special Education. She continues to support doctoral students in Inclusive and Special education with a focus on Autism.
Primary teachers
Special Education teachers
School Counsellors
Learning and Support Teachers
$220 (Federation members only)
Please note, payment for courses is taken after the course takes place.
You can attend 1, 2 or 3 days of this course. Please apply using the online application form and then email us at cpl@nswtf.org.au to let us know your preferences.
Day 1 – Speaking and Listening
Day 2 – Reading
Day 3 – Writing
We will focus on oral language development as the basis for developing literacy through the cyclical use of a range of strategies. This will be achieved through consideration of how students need to make meaning in curriculum contexts with a particular emphasis on developing knowledge about language, particularly grammar and vocabulary.
The focus of this three day course presented by Kathy Rushton and Joanne Rossbridge is to develop understandings and strategies for participants who support EAL/D students in both small groups and mainstream classrooms.
Practical strategies will be provided to foster the use of English Language (L2) while encouraging students to use all the linguistic resources that they bring to school, including the use of their first language (L1). Consideration will be given to the wellbeing framework and supporting students in an inclusive environment which honours and confirms their identity, language, and culture.
Open All
Surry Hills (3 Days, Term 4)
Day 1 – Friday 31 October 2025
Day 2 – Friday 14 November 2025
Day 3 – Friday 28 November 2025
Federation House
23-33 Mary St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
All CPL courses run from 9am to 3pm.
Day 1 – Speaking and Listening
Principles of second language learning
Lexical density and grammatical intricacy: The relationship between grammar and vocabulary development
The Mode Continuum
Elaborated and restricted codes and the relationship between L1 and L2
Strategies for developing oral language through planning and the cyclical use of range of activities, e.g. communicative activities, group work, drama, rhymes, chants, poems. Link back to the mode continuum.
Select a picture book and, based on today’s session, prepare strategies. Explanation of task for Session 2.
Day 2 – Reading
Introduction of Field, Tenor and Mode.
Before, during and after reading and in preparation for writing with a focus on: – field building activities to acknowledge and build on cultural knowledge (before) – intonation, pronunciation, punctuation and spelling (during) – inferential comprehension (after)
Strategies for categorising vocabulary and working with language features
Share strategies for selected picture book with a small group
Explanation of task for Session 3.
Day 3 – Writing
The teaching and learning cycle
Identifying strategies for developing writing through a joint construction.
Strategies for supporting written like text, eg Readers Theatre, Dictogloss, Running dictation, Advance /Detail
Making links to the community through writing for a purpose
Prepare notes for the joint construction of a Literary Recount and an Exposition using selected text.
Joanne Rossbridge
Joanne Rossbridge is an independent language and literacy consultant working in both primary and secondary schools and with teachers across Australia. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant with the DET (NSW). Her expertise and much of her experience is in working with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Joanne is particularly interested in student and teacher talk and how talk about language can assist the development of language and literacy.
Kathy Rushton
Kathy Rushton is interested in the development of language and literacy especially in disadvantaged communities. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant and provides professional learning for teachers in the areas of language and literacy development. Her current research projects include a study of multilingual pre-service teachers and the impact that teacher professional learning has on the development of a creative pedagogical stance which supports translanguaging and student identity and wellbeing.
Day 1
Completing Tell Me Your Story: Supporting EAL/D Students from K-8 (Speaking and Listening) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 1.3.2, 2.5.2 & 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
Day 2
Completing Tell Me Your Story: Supporting EAL/D Students from K-8 (Reading) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 1.3.2, 2.5.2, 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
Day 3
Completing Tell Me Your Story: Supporting EAL/D Students from K-8 (Writing) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 1.3.2, 2.5.2, 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
Primary and Secondary teachers who support EAL/D students in both small groups and mainstream classrooms.
$660 for 3 days
Please note, payment for courses is taken after the course takes place.
Three whole day workshops with participants actively engaged in each session and undertaking reading and assignments between sessions.
The NSW Teachers Federation Conference Centre is a registered COVID safe business, and all courses are run in compliance with the Federation’s COVID safety plan.
“Perfect balance of theory vs practical strategies. The theories and strategies will be impossible to forget – putting it into practice between session was great.”
“Loved the depth of knowledge on all aspects of literacy in the context of EAL/D learners.”
“So glad I attended – have learnt so much and feel inspired to share what I have learnt.”
“Presenters are absolutely fabulous! The perfect amount of banter and professionalism. They are experts in their field, and it shows. They invite the learner in – whatever level of knowledge they are coming with.”
JPL Articles
Critical Literacy in English and History: Stages 3 & 4
The CPL and The University of Sydney’s Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment (CEMA) have entered into a collaborative partnership to deliver professional learning Literacy modules for all K-12 teachers.
About the Assessment Literacy modules
The six modules include video presentations by Professor Jim Tognolini, downloadable PDF files, formative self-assessment, reflective questions, recommended short readings, and collaborative webinar opportunities.
Each module will take you between four and six hours to complete and achieve the requisite PD hours towards maintenance of accreditation.
You will be able to: develop an understanding that assessment involves professional judgement based upon an image formed by the collection of information and is used to locate student performance on a developmental continuum; contextualise the role of assessment in teaching, and know, understand and use assessment related terms and strategies including reliability, validity, assessment for learning, assessment of learning, performance standards, and normreferenced assessment. Modules also include a specific consideration of the standards referenced system used in NSW, predicated on a measurement model.
Module 1 – Modern assessment theory including standards referencing
Module 2 – Constructing selected response and short-answer items including Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) items
Module 3 – Constructing extended response and performance tasks, and writing analytic and holistic rubrics
Module 4 – Evaluating the function and classroom assessment tasks and tests
Module 5 – Examining the impact of feedback on learning
Module 6 – Exploring the role of moderation and reporting in classroom assessment
A leading expert in educational assessment has designed the modules
You can start the fully-online modules when convenient and complete them at your own pace
Each module is competitively priced
Each module is accredited
Modules address Standard Descriptors in Proficient Teacher Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning (5.1.2, 5.2.2, 5.3.2, 5.4.2, 5.5.2)
The University of Sydney has approved the modules for articulation to postgraduate award courses. Details are available on the Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment’s website
Please click here for further details on Assessment and Data Literacy. Data Literacy modules will be available at a later date.
$300 for each module.
Federation financial members are eligible to receive a 10% discount on each module.
On confirmation of your financial membership with the NSW Teachers Federation, you will be sent further details on how to register for the modules.
All Teachers K-12
These modules are delivered online and can be completed at your own pace.
