Travel outcomes reports: The Hon. Ben Carroll MP

2026 Travel details

Estonia and England

Minister's name: The Hon. Ben Carroll MP

Portfolio: Minister for Education

Did the Minister’s spouse accompany the Minister in an official capacity? No

Accompanying ministerial staff: Mr Bassel Tallal, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Minister for Education

Countries visited: Estonia and England

Date of travel: 7-16 March 2026

Number of official travel days (include day of departure and day of return): 9

Funding source (list Department/s or Agency): Department of Education

Expenses

Include combined expenses for Minister and accompanying travellers (figures reported are to the nearest dollar)

Purpose of travel

From 7 to 16 March 2026, I undertook official international travel to Tallinn, Estonia and London, England.

I travelled to lead Australia’s delegation at the International Summit of the Teaching Profession (ISTP) 2026 in Estonia, on behalf of the Federal Minister for Education.

I also travelled to London, England to meet senior leaders in the English education system and visit schools involved in structured, collaborative inter-school arrangements (also known as Multi-School Organisations), including academy trusts and federations, and schools that have successfully turned around their performance.

Benefits of travel to the State of Victoria

This trip was my first official visit to Tallinn, Estonia and London, England as Minister for Education. My travel aligned with Victorian Government’s priorities, including to:

• promote Victoria’s (and Australia’s) achievements in education
• support best-practice policy exchange in education
• facilitate stronger economic, cultural, institutional and government-to-government ties with key international stakeholders.

My trip consisted primarily of attending the ISTP and visiting schools across Tallinn, Estonia and London, England. Visting schools allowed me to witness firsthand how those countries are driving school improvement and embedding quality teaching in each respective education system.

I also met with government stakeholders and policy experts to foster stronger ties with Estonia and England in areas of mutual interest.

My overseas travel helped to directly advance the following Education State priorities, benefiting Victorians:

• Expanding, supporting and recognising our school workforce
  • At the ISTP 2026, I shared information on key initiatives being implemented in Victoria (and Australia) to grow, support and develop our school workforce.
  • I met with the UK’s Minister of State for School Standards. We discussed how collaborative school models support professional learning and flexible working. I also learnt about the targeted reforms being delivered by the UK’s Department of Education to grow the teaching workforce.
  • I met with Quebec’s Education Minister (who led Canada’s delegation at the summit). We discussed a wide range of matters related to our education systems, including how Quebec is supporting early career teachers.
  • During one of the discussion sessions at the ISTP 2026 on the “evolving teaching profession”, I shared how Victoria is supporting flexible pathways into teaching and equipping educators with competencies for a rapidly evolving educational landscape. I also heard about strategies being adopted in other jurisdictions.
  • In London, I learnt about the UK’s National Professional Qualifications framework designed to support the professional development of teachers and school leaders. The framework articulates a ‘golden thread’, running from initial teacher training through to school leadership, which ground teacher and school leader development in the best available evidence and collective wisdom of the profession.
• Excellence in teaching and learning
  • I opened the second discussion session of the ISTP 2026 on the “autonomy of educators and school leadership”. I highlighted how the introduction of the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 strengthens consistent use of evidence-based teaching practices, while also supporting the professional autonomy of the workforce.
  • In Tallinn, I visited Tallinn Technology College, Laagna Gymnasium and Mustamäe State Gymnasium. I witnessed firsthand through these schools how Estonia’s adoption of technological solutions (including generative artificial intelligence (AI)) empowers educators and supports student learning.
  • During the summit, I connected with education ministers, teacher union leaders, and teaching professionals to better understand the context for success in teaching and learning achieved in each jurisdiction.
  • In my meeting with the UK’s Minister of State for School Standards, I learnt how collaborative school models support both excellence and equity.
  • In addition, during my meeting with the Finnish Education Minister, we discussed how AI is integrated into teaching and learning practices in Finland and how this approach is supporting AI literacy for teachers and students.
  • In London, I learnt how England has supported system-wide uptake of evidence-based teaching practices, including through curriculum implementation guidance, inter-school collaborative arrangements and targeted system-level support amplifying effective teaching practices across schools.
• Schools at the centre of communities
  • In Tallinn, during my visit to Laagna Gymnasium, I learnt how the school is delivering a curriculum aimed at supporting a smooth academic and social integration of multilingual and newly arrived students to the school.
  • In London, I drew insights from English educational leaders, including those who have worked across schools to clarify curriculum delivery requirements, support more consistent high expectations for students and strengthen teaching practice in areas of high disadvantage in London, to inform Victoria’s efforts in meeting needs of local communities.

Other benefits to Victoria of the trip include:

• Sharing and learning from global best-practice in education:
  • During my meeting with the UK’s Minister of State for School Standards, we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of collaborative school models and deployment of teaching assistants to supplement quality teacher instruction in the UK.
  • I attended a working lunch with education ministers, union leaders and representatives from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to discuss emerging trends from the Programme for International Student Assessment and lessons that could be learnt to support educators and learners globally.
  • During the President of Estonia’s (Alar Karis) opening address for the ISTP 2026, I learnt about Estonia’s AI Leap program. Launching in September 2025 across grades 10-11, the program provides students and teachers with free access to modern AI-based learning tools. To support the roll out, secondary teachers are provided with 5 days of professional development and running research partnerships in schools to monitor findings. Delivery of the program is being governed by a panel of industry experts, including chief executive officers from technology companies, a neuroscience psychology professor and pedagogy professor.
  • In London, I observed classroom instruction, leadership meetings and real time student supports to draw on the institutional knowledge built up in England in leading school improvement and embedding effective teaching practices and see how those strategies improve student outcomes firsthand.
  • I also participated in a roundtable with leaders in educational research, policy, implementation and monitoring of evidence-based teaching practice. Roundtable participants included representatives from the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted), the Education Endowment Foundation, National Institute of Teaching (Institute) and Oak National Academy. The roundtable discussion provided insights into the UK’s inter-school collaborative structures and their roles in amplifying evidence-based practice across school networks. We also discussed the contribution practical curriculum guidance can make to strengthening school performance and more equitable student outcomes.
• Strengthening government-to-government ties and relationships with key education stakeholders:
  • My bilateral meetings with Quebec, Finland and the UK at the ISTP 2026 helped to foster bilateral relationships with those jurisdictions and explore the overarching policy settings, reforms and technological advancements which drive performance in each jurisdiction.
  • I collaborated with representatives from the federal branch of the Australian Education Union (who formed part of Australia’s delegation at the ISTP) to set 3 strategic commitments to support the school workforce and student learning.
  • I strengthened relationships with English school network leaders and educational policy experts, building on contacts established from past tours focused on Multi-School Organisations. These included senior representatives of Oak National Academy, United Learning Multi-Academy Trust, Ark Schools, National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, OFSTED, the Institute, Education Endowment Foundation, Wandle Learning Trust, Fox Federation Schools and the Charter Schools Educational Trust.

Next steps

The following actions have been undertaken to apply and translate elements of global best practices to Victoria’s education system:

• Exploring ways to empower and value educators’ expertise and professional judgement, while also ensuring consistent and quality teaching across the system.
• Ensuring a continuum of professional learning and development is available to the Victorian school workforce via ongoing national evidence-based reforms to initial teacher education and delivering strategies to empower the existing workforce to develop and refine their skills, knowledge and capabilities.
• Continuing to investigate ways to support safe, effective and ethical adoption of digital technologies in classrooms, including Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), which preserve the meaningful relationship between teacher and student.
• Reviewing teacher career pathways against teacher career structures of high-performing, international education systems.

Lastly, I have written to and invited education ministers from Estonia, Quebec, Finland, England and Northern Ireland to visit Victoria and collaborate on educational priorities.