8.29amEducation: A key election battleground?By Noel TowellEducation Minister Ben Carroll and Liberal education spokesman Brad Rowswell are both making appearances at today’s summit. Both men have policy announcements to offer today, with Rowsell priming an ambitious program of early detection of neurodiversity in the early years - set to cost $156 million over four years - of school, if the Liberals win government this year.Carroll pledged another $75 million for programs for high achieving students if Labor wins another term in office after the state goes to the polls in November.The keynote addresses from and on-stage interviews should offer an insight into Rowswell’s plan to take the fight to the incumbent, and Carroll’s plan to help keep himself and his Labor colleagues in their jobs when Victoria goes to the polls in November.Education policy, particularly schools funding and taxation, has attracted plenty of controversy in recent years.Now it’s time to see if our schools will form a key election battleground this year.8.29amThe push towards explicit instruction in schoolsBy Noel TowellThe speech from the Australia Educational Research Organisation’s (AERO) Jenny Donovan this morning is shaping up as one to watch.The AERO chief executive, a key figure in evidence-based push toward explicit instruction in recent years, told The Age last week of a backlash against the reforms among teachers and academics.Dr Jenny Donovan.Edwina PicklesYou can read all about it here. That piece sparked quite the reaction among our many readers in the sector, and you can read about that here.You can be sure there will be plenty in the room today with their own thoughts on Donovan’s ideas. She’s on stage at 10:40am.8.28amWelcome to The Age Schools SummitBy Gemma GrantGood morning and welcome to our live coverage this year’s The Age Schools Summit from Melbourne’s Crown Conference Centre.I’m Gemma Grant, and I’ll be keeping keep you updated here throughout the day. We’ll be hearing from some of the state’s leading educators, policymakers, and thought leaders gathering to tackle the most pressing challenges and opportunities in Victoria’s education landscape.As usual, there is a lot to talk about this year; the pressing issue of teacher welfare, the growing risk and opportunity of artificial intelligence (AI) in schools, how to maintain trust in the teaching profession as faith in institutions breaks down. We’ll also wade into increasing controversy with a keynote on the “perils” of the evidence-based agenda.And of course, there’s an election. You can find the schedule here where you can choose your own highlights.1 of 1