What I'd Do Differently Teaching CAFS, 22 Years On

When I started teaching Community and Family Studies in 2004, I had a syllabus, the purple textbook and a determination to do right by my students. I took that textbook home every night, trying to stay one step ahead of the class. I even laminated the Glossary of Key Words in pink fluro and displayed every term across the back wall.

After teaching CAFS, mentoring thousands of teachers and spending 16 years involved in HSC marking, I've learnt that great teaching isn't about how much content we cover. It's about how deliberately we build the knowledge, skills and confidence students need to apply what they've learnt.

This week on The PDHPE and CAFS Podcast, I'm sharing four things I'd do differently if I could walk back into my first CAFS classroom.

1. Make Year 11 CAFS stronger

One of the biggest mistakes we can make is treating Year 11 as a gentle introduction to the course. Community and Family Studies explores complex relationships, human behaviour, wellbeing and the systems that shape our communities. It deserves to be taught with intellectual rigour from the beginning.

I'd be much more intentional about connecting Year 11 concepts to Year 12 content. When exploring families, for example, I'd draw on situations involving Parenting and Caring, homelessness, technology and rural or remote families. These connections help students see the bigger picture while building knowledge they'll use again.

The goal isn't to rush into Year 12 content.
It's to make every learning experience in Year 11 count.

2. Teach the HSC skills before students need them

In my early teaching years, I focused heavily on content. My students had plenty of notes, but I hadn't given enough attention to the skills they needed to turn that knowledge into strong written responses.

Today, I'd explicitly teach students how to construct strong PEEL paragraphs, apply concepts, develop specific examples and respond to higher-order questions right from the very beginning. 

I'd also rethink assessment. Rather than relying on basic recall questions, I'd give students opportunities to demonstrate analysis, judgement and extended response writing so the expectations of Year 12 don't arrive as a surprise.

If we want Band 5 and 6 responses, we need to teach the thinking and writing behind them.

3. Bring CAFS into the real world

CAFS is life. It's something I've said for years because our course offers extraordinary opportunities to help students understand the world around them.

Instead of spending hours watching films or copying notes, I'd create more opportunities for students to connect with real people, organisations and experiences.

At Nagle College, my CAFS students collected toiletries and created hampers for a local family service. It was a relatively simple project, but it gave students a tangible connection to community support, advocacy and the needs of others.

Guest speakers, community partnerships, local visits and carefully selected case studies can all make learning more meaningful. They don't have to be elaborate or expensive. They simply need a clear purpose.

4. Stop displaying the verbs and start teaching them

If there's one thing my HSC marking experience reinforced, it's the importance of the Glossary of Key Words.

Students can know their content and include strong examples, yet still miss marks because they haven't done what the question asks. An assess question requires judgements. An analyse question requires students to identify components and explain relationships between them. 

Knowing a definition isn't the same as demonstrating the skill.

I'd spend more time modelling responses, unpacking marking guidelines and showing students what each verb looks like in practice. I'd also give them repeated opportunities to apply those skills, receive feedback and improve.

You don't have to learn every lesson the hard way

Looking back, I can see how much my teaching has changed. I've made mistakes, refined my approach and learnt an enormous amount from students, colleagues and HSC marking rooms.

If you're new to CAFS, I hope these reflections help you avoid some of the mistakes I made. If you've been teaching for years, perhaps they'll encourage you to revisit a few familiar practices with fresh eyes.

With a new CAFS syllabus on the horizon, this is an important opportunity to think about what we want to keep, what we can strengthen and how we can better support our students.

🎧 Listen to Episode #192 of The PDHPE and CAFS Podcast: thelearnnet.com/192

And if you'd love access to practical teaching resources, HSC writing scaffolds, assessment support and a community of CAFS teachers who understand the work you're doing, we'd love to welcome you into The CAFS Collective. thelearnnet.com/collective