As the school year winds down, Term 4 presents school leaders with a valuable opportunity to reflect on what worked and what could be improved. It’s the ideal time to identify the support students and teachers need throughout 2025, and to lay the groundwork for a stronger, more rewarding year ahead.

Term 4 can also play a key role in shaping a student’s approach to the upcoming school year. Whether they’re advancing to high school, stepping into Year 11 or 12, or simply moving forward in their learning journey, having insights into their progress can help everyone prepare for the transition.

Term 4 mindsets

 Term 4 is a time for celebrating the year’s achievements, reflecting on successes and challenges, and considering the impact you’ve made. But beyond reflection, Term 4 should also serve as a launchpad for the year ahead.

Term 4 is the last chance we have to work with students and prepare them for what’s to come. So, using this time to explore strategies and implement activities that provide students and parents with confidence that they’re ready is important. 

How to help students adjust:

• Have students sit in on a class in the year above to settle any nerves about their new year level 
• Hold dedicated study sessions to revisit missed lessons or misunderstandings that have appeared on assessments
• Gather student learning data to share with parents so they can address learning gaps over the school holidays. 

How to support teachers:

• Host feedback sessions with your teachers early in Term 4 to make sure you have time to implement their ideas and feedback into planning for 2026
• Organise Professional Development opportunities in Term 4 so your teachers can end the year refining their skills and practices ahead of the school holidays. 
• Celebrate your team’s achievements, whether big or small; it’s important to acknowledge the wins you’ve had throughout the year. 

Diagnose student understanding to inform planning

While diagnostic assessments are often used at the start of the year or term, conducting them in Term 4 can be equally, if not more, valuable. By assessing students’ current levels, school leaders can gain a clear picture of how far students have progressed and where gaps remain.

This data allows you to reflect meaningfully on what teaching strategies drove growth, identify where certain groups need extra support, and spot patterns that may point to broader resourcing or capability needs across your team. It also helps inform class placements, teaching priorities, and targeted interventions for the year ahead.

When paired with the right tools, collecting this kind of student learning data doesn’t need to add pressure to teachers’ workloads. Choose a diagnostic assessment that takes under an hour but provides clear insights into each student’s strengths and gaps, even back to Year 1. This empowers teachers with meaningful data to inform planning, report to families, and start the new year with clarity and purpose.

Planning without the pressure

Term 4 is an ideal time to trial new tools or teaching strategies in a low-stakes environment. It gives leaders and teachers the chance to explore what’s missing from their current toolkit, whether that’s a more targeted approach to differentiation, a better way to build student confidence, or a solution for filling learning gaps.

Testing new approaches now means that by 2026, your team will be familiar with them, ensuring a smoother onboarding and faster implementation from day one. 

Introducing a resource that diagnoses learning gaps and supports catch-up can also create momentum over the summer break. Students and families can use the holidays to address key areas of need, setting them up for a stronger start next year.

In 2019, Blackburn High School introduced the Instructive program for Years 7–9. Transitioning from traditional textbooks required a mindset shift for both staff and families.

“From a class and teacher management perspective, it was easy to implement. But we had to spend time supporting new teachers and managing early scepticism from parents,” said Tony.

“Ironically, the disruptions from COVID actually helped, many of the previously doubtful parents could see how effective the model was for independent learning.”

The leadership team’s commitment to doing it properly, supporting each other, visiting classes, and avoiding shortcuts paid off.

The result? A surge in senior maths enrolments and achievement:

• 3–4 Year 11 Mathematical Methods classes
• 1–2 Year 11 Specialist Maths classes
• 2–4 Year 12 Methods classes
• 1 large Year 12 Specialist class

Compared to pre-2019 numbers, where just 2–3 Methods and 1 Specialist class ran in Year 12, the results speak for themselves. Students are not only enrolling in greater numbers, but they’re excelling, including those accelerating into senior maths early.

Make Term 4 count! 

Join schools like Blackburn High School and explore a new approach to maths that supports teacher judgement and empowers students to grow from wherever they are. Instructive combines the best of explicit whole-class teaching with targeted, personalised learning, so you can confidently deliver the curriculum while meeting individual student needs.

Built on the trusted foundation of Maths Pathway, Instructive helps teachers teach at-level content to the whole class, then seamlessly transition into differentiated support to fill gaps and extend learning.

And the best part? You can try Instructive for free in Term 3 and 4. It’s the perfect time to explore a new approach to maths, offering teachers ready-to-use personalised and whole-class lessons, plus hands-on support and professional development opportunities. Start exploring Instructive.