Investing in Strong Foundations: Literacy, Numeracy, and the Future of Learning at Somerset College

In this week’s message, Headmaster Chris Ivey reflects on the importance of strong foundational learning and how it shapes a student’s educational journey. As Somerset College finalises its new Strategic Plan, a continued focus on literacy and numeracy excellence remains central to ensuring every student achieves their personal success.

Throughout the year, I have spent a lot of time listening and reflecting on feedback as we begin to formulate a Strategic Plan with the Board and Leadership team for the next five to 10 years for our College.

Part of this has been to look at our teaching and learning and respond to the diverse challenges ahead. As a secondary educator myself, I have always understood the immense importance of the early years of learning. It is in these years when strong foundations in literacy and numeracy are laid, where a child develops and sustains a love for learning, and we encourage and promote creativity. As I have written in the past, these concepts are not an ‘or’, rather an ‘and’. We need to get the balance right.

There are constant pressures on the curriculum, the impacts of AI, the appropriate use of technology, the need to nurture social and emotional skills and so the list goes on. However, with all this, we absolutely must ensure we give our students every opportunity for academic and personal success from the moment they join our Junior School and to my mind, the quality of our literacy and numeracy programmes is still paramount.

We have employed a full-time Junior School Numeracy Coach from 2026. Ms Jacinda Kontoleon, an alumni from 1998 and her focus next year will be on supporting and coaching our staff in their teaching of numeracy, looking at how we plan and implement our numeracy programme and then working with individual and small groups of students to ensure that as students move from Prep through to Year 6, they have a strong and sequential numeracy learning journey.

Somerset has passionate and dedicated teachers across the College and part of our Strategic Plan is to ensure that in the years ahead, we continue to provide them with the skills and opportunities to grow as educators, to stay on the front foot when it comes to innovation in education, and to have the knowledge and pedagogical skills to give of their best to our students.

I do want to acknowledge the work our teachers do each and every day, and as we look to invest in their learning in the years ahead, I am confident this will be of benefit to our entire community.