Evelyn Scott School

Evelyn Scott School (ESS) is a public P–10 school established in 2021. Guided by the ACT Future of Education Strategy, the school is developing a future-focused learning model that progresses from play-based learning in preschool to inquiry-based learning in primary and project-based learning in high school.

For the past three years, Dr Dion Tuckwell and I have partnered with ESS on Making Space (Strategies and Protocols to Activate Collaborative Envronments), a teacher professional learning program developed through our respective PhDs. The program builds teacher spatial literacy and supports educators to use their learning environments with purpose. Through professional learning and reflection, teachers explore how space can support the school’s pedagogical approach and enrich students’ learning experiences.

Making Space received the 2025 Good Design Award for Social Impact, the 2024 Kelly Tanner Innovation Award for Best New Initiative, and recognition as an Innovative Educational Initiative from Learning Environments Australasia in 2024.

Collaborators

Dr Dion Tuckwell, Jackie Vaughan

photograph courtesy Making Space