CH 03About PNTV
More than a show.
PNTV is a student-led learning programme at Prospect North Primary School — a working TV and podcasting environment where the weekly episode is what everyone sees, and the learning is everything that goes into it.
CH 3.1More than a show
The episode is the last step.
A finished PNTV episode is the part the audience sees. Behind it is a chain of work done by students: finding out what is happening, listening to the people involved, asking questions, writing it down so it can be said aloud, saying it on camera, and shaping the footage into something an audience can follow.
Then they look back at what they made, and publish it. The public episode is the visible outcome. The learning is in the steps.
The work behind an episode
- 01Research
- 02Listening
- 03Interviewing
- 04Scripting
- 05Presenting
- 06Filming
- 07Editing
- 08Reflection
- 09Publishing
- What the audience seesThe episode
CH 3.2A place for student voice
Many voices. Many first languages.
Each week students publish a TV segment about their school. They highlight learning, and they interview students, parents and staff — so the people on screen are the people of Prospect North.
PNTV celebrates diversity and features families’ first languages. When families’ languages are heard on a school programme, more of the community can recognise itself on screen.
The studio is meant for everyone. Sam Leverenz has spoken about encouraging every student to use it.
CH 3.3Learning through dialogue
Talk is how the thinking happens.
South Australia’s Teaching for Effective Learning framework treats dialogue as a way of learning in its own right — including teaching public-speaking skills and making time to rehearse. Read the framework guide (opens in a new tab).
- 01
Share an idea
Say what you think, out loud, to someone who is listening.
- 02
Listen carefully
Hear the whole answer before deciding what comes next.
- 03
Ask a follow-up
Notice the interesting part of an answer and ask about it.
- 04
Rehearse
Run it again — the words, the pace, where to look.
- 05
Try again
Take another go, with support, until it says what you mean.
The studio makes those five moves part of ordinary work. None of them happens once. Confidence here is built the slow way — through repeated, supported practice, at each student’s own pace.
CH 3.4What students practise
Skills you can watch being used.
Speaking and listening
- Public speaking
- Interviewing
- Podcasting
- Presenting to camera
Making media
- Planning
- Scripting
- Filming
- Editing
Thinking and working together
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Peer mentoring
- Reflection
Students plan, script, interview, film and edit for public audiences. The school places PNTV within its work on oracy, self-esteem and media studies.
The Department for Education’s 2026 Public Education Awards finalist listing reports growth in students’ confidence, communication and critical thinking, and describes peer mentoring and student-led Agency Conferences.
CH 3.5Curriculum in action
Where an episode meets the curriculum.
A plain-language map of the learning areas PNTV touches. It shows connections, not a checklist.
- 01
Classroom learning
Something students are studying or doing.
- 02
A story worth telling
Researched, with a reason an audience should care.
- 03
A spoken, multimodal text
Words, voice, sound and images working together.
- 04
A genuine audience
Classmates, teachers, families and the wider community.
An episode can begin with something students are learning in class and become a purposeful spoken and multimodal text — one that combines words, voice, sound and images — made for an audience that will actually watch it.
- 01
English and oracy
Oracy means using spoken language well — to explain, question, persuade and listen.
In PNTV
Interviews, scripts and presenting are spoken texts, written and delivered for a purpose and an audience.
Curriculum context
Australian Curriculum English develops listening, speaking, viewing, writing and creating, including spoken and multimodal texts.
- 02
Media Arts and production
Making media as an art form, from idea to finished work.
In PNTV
Students plan together, produce and edit an episode, reflect on it, and share it.
Curriculum context
Media Arts involves collaborative planning, production, editing, reflection and sharing for audiences.
- 03
Digital and media literacy, and safety
Understanding how media is made, and using it with care.
In PNTV
Making media from the inside helps students read it critically — and think about what is safe and right to share.
Curriculum context
Media literacy supports analytical and creative participation, and safe and responsible use.
- 04
Inquiry across learning areas
A story can start in any subject.
In PNTV
A science investigation, a history project or a class event can become the research behind a segment.
Curriculum context
The curriculum’s media connection links English with Humanities, Science and other learning areas.
- 05
Languages, culture and community
The school community, heard in its own voices.
In PNTV
Episodes celebrate diversity and feature families’ first languages, carrying oracy across English and multilingual learning.
Curriculum context
The same media connection extends to Languages.
CH 3.6The school’s approach
Why media matters at Prospect North.
Prospect North sets out to develop student agency by giving students a voice at each stage of the learning cycle. It wants students connected to the real world, able to find and solve problems, and able to say how and why they learn.
PNTV gives that agency a public, purposeful form. It is not a separate enrichment activity: it is one medium where several parts of the school’s approach meet.
In PNTV, students
Explain learning in their own words
A segment asks students to say what they learned and why it matters — out loud, to someone else.
Investigate a real question
A story starts with something students want to find out, then needs checking before it can be told.
Communicate to real audiences
Classmates, teachers and families will watch, so the message has to be clear the first time.
Collaborate
No episode is made alone. Researching, filming and editing are shared, negotiated work.
Reflect
Watching the finished piece back is a natural moment to ask what worked and what to change.
Literacy
Reading, writing, speaking and listening, with a purpose.
Inquiry
A real question, investigated and checked.
Dialogue
Learning through talk, rehearsal and feedback.
Digital literacy
Making media, and using it safely and responsibly.
South Australia’s Teaching for Effective Learning framework links authentic contexts, student voice, dialogue and communicating learning in more than one mode. PNTV brings those together in everyday work, and so supports the school’s aim for students to be articulate about how and why they learn.
It is one of the ways the school pursues that aim — alongside its focus on literacy and numeracy, goal-setting, the Australian Curriculum general capabilities and South Australian Curriculum dispositions, and an integrated curriculum with a strong STEM focus.
CH 3.7Created with a real audience in mind
Someone is going to watch this.
Knowing there is a real audience changes the work. A question has to make sense to a viewer. A script has to be clear when it is heard once. An edit has to keep someone watching.
That audience isn’t always the public. PNTV episodes, short films and the PNC Podcast go out on YouTube, and many class podcasts are shared privately with teachers and parents instead.
Public
Weekly PNTV, short films and the PNC Podcast on the PNTV channel.
Private
Many class podcasts, shared with teachers and parents.
CH 3.8A programme built at Prospect North
Started as a weekly update. Grew into a studio.
- 2020
- PNTV began as a weekly school update.
- Started by
- Sam Leverenz, Digital Media Officer at Prospect North Primary School, who began it as a digital-media project.
- In the school
- Deputy Principal Judy Beal describes PNTV as amplifying oracy across English and multilingual learning.
- Today
- A weekly TV segment, short films and the PNC Podcast, alongside class podcasts shared within the school community.
CH 3.9Further reading
Sources and recognition
Listed for context. These are not endorsements of this site.
- Prospect North Primary SchoolProspect North TV and PodcastingThe school’s own description of the programme. (opens in a new tab)
- Prospect North Primary SchoolOfficial home pageThe school’s approach to student agency, literacy and numeracy, and its integrated curriculum. (opens in a new tab)
- Department for Education, South AustraliaTeach podcastAn episode with Deputy Principal Judy Beal and Sam Leverenz on how PNTV began and how the studio is used. (opens in a new tab)
- Department for Education, South Australia2026 Public Education Awards — winners and finalistsPNTV is listed as a finalist. (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedInSam Leverenz — public profileBackground on the programme’s beginnings as a digital-media project. (opens in a new tab)
- Department for Education, South AustraliaTeaching for Effective Learning framework guideAn overview of the framework, including authentic contexts, student voice and dialogue. (opens in a new tab)