Tier 3 that works: Equity and Impact for Students with Learning Difficulties

Dates:

Tuesday 12th May

Tuesday 19th May

Tuesday 26th May

Time: 7-8:30 pm AEST

**All sessions will be recorded and available for two weeks after the event**

The multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework helps guide the use of evidence-based instructional practices to meet students’ learning needs. It supports the identification of achievement gaps, highlighting students who may require targeted intervention to address additional needs. A central element of MTSS is ongoing monitoring of instruction and interventions to ensure they are effective and making a meaningful impact.

Tier 1 Support – Evidence-based instructional practices and supports delivered to all students.

Tier 2 Support – Interventions provided to small groups in addition to the high-quality instruction received by all students in Tier 1.

Tier 3 Support – Interventions are targeted to meet specific individual learning needs and further intensified by increasing the frequency and/or length of each session, duration of the intervention, and/or lowering group size.

(AERO- March 2025)

This 3-part course focuses on providing effective Tier 3 Intervention, ensuring equity and impact for students with learning difficulties. The course will cover how to use data to drive support and to monitor progress, provide case studies from leading schools in Australia and discuss adjustments for students with learning difficulties. This course provides 4.5 CPD hours.

Cost

LDA Member: $200

LDA Student Member – $165

Non-Member – $250

Session 1: Precision at Tier 3: Using data to drive intervention (Tuesday 12th May, 7-8:30 pm AEST)

Presented by Karina Stocker, Academic Lead: Intervention, Research and Translation in the School of Educational Psychology and Inclusion at Monash University

What does effective Tier 3 intervention really look like—and how do we ensure it is driven by data, precision and impact for the students who need it most?

This session provides an overview of Tier 3 academic intervention within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), grounded in current research and evidence-based practice. It will explore the key features of intensive intervention, with a focus on data-based decision-making to support students with the most significant learning needs. The session will introduce precision teaching and fluency-based instruction as effective approaches for collecting ongoing performance data and informing instructional decisions. Designed as an information-focused webinar, this session will build understanding of the principles and frameworks underpinning high-quality Tier 3 support.

Session 2: Targeting and tightening Tier 3 supports at a whole school level (Tuesday 19th May, 7-8:30 pm AEST )

Presented by Sarah Asome, Principal, Bentleigh West Primary School

What does high-quality Tier 3 intervention look like when it is embedded effectively across an entire school?

In this session, Sarah Asome will draw on the work at Bentleigh West Primary School to showcase how a strong, whole-school approach can ensure that students with the most significant learning needs are not only supported, but set up for success. Bentleigh West has developed a reputation for implementing Tier 3 intervention with clarity, consistency and impact, and Sarah will share the key structures and practices that underpin this success.

Sarah will unpack how Tier 3 fits within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), including how students are identified, how interventions are targeted, and how progress is closely monitored to inform responsive teaching. She will also explore the adjustments and supports required to ensure equitable access to learning for all students, highlighting the importance of alignment between classroom instruction, intervention, and school-wide systems.

Importantly, this session will move beyond theory. Sarah will provide practical, realistic and actionable strategies that schools can implement to strengthen their Tier 3 provision—whether you are refining existing systems or building them from the ground up.

This session is ideal for school leaders, intervention teachers and educators looking to develop a cohesive, evidence-informed approach to supporting students with the greatest learning needs.

Session 3: Adjustments for students with learning difficulties (Tuesday 26th May, 7-8:30 pm AEST)

Presented by Erin Rollason

What meaningful adjustments make the biggest difference for students with learning difficulties—and how can schools implement them effectively?

In this practical session, Erin Rollason will guide educators through evidence-informed adjustments that support students to access the curriculum and demonstrate their learning. Erin will unpack a range of classroom, assessment and environmental adjustments that can be implemented across primary and secondary settings.

The session will explore how to align adjustments with individual student needs, while maintaining high expectations and ensuring equity. Erin will also address common challenges schools face when implementing adjustments, including consistency across classrooms, balancing support with independence, and embedding adjustments within whole-school systems.

With a strong focus on real-world application, Erin will provide clear, actionable strategies that teachers and school leaders can use immediately. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of how to make reasonable adjustments that are purposeful, practical and impactful for students with learning difficulties.

About the Speakers

Karina Stocker

Karina Stocker is an experienced school leader, researcher, and education consultant specialising in the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) across literacy, mathematics, and behaviour. Her work focuses on strengthening data-based decision-making, evidence-based instruction, and tiered intervention to support diverse learners. Karina holds a Master’s degree in Behaviour Science from Monash University and is currently completing her PhD, which examines the implementation of MTSS and evidence-based practices in Australian schools. More recently, she has taken on the role of Academic Lead: Intervention, Research and Translation in the School of Educational Psychology and Inclusion at Monash University, where she leads both research and practice initiatives focused on evidence-based academic assessment, targeted intensive intervention, and MTSS implementation.

Sarah Asome

Sarah Asome is a highly experienced educator and the current Principal at Bentleigh West Primary School. She has also worked in the UK and Singapore. Sarah has been instrumental in leading the change at BWPS, but also been able to support many colleagues, State, Nationwide and in New Zealand to implement evidence-based literacy instruction in their schools. This has led to a significant increase in literacy and numeracy levels, which now places BWPS as a high-performing school. Currently, Sarah is part of the team working on ten Victorian Lesson Plans for Primary English, including text units, spelling, grammar and punctuation. In 2015, Sarah was awarded ‘Outstanding Primary Teacher’ in the Victorian Education Excellence Awards. She has appeared in “Outside the Square ‘a DVD resource for teachers and in 2017 was featured on SBS Insight – ‘A Teacher Who Changed My Life’. Sarah has completed numerous courses, including Louisa Moat’s LETRS training, Dyslexia Action (UK) and is a Certified Dyslexia, Reading and Orton-Gillingham specialist and trainer for Australia (OGI international inc). Recently, Sarah completed her Masters in Instructional Leadership at Melbourne University. In 2023, Bentleigh West Primary School won the Victorian Education Excellence Award (VEEA) for ‘Outstanding Inclusion Education’.

Erin Rollason

Erin Rollason is an experienced educator and a leader in the Special/Inclusive Education space with a Master’s in Learning Intervention from Melbourne University. Erin is currently the Head of Diverse Learning (7-12) at a prestigious Melbourne school. She has been in the Victorian education sector for over 20 years, and has additional experience in the catholic and independent school sector, ranging from prep to year 12. Her passion and advocacy for all diverse learners is evident in all that she does.

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Cost

About the Speakers

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