SchoolMate App

The Department, with the help of Victoria’s teaching associations has created an App for parents to help them become more involved in their children’s education. SchoolMate is available for free download in the App Store or Google Play now.

• Shows parents what their children are learning in each subject at each year level according to the Victorian curriculum (AusVELS)
• Provides parents with tips regarding what they can do at home to help their kids in the best way possible
• Suggests apps, books, events and activities related to each subject area and year level.

SchoolMate was developed with input from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) and other organisations including Parents Victoria, the Raising Children’s Network and the Victorian Mother of the Year 2014 Sam Jackel.

The language used within SchoolMate has been designed to make using the App an easy experience for its audience – parents of children from prep to Year 10. When developing SchoolMate, parents told the Department AusVELS terminology such as Domains and Levels was unclear to them, which is why these have been badged as ‘Subjects’ and ‘Years’ within the App.

A number of Victorian teaching associations worked with the Department to provide advice for parents regarding activities they can do with, or recommend to , their children at home. These teachers also suggested some books and apps parents may be interested in.

The Department would like to thank the below associations for providing content for SchoolMate:

• Victorian Association for the Teaching of English
• School Sport Victoria
• Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation
• Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria
• Science Teachers’ Association of Victoria
• History Teachers’ Association of Victoria
• Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria
• Mathematical Association of Victoria
• Art Education Victoria

The Department would also like to thank Melbourne High School for its advice on teaching Economics and also Civics and Citizenship, and also to the teachers and principals who tested our content, particularly Newlyn Primary School Principal Anthony Tait, who provided valuable feedback on our ICT and Science information.

As SchoolMate is the first app of its kind, the Department would love to hear any feedback you have, and you can send this to online.comms.unit@edumail.vic.gov.au SchoolMate is in its first phase, so any information from principals, teachers and parents will be most valuable to us as we plan future updates. If you have any information you think would be useful for us to include or be aware of, please get in touch.

Download SchoolMate today in the App Store or Google Play. SchoolMate works on iPhones, iPads, Android phones and other tablets.