At SOS Teacher Agency, we work alongside hundreds of teachers each term, both CRTs and contract educators across a diverse range of Victorian schools. From our regular conversations in staffrooms to the professional learning needs we see emerging in classrooms every week, one thing is clear: teachers want clarity. They want to understand the “why” behind new initiatives, the “how” of putting them into practice, and the reassurance that they’re not doing it alone.
This is especially true with the refreshed Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM 2.0). Whether you’re a daily CRT stepping into an unfamiliar space or a full-time teacher looking to align practice with policy, VTLM 2.0 is becoming a common reference point in staff meetings, learning plans, and team goals.
Unlike a complete overhaul, VTLM 2.0 builds on existing good practice. It helps teachers centre their work around three reflective questions: What am I teaching and why? How do I know if students are learning? And how can I improve my practice in partnership with others? These aren’t bureaucratic queries, they’re the heartbeat of effective pedagogy. What the updated model brings is greater coherence and alignment across planning, collaboration, and instructional practice. You can explore these foundations and tools through the VTLM hub on Arc, where DET has made a comprehensive suite of resources available.
The five Practice Principles remain central: high expectations for all students, a focus on growth, quality relationships, collaboration, and evidence-based decision making. What’s different now is the way they link explicitly to broader school improvement priorities through FISO 2.0, and how they sit within the cycle of Evaluate, Prioritise, Develop and Plan, Implement and Monitor.
For example, a mid-term writing unit could begin with clear success criteria visible to students, formative checkpoints throughout, and shared moderation within a year level team. That’s VTLM in action, not as a policy document, but as a working model for classroom learning. A CRT stepping into that space might use the same language of learning intention and success criteria to maintain consistency for students, even in a one-day placement. That’s one of the reasons this model matters, as it’s for everyone.
In schools where the Tutor Learning Initiative, Disability Inclusion, and Mental Health Fund strategies are in play, VTLM provides the “how”, the shared pedagogical structure that brings these policies to life. If you’re differentiating learning for a small-group intervention or planning for trauma-informed practice, the five principles of VTLM help anchor those choices in consistent, research-backed reasoning.
There’s no expectation to master the model all at once. For Term 3, it’s enough to engage purposefully with one or two elements. You might choose to embed more explicit feedback loops into a maths unit, use peer observation to build professional learning around questioning techniques, or reflect on your classroom data with a colleague using the Improvement Cycle as your frame.
And for our casual teachers, understanding the VTLM even at a basic level, can offer a common language to communicate with teams, interpret lesson plans, and build credibility across multiple school contexts. In this way, the model becomes more than a framework; it becomes a professional bridge across different environments and leadership styles.
As noted in the 2025 Performance and Development Guidelines, the Department’s expectations this year are not about extra workload; they’re about thoughtful alignment. When your teaching aligns with your school’s vision, your students’ needs, and your development as a professional, it becomes more sustainable.
At SOS Teacher Agency, we’ve always believed that great teaching is grounded in strong relationships and shared learning goals. Whether you’re returning to a familiar classroom or walking into a new one tomorrow, VTLM 2.0 offers a structure that can support your practice. You don’t need to implement it perfectly, but becoming fluent in its language gives you the tools to contribute more meaningfully, reflect more deeply, and teach more confidently.
We hope that Term 3 will allow this to be your starting point, not for doing more, but for doing what matters with greater clarity.
Written by SOS Teacher Agency, supporting Victorian educators across every classroom.
