Congratulations to the State Finalists in this year's Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards.
We hope you enjoy reading about each of the finalists, and their outstanding contribution to student learning and wellbeing, collaboration, and commitment to continuous professional learning and training, in their schools.
Thank you to the school leaders who made time to recognise the work of their teacher aides by submitting a nomination.
State Finalist
Yui Backhouse
Margaret Hendry School, ACT
Nominated by: Bernadette Allen, SLC
Yui Backhouse, a Learning Support Assistant (LSA) at Margaret Hendry School, is the Australian Capital Territory Finalist in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards.
Bernadette Allen, a Learning Coach at Margaret Hendry School, said that Yui is a passionate and experienced staff member who is committed to ensuring that every child is provided with exceptional educational experiences that align with the school vision.
Yui currently works across years K-5, and with the school’s small group program. Her nomination highlights her ability to connect with children to facilitate their learning and wellbeing.
As part of the school’s ‘Who We are Together’ sessions, Yui develops and teaches programs centred around Japanese and water colour painting. She gathers resources and implements quality programs that are aligned to the Australian Curriculum with value-added student outcomes across the Language and Arts curriculum. Key results of this initiative have been children conversing in Japanese in both written and oral form and quality art learning for the children. Her sessions are so popular, that the team have had to limit the number of children able to participate in each session.
Yui works in partnership with the teaching teams at Margaret Hendry School to improve student learning outcomes. As an example, she collaborates with the learning coaches (teachers) to provide evidence of children’s learning, analyse student data, and participate in planning sessions to help make informed decisions about appropriate learning interventions and programs to support individual children.
Yui has participated in professional learning to enhance her support of student learning and wellbeing. She upskilled herself in using the SeeSaw platform, used by the school for remote learning, and developed videos which focused on the children’s science and art learning outcomes. She also participated in school professional learning focused on the development of reading fluency and comprehension, as part of the school’s literacy booster program for children across K-2.
State Finalist
Jenni Lundie
Blaxland High School, NSW
Nominated by: Lis Viney, Head Teacher Student Services
Jenni Lundie, a Student Learning Support Officer (SLSO) at Blaxland High School, is the New South Wales Finalist in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards.
Lis Viney, Head Teacher Student Services at Blaxland High School, said that Jenni, who has worked at the school since 2006, is the cornerstone of the Blaxland High School SLSO team, and an incredibly valued member of the school community. She brings a wealth of experience to the role, and has shown generosity in leading and mentoring other learning support personnel.
Jenni works closely with students with a range of learning needs from years 7 through to 12, in subjects including Food Technology, HSC, English and Engineering. She meets with the Learning Support Team and the school executive, to ensure that students needing additional support in the classroom are considered and their needs addressed.
Jenni supports the work of the Learning and Support Team and the SLSO team at Blaxland High School. She schedules in-class support, and coordinates SLSOs to attend, based on their individual strengths and the needs of the students.
Jenni is familiar with, and able to respond to the learning needs of nearly 1000 students at Blaxland High, and impressively guides her colleagues, both SLSOs and teachers, to support these students. She advocates for the rights of students to access education, and seeks out ways to innovate and accommodate students through small group and individual intervention. She provides an exemplary model of professionalism in the classroom, and ensures that SLSOs understand how to support the students.
Jenni seeks out opportunities to improve her own knowledge and practice, through consistent professional development and training, to better address the needs of the diverse student population at Blaxland High. This is shown through her ongoing commitment to better understand emerging technologies such as Google Classroom, and use this online learning platform to support students remotely.
Jenni also considers the professional learning needs of colleagues, and leads her SLSO peers both formally and informally in professional development.
State Finalist
Saleena Allgood
Alawa Primary School, NT
Nominated by: Nikki Bates, Special Education Teacher
Saleena Allgood, a Special Education Support Officer at Alawa Primary School, is the Northern Territory Finalist in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards.
Nikki Bates, Special Education Teacher at Alawa Primary School, said that Saleena is a dedicated staff member who has shown commitment and dedication to students and team members, whilst striving to achieve positive outcomes for both students and the school.
Saleena is outstanding at building relationships with students, demonstrates a deep knowledge of supporting children with additional needs, and is adept at identifying student needs and effective strategies to address them.
Saleena oversees the Engine Room, which plays a critical role in supporting the wellbeing and self-regulation of students, and trains staff in optimising facilities to support students' sensory needs, as well as delivering literacy and numeracy intervention.
She also has a key role in developing and delivering the school's gross motor programs (PMP and KIDDO) which have benefitted students, who have improved outcomes for early intervention in motor-skill development.
Saleena currently supports two teachers with cohorts that include a range of students with complex needs. She collaborates with the classroom teacher and special education teacher to provide a range of interventions and adjustments to support the academic, sensory and social/emotional needs of students.
She also provides outstanding administrative support to the Special Education Teacher and plays a critical role in special education processes being effectively completed.
She is proactive in approaching teaching staff with observations about students, which inform decisions to refer students for specific therapies.
Saleena supports colleagues to accommodate students with additional needs, and is highly proactive in supporting other Special Education School Assistants (SESA) to build their professional capacity. She has delivered training in supporting student sensory needs, using the Engine Room, and supported the delivery of professional learning on Zones of Regulation to the whole school.
State Finalist
Benjaphan Smith
Brisbane South State Secondary College, QLD
Nominated by: Georgia Row, Head of Inclusive Practices
Benjaphan Smith, Teacher Aide as a Learning Partner at Brisbane South State Secondary College, is the Queensland Finalist in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards.
Georgia Row, Head of Inclusive Practices at Brisbane South State Secondary College, said that Benjaphan had the challenging role of being the College’s Foundation Teacher Aide, and was integral to shaping the role of a “New Standard” Teacher Aide as a Learning Partner. She says Benjaphan engages the greatness of others, lives in possibilities, and brings those around her with her.
Benjaphan has positively impacted the learning and wellbeing of students both on an individual and cohort level. She puts the student at the centre of everything she does, and considers the individual differences in her approach.
She supports the diverse needs of students, as well as the pedagogy of teachers. As an example, she connected with students by drawing on her own experience as an English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD) learner, and shared her experiences with students individually, empathising with their own challenges adjusting to a new culture.
As a foundation staff member, Benjaphan has been integral to developing and maintaining a culture of learning and performance, and intentionally collaborates with teachers and colleagues.
She is a key member of the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) Committee and supports six different teachers across four subjects in classrooms. She also collaborated with the Design Technologies and Spanish departments, to set the tone for what a collaborative partnership between Heads of Department and Learning Partners can look like.
Benjaphan supports the development and practice of a team of nine Learning Partners (Teacher Aides), and leads solution focused professional learning conversations with the team. Her contributions have developed the capacity of all Learning Partners, and supported their transition into the school’s innovative and digital environment.
Benjaphan has had a voice and role in defining a “New Standard” teacher aide as a Learning Partner, and developing the underpinning documentation, tools and resources for the Learning Partner team.
State Finalist
Lisa Veitch
Horizon Christian School, SA
Nominated by: Terry Edmunds, Assistant Principal
Lisa Veitch, an Education Support Officer (ESO) at Horizon Christian School, is the South Australian Finalist in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards.
Terry Edmunds, Assistant Principal at Horizon Christian School, said that Lisa has been at the school for 14 years, is well respected by school leadership, and has worked with students from Foundation to Year 12 in a variety of support roles.
Lisa’s key role is to support vulnerable and high needs students, those living with complex disabilities, and students who have experienced trauma. She has had a significant impact on the social and emotional learning and welfare of students at the school. As an example, Lisa used her understanding of a student to scaffold re-entry to school after a major incident, enabling the student to successfully transition back to the class and learning.
Lisa is a leader in advocating for the explicit teaching and learning of social competencies for both students and teachers, and compiles resources that are targeted to support students with specific strategies that will enable success. Her knowledge and understanding of the zones of regulation, restorative practice, social competency and student agency is valued by staff, and has had significant impact in the lives of students.
Lisa works collaboratively with all staff, particularly in the areas of disability and inclusion, and also works closely with allied health professionals to book professional services with minimal disruption to teachers and student learning.
She is a mentor for many in the Student Engagement and Learning team, and supports them in the learning strategies and skills needed in their roles. She was a key organiser in a staff professional development on inclusive education, and assisted with training in trauma informed practice, restorative practice and the Disability Standards for Education. As a result, the school adopted a whole school approach toward becoming a trauma informed school, and is implementing restorative practices to promote a school wide approach to behaviour learning.
State Finalist
Anna Rudolf
Hobart City High School, TAS
Nominated by: Claire Morse, Support Teacher
Anna Rudolf, a Teacher Assistant at Hobart City High School – Ogilvie Campus, is the Tasmanian Finalist in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards.
Claire Morse, Support Teacher at Hobart City High School, said that Anna has an outstanding ability to work with a range of students throughout the school, including students with or without disabilities.
Anna is a specialist literacy teacher assistant and runs Catch Up Literacy sessions. She works collaboratively with teachers, senior staff, and teacher assistants to support students who need targeted literacy intervention in reading and comprehension, and has helped to improve literacy outcomes for many students.
Anna also supports students with complex needs who require extensive adjustments within the classroom. She collaborates with classroom teachers to help plan differentiated work for students across a range of subjects and grade levels. As an example, she met with the Year 10 Math teachers to provide suggestions to differentiate the work for the students she works with, and was able to take a leadership role in the development of resources and alternate tasks.
Anna supports and mentors new or relief teacher assistants. Her experience within the school means that she has a wealth of information on students and their learning needs, and will actively discuss the most effective strategies to provide quality learning for students.
Anna collaborates with occupational therapists, speech therapists and physiotherapists, and other external support people, to support students. She attends meetings, and has learned how to use new equipment to work with physically challenged young people.
Anna values professional learning and attends teacher assistants meetings and other professional learning opportunities at school.
As the school was formally an all-girls school, and became co-educational with an intake of boys into Year 7 in 2022, it has been a steep learning curve for all staff. Anna has embraced this change with good humour, and learnt many new systems including a new IT system for behaviour management, and other school-based systems and processes.
State Finalist
Jane Keehn
Como Secondary College, WA
Nominated by: Mileva Tubbs, Program Coordinator Operations
Jane Keehn, an Education Assistant at Como Secondary College, is the West Australian Finalist in the Australian Teacher Aide of the Year Awards.
Mileva Tubbs, Program Coordinator – Operations at Como Secondary College, said that Jane is a highly respected and valued member of the College’s Learning Support Program, which is recognised throughout Western Australia for exemplary literacy and numeracy intervention in a secondary school setting.
Since 2018, Jane has been an instrumental proponent of the program, supporting at-risk students in Years 7, 8 and 9 to improve their literacy and numeracy skills. Her experience and expertise in delivering evidence-based practices has led to a dramatic improvement in the literacy and numeracy outcomes of the students she supports, with 6 and 12 month gains in progress, in a year.
Jane provides direct instruction in the Connecting Maths Concepts, Spelling Mastery and Corrective Reading programs. She differentiates her instruction to meet the needs of all her students by analysing system data, reviewing student disability adjustment documents, and keeping detailed records regarding student progress to adjust the pace of delivery and content.
She also works in partnership with the Intensive Learning Team (ILT) teachers to improve student outcomes. She provides the teachers with updates on student progress by creating weekly EA reports, in regard to lesson completion and engagement, behaviour, mastery test results, and attendance. Mainstream teachers also collaborate with Jane to differentiate assessments and scaffold content delivery.
Jane leads the EA Team Review on a fortnightly basis during common planning time, and facilitates discussion about student progress, and strategies that help engage students and address gaps in learning. Jane strives to improve her practice through high quality professional development activities, and is a keen participant in the College’s Performance and Development cycle. Her ability to recognise the experiences of her colleagues has led to a high functioning and cohesive team of EAs with a high level of collective efficacy.
