Loading In an interview on the eve of her address to the SMH Schools Summit, Ms Berejiklian outlined a plan to use the department's data to find schools that were excelling in different areas, then identify why they were doing so well. Those methods would be exported to other schools. "We need to provide greater certainty around what we regard as best practice, rather than saying, 'you've got a suite of things you can consider when teaching children'," she said. "We know what success looks like because the results tell us. "You can see which school [is doing well] in areas where surrounding schools aren't doing as well - what is the secret ingredient that school has? Is it the principal, and sometimes it is. Is it a couple of great teachers?'

"What are they doing to lift standards in such a dramatic way, and how can we use that to develop best practice guidelines? We need to provide a bit more black and white around what is going to get better results." Schools now have relative freedom to choose their teaching methods. For example, one primary school's reading approach can be different to its neighbour's, with one using synthetic phonics and the other using balanced literacy. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video There are often raging debates within the profession over which is better. Explicit instruction -a teacher directly imparting knowledge to a class - is championed by some, but others argue it is too rigid and stifles creativity. Celebrity maths teacher Eddie Woo is one teacher whose successful methods have been studied by the NSW Department of Education.

The reforms align with a recommendation in a parliamentary report authored by One Nation MP Mark Latham, released on Tuesday, which called on the government to create a "best practice" menu for schools. Ms Berejiklian acknowledged the report's call for reform. "I applaud the committee for identifying some of the challenges, and I agree with some of the things they've identified." When asked if teachers and principals would consider the reforms too interventionist, Ms Berejiklian said she expected them to be welcomed. "We wouldn't embark on this process unless we felt it was about supporting our teachers and allowing them to do what they do best with clearer guidelines," she said. "Part of the challenge we've had is the [extent of the] menu that currently exists." She acknowledged that there were "always elements of grey", but schools that improved their results "tend to have very clear ideas about what constitutes best practice."

Loading Craig Petersen from the Secondary Principals Council urged caution, saying an approach that might work for an advantaged student from the North Shore might not necessarily work for an Indigenous child in western NSW. "Teachers need to be free to use their professional knowledge of their subject area and of the particular students they are working with ... to choose what is going to be the best approach for this child," he said. Former NSW Education Standards Authority chair Tom Alegounarias said taking best practice to all schools was important, as long as it was not a one-size-fits-all approach. "As long as what is best practice is eclectic practice designed around the objectives of the curriculum and the needs of the students," he said.