smartstarters.com.au

What It Is

Smart Starters is an Australian education organization founded in 1973, specializing in high-quality curriculum support materials and professional development programs for schools and early childhood educators. Its core offerings focus on Perceptual Motor Programs (PMP) and foundational math skills, aiming to help children in the first three years of school build key motor, perceptual, and foundational abilities through structured whole-class teaching models. Its programs are currently used by hundreds of schools across Australia and internationally.

Core Dimensions

• Curriculum Areas: Covers Perceptual Motor Programs (PMP), early foundational mathematics, and emerging therapy dog-assisted resources.
• Teaching Format: Primarily designed for large-group instruction. Taking PMP as an example, each lesson supports up to 30 students rotating through 5 activity stations: 4 focused on motor/perceptual skills and 1 on eye tracking. Schools typically run 3 sessions per week: 2 equipment-based sessions and 1 floor-based session. Resources include digital PDF downloads and physical teaching aids, such as sequence cards, teacher manuals, and music CDs.
• Faculty and Background: The organization has over 30 years of experience, is headquartered in Melbourne, operates in more than 10 countries, and has an average rating of up to 4.9/5, enjoying very strong recognition in Australia.

Pricing

The website only publicly lists prices for some digital resources. For example, therapy dog-related PDF resources range from AUD 3 to AUD 25, such as the “Therapy Dog Resource Pack” at AUD 25 and “Doggy Memory Game” at AUD 3. However, full pricing for the core PMP starter package and the Smart Numbers math program is not clearly stated in the text and requires further purchase steps or inquiry.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: The curriculum system is highly mature and structured, offering detailed teacher manuals, assessment screening tests, and parent support materials, making it truly “ready to use out of the box.” The PMP program is scientifically designed, with particular attention to training children’s eye-tracking ability. The therapy dog resources fill a gap in this area by providing risk assessments and training plans.
• Cons: Pricing transparency for core programs is limited, which may make it harder for first-time buyers to make quick decisions. Physical teaching aids, such as cards and CDs, may result in relatively high shipping costs for international users. The curriculum is mainly designed around the Australian education system, so teachers in other countries may need to make some localization adjustments.

Who It’s For

Smart Starters is primarily aimed at preschool and lower primary teachers and school administrators, especially educational institutions looking to systematically improve students’ motor coordination, perceptual abilities, and school readiness. Schools planning to introduce therapy dogs on campus can also benefit from its professional guidance.

Access from China

Unknown. As an Australian .com.au website, it can usually be accessed directly, but connection speeds may be slower due to server location. International shipping and payment for physical teaching aids may also involve certain barriers.