England’s schools have undergone substantial changes in the last decade, including: introducing systematic phonics teaching and the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check; implementation of the Shanghai model of maths education in thousands of schools; and the expansion of free schools and academies. These reforms and others were driven by evidence of how children learn and policies that maximise opportunities for children to attend high quality schools. What does an evidence-based education look like and why is it so important? What can England and Australia learn from each other?