Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Australian classrooms rank 69th out of 76 systems on the OECD PISA disciplinary climate index. 40% of Australian students are in classes disrupted by noise and disorder. Despite nearly $100 billion in annual school funding, one in five students still fall below international benchmarks in reading, maths, and science. The link between poor behaviour and poor outcomes is clear.
At this event, world-leading behaviour expert Tom Bennett OBE and Marsden Road Public School principal Manisha Gazula join CIS Education Director Blaise Joseph to discuss what it actually takes to turn schools around. This event also marks the launch of CIS's new research project on improving student behaviour in Australian schools, including a nationally representative teacher survey of student behaviour.
The conversation covers why Australia has some of the most disruptive classrooms in the world, what the behaviour curriculum is and why it works, and how England reformed its national behaviour policy and introduced a National Behaviour Survey. Tom and Manisha also explore the case for early intervention, what schools consistently get wrong about student wellbeing, restorative practice, and student agency, and why structured environments especially benefit students with ASD and ADHD.
Manisha shares a decade of transformation at Marsden Road, a highly disadvantaged western Sydney school with 54 nationalities, where consistent and explicitly taught behaviour expectations have driven NAPLAN results above the state average. The discussion also covers the critical role of assistant principals, school-wide consistency, and what it would take for teaching to become a true profession.
Speakers: Tom Bennett OBE, founder of ResearchED and behaviour advisor to the UK Department of Education. Manisha Gazula, Principal of Marsden Road Public School, Sydney. Blaise Joseph, Director of the CIS Education Program and former secondary school teacher.
CIS is Australia's leading classical liberal think tank. Our education program works to improve literacy, numeracy, and school culture outcomes, with a particular focus on students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
🔔 Subscribe and hit the notification bell to stay up to date with our latest research and events.
🌐 Learn more: www.cis.org.au
CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can prosper.
📖 Read more from CIS here: https://www.cis.org.au/
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Australian classrooms rank 69th out of 76 systems on the OECD PISA disciplinary climate index. 40% of Australian students are in classes disrupted by noise and disorder. Despite nearly $100 billion in annual school funding, one in five students still fall below international benchmarks in reading, maths, and science. The link between poor behaviour and poor outcomes is clear.
At this event, world-leading behaviour expert Tom Bennett OBE and Marsden Road Public School principal Manisha Gazula join CIS Education Director Blaise Joseph to discuss what it actually takes to turn schools around. This event also marks the launch of CIS's new research project on improving student behaviour in Australian schools, including a nationally representative teacher survey of student behaviour.
The conversation covers why Australia has some of the most disruptive classrooms in the world, what the behaviour curriculum is and why it works, and how England reformed its national behaviour policy and introduced a National Behaviour Survey. Tom and Manisha also explore the case for early intervention, what schools consistently get wrong about student wellbeing, restorative practice, and student agency, and why structured environments especially benefit students with ASD and ADHD.
Manisha shares a decade of transformation at Marsden Road, a highly disadvantaged western Sydney school with 54 nationalities, where consistent and explicitly taught behaviour expectations have driven NAPLAN results above the state average. The discussion also covers the critical role of assistant principals, school-wide consistency, and what it would take for teaching to become a true profession.
Speakers: Tom Bennett OBE, founder of ResearchED and behaviour advisor to the UK Department of Education. Manisha Gazula, Principal of Marsden Road Public School, Sydney. Blaise Joseph, Director of the CIS Education Program and former secondary school teacher.
CIS is Australia's leading classical liberal think tank. Our education program works to improve literacy, numeracy, and school culture outcomes, with a particular focus on students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
🔔 Subscribe and hit the notification bell to stay up to date with our latest research and events.
🌐 Learn more: www.cis.org.au
CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can prosper.
📖 Read more from CIS here: https://www.cis.org.au/
💬 Join in the conversation in the comments.
👍 Like this video if you enjoyed it and want to see more, it really helps us out!
🔔 Subscribe to our channel and click the bell to watch our videos first: youtube.com/channel/UC5c-JkKHb0YxFZ81XBtFCmw?sub_confirmation=1
⏲️ Missed this event live? Subscribe to CIS to be up to date with all our events:
https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/
📝 Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/
💳 Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/
