Education News

Since 2024, the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) Education team and the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) National Formative Assessment Resource (NFAR) project team have been exploring how Australian screen content can support high-quality formative assessment. What began as a conversation about collaboration quickly evolved into a shared project examining how ACTF stories, characters and behind-the-scenes resources could be aligned with the Australian Curriculum and used to support teachers in gathering meaningful evidence of student learning.

Together, the two organisations mapped ACTF-supported content against curriculum areas including Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Civics and Citizenship, The Arts, and Digital Technologies. Along the way, the team explored practical questions about assessment design: what types of clips work best as assessment stimuli, how moving image content can be clipped into focused learning moments and what types of resources teachers need to confidently implement formative assessment in the classroom. Prototype assessment tasks were developed using content from MY:24, My Place and Barrumbi Kids, providing an opportunity to test assessment formats and refine approaches through collaborative feedback.

As the project progressed, both teams recognised the value of ACTF-supported content as a source of authentic, age-appropriate classroom stimulus. The stories offered diverse perspectives, relatable characters and rich opportunities for students to analyse, reflect and communicate their understanding. Feedback highlighted the flexibility of both the Australian Curriculum and ACTF-supported content in supporting the development of programs that meet the educational needs and interests of their students. The teams also saw the potential for screen stories to make assessment more engaging and accessible for students.

One of the most exciting outcomes emerged when ACARA sought support for a Health and Physical Education assessment focused on the skills and strategies to communicate assertively and respectfully when seeking, giving or denying consent. ACTF recommended the NFAR team explore the newly released Consent and Respectful Relationships Curated Clip Collection, including the scene from the Little Lunch episode “Kiss Chasey”. The clip was subsequently licensed for use within ACARA's formative assessment resources and now features as a formative assessment sample in ACARA’s formative assessment resources.

The resulting Years 7–8 Health and Physical Education graphic organiser sample assessment asks students to analyse moments of respectful communication and consent after viewing the scene from Little Lunch. More importantly, it shows teachers the thinking behind effective formative assessment design:

·        aligning assessment directly to curriculum content,

·        collecting evidence through student responses

·        and using that evidence to inform next teaching steps.

It is a powerful example of what can happen when curriculum expertise and educational screen content come together, creating practical resources that support teacher planning, reduce workload and help make student learning visible.

Explore the ACARA formative assessment resource featuring Little Lunch and learn more about how screen content can support assessment, discussion and inquiry in your classroom here.