Public Education Week toolkit
This toolkit has everything you need to help you, whether you are an individual school or an external stakeholder, celebrate Public Education Week 2025 which will be held from 4–8 August.
Overview
Public Education Week is an annual celebration of NSW public education and the achievements of our schools, teachers, and students. This year’s theme is Ignite your potential.
During Public Education Week, we encourage you to run your own events and celebrations and involve parents, carers and your communities using the resources in this toolkit.
Communicating Public Education Week
Public Education Week is a great time to celebrate your achievements and success with your students, school staff and the wider community.
Use your school website, newsletter, social media pages and other channels available to spread the word and build excitement about Public Education Week 2025 and what it means to your community.
Key messages
You can use the following messages when communicating to your community about Public Education Week 2025.
Public Education Week is a time for all of us to come together and celebrate our commitment to Ignite your potential. Let’s take pride in being part of NSW public education and the endless and far-reaching achievements of our students and staff.
During Public Education Week 2025, let’s celebrate all that you do to ignite the potential of every student in every aspect of their education, including high potential and gifted learners.
This is an opportunity to acknowledge our exceptional staff, celebrate the achievements of our students and recognise why we proudly choose public education, where every child reaches their full potential.
Resources
Share our Public Education Week 2025 resources on your own communication channels like Facebook, Instagram and school websites and school noticeboards.
The following downloads include generic designs for ease of use, as well as links to editable templates in Canva that will enable you to create your own designs and personalise the message for your school, organisation, or event.
Logo options with date and theme
Social media templates in Canva
Canva is an online design and publishing tool that makes it easy to create visual content.
- Generic branded social tile templates: 1080x1920px, 1080x1080px
- Social tile template which schools can use to feature their alumni: 1080x1080px, 1080x1920px
- Skills social tile templates for schools with vocational education and training programs: 1080x1080px, 1080x1920px
- Early childhood education social tile templates for public preschools: 1080x1080px, 1080x1920px
You can add your own images personalise the social media templates (second link above) for your school.
See the Canva guide to Canva guide to editing photos for help.
Social media tile size guide
1080 x 1080px/square: Facebook and Instagram posts.
1080 x 1920px/vertical: Facebook stories, Instagram stories and reels.
Upload our School Website Service web banner to your school website to celebrate and mark the week. Visit the School Website Service help guides page for guidance on uploading the image.
Microsoft (MS) Teams virtual background
- MS Teams background option A - white background (JPG 501 KB)
- MS Teams background option B light blue background (JPG 493 KB)
- MS Teams background option C dark blue background (JPG 499 KB)
- MS Teams background option D - red background (JPG 518 KB)
- MS Teams background option E - dark red background (JPG 504 KB)
Using our Public Education Week virtual meeting backgrounds are an easy way to celebrate and show your support. Microsoft has a guide on changing your MS Teams background.
Poster and award certificate templates
Share our Public Education Week posters and award certificate templates in print and digital format.
Create Public Education Week Awards using the certificate template. Enter recipient details or use the bulk create function to create multiple certificates.
Video template
Use the Canva video template on your own videos to celebrate the week. See the Canva guide to editing videos for more information.
New to Canva?
Staff can access your Canva for Education account by signing in using your @det.nsw.edu.au email address.
Learn more about using Canva for Education on the Technology 4 Learning webpage and follow the design tips on the Canva Design school tutorial page.
Social media
Show your parents, carers, and local community how your school is celebrating Public Education Week. Use the hashtag #PublicEdWeek25 and #IgniteYourPotential in all your social media posts, share the videos we’ll provide or create and share your own photos and videos.
Social media video stories will be made available closer to Public Education Week to share on your own social media channels.
Don’t forget to follow the tips in the department’s staff social media toolkit (staff only) and ensure parental permission is in place for any students you feature on social media.
These links and suggested captions below can be used on your school's Facebook accounts.
| Webpage link | Suggested caption |
|---|---|
| About Public Education Week | Public Education Week 2025 celebrates this year’s theme, Ignite your potential. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our school staff and families who uplift the learning of our students everyday and help them realise their potential. #PublicEdWeek25 #IgniteYourPotential |
| Public Education Week | Join us in celebrating [insert school name] and our achievements during Public Education Week. Let’s share our pride in our public schools. #PublicEdWeek25 #IgniteYourPotential |
Curriculum resources
Take your Public Education Week celebrations into the classroom!
There are a range of curriculum resources available to teachers including High Potential and Gifted education resources. Teachers can use these as classroom activities during Public Education Week to help engage students in school events during the week.
Public Education Week 2025 launch
Create a date in your school’s calendar to launch Public Education Week 2025 in your school community! Get together as part of a school assembly, in classrooms or online.
We’ll be sharing a range of videos which you’ll be to use to promote your events or Open Days. Principals, teachers, or students can start the launch with an Acknowledgment of Country and introduce the videos.
Acknowledgement of Country for Public Education Week
When commencing your Public Education Week activities, we recommend reflecting on the theme of Ignite your potential in your Acknowledgement of Country.
Consider how your school helps Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students realise their potential and aspirations. You may wish to involve students in writing an Acknowledgement of Country or use our template as a guide.
As we gather to celebrate NSW Public Education Week 2025, we begin by paying respect to the Ongoing Custodians of the lands on which our school stands, the homelands of the [insert name] people. We pay respect to Elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge, songlines, and stories. We honour their enduring connection to this land and their rich cultural history.
In celebrating this year’s theme Ignite your potential we recognise the contributions and achievements of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people across our public schools and the broader community in helping our students achieve educational excellence and reaching their potential.
Let us reaffirm our dedication to nurturing a learning environment that honours Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Let us walk together on this journey of understanding and respect, for every student, and building a brighter, more inclusive future for all.
Welcome to Country and Acknowledgment of Country: Begin each event with a Welcome to Country by a local Elder or an Acknowledgment of Country by a school representative.
Invite local Elders, community members to address a school assembly: work with teachers in co-delivering lessons (reading Aboriginal stories; demonstrating various cultural practices/activities).
Cultural performances: Invite Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander performers to showcase music, singing, dance and storytelling.
Art and displays: Create displays featuring Aboriginal artwork or designs and encourage students to create their own art inspired by Aboriginal stories and song. Add these via Canva to your Public Education Week poster or promotional documents.
Host an event or activity
Plan an event or activity at your school, early childhood education and care provider or workplace during Public Education Week and invite your local community to join.
View the 'Event in a box' guidelines (staff only) to help you plan a Public Education Week event. These guidelines include a range of resources and templates to simplify organising a successful school event.
There is flexibility for schools and communities to celebrate the week before or after these official dates.
Event and activity ideas for schools
There’s a range of ways you can celebrate Public Education Week in your school:
Create a Public Education Week launch event early in the week at a time that suits your school community and use the video resources that will be provided.
During Public Education Week showcase achievements of your school community through events highlighting academic achievements, or student performances or art shows. Involve parents and carers and community leaders.
Invite alumni to your school to share their success stories, highlighting how public education help them achieve their potential and achieve excellence in their chosen fields. This is an opportunity to celebrate your alumni’s success and inspire your current students.
Share stories from your school’s alumni on your website or social media to connect with your broader community. Use our customisable social media tile on Canva linked above to showcase your alumni (always check with them for permission first) and remember to add the hashtags #PublicEdWeek25 and #IgniteYourPotential.
Open Days/Nights: Organise an Open Day event where current and prospective parents, students, and community members can come together and hear about your school’s programs and activities, meet the principal and teachers, and tour your school. You can also share your Open Day guide.
- View the school open event planning (staff only) for resources to assist your event planning and proceedings.
- Take the momentum from your Open Day during Public Education Week and build a schedule of Open events for the rest of the year e.g. school expos or school tours.
Open days, school tours and events, information evenings are opportunities to raise your school profile, connect your school with families and the broader school community, and showcase the valuable learning experiences you provide to your students.