There is a strong focus on building solid foundations in literacy and numeracy at Haileybury Rendall School, and the positive impact on student outcomes is clear.
In the Junior School classrooms, students are actively engaged, reading aloud, exploring numbers and confidently practising new skills. This engagement continues into the middle and senior years, where students consistently achieve impressive academic outcomes.
Literacy and numeracy are fundamental to academic achievement, and Haileybury Rendall School is committed to delivering evidence-based, best practice teaching programs.
In the junior years, this means literacy and numeracy is taught through direct, structured instruction called explicit learning. Teachers clearly explain, model and guide students through each step of their learning, ensuring that knowledge and skills are understood and retained.
“We know that building strong literacy and numeracy skills leads to strong overall outcomes for our students,” says Haileybury Rendall School Principal, Andrew McGregor.
Collaboration between Haileybury Rendall School in Darwin and Haileybury in Melbourne further enhances the outcomes for students. Together, staff review programs, develop high-quality classroom lessons and share resources.
The results speak for themselves, with Haileybury Rendall students consistently recognised for their outstanding academic achievements.
In 2025, Australia’s Top 100 Private Schools list placed Haileybury Rendall School in second place in the Northern Territory; a significant honour. The School has also consistently maintained its leading position in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) primary school rankings for four years running in the Territory since 2021.
Teachers use explicit teaching to develop literacy and numeracy through a simple three-stage process.
- Teachers initially provide explicit instruction and demonstrations (I do) to students.
- This is followed by guided practice and feedback (we do).
- Learning is reinforced through the independent application of learning and activities (you do).
Evidence-based teaching, which includes explicit instruction to build literacy and numeracy skills, is based on a significant body of research from renowned organisations like the Australian Education Research Organisation and the Grattan Institute.
This research shows that explicit teaching or explicit instruction works best for the largest number of students and is effective at capturing and supporting students who may be struggling.
Grenville Green, Haileybury Deputy Principal (Junior School) in Melbourne says that the explicit instruction of phonics is vital for early readers.
“We teach students to use letters and sounds from the beginning. They then learn to blend sounds when reading and to segment letters and sounds for spelling. We teach in a systematic and structured way and each day there are multiple opportunities for students to use the skills and sounds they have learnt, embedding and building proficiency.”
By focusing on strong foundations in literacy and numeracy, the school ensures every student can build a foundation for success and enjoyment of their learning.
