Alumni and Supporters

Chris Lambe

Minister's Teacher of the Year, WA Education Awards 2025
Bachelor of Education (Kindergarten through Primary), 2002

What turns a good teacher into a great one?

When the kids step into 2025 Teacher of the Year and proud science ‘nerd at heart’, Chris Lambe’s Sci-Tech-inspired primary school classroom, they don’t just see a teacher and his full-sized puppet-skeleton, Steve, encouraging them to explore the world around them; they see an educator who truly cares about them and their future.

“[As a teacher] you understand kids, you understand their behaviour, and you understand their needs. I think every single one of us, when we get into the job, we're there [because] we care about the future of these kids.”

From the tender age of eight, Chris always wanted to be a teacher. Inspired by his mum, an experienced and dedicated education assistant; the Year 3 teacher, who allowed him to take over her class and put his first teaching plan into action; and by his favourite teacher, Mr Della, whose inspirational, innovative, hands-on teaching style had a lasting impact on him. Along with the quote he had above his board, ‘ knowledge is power’, which still influences Chris Lambe’s teaching to this day.

"What better job in the world is there? As a teacher in your classroom, you get to choose the way you're going to do it, and you get to be creative. I'm not sitting behind a desk all day. I could be dancing, playing with puppets, building things, drawing, or doing amazing investigations.”

As part of ECU's first cohort to study our comprehensive primary program spanning Kindy to Year 7, Chris learnt how to adapt his teaching style to each child, regardless of age, engaging them in a love of hands-on, play-based learning. A philosophy that still stands the test of time today because it encourages children of all ages to learn in creative and curious ways.

“We forget play and disengage kids the older they get because we lose a lot of the things early childhood does really well. Learning [in] early childhood has to be hands-on. Pre-primary kids love playing with Play-Doh. Year sixes love playing with Play-Doh.”

When reflecting on his 23-year career and recent award, Chris believes that caring is fundamental. It’s that simple. It's care that makes the teaching profession so incredibly important, and it's this care-factor that motivates him, his colleagues, and fellow nominees for Teacher of the Year.

“I think the beauty of [the Teacher of the Year] award is it elevates and showcases just how many different types of roles in teaching there are and what people are doing to make it special…There were 171 nominations for this year’s awards, so I was one of the final four in the finalist category. So, there's 171 stories out there of great teachers doing amazing things. I want to know what those people are doing.”

Chris is convinced that there are hundreds of teachers in WA doing amazing work that largely goes unrecognised. He views it quite simply that caring is what sets these quiet achievers and great teachers apart, and it’s this attribute that will allow the profession to withstand the AI revolution:

“If real estate is about location, location, location, then teaching is about relationships, relationships, relationships.”

According to Chris, it's through empathy, care and seeing the world anew that teachers nurture ever-curious, engaged kids. He emphasises how important it is to remember the ‘ordinary can be extraordinary’ when it’s experienced for the first time by a child. Chris adds that something as simple as reading to kids every day can instil a lifelong love of learning. This care-first has a profound impact, as Chris reflects:

“Some of the kids who’ve had the biggest impact on me, [have been] kids who often have the biggest behaviour problems. They would tell me stories about why they weren’t succeeding [because they weren’t being read to everyday]. It’s the little things that you do in the role of a teacher, and you don't realise how much impact it has. We often discount teachers and their importance.”

This philosophy is evident in Chris’ teaching practice. As the Science Specialist at Grandis Primary School, he has transformed his classroom into a scientific extravaganza. From the moment students enter, they are surrounded by immersive, engaging experiences, including the iconic puppet skeleton named Steve, a space-time simulator, and a Van de Graaff generator. Equipment rarely seen in schools, let alone in a primary school.

“I want the kids to feel like real scientists, so they put on the lab coat, use real equipment, do real investigations around the questions that they've got. Because I feel like this is a natural thing for kids. All kids have got curiosity, so it's not hard for them to get engaged. It's a place for play. And all of those questions will have answers, you’ve just got to give them the opportunity [to find them].”

Chris takes immense pride in keeping kids' love of learning and curiosity alive. For him, it's not the accolades or personal recognition; it's the proof that caring for his students and sparking their curiosity is what matters most. In a world increasingly dominated by technology, he is living proof that being a caring, engaging human being is irreplaceable.