Find out more about the resources available to help you implement the new requirement for Grade 1 students in 2023
From 2023, every Grade 1 Victorian government school student will have their early literacy skills, including phonics, assessed each year in Term 1 through our enhanced English Online Interview (EOI).
This is a new requirement for Grade 1 government school students to support them in learning to read.
All Prep students will also continue to be assessed in the Term 1 EOI mandatory period.
This article provides the latest information for teachers to implement the new requirement.
Implementation support
Schools and teachers can access a range of supports to help implement the new requirement. These include:
- more virtual professional learning sessions on the new Grade 1 EOI requirement being delivered in Term 1, 2023. You can register for these on the Arc platform
- on-demand recordings of the professional learning sessions. These are available on the Arc platform
- the updated EOI Guide, with new information about the additional phonics items that form part of the assessment. This is now available on the EOI webpage.
- funding for the equivalent of 2 casual relief teacher (CRT) days per Grade 1 teacher to allow them to use the EOI with their students. The funding will be paid directly to schools in Term 1, 2023.
For schools experiencing disruptions in Term 1, 2023
The assessment period for Grade 1 students is spread across 5 weeks (weeks 3 to 7) to provide maximum flexibility for schools in managing the implementation of the new requirement, including CRT availability.
The partial overlap with the Prep assessment period from weeks 1 to 5 will allow schools to consider combining classes or where composite Prep/Grade 1 classes exist.
If your school is experiencing disruption or an ongoing issue with CRT availability in Term 1, 2023, your principal can contact the Literacy Unit by email: studentlearning@education.vic.gov.au
Enhanced early literacy assessment tools
We are enhancing our early literacy assessment tools to further support you to assess students' phonics knowledge and use the data as part of your teaching practice.
Additional phonics items will be ready to use in all 4 EOI modules from Term 1, 2023.
Module 1 is recommended for Prep and Module 2 for Grade 1, but teacher judgement will inform which module is most appropriate for your students.
Find out more
For more information, refer to the
English Online Interview webpage.
For further enquiries, contact the Literacy Unit by email:
studentlearning@education.vic.gov.au