Getting it right from the start is a project MACS is undertaking with the following partners Department of Education, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Royal Children’s Hospital, Deakin University and LaTrobe University.

The project’s overall aim is to evaluate whether a specifically-designed RTI approach for oral language and literacy instruction targeted to the early years of school can improve children’s language and literacy when compared with usual teaching practice. While there is a growing body of literature describing the detail and potential impact of a RTI framework, the evidence regarding how this might actually be implemented at a school or system level is strikingly limited. Our project addresses this vital evidence gap.

As part of this project, the RTI model will be evaluated in schools using a whole-of-school language and literacy programs, with a focus on:

• Tier 1, addressing the whole of class, universal provision of quality instruction; and
• Tier 2 interventions, addressing the needs of students most at-risk regarding their language and literacy learning.

A small selection of Catholic schools participated in a pilot project in 2021. The project expanded in 2022 to include more Catholic schools.