EDUCATORONLINE.COM.AU ISSUE 3.04
HOT LIST Profiling the who’s who in education in 2017
THE BIG INTERVIEW Greg Whitby, Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta
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ON THE FRONTLINE Ensuring principals are armed with the required leadership tools
SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT Creating tomorrow’s female leaders at Melbourne Girls Grammar
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ISSUE 3.04
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CONTENTS
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UPFRONT 02 Editorial
Recognising excellence in education
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FEATURES
38
NEXT GEN LEADERSHIP
A new framework aims to ensure all principals are prepared to take on the job
AN ADVOCATE FOR TRANSFORMATION Senior educator Greg Whitby doesn’t think Australian schools need to improve, rather he’s a strong proponent of the idea that transformation is necessary
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06 News analysis
How schools stand to benefit from reforms to be introduced as part of the Teacher Performance Assessment Project
08 L&D update New resources are providing school leaders with strategies and tools to help them deal with a range of common challenges Efforts to heighten student engagement at one leading museum has included utilisation of technology and gamification
2017 HOT LIST
THE BIG INTERVIEW
A snapshot of principals’ workloads
10 Technology update
SPECIAL REPORT
The Educator has undertaken its annual search for the movers and shakers in education. In our annual Hot List, meet 50 individuals most deserving of that description
04 Statistics
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SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
CREATING TOMORROW’S FEMALE LEADERS How Melbourne Girls Grammar is breaking new ground
12 Head to head
Should students with a disability be included in mainstream classes?
14 Opinion
Supporting principals to focus on leadership
PEOPLE 54 Career path
Trinity Grammar School headmaster Milton Cujes looks back on an impressive tenure in education
56 Other life
Sydney principal Ross Roorda is a two-time Doug Moran National Portrait Prize semi-finalist
52 FEATURES
DEMYSTIFYING THE DISMISSAL PROCESS
Alice DeBoos outlines the dos and don’ts of employee dismissal
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UPFRONT
EDITORIAL
RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION
I
t’s difficult to believe that the end of another year is almost upon us. As it has been for schools across the country, it’s been a busy year for The Educator team, but also rewarding, given the outstanding work in Australian schools we’ve had the opportunity to highlight. In our first issue of 2017, I had the good fortune to speak to Kate Hadwen, principal of Perth’s Presbyterian Ladies’ College, who talked about her wonderful, varied career in education, her passion for the well-being of young people, and her tendency to constantly think about her next step – an approach that’s served her well throughout her career. My colleague, news editor Brett Henebery, had the opportunity to sit down to interview Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham, who spoke about government efforts to work towards a more equitable education system in Australia. Around the same time, we profiled some of the industry’s
“Surrounded by constant reminders of the exceptional ongoing efforts of Australian educators, it remains a privilege to oversee The Educator” future leaders, highlighting the work of educators such as Rebecca Watts of St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School in Western Australia, Jeremy LeCornu of South Australia’s Seaview High School, and Patrick Sanders of Victoria’s Brighton Grammar School, all of whom have impressed their colleagues with their aptitude for educating. More recently, our annual Innovative Schools list spotlighted a number of schools who’ve proved they mean business when it comes to equipping their students with the necessary skills to be citizens of tomorrow’s world. One school featured was Melbourne Girls Grammar, which appears again in this issue, following the opening of the Artemis Centre, a world-class facility designed to help provide for students’ emotional and physical well-being. Another school on our Innovative Schools list was Snowy Mountains Grammar, which has worked hard to ensure its elite snowsports athletes can train without compromising their academic pursuits. We now conclude the year with our Hot List – our efforts to recognise the movers and shakers of education in Australia. So, who made the cut in 2017? Surrounded by constant reminders of the exceptional ongoing efforts of Australian educators, it remains a privilege to oversee The Educator. I wish you all the best for the remainder of the year as well as a happy and healthy 2018.
www.educatoronline.com.au OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 EDITORIAL Managing Editor Iain Hopkins Editor Tim Garratt Journalists Brett Henebery Nicola Middlemiss Contributor Rob Stokes Alice DeBoos Production Editors Roslyn Meredith Bruce Pitchers
ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designer Loiza Caguiat
SALES & MARKETING Marketing & Communications Manager Lisa Narroway Business Development Manager Dominic Tusa
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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION UPFRONT
STATISTICS
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
50%
46% 40%
A new report suggests the old saying that ‘there’s never enough time in a day’ is true – especially for busy principals
30%
30% 26%
WITH RESPONSIBILITIES ranging from the education and wellbeing of students, to giving direction and feedback to teaching staff, strategic planning and the tracking of results, and the financial management of schools, principals have a vast workload. This is becoming an increasing concern for the school community across Australia. The Principal Workload and Time Use Study summarises key areas of concern based on a survey of 119 NSW-based principals.
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was average number of activities principals undertook during school-day observation
75%
of principals reported their workload was ‘difficult to achieve’ or ‘not at all achievable’
The report’s quantitative research component consisted of a direct observation research activity in which researchers observed and recorded the tasks each principal undertook and the time spent on tasks. The qualitative research component of the study consisted of three research activities: 14 two-hour immersive contextual enquiries with principals; four focus groups with a mix of executive and administrative staff; and five industry interviews with subject matter experts.
30%
of principal time is spent on leading teaching and learning
20%
10%
0%
40%
Leading teaching and learning
of principal time is spent on leading the management of the school (the biggest percentage)
Source: Principal Workload and Time Use Study, prepared by Deloitte, Sept 2017
BREAKING TIME DOWN
ACHIEVABILITY OF CURRENT WORKLOAD
There is a significant difference between teaching and non-teaching principals in terms of the distribution of time across activities. Teaching principals spend more time ‘Leading teaching and learning’ (46%) and less time ‘Leading the management of the school’ (32%) than non-teaching principals.
Principals feel overwhelmed by their current workloads. A total of 75% of the principals surveyed said their workload was either ‘difficult to achieve’ or ‘not at all achievable’. Only 21% said their workload was achievable, and just 4% said it was very achievable.
Teaching principals spend 27% of their time on teaching, which involves planning and conducting lessons for students. For non-teaching principals this figure is 4%.
Principal perception of workload achievability
64%
Apart from teaching, principals spend most time on student development and wellbeing (7%), internal communications (9%) and email management (7%). Principals spend just 1% of their time on teacher/learning feedback, staff health and wellbeing, and staff mentoring and coaching. Just 2% of their time is spent on strategic planning. Source: Principal Workload and Time Use Study, prepared by Deloitte, Sept 2017
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4%
21%
Very easy to achieve
Achievable
11% Difficult to achieve
Not at all achievable
Source: Principal Workload and Time Use Study, prepared by Deloitte, Sept 2017
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WHERE DOES THE TIME GO? Principals are spending more time leading the management of their schools than leading teaching and learning. Analysis of the collected data reveals that, overall, principal time is 30% focused on leading teaching and learning; 9% on developing self and others; 6% on leading improvement, innovation and change; 40% on leading the management of the school; 11% on engaging and working with the community; and 3% on other activities.
43% 40%
32%
Key Overall Teaching principals Non-teaching principals
11%
9% 5%
Leading the management of the school
Developing self and others
11% 6%
4%
10%
11%
6%
4%
3%
Leading improvement, innovation and change
Engaging and working with the community
3%
Other
Source: Principal Workload and Time Use Study, prepared by Deloitte, Sept 2017
PERCEPTIONS OF WORKLOAD SUSTAINABILITY
HIGH-PRESSURE/HIGH-STRESS SITUATIONS
A large proportion of principals (77%) reported that their workload was either ‘not at all sustainable’ or ‘difficult to sustain’, while 23% of principals said their workload was ‘sustainable’ or ‘very easy to sustain’.
Participants were asked to rate their level of stress at three points in time – morning, midday and afternoon, which was then grouped into six rating categories. 'Moderate levels of stress' was defined as ranging from ‘starting to feel uncomfortable but I can continue to function’ to ‘feeling really uncomfortable but I’m still managing to function’.
Principal perception of sustainability of workload
Principal stress levels by time of day
66%
Morning
34%
44%
15%
7% 2%
4%
19%
Very easy to sustain
Sustainable
11% Difficult to sustain
Not at all sustainable
Source: Principal Workload and Time Use Study, prepared by Deloitte, Sept 2017
Midday
16%
49%
Afternoon
16%
45%
27%
6% 1%
No stress
Mild
Moderate
Strong
25%
12%
Acute
Extreme
Source: Principal Workload and Time Use Study, prepared by Deloitte, Sept 2017
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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION UPFRONT
NEWS ANALYSIS
TIME FOR A NEW ERA The federal government has announced sweeping new reforms to Australia’s educational standards. The Educator investigates how schools stand to benefit
AUSTRALIA IS at risk of a downward spiral in school achievement unless it learns from other high-performing education systems and gives primary school teachers more specialist knowledge and teaching skills, according to a report released in May. The report, titled Australia’s Primary Challenge: How to lift teacher quality in early school years, was published by education consultancy Learning First. Learning First CEO Ben Jensen, lead author of the report, said the consultancy’s research showed how four of the world’s highest-performing school systems – in Hong Kong, Japan, Finland, and Shanghai – place a strong emphasis on teacher subject expertise, even in early schooling. “In these and other systems, the most effective teachers do not just know their
for graduate teachers in Australia. All going to plan, these will ensure that the quality of teachers being churned out of universities across Australia will be of the highest standard, and in turn they will deliver improved outcomes for the next generation of students. A landmark moment for this vision arrived on 31 August with the federal government’s announcement of the Teacher Performance Assessment Project, slated to come into effect in 2018. Under the sweeping reforms, all new teachers will need to pass a performance assessment before they can graduate. While measuring teacher quality is nothing new in itself, it is the evidence-based research behind the latest initiative that is the game changer.
“We need to be confident that all new teachers are classroom ready and well equipped to have a positive impact on student learning” Lisa Rodgers, AITSL CEO subjects [content knowledge], they also know how to teach them [pedagogical content knowledge],” he said. Fortunately, this is a point that is not lost on the federal government and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), which have been developing revamped educational standards
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To support the development and implementation of these assessments, the AITSL funded a grant program to support initial teacher education providers that are working together to design, develop, trial and validate rigorous assessments of teaching performance. The grants were awarded to two consortia
– one led by the Learning Sciences Institute Australia at Australian Catholic University (ACU), and the other by the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. Lisa Rodgers, CEO of AITSL, tells The Educator that the implementation of the new teaching performance assessment will mean “every single new teacher can be confident that they meet the graduate professional teacher standards and that the level of performance needed to graduate from teacher education is the same from Dubbo to Darwin”. “Australian universities produce many outstanding graduates, but we need to be confident that all new teachers are classroom ready and well equipped to have a positive impact on student learning,” Rodgers says. “Through the strengthened accreditation process, all universities must demonstrate that all of their pre-service teachers have been rigorously assessed and meet the Graduate career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers before they graduate.”
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ROAD TO RECOVERY A report published in May warns that Australia risks “a downward spiral” in school achievement unless it learns from other high-performing education systems and gives primary teachers more specialist knowledge and teaching skills. Following the passage of the Gonski 2.0 reforms in June, the national focus on education shifted from school funding to the best ways to improve student performance. Research shows teacher quality plays the biggest part. NAPLAN ¬results released in July showed a decline in students’ writing skills over the past six years, adding to last year’s dismal¬international test scores in maths, reading and science. New rules announced in August mean that teachers will need to pass an evidence-based performance assessment before they can graduate.
Rodgers explains that this is not a national test or assessment, but rather a national requirement. “Each provider can determine what their assessment looks like, as long as it meets the requirements set out in the ITE Standards and Procedures,” she says.
strengthen accreditation standards for teaching courses and ensure graduates had literacy and numeracy skills in the top 30% of the adult population. “A key aspect of our teacher education reform agenda has been stronger graduate standards and practical experience in the
“A key aspect of our teacher education reform agenda has been stronger graduate standards and practical experience” Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham “I have no doubt that many of the elements of the assessments that will be undertaken from 2018 are already in place today, but through adherence to the Standards it will ensure increased rigour and national consistency”. Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the new measures would
classroom,” Birmingham said. “Graduate teachers deserve to know that they have the skills to succeed in the classroom, just as students, parents and principals deserve to know that new teachers have been given the best possible skills.” Professor Claire Wyatt-Smith, director of the Learning Sciences Institute Australia
at ACU, is leading one of two teaching performance assessment projects. Wyatt-Smith says the research will assess entry-level teachers’ “overall capacity to plan, teach, assess and reflect on their practice”. “The research will also provide them the opportunity to demonstrate their impact on student learning,” she says. Chris Presland, NSW Secondary Principals Council president, welcomes the new changes, saying they will improve confidence in schools and principals, as well as build on the “great work” already being done by universities to boost teacher quality. In fact, the quality of new teachers coming out of university is “light years ahead of what it used to be”, Presland tells The Educator. “When you look at the quality of what universities are doing combined with government strategies to support earlycareer teachers, it’s clear that both these factors will have a major impact on Australian education down the track,” he says.
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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION UPFRONT
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
BUSY PRINCIPALS GET HELPING HAND A range of new resources will help them cope with various common challenges
Resources will provide school leaders with strategies and tools to help them deal with a range of common challenges, such as time management. The resources also draw on real-life experiences that have been developed though collaboration with current school leaders and principals. They respond to the growing awareness that aspiring and new principals need better guidance and support. “Research finds that new leaders commonly experience stresses linked to the demands of
“Well-being has to be incorporated into all processes of the organisation” The Australian Principal Health and Well-being survey reports have shown that principals are facing increasing levels of violence, stress and burnout. While some education departments, namely NSW and South Australia, have been proactive in addressing these issues, others have been criticised for “ignoring or overlooking” key findings of the national well-being surveys. Lead researcher of the Australian Principal Health and Well-being survey, Professor Phil Riley, says the Victorian Education Department’s principal well-being initiative is
NEWS BRIEFS
short of the mark when it comes to tackling the big issues. “Well-being has to be incorporated into all processes of the organisation. It cannot be bolted onto a system that principals do not feel supported by and magically transform it if the existing stressors are not addressed,” Riley told The Educator. Recognising this, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has released new professional development resources for principals. The School Leadership Development
Mental health days for schools? A growing number of corporate employers are introducing well-being days to give their staff a chance to de-stress. Is it time schools started to do the same? The practice sees employees given a set number of days per year to take off when they choose. Currently, the educator sector has a notoriously high rate of stress, with one recent Australian study, conducted by the Australian Scholarships Group and the Australian College of Educators, revealing that almost half of teachers feel stressed “most of the time’’ or “fairly often’’ in a typical week.
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the role, such as feeling isolated, having difficulties with administration and management, and adjusting to a new workload,” AITSL CEO Lisa Rodgers said. Among the innovative solutions provided, inspiring principals discuss their journeys to becoming a principal and offer their advice about preparing for school leadership in video profiles. Rodgers said AITSL’s new package offers extra support both to teachers who are targeting a move into a school leader position, as well as for aspiring and new principals to help them prepare for the responsibilities and demands of principalship that come with the position.
Searching for the wrong skills? A senior industry figure has called for a major change in the way principals are selected. “We’re still looking for an old skills set in our leaders,” said Rob Nairn, executive director of the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association. “We’re still selecting school leaders based on the same processes and the people who are selecting the school leaders don’t necessarily have any idea about contemporary education.” Nairn said the need for new skills has become evident as studies continue to suggest students aren’t adequately prepared for life after secondary education.
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Q&A
SEVEN STEPS TO WRITING SUCCESS JEN MCVEITY CEO SEVEN STEPS TO WRITING SUCCESS
Fast fact Jen McVeity is the CEO of Seven Steps to Writing Success and the author of over 20 books, a Churchill Fellow who promoted the works of 40 Australian authors to USA publishers and was the board chair of the largest writing organisation in the world. She is also a sports adventurer who has skied glaciers, won gold in beach volleyball and flies on a circus trapeze for fun.
When it comes to working to teach students to be better writers, what are the kinds of mistakes that teachers commonly make? There is a premise that writing classrooms should be quiet. Students should write alone. This is very threatening for kids – they only have their own experiences and ideas to work with. Consider how screen or sitcom writers work. They form teams so they can generate ideas, suggest dialogue and create situations for their characters. They piggyback ideas and energy off each other. Collaborative writing classrooms are far more engaging and supporting. There is also a fallacy that concentrating on the secretarial side of writing, such as spelling and grammar, is the best way to improve writing. It is not. Every author knows you put down a draft that is creative first and then fix the spelling much later. Finally, there is a real need to teach students the techniques of brainstorming and generating ideas. There are explicit techniques for this and they are often ignored. How significantly can enhancing a child’s ability to write improve their performance across the board? Our company vision is to create passionate communicators who can transform lives and change the world. By building in children a joy and confidence in expressing themselves through writing, we are helping them to reach their full potential – personally, socially and eventually in business. Powerful
Education’s new voices highlighted In August, 16 educators were recognised by the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) in the organisation’s New Voice scholarships. The initiative, launched in 2015, is a commitment of $300,000 over 10 years from ACEL to identify new voices in education. ACEL’s CEO, Aasha Murthy, said the scholarship recipients have been recognised for their “work and research as forward-thinking, relevant and responsive individuals in contemporary Australian education”. Recipients are provided with a range of opportunities to expand their professional development.
communicators can (and do) truly change our world. Can you explain the Seven Steps concept? The key to the Seven Steps is simplicity. As a sports person as well as an author, I looked at the way we learn sport – we chunk it down into individual components. For instance, in tennis we learn the forehand – and then practise hitting hundreds of forehands. Then we learn backhand. Only after the individual skills have been mastered do we put it all together to play a tennis match. However, when we walk into a classroom and say, “Write me a story”, it is the equivalent of asking students to play the whole tennis match. They need to learn the explicit skills of writing first. How can utilising Seven Steps enhance the ability of teachers to improve the writing skills of their students? The beauty of the Seven Steps is in its flexibility in the classroom, across any year level, with any other program. This is because teaching the Seven Steps can be done in just 20 minutes a day. It answers the question many teachers have of, “Exactly how do I teach writing?” by focusing on the individual components of writing. Because the program is so practical, teachers feel empowered to get started immediately. Then, after seeing their students become engaged and their writing so quickly improved, both the teacher and the whole classroom become energised. Their writing classroom is buzzing with the Seven Steps!
Accreditation changes free up time New measures announced by the NSW Education Standards Authority in September will see teachers given more time to focus on classroom practice. Under the new processes, reporting the number of hours teachers spend on mandatory professional development will be made simpler. Where proficient teachers were previously required to prepare a written report, now teachers will need to declare that their practice continues to meet the proficient teacher standards, which will prompt the principal or service director to attest they have completed all requirements.
Calls for unconscious bias training While more schools are becoming aware of unconscious bias, there is still much to be done. “The lack of education for both teachers and students is still the biggest challenge,” says Steven Asnicar, director of Diversity Australia. “It’s not possible to ever eradicate unconscious bias completely, but with key educational frameworks and tools in place we can give teachers the skills to manage it better.” Targeted training will also give students the knowledge of how to recognise unconscious bias and how to counter it through better decision consciousness, says Asnicar.
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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION UPFRONT
TECHNOLOGY NEWS BRIEFS Schools right to ban staff-student contact online, says lawyer Social media can cause headaches for school leaders, so it seems reasonable that some ban online interactions between staff and students. But are they really entitled to do so? Nathan Croot, senior associate at Emil Ford Lawyers, said schools definitely had the right to prohibit online interactions. “Schools can, and should, ban personal interactions between staff and students over social media,” he told The Educator. “If the school allows some contact, it makes it much harder to draw the line between appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.”
Study: Low-cost edtech produces results Effective tech doesn’t have to be expensive. According to a report by academics at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab – an organisation inside the economics department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – low-cost initiatives like text messages and reminders are effective with both students and parents. “It’s not necessarily the most expensive or complicated technologies that make a difference,” J-PAL’s Vincent Quan told US News. “Even text messages can have a measurable impact on academic outcomes. It’s not flashy. Sometimes you don’t need all that flash and gimmick.”
New poll highlights importance of digital skills Almost 90% of Australians believe people who can’t use computers are being left behind, according to a national poll to coincide with International Literacy Day. The poll, released by the Reading Writing Hotline – a free service that assists people who
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are struggling with reading, writing and digital skills – shows that Australians without computer skills are seen as being left behind as the digital economy grows. Among the biggest stumbling blocks for people who struggle with digital literacy are school emails, applying for jobs electronically. and understanding and managing privacy issues on social media.
Cybersafety strategies falling short Schools’ cybersafety strategies are often limited in scope and subsequently fall short of the mark. What’s missing, say some principals and cybersafety experts, is a whole-of-school approach that includes strong involvement by school leadership and is built into the curriculum. Judi Fallon, the Alannah & Madeline Foundation’s schools program manager, says: “It’s … important that this framework has strong leadership involvement, because the buck really does stop at the top. The principal has to understand that if something goes wrong, it can fall back on them, so it’s essentially about risk mitigation.”
School Places announces overseas expansion Since it began three years ago, the School Places online marketplace has evolved into a personalised service that’s helped match families to several thousand available private school vacancies. Now, School Places has announced it is taking its model to Malaysia, assisting international families coming to Australia with private school enrolments. The move comes after the company secured an investment from OSK Technology Ventures, a private equity firm that specialises in expansion and growth capital. The business will be run via a wholly owned subsidiary based in Kuala Lumpur and staffed by local employees.
MUSEUM CRACKS STUDENT ENGAGEMENT Efforts to heighten student engagement in Sydney’s museum offerings have included the use of technology and gamification
Educators across the country could learn a lot from one Sydney museum that has achieved record-breaking success with student engagement. Educational outreach is a core priority for the Australian National Maritime Museum, and its education program and special projects have proven incredibly popular with schools. In fact, the museum’s ‘Escape from Pompeii’ exhibit has attracted almost 4,000 students so far, with more than 1,000 still expected to attend. “The education program associated with Pompeii has broken records for the museum, with school visits booked out for the duration of the exhibition,” says director and CEO Kevin Sumption. The museum has responded to the popularity of the exhibition by developing education programs for both junior and senior students that reflect the NSW and Australian curriculum. While a strong alignment with the curriculum made it a must-do for schools, Sumption says the exhibition was a hit with students as well as teachers, thanks to its hands-on approach. “Our education team pulled out all the stops to engage students with the history of Pompeii in imaginative and innovative ways,” Sumption says. “Over 700 students were immersed in Roman life in a Roman festival featuring
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gladiator re-enactments, ancient breadmaking, and mural and mosaic making.” As well as immersing students in traditional Roman life, the museum has tapped into modern developments, such as technology and gamification, in its endeavours to ensure the engagement of students.
“Our education team pulled out all the stops to engage students with the history of Pompeii in imaginative and innovative ways” “Young people today are growing up in a different and exciting world,” says Sumption. “The use of games, such as The Voyage, via online and mobile internet-based technologies, provides greater potential for innovative, effective and accessible contemporary teaching and learning.” Aimed at primary school students in Years 5 and 6, The Voyage uses mobile and online technologies to engage students in learning about what life would have been like for the first migrants
and convicts as they travelled from England to Tasmania. “Two students can play the game at once, fostering collaboration in learning,” says Sumption. “As with many online games, students can also play with children all over the world via the internet.” The ‘Escape from Pompeii’ exhibition is now on tour at the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle until 4 February 2018. More details can be found at www.anmm.gov.au.
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UPFRONT
HEAD TO HEAD
Should mainstream classrooms be more inclusive? While some advocate excluding children with a disability from mainstream classes, research shows inclusion has major benefits
Henry Grossek
David Roy
Pauline Hanson
Principal Berwick Lodge Primary School
Senior lecturer University of Newcastle
Senator for Queensland Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
Wherever possible, children with a disability should be enrolled in mainstream schools. That ought to be the starting point from which decisions are made regarding schooling these children. Unfortunately, due to a lack of adequate resources being provided in too many cases, the special needs of these children aren’t met. The removal of these children to a special setting school becomes an attractive solution to harried and stressed school staff. Undoubtedly, some children’s needs are best met by special setting schools. But when schools are faced with students with special needs, staff may have little (if any) specialist training and have inadequate additional support. So it is little wonder that things go wrong. Let’s get the resourcing right first – inclusiveness is in everyone’s best interests.
The question should really be: “Why shouldn’t we include all children in the mainstream?” When children with a disability are fully included, they have higher achievement outcomes, and can become productive members of society. When children learn with children with a disability, they become more empathetic and better citizens. We need to see the assets, and not the deficits, of children with a disability. Pragmatically, due to decades of segregation we cannot just dump children into the mainstream. There needs to be a transition so staff are trained to meet all children’s needs, not just the normal. Infrastructure needs to be adapted and staffing ratios/ training modified. If Scotland, Finland and Italy can do it – so can Australia. All children are equal. It just seems that currently some are more equal than others.
We need to make sure that the teachers and families of Australian children who have special education needs are given access to the necessary resources to ensure they receive a quality of education that is owed to all Australians. The needs of children with specific issues can be best met by teachers who are specially trained to give them the level of support and attention they need and deserve to be able to take their place in the world. This is not a role that teachers trained to educate mainstream students should be asked to fulfil. It can be best delivered by those specially trained teachers, in classrooms with specialised resources geared to meet their individual needs.
THE CASE FOR INCLUSION Nearly one in five students in government schools is classified as disabled – yet only 13.6% are getting assistance and just 6.2% attract additional funding.
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UPFRONT
OPINION
GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email brett.henebery@keymedia.com.au
ALL ABOUT EMPOWERMENT NSW Education Minister, Rob Stokes, explains what principals have to gain from the government’s new school leadership strategy THE MOST successful sporting teams usually have the best coaches. Clubs provide the resources and support for the coach to prepare the players to be in peak physical and mental condition to perform in the hope of positive results. Our school principals are much like coaches of great sporting teams. We need to give them the support they need to get the best results needed from their teams – the teachers and students under their management. The NSW government’s Schools Leadership Strategy offers increased funding support to help principals get the best teaching and learning outcomes from their teachers and students. The strategy offers $50m in flexible funding to employ extra support staff, like business managers as well as a team of trained officers to lighten the compliance burden in areas such as work, health and safety inspections. There will also be a mentoring program and scholarships for overseas study to build on the knowledge these outstanding individuals have already. The strategy, developed with ongoing consultation with representatives of principals themselves, also includes the creation of a new leadership institute to train future principals as well as provide skills for existing ones. There is no more important leadership role in modern Australia than that of the school principal. Our community places an increasing expectation on our schools to ensure that our next generation is not only educated in the core skills of reading, writing and maths, but also in developing students with life skills
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for outside of the classroom. The sobering truth is that our public school system is one of the last institutions that still retains the community’s trust. Schools continue to be the centre of communities, offering stability and opportunity for all students. Principals are expected to carry a heavy load at the forefront of responding to these expectations. The Schools Leadership Strategy is about doing what we can to ensure that even with all these expectations, good teaching and learning continues to be the central focus. Six years ago, the NSW government introduced the Local Schools, Local Decisions policy, which recognised that principals are
We need our principals to be leaders of the classrooms, inspiring students and teachers – not managers filling in paperwork. Coaches of great sporting teams would never be left stranded behind a desk to complete piles of paperwork while their team runs onto the playing field. School principals have achieved their position because they are great educators with years of experience at the forefront of classrooms figuring out what really works. Principals, given the opportunity and resources, can provide the extraordinary educational leadership we need to make our schools perform at their best. Field Marshall William Slim, GovernorGeneral of Australia in the 1950s, had some helpful insights into what leadership is about. Field Marshall Slim, a British military commander, saw action in both WWI and WWII. His time fighting with ANZAC troops at Gallipoli, as well as multiple battlefield injuries, added to his credibility as a leader in Australia. “There is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is of the spirit, compounded of personality and vision; its practice is an art,” he said. “Management is of the mind, a matter of accurate calculation – its practice is a science.
“We need to encourage our best and brightest to be motivated to become principals and lead schools to greatness” best placed to make the decisions that affect their school community. Too often, school decisions and policies were being decided on behalf of principals by people with no knowledge or understanding of the individual school or its students. While most principals welcomed the greater authority to make decisions at their school, it also meant we asked them to do more than ever before. An unintended consequence of this policy was an increased administrative burden. Nobody wants to see principals’ time being used to count the number of trees in the playground, or spending hours on burdensome computer programs inputting data.
Managers are necessary; leaders are essential.” Effective, empowered principals are essential to make our schools perform at their best. We need to encourage our best and brightest to be motivated to become principals and lead schools to greatness. We need to give these individuals the support they need to ensure they are focused on leading learning – while leaving administrative tasks to administrators. Rob Stokes is the NSW Minister for Education. He is also a patrol captain at Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club and an honorary fellow at Macquarie University
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PEOPLE
THE BIG INTERVIEW
AN ADVOCATE FOR TRANSFORMATION Award-winning senior educator Greg Whitby talks about the radical change he believes is necessary for the education system in Australia GREG WHITBY’S four decades in education have seen him accumulate substantial and diverse experience. He’s worked as a teacher in both the government and non-government sectors, at both primary and secondary level and at university, in addition to working as an administrator. For the last 11 years, Whitby has been executive director of schools for the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta. This year, he received the Sir Harold Wyndham Medal, the state’s highest teaching accolade, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to educating young people in NSW. In a statement following his award win, Australian College of Educators CEO Helen Jentz described Whitby as having “changed the education industry”. “His passion for learning is infectious, and
it’s not just the students who benefit, rather his colleagues and the entire school community,” Jentz said. “He has shaped and influenced the lives of thousands of students for the better. He’s an inspiration and example to every educator in NSW.” So, as a highly accomplished educator, what is Whitby himself most proud of having achieved over the course of his career? “I think the ability to have contributed to the debate and the shaping of the education agenda,” he tells The Educator.
Transforming the system On the subject of how the school system should move forward, Whitby believes there is a need for transformation rather than improvement.
CONFRONTING CHALLENGES When asked about the greatest challenge he’s faced during his career, Greg Whitby says: “People that know me say I’m pretty driven and I want things done yesterday. It’s how you bring people along and have that happy balance, I think.” And are there any good lessons he’s learned along the way as to how to achieve that? “I think you’ve got to be realistic that you’re not Superman, you’re part of a team,” he says. “I don’t see myself as anything different than a part of a team with people who want to work for the things that we think are important. That’s what I’ve learned – it’s that deep collaboration that gets you through.”
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“Schools have existed as they are now for a couple of hundred years,” he explains. “We have tried every way to improve them. You open the newspaper [or] turn on the TV [and] what do you hear? ‘We need to improve schooling’, ‘We need to improve teachers’ capabilities’, ‘We need to improve kids’ health and wellbeing’ … and then we put in a whole range of strategies to try to improve that.” Citing a recent example, Whitby refers to the government’s plan to introduce literacy and numeracy tests for Year 1 students. “We did have testing in [Years] 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12, but now they’ve added Year 1 to it. What’s that improving?” he says. “There’s something wrong with the model; it’s the model that’s broken … We’ve had testing before, we’ve tightened the curriculum before, [and] we’ve focused on teachers’ work before … and we don’t seem to be improving, in terms of international comparisons. Maybe what we need to do is get away from improvement, and transform and change the system.” Whitby has been on record as saying the Higher School Certificate should be abolished. “That was developed in the late 1950s and introduced in the early 1960s, and it’s still going today and we still have people sit for a Higher School Certificate using a pen and paper test,” he says. “You’ve got to ask whether it’s fit for purpose in a contemporary world. We’re going
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“There is no other business I know that’s successful in today’s world that hasn’t transformed itself. You look at the hospitality industry, the taxi industry, the legal industry… all those have been rapidly transformed” www.educatoronline.com.au
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PEOPLE
THE BIG INTERVIEW
strategy is to keep people out of hospital so that they can be looked after in their homes … We’re still demanding that kids go to school for four terms, each of 10 weeks, starting at [x] time [and] ending at [y] time, while the world has moved on.”
The broader context
“The way we need to think about the principal is as the leader of learning, and I think ‘head teacher’ is a good term because it actually nails precisely the role of that learning leader” to have kids sitting in big hall rooms for three hours with a pen and paper and writing vigorously, and somehow say that’s the sum total of their schooling. It’s illogical … and, of course, it doesn’t fit the world in which these young people are going to live and learn.” Whitby supports a new understanding around a contemporary curriculum. “There is no other business I know that’s successful in today’s world that hasn’t transformed itself. You look at the hospitality industry, the taxi industry, the legal industry … all those have been rapidly transformed,” Whitby says. “Health is a very good example. Their key
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Whitby says we’re now living in a world in which the user designs the business experience. “What that means is, in the old days, if you wanted to go to a bank, banks existed in the main street and you had to go in between 9 and 3, you had to take your passbook in and you had to get it stamped, and that was the only way you could do it. If the bank was closed, that was it. If you lost your passbook, that was it. “That was the business model, and a lot of people didn’t like that – I didn’t like that … Everything now is being driven by the user experience … It’s this rapid personalisation to how the user wants it.” Whitby describes the home schooling revolution as one of the most exciting developments right now. “What they’re doing is not only are they home schooling but they’re connecting and forming virtual environments,” he says. “They’ve got virtual systems of schools and they’re using a mix of teacher expertise [and] professional expertise in a range of areas … and they’re using the internet.” Whitby then mentions St Luke’s Catholic College in Marsden Park in Western Sydney, which opened its doors earlier this year and is led by Greg Miller. Billed as a ‘next-generation school’, it operates from 6am to 6pm. “We’ve developed a whole new learning framework. We’re not talking about K-12 any more; we’re transforming it,” he says.
Teaching for tomorrow When it comes to how educators ensure their skills are apt for teaching students to live in tomorrow’s world, Whitby emphasises the importance of teachers themselves being
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continuous learners and taking charge of their professional learning. “What’s happening is the people who don’t do the teaching are controlling the nature of the professional development,” he explains. “What we need to do is transform that so that the teacher has total responsibility for their professional learning. Rather than coming out saying, ‘What are you going to do for my professional development?’ the question is, ‘This is what I need to do. How can you support me?’” Whitby continues: “I think we have too much control over teachers’ working lives. The teachers are the ones who need the freedom within the framework to make decisions about how they’re going to do their work, who they do the work with, [and] when they do their work. I don’t have a problem in thinking of a teacher not coming to school for a week and still being called a teacher and still working, because that teacher could be working on behalf of their colleagues, doing a whole data analysis of the NAPLAN data, for example. It’s just different work and a different way of working.” According to Whitby, teachers should continuously reflect on what they’ve been taught, how they’ve taught it, and how they can improve the experience the next time they teach it.
Leading for tomorrow Whitby also shares his thoughts on the role of the principal. “I think the way we need to think about the principal is as the leader of learning, and I think ‘head teacher’ is a good term because it actually nails precisely the role of that learning leader,” he says. “I think we’ve also got to look at how we take all the non-teaching things off the head teacher so they can focus only on the work that they need to do to work with the teachers and build the teachers’ capacity, collectively and individually.” Whitby says removing functions such as
administrative tasks from a principal’s role will free them up to focus on enhancing and transforming student learning. “You’ve got to have people working in leading that learning, and leading is the core of it because they’ve got to make sure it’s a collaborative, professional process,” he says. “It should be the only focus of their work. I think if we did that we’d help answer a lot of the concerns about principal wellbeing, where they’re being required to do everything and be responsible for everything on any building site.” He says principals are driven by a singular passion to engage with student learning and ensure their students achieve. “That’s what their driving force is, so anything that you put in their way to do that leads to frustration,” he says. “We actually know what the problem is and what causes it, but we seem very reluctant to change the model and give the principals the capacity to make those decisions and work with those communities.” Whitby describes what he believes needs to occur as “learning the future”. “I can tell you all the things that I think need to happen, but I don’t know because they haven’t happened, and the only way we will find that future is if we learn how to do it and learn how to do it differently. “We do know what makes a difference to improve kids’ learning … We just need to be brave enough, to be innovative enough, to take the chance.” But despite the changes Whitby believes are necessary, he has a positive outlook for the education sector. “I’m extraordinarily optimistic about the future because we do have the people there; we do have the talent.” He also talks about the new Secretary of the Department of Education in NSW, Mark Scott. “I think he really gets it,” Whitby says. “He brings a fresh view and an honest and open view of where we can move, and understands the issues in driving cultural change in large organisations.”
INSPIRING LEADERSHIP Greg Whitby singles out two individuals who he says have influenced his thinking. The first is the late Emeritus Professor Hedley Beare, who established the education systems in both the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. “Hedley was one of the early pioneers; he was one of the real gurus in Australian and international education,” Whitby says. “He was the one who showed me that things could be different and needed to be different.”
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The second person Whitby mentions is international speaker and consultant Emeritus Professor Patrick Duignan, who has authored several books on leadership in education. “He was the one who taught me a lot about leadership and leading,” Whitby says. “These people have a profound influence on your thinking and allow you to test them out, and they’ve always been so generous with their time.”
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT: HOT LIST 2017
HOT LIST In an industry rife with talent and strong leadership, who are the movers and shakers of Australian education? The Educator profiles 50 individuals at the top of their game
WELCOME TO The Educator’s third annual Hot List. Another year has passed and education professionals around the country have continued undertaking outstanding work in the name of ensuring all students have the highest quality educational experiences possible. Determining those in the field whose work merits spotlighting by The Educator remains an unenviable task, and one that remains virtually impossible without the assistance of readers. In August and September, we turned to you to tell us who you think deserves a place on this prestigious list. We were, once again, inundated with excellent nominations from across Australia. Of course, that also made the process of selecting 50 educators rather arduous for the team. On the pages that follow, we introduce you to the individuals we have chosen and offer you an insight into their work. We certainly don’t claim to have compiled a list that is absolutely comprehensive, so if there is another educator you feel should have made the cut, feel free to email your comments to theeducator_editor@keymedia.com.au.
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HOT LIST INDEX NAME
ORGANISATION / SCHOOL
PAGE
Amanda Bowker Anna Sullivan Ben Coogan Brian Host Catherine Attard Catherine Eyers Catherine Misson Chris Ramsden Chris Shaw Christine Vale Daren Mallett David Roy
Ormiston College University of South Australia Thomson Geer, Lawyers Inaburra School Western Sydney University Bethania Lutheran School Melbourne Girls Grammar Mind Lab Hillvue Public School Scholastic Australia Hillcrest Christian College University of Newcastle
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David Sim and Natalie Mansour
Glenmore Park Public School & Lurnea Public School
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Dr Charlotte Forwood Dr Simon Crook Dylan Malloch Fiona McKenzie Gary Racey Graeme Green Helen Jentz Jade Moffat Jen McVeity John Fleming Jonathon Roberts Justin Robinson
Strathcona Baptist Girls’ Grammar School CrookED Science St Paul’s School Koonwarra Village School & Phillip Island Village School Swan Valley Anglican Community School Ingleburn Public School Australian College of Educators IBM Australia Seven Steps to Writing Success Haileybury College Emmanuel College Geelong Grammar School
35 25 22 31 36 28 26 24 36 28 30 34
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SPONSORED BY
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR NAME
ORGANISATION / SCHOOL
PAGE
Karen Endicott Kerrie Neophytou Khalil Khay Laura Bain Lisa Rodgers Marco Cimino Marita Hayes-Brown Mark Robertson Mark Savery Mat Egan Matt Thompson Michael Barton Mohammed Azim Narelle Nies Paul Browning Peter West Ross Tarlinton Simon Birmingham Simon McIntosh Steve Francis Summer Howarth Susan Just
Sarah Redfern High School Independent volunteer program Glendore Public School The Springfield Anglican College Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Magdalene Catholic High School Positive Education Schools Association Oakleigh Grammar Emmanuel College Miranda Public School Austral Primary School Djarragun College Al Siraat College Revesby Public School St Paul’s School Saint Stephen’s College St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill Federal government Parkmore Primary School Happy School Education Changemakers Lauriston Girls’ School
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Thomas O’Donahoo and Robert Barakat
Atomi
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Tim Barlow Wayne Sawyer
St Leonard’s College Western Sydney University
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The School of Education at Western Sydney University is delighted to be a supporter of the Hot List 2017. Educators remain at the core of all teaching and learning endeavours, and we are delighted to be able to celebrate innovation in this important work. In the School of Education, we are inspired to encourage innovation that works to ensure that schooling – and learning – works for everyone. This means placing learners at the centre of all we do. It also involves understanding the power of technology: how it can be harnessed by educators to enhance and enrich the learning opportunities they create, and to develop innovative ways for learners to show what they have been taught. One cannot help but be inspired when you read about the work of the educators who have made this year’s list. They provide wonderful examples of outstanding practice, as well as the insights that will assist others to take up their ideas and translate them into other contexts. On behalf of all the learners and communities that have been impacted by your work, thank you! Congratulations to The Educator for this wonderful initiative, and for helping us to celebrate teaching and innovation and the wonderful work that many in education are doing every day. Professor Michele Simons, Dean of Education
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT: HOT LIST 2017 THOMAS O’DONAHOO AND ROBERT BARAKAT Co-founders Atomi
CATHERINE ATTARD Associate Professor of Education Western Sydney University
Catherine Attard is a multi-award-winning educator, teacher and researcher. She uses the findings from her research to increase her students’ confidence and combat negative attitudes and anxiety to build their competence as mathematics educators. Attard’s goal is to expand mathematical literacy and make the subject as exciting and informative as a great novel. Her approach is founded on the premise that teachers must be engaged with mathematics to teach it effectively, enthusiastically and with passion. They need a foundation of deep subject knowledge if they are to meaningfully engage with their own students in learning mathematics. In 2012, Attard wrote iPad apps for Mathematics Teaching and Learning to assist students and practising teachers to effectively implement mobile technologies into teaching mathematics. The book is updated annually to reflect developments in technology related pedagogy. It is also used by thousands of teachers locally and abroad as a course resource. Attard shares a range of resources on her website engagingmaths.co. Her blog has reached teachers from more than 120 countries, attracting over 1,500 followers.
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Robert Barakat and Thomas O’Donahoo co-founded Atomi (getatomi.com), a leading HSC resource provider. They create syllabus-specific online video courses for the HSC and preliminary syllabuses, supporting students 24/7 in their senior study and providing teachers an invaluable classroom resource. Atomi began with a few how-to maths videos, breaking down complex ideas and making the subject accessible and manageable for all students. Today, over one million lessons have been delivered to over 60,000 students, and the videos have been used by more than 5,000 teachers across NSW. Atomi currently has approximately 50 partner schools integrating the videos into their teaching strategies, and is reaching students directly in up to 850 schools across the state. Barakat’s and O’Donahoo’s content empowers students to master fundamental ideas efficiently and allows them to take control of and personalise their learning. Additionally, it empowers teachers to spend more time on critical thinking skills. In 2017, the pair brought on a team of senior reviewers – comprising highly experienced teachers, curriculum writers and HSC markers – to collaborate with content producers and ensure Atomi’s video content is of the highest standard. It’s all in the name of changing the face of school education.
DYLAN MALLOCH Director of marketing and communications St Paul’s School (Qld)
Dylan Malloch and St Paul’s School headmaster, Dr Paul Browning, have formed a partnership that is influencing the education debate in Australia at the national level. Working with Dr Browning, Malloch drafted a submission to the federal government’s inquiry into creativity in the tertiary sector that challenged the notion that creativity is only important at the tertiary level. The submission argued that, instead, policymakers should be prioritising creativity in schools. That submission was picked up by the ABC, which then sought comment from the Minister for Education and Training, Simon Birmingham. It then led to Dr Browning participating in interviews with several news outlets and author op-ed pieces in a major metropolitan newspaper. St Paul’s is a respected voice in the national education debate, with news outlets regularly contacting Malloch for comments from the school, based on a track record of being able to provide good information and commentary.
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SPONSORED BY
TIM BARLOW Director of technology innovation St Leonard’s College (Vic)
Tim Barlow always strives to ensure St Leonard’s College is at the forefront of innovative practice and pedagogy. He transformed the school’s eLearning landscape with an in-house web platform, STL Link, to create online course material for each course offered at each year level; he saw the school become one of the first to implement a BYOD and BYO iPad program; he gamified the science curriculum; and he spearheaded an innovative shift to F-12 continuous reporting, using the Schoolbox platform. Barlow has been recognised by Apple as a distinguished educator for innovation, leadership and educational excellence. This year, on top of his other duties, Barlow has taken on the role of head of DigiSTEM, following the recent launch of the school’s DigiSTEM faculty. He is regularly sought out by (and acts as a guiding light to) other schools on their own innovation journeys. He is routinely asked to present to other schools at meetings and conferences.
SIMON BIRMINGHAM Minister for Education and Training
MOHAMMED AZIM Head of English and teacher mentor Al Siraat College (Vic)
Mohammed Azim is a hard-working and dedicated teacher whose career spans three decades. Having taught at primary, secondary and tertiary level, his influence has not been limited to the school environment, but extends to the wider community. For the past four years, Azim has collaborated with Moreland City Council’s Oxygen Youth Centre in Melbourne to offer free holiday English master classes for students unable to afford classes run by other providers. It’s a program that has seen hundreds of students obtain their Victorian Certification of Education and achieve good marks. Azim has received a number of teaching awards and, as a proud Australian citizen who is Muslim by faith, sees his task as being to ensure his students practising Islam are taught Australian values as well as peace, tolerance and acceptance. Azim is also a strong advocate of interfaith initiatives.
ROSS TARLINTON Headmaster St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill (NSW)
Ross Tarlinton has made an outstanding contribution to Catholic education, education policy development, vocational education outcomes and teacher professional development as a former commissioner and standing committee chair of the Catholic Education Commission NSW. Among his achievements since he was appointed to his current role, as headmaster of St Joseph’s College, in 2006, Tarlinton has made a particularly significant contribution to the learning outcomes of Indigenous students. The college’s Indigenous Education Partnership has been held up as a model for independent boarding schools, as they seek to address Indigenous disadvantage and improve learning outcomes and post-school pathways for Indigenous youth. From 2014-16, Tarlinton was a member of the education committee of the Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes, a body that represents the interests of Australian Catholic schools governed by religious orders.
Federal government
Simon Birmingham has been Minister for Education and Training since September 2015 and has had a number of items on his agenda in recent times. Last month, Birmingham announced a proposal for Year 1 students across Australia to undergo national tests in literacy and numeracy, based on a report that’s said to highlight the need to introduce those measures. The Australian Education Union and the states have expressed opposition. So, what will transpire? September also saw the announcement of a pre-principal certification process, to be developed by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, which aims to ensure principals are well prepared to step into the top job. What shape will the process ultimately take? Also in recent times, the call was put out for public submissions for the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools – a review which, in Birmingham’s words, is about “determining the best evidence-based practices for our students that will help guide how our schools and educators focus the extra resources we’re delivering in classrooms”. The public submissions process has just closed and the review, to be led by David Gonski, will report back to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Birmingham by March 2018.
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT: HOT LIST 2017 JADE MOFFAT Corporate citizenship manager IBM Australia
Possessing a strong desire to reinvent education for the 21st century, Jade Moffat has been described as someone who “never sets limits on herself or others” and “is living proof of the power of thinking outside the box to realise powerful outcomes for young people”. Moffat’s career in education has encompassed more than two decades. Beginning her career as a high school teacher in Copenhagen, she subsequently worked in low socio-economic schools in London and Melbourne, and has now taken her passion for education to the corporate sector, where she’s currently corporate citizenship manager for IBM Australia. Moffat is leading IBM’s adoption of the P-TECH education model in Australia, and is a major advocate of new-collar jobs. These are roles that prioritise capabilities over credentials, found in some of the technology industry’s fastest-growing fields. They require the right mix of in-demand skills sets, which can be acquired through vocational training and innovative public education programs. She believes an emphasis on new-collar jobs will lead to a more inclusive IT industry.
NARELLE NIES Principal Revesby Public School (NSW)
MARCO CIMINO Teacher Magdalene Catholic High School (NSW)
Marco Cimino is a Year 7-12 HSIE and religious education teacher who, in recent times, has become an active Twitter user (@MrMCimino) for professional growth. He founded #HASSchat for teachers of the humanities and social sciences to network and collaborate. Cimino was named one of the top 100 educational leaders of Flipped Learning in the world in 2017 via the Flipped Learning Global Initiative. He advocates strongly for the use of Flipped Learning as a means of building relationships with students. Additionally, Cimino endeavours to assist other educators through his increasing participation in organising and presenting at TeachMeets and conferences, as well as through his published articles in professional association journals.
This year has been Narelle Nies’s first in her principalship. Her school, Revesby Public School, presented an innovative project to the Inclusive Communities Youth Summit, involving students presenting their own initiative at NSW Parliament House to politicians and religious and cultural leaders, as well as the media. As part of this innovation, students worked with community members, religious leaders in the community and Aboriginal elders to develop a plan to ensure cultural inclusivity within Revesby Public School. The project was recognised by way of a secretary’s commendation.
KAREN ENDICOTT Principal Sarah Redfern High School (NSW)
Karen Endicott inspires others with her energy and innovative thinking. A creative mind and driving force of educational change, she has been principal of Sarah Redfern High School in South West Sydney since 2009. Under her leadership, the school has experienced exponential growth in student achievement and engagement, as a result of the introduction of innovative curriculum and management structures. Enrolments have grown significantly, with a 26% increase from Year 7-12 and, most notably, a 66% increase in Year 7 enrolments over the seven years of her principalship. Among her achievements, Endicott has strategically implemented a management structure that challenges the traditional model of staffing public schools. Her model features managers who oversee well-defined portfolios in the areas of curriculum, operations, business, student well-being, leadership and learning, and strategic planning. The model remains a popular source of interest from the school’s local and interstate colleagues.
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SPONSORED BY
DR SIMON CROOK
AMANDA BOWKER
Founder
Deputy head of junior school
CrookED Science
Ormiston College (Qld)
Dr Simon Crook is the founder of CrookED Science, a STEM education consultancy, and is working with primary and secondary school teachers and students across Australia around all things STEM. Where possible, Crook connects primary schools with local high schools to allow younger students access to the science facilities of high schools. He’s mentored a number of gifted students in upper primary and lower secondary with STEM projects that address real-world problems. He’s also created and delivered accredited professional development for primary teachers, in order to build their capacity in teaching hands-on science and technology. In high schools, Crook has been working primarily with HSC physics students and teachers, using a blended learning approach to complement the work of teachers and further deepen student knowledge. And with the new HSC physics syllabus set to be introduced next year, Crook has been developing and delivering accredited professional development courses for physics teachers across NSW. Crook is an active user of social media, keen to share his expertise via Twitter (@simoncrook), Facebook (facebook.com/ crookedscience/) and Instagram (Instagram. com/simon.crook/).
Amanda Bowker has extensive professional knowledge and experience with designing, leading and delivering programs focused on improving student outcomes in 21st century environments. In her current role as deputy head of junior school at Ormiston College, she leads programs to build capacity at a school level, in order to support teachers to design and develop authentic experiences that advance student learning, creativity and innovation, in and beyond the classroom. Bowker encourages technology careers for girls by actively leading in the technology space, and acting as a positive role model for her young female students. She was also one of the first teachers in Queensland to lead the trial for the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s (ACARA) digital technologies curriculum. She led her staff to develop units of work to develop a computational thinking pathway in the junior school. These units have since been shared and published in media resources, in particular ACARA’s website. Bowker is an active member in the global educational community. She is a well-known speaker who has presented at local and national conferences. She presented at the 2016 Digital Technologies Conference in Melbourne, and was invited back to present as the keynote speaker in Brisbane in 2017.
MARITA HAYESBROWN Chief executive officer Positive Education Schools Association (PESA)
PESA is the national peak body in the field of positive education. As its first CEO, Marita Hayes-Brown has dedicated herself to advancing its vision of leading, promoting, and fostering the implementation and development of positive education. At the heart of positive education is the belief that a comprehensive education comprises two intertwined, equally important strands: academics, and character and well-being. Statistics indicate there’s never been a more urgent need for communities to focus on the mental health of children and young people. Hayes-Brown believes PESA’s commitment to promoting positive education within Australian schools, and the ensuing ripple effect in the wider community, will be important in addressing the current youth mental-health crisis. Under Hayes-Brown’s leadership, PESA’s membership has grown to over 1,000 members nationwide and abroad, including educators, parents, students, researchers, schools, universities, charities and other community members. All of these members share an interest in an evidence-based approach to well-being and a commitment to supporting schools – as well as the wider community – to flourish.
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FEATURES
SPONSORED BY
SPECIAL REPORT: HOT LIST 2017 HELEN JENTZ Chief executive officer Australian College of Educators (ACE)
It’s been around 12 months since Helen Jentz took on the role of CEO of ACE and, within that time, The Educator understands she has moved the organisation forward “in leaps and bounds”. Jentz has introduced a number of initiatives that highlight the critical importance of the education profession, including the establishment of the ASG/ACE Teachers’ Report Card and free pre-service student membership to the college. Additionally, she has overseen the development of the National ACE Conference to include cutting-edge international and national workshops and education leaders. Jentz has also been responsible for rebuilding the public and professional profile of ACE, for driving organisational change, and developing a suite of membership benefits and services that have been driven by the needs of the profession.
SIMON MCINTOSH Mathematics leader and foundation teacher Parkmore Primary School (Vic)
Simon McIntosh has brought a new edge and growth mindset philosophy to the teaching of mathematics at Parkmore Primary School. Influenced by noted Stanford University Professor Jo Boaler and using the 21st century adaptive assessment tool Essential Assessment, the school has delivered relative growth results that have brought its teaching to the notice of all in its network. By leading sold-out network professional learning sessions, McIntosh has played a significant role in sharing how the school creates fluid groupings based on students’ shared conceptual misunderstandings, in order to better the teaching of mathematics. Next year, the school is embarking on a new and innovative whole school mathematical mindset curriculum, utilising the current Victorian Curriculum standards and Parkmore’s own values of working with the concept of nailing the big ideas in number and Professor Boaler’s Mathematical Mindsets research.
BEN COOGAN Partner Thomson Geer
In his capacity as partner of a national law firm, Ben Coogan provides legal and strategic advice and services to several schools in South East Queensland, including in relation to the areas of social media and intellectual property. He has received a number of accolades, including recognition as a leading lawyer for intellectual property (Doyle’s Guide 2015-17), Best Lawyers’ 2016 Defamation and Media Lawyer of the Year in Brisbane, and has been selected by his peers for inclusion in Intellectual Property – Best Lawyers in Australia: 2014-18. In a personal capacity, Coogan is an independent public school council secretary and council member, assisting the school by providing strategic and governance advice to the principal.
BRIAN HOST Classroom teacher Inaburra School (NSW)
Brian Host is a Google-certified Innovator, who is completing his Masters in Educational Leadership focusing on the pedagogical impact of personalised learning, differentiation, and technology integration on learning outcomes. Host is a Stage 3 classroom teacher, collaboratively co-teaching in an innovative open classroom space with 112 students and five teachers. He has served as an ICT integrator and learning coach and regularly consults to schools and conferences on STEM/STEAM, technology integration, design thinking, and the use of social media for professional development purposes. A change agent, Host is recognised for his commitment to the innovative development and delivery of content. Host is consistently looking for new and exciting ways to blend learning with culture, authentic experiences and technology, in order to provide a rich learning environment where students can thrive academically.
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT: HOT LIST 2017 JOHN FLEMING Deputy principal, director of the Haileybury Institute Haileybury College (Vic)
John Fleming’s nominating colleague speaks of him in the highest possible terms. “I’ve never met a more uplifting and inspiring leader of education in my life,” he tells The Educator. “I can honestly say that anything worth knowing about teaching, I have learned from him.” Fleming has been employed at Haileybury College in Victoria since 2006, and it’s said he’s taken its junior school to great heights, strengthening staff morale and building a fantastic school culture and community. Within three years, he became deputy principal and, today, he travels around Australia working with schools to drive improvement, sharing his Fleming Effective Teaching Model. Working with principals and teachers, he imparts his knowledge through coaching, modelling and presenting at whole-school meetings. Educators from across the country have travelled to seminars in Melbourne specifically to hear what Fleming has to say and to take the knowledge back to their own school communities.
GRAEME GREEN Principal Ingleburn Public School (NSW)
Graeme Green is an innovator, creator and a systems leader who has transformed the education experience for students at Ingleburn Public School. Over the past two years alone, he has introduced the pedagogy of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Australia, establishing entrepreneurial partnerships and driving future-focused learning in flexible open spaces. The UDL framework is designed to improve and optimise teaching and learning, based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Green is currently working with associate professor Eva Kimonis, clinical psychologist at UNSW, to establish a world-first trial of parent-child interaction therapy for young children with disruptive behaviours. It’s a trial that will involve many schools in South West Sydney, with possible future extension to the broader population.
SUMMER HOWARTH Director of learning and event design, director of Educhange Education Changemakers
Summer Howarth is leading change in education by working with teachers to assist them in enhancing their ability to do their jobs. She has a passion for ensuring every child has a successful education and believes the key to achieving that is by arming teachers with the support they need and giving them the opportunity to grow. Howarth has contributed significantly to the education space not only here in Australia, but also around the world, as an advisor, facilitator and a speaker. This year has seen her undertake her biggest challenge to date, Educhange Week. Its flagship event is EC17, which is said to be Australia’s fastest-growing education conference. Howarth is described as possessing “an ability to network, inspire and develop strategic educational change for the community, students and teachers” that is “unparalleled”.
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SUSAN JUST Principal Lauriston Girls’ School (Vic)
Susan Just has been principal of Melbourne’s Lauriston Girls’ School for the past seven years. To ensure that its students have access to cutting-edge curriculum, she visited a number of schools in the United States, in order to understand how student learners can better understand fabrication, making and tinkering. Since that time, Just has entered into an arrangement with associate professor Paulo Blikstein and Stanford University to create a FabLab at Lauriston Girls’ School. At the current time, there is only one school-based FabLab in the southern hemisphere. In this FabLab, as well as the school’s tinkering studio, students are provided hands-on fabrication experience using 3D printers, a laser cutter and a host of other tools. The FabLab has broad application to a number of curriculum areas and challenges students to conceive of innovative solutions. Associated with the FabLab are significant professional learning opportunities for teachers from across Australia and the South Pacific. The Educator is told that Australia’s chief scientists, past and present, have an ongoing interest in the FabLab and the learning opportunities it affords.
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SPONSORED BY
WAYNE SAWYER
KHALIL KHAY
MICHAEL BARTON
Director of research, School of Education
Principal (relieving)
Deputy principal
Western Sydney University
Glendore Public School (NSW)
Djarragun College (Qld)
Wayne Sawyer researches in the fields of secondary English curriculum, curriculum history in English, effective teaching, program evaluation and engaging pedagogy in low-SES school communities. Currently, he’s working on an Australian Research Council project on literacy knowledge in the making of English teachers. This research has enabled him to exert significant and documented impact on English curriculum development nationally. Sawyer’s research-based policy advice to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority on the current English curriculum frameworks was published as the conceptualisation paper for the English Learning Area in the Victorian Essential Learnings Framework. Similarly, for the NSW Board of Studies, he contributed a literature review that underpinned the development of the Years 7-10 English syllabus in NSW. He was also the chair of the NSW Board of Studies English curriculum committee, which oversaw the development of the last entirely state-based English syllabus prior to the national curriculum. Sawyer also works with individual teachers, schools and connects with practitioners across regional spaces.
Khalil Khay has spent 26 years in education, working across the school, university and early childhood sectors, including experience as an advanced skills teacher and two decades in K-12 school leadership roles, during which time he has relieved as a primary and community (K-12) principal. He’s also served as a course designer, coordinator, lecturer and member of the university council at The University of Newcastle. He is a member of the NSW Primary Principals’ Association and has also been a member of the NSW Secondary Deputy Principals’ Association for 10 years. He is strongly committed to his own professional learning, as well as formal and ongoing studies. Khay has led the professional development activities in his school’s area for over five years, including his annual two-day learning conference for over 300 principals and senior executives. His role as president of ACE’s Hunter region and his school-based roles leading professional learning have seen him focus on improving learning outcomes for students in both his own and other schools. He is recognised across NSW as a skilled coordinator of executive and principal professional learning.
Michael Barton constantly goes beyond what is required of him, in order to find new ways of achieving best practice for teachers. He’s worked across state, Catholic and independent schools and been involved in the tertiary sector. Barton was previously deputy principal and director of curriculum and academic development at Snowy Mountains Grammar School in NSW. Between 2012-16, he worked on developing and modernising the curriculum and delivery options by leading the teaching staff to implement a number of innovations. As this implementation occurred, the school experienced continual improvement in its academic outcomes, culminating in the achievement of the best HSC results in its history. Today, Barton is deputy principal – teaching and learning at Djarragun College, an independent Indigenous day and boarding school for students from across Australia’s Top End. He is working with the teaching team to review and refine their teaching programs. He is also working with a number of academics and school leaders, to develop an Indigenous pedagogical framework relevant to the students and staff of Djarragun College.
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT: HOT LIST 2017
DAREN MALLETT Director of digital innovations Hillcrest Christian College (Qld)
JONATHON ROBERTS Year 5 teacher Emmanuel College (Qld)
Jonathon Roberts is a Year 5 teacher, but is also a part-time university lecturer in the fields of communication and digital technologies. He has reinvented the way he thinks about education and using technology tools. As a result, his class has become more engaged and productive than ever before. Roberts is regularly involved with training staff to use software and different technologies to help bring learning to life, in order to give students the opportunities to learn in an environment that is creative and engaging, but also challenging. He has helped to establish both a Mindstorms Lego club and a junior school makerspace. Additionally, he has partnered as an ambassador for an external company to utilise modern furniture in his classroom, in order to promote the benefits of sit/stand desks, collaborative tables, gym balls for students to sit on, and flexible spaces for the students to utilise within class. This year, Roberts has been recognised as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert. He is also an active voice on Twitter, sharing his knowledge and teaching experiences with others.
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During the past year, Daren Mallett has worked with his principal, Jeff Davis, to build one of the fastest-growing 21st century schools in Australia. The work has involved building a virtual reality coding club that sees students, some as young as eight, developing virtual reality experiences. Mallett’s PhD studies have looked at the question of how teachers can challenge all students, and keep them actively engaged and interested in learning. His research looks at individualising instruction in such a way that all students’ progress can be tracked in a meaningful way, and with providing students with access to real-world immersed learning experiences. Some of the outcomes of the research have been presented in a Microsoftsponsored case study. Mallet is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and was selected as one of four expert educators to represent Australia at Microsoft’s Global Educator Exchange in Budapest last year, an event that brings together 300 of the most innovative educators and students from across the globe. He has also been invited to speak at Future Schools and other conferences.
CHRIS SHAW Executive principal Hillvue Public School (NSW)
Located in Tamworth, NSW, Hillvue Public School is one of 15 Connected Communities across the state and has an enrolment of 300 students, of which 80% identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Shaw maintains a focus on creating environments that maximise student learning, with high expectations for both students and staff and an emphasis on achievement. At Hillvue, he has overseen a number of successes, including significantly improved literacy and numeracy results, increased classroom engagement, increased parent and community engagement and the development of a growth mindset among staff, students and the wider community. This year, Shaw was invited by Mark Scott, the Secretary of the NSW Department of Education, to meet as one of 13 innovative leaders at a roundtable discussion focusing on a high-expectations culture. Over time, he’s received a number of accolades, including the ACEL William Walker Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership in 2015.
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SPONSORED BY
MATT THOMPSON
FIONA MCKENZIE
PAUL BROWNING
Assistant principal
School founder
Headmaster
Austral Public School (NSW)
Koonwarra Village School and Phillip Island Village School (Vic)
St Paul’s School (Qld)
In his first year of teaching, Matt Thompson was awarded an early career teaching award by the NSW Department of Education. Since then he has become a leading educator in South Western Sydney. As assistant principal, Thompson has led the creation of a school culture that is responsive to research and prepares students to be 21st century citizens. Not only is he an exemplary teacher, but also an exemplary leader, one who supervises beginning, experienced and New Scheme teachers. By actively modelling and promoting a culture of respect, cooperation and collegiality, Thompson has developed cohesive teams, in which people take on a range of formal and informal leadership roles, and engage in substantive conversations about learning. He has gained the respect of teachers across the state through his involvement with the Mathematical Association of NSW and his excellent teaching practices. He’s shared his knowledge of best practice by preparing and presenting outstanding teacher professional development sessions at state conferences and through Western Sydney University’s (WSU) Education Knowledge Network. His expertise is held in such high regard that he has also been employed to teach in pre-service teacher education within WSU’s Master of Teaching degree.
While running a retail food business, educator Fiona McKenzie was struck by how many of the skills needed to bring the business together were crucial to any successful project. It sparked the idea that if children could be provided the time and opportunity to develop these self-management skills, they too would have what was required for happy and productive lives. What has ultimately resulted from those initial thoughts is the Village School model. McKenzie’s first school was established in Koonwarra, Victoria, in 2012 and, in 2016, she opened a second school on Phillip Island. She is now planning a high school for the students of both, which is scheduled to open in 2019. The school’s structure looks somewhat different to that of regular schools, but still meets government requirements and the practical needs of parents. Integral features of the structure include six-week learning cycles (five weeks on, one week off), and teachers being able to immerse themselves in the learning areas about which they’re most passionate. They then teach them across the school, rather than being subject generalists across one grade. McKenzie is now working alongside many school start-ups around Australia to assist in creating further transformative school experiences.
Dr Paul Browning is a leading voice in the national and international education sectors. He is a sought-after commentator in national media on issues including leadership, the direction of education, and how students will be best prepared to live in a vastly different world than that of today. Under Browning’s leadership, St Paul’s School has become recognised as one of the most innovative schools in Australia. In recent years, more than 125 schools from around Australia and the world have visited its campus to learn more about its innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Browning has spearheaded a unique scenario planning exercise, which is possibly the first of its kind in a school context. He interviewed 32 thought leaders from across the globe that specialised in politics, education, economics, philosophy and theology, with each contributing towards creating a vision of future scenarios that students are likely to face in the year 2028. Browning regularly speaks at education conferences. His work led him to be invited by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Sutton Trust to speak at a global summit of educational leaders in Washington DC. Those who attended the summit endorsed Browning’s work, rating it as a powerful and practical method to improve school culture and teacher performance.
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT: INNOVATIVE SCHOOLS LAURA BAIN eLearning coordinator, digital and design technologies teacher The Springfield Anglican College (Qld)
Laura Bain is an emerging leader in the primary educational technology space. Having led the development of a primaryfocused maker space and flexible learning environment at The Springfield Anglican College, she now co-teaches digital and design technologies as a new subject with classroom teachers, as part of a plan to build capacity and confidence in staff with the new curriculum and digital tools. Bain has led the development of integrated STEAM units on campus and has been approached to present and share her experiences at several conferences, including EduTECH Asia and the T21C conference. Recently, she became a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and has been asked to write for Microsoft Education and share her experiences in their training webinars. Bain has also been approached by the International Society for Technology in Education to share her knowledge about teaching younger students to code. She also hosts extra professional learning opportunities for teaching staff at her Teacher Technology Club.
STEVE FRANCIS Chief executive officer Happy School
Steve Francis strives to improve staff well-being and increase their engagement in schools through his Happy School program. The program provides weekly professional development articles, which are designed to assist staff in better managing their stress and coping with change. In partnership with productivity guru Louise D’Allura, Francis has launched the WELL Productivity program, which provides 12 months of self-paced professional development on well-being and productivity. This year, Francis has launched a process of recognising and accrediting schools as Employers of Choice, offering external validation that a school’s culture is positive and supportive of staff. He works extensively with schools across the country to optimise their educational institutions and, in 2017, presented at the APPA conference, the NZPF national conference and multiple state conferences for principals, middle and aspiring leaders and school business managers.
CATHERINE MISSON Principal Melbourne Girls Grammar (Vic)
A trailblazer in education, Catherine Misson has a drive to create student-centred practices, which has led to a historic shift in the design of schooling at Melbourne Girls Grammar. Students authentically shape their experience of learning, thanks to a blended learning model that breaks the nexus between student autonomy and scheduled classes. Crucial to that focus on increased student agency is Misson’s commitment to making well-being the wrap around for academics. Time is prioritised by students to integrate physical, social and emotional self-care with academic studies. Due to a range of innovative agendas, the school’s students are developing an enterprising mindset, with heightened capacity to thrive in the fast digitalising economy and online community spaces.
KERRIE NEOPHYTOU Education consultant (special education) Independent volunteer program
Kerrie Neophytou is the head of Preparatory School at Aitken College in Victoria, board director at St John’s College, Preston, an ambassador for Yellow Ladybugs (an organisation devoted to the needs of girls with autism), and a member of the advisory board for Anaphylaxis Network Australia. She volunteers her services and expertise, and has supported families within the shelter of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (Victoria) for two decades. Neophytou’s background in special education has enabled her to support families in all aspects of well-being and education. Her focus has been to provide a framework for children and young people who are struggling, and to provide parents and families with assistance where needed. The mechanism has assisted families to support children with autism spectrum disorder, learning and behaviour challenges and school refusal.
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SPONSORED BY
ANNA SULLIVAN Associate professor of education University of South Australia
Anna Sullivan has contributed substantially to raising the public profile of educational research in Australia, and is helping to build the capacity of Australian educational researchers to disseminate their research to the public more effectively via the media. Sullivan is co-founder and chair of the board of the Media Centre for Education Research Australia (MCERA), which aims to provide a conduit through which educational research and researchers can become more accessible to the media and therefore improve public understanding of key issues for education. Established as a not-for-profit organisation and beginning operations in 2017, MCERA gives the media ready access to quality peer-reviewed research and suitable experts that can inform public opinion, education policy and education practice now and into the future, in order to ensure that Australia has an education system that is second to none. In the first three months of operations, MCERA generated over 400 media items and had a media reach exceeding 3.5 million. Sullivan is also executive member and communications coordinator for the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE), the peak national association for educational researchers. She supports educational researchers to disseminate their research broadly via EduResearch Matters, a blog hosted by AARE. Under her leadership over the past year, EduResearch Matters has doubled its readership and increased its impact on governments and education decision-makers.
DAVID SIM AND NATALIE MANSOUR Principals and NOII NSW leaders Glenmore Park Public School and Lurnea Public School (NSW)
Natalie Mansour and David Sim shared a desire to improve student outcomes in their respective schools, prompting them to use current research to turn the traditional professional learning model in schools on its head. Utilising the Spirals of Inquiry approach, Mansour and Sim achieved significant impact for their student populations by using professional development that caters for the specific needs of their schools and allows teachers time to collaborate in researching and implementing evidence-based practices. In 2016, Spiral of Inquiry founders Dr Linda Kaser and Dr Judy Halbert were so impressed by how the pair had implemented the model, they asked them to lead the Australian arm of their Network of Inquiry and Innovation (NOII). Mansour and Sim began by leading 13 schools and through existing and new partnerships, the NOII NSW has become a way for schools and inquiry teams to share innovative ideas, structures and processes. Their own schools became lighthouses, with representatives from around NSW and even as far as British Columbia in Canada coming to see it in action.
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT: HOT LIST 2017 JUSTIN ROBINSON Director, Institute of Positive Education Geelong Grammar School (Vic)
Justin Robinson is described as an individual who works tirelessly at the helm of Geelong Grammar’s Institute of Positive Education to support and champion the growth and expansion of positive education and the science of well-being. He’s dedicated to nurturing the growth of positive education throughout Australia and the world by devising and delivering education programs. His dedication and commitment has meant the institute has now delivered over 100 courses to over 12,000 educators from more than 1,000 schools. Robinson works hard to fulfil his mission of promoting evidence-based strategies, embedded in the science of well-being, to enhance the ability of individuals to flourish. In addition to training, Robinson is committed to improving student and staff well-being through research and development, so that the landscape can be better understood.
DAVID ROY Lecturer in education University of Newcastle
CHRIS RAMSDEN Educational consultant Mind Lab
Chris Ramsden’s career in education spans almost three decades. Several years ago, he resigned from his role as head of physical education at South Australia’s Scotch College, in order to introduce the methodology (developing cognitive, social, emotional and ethical competencies) to students in primary and middle schools in Adelaide. Ten years later, the methodology has impacted many students and teachers across the city. The work employs high-powered strategy games as the learning tool, and the transference of metacognitive models of learning is fundamental and explicit. The general capabilities of critical and creative thinking, and personal and social capability are at the forefront of the work. Ramsden has presented internationally at the International Conference on Thinking in New Zealand, Mind Group symposiums in Brazil and Istanbul, and at positive education conferences across Australia.
David Roy initiated the current NSW parliamentary inquiry into students with a disability in education, following research into widespread allegations and concerns uncovered by himself and colleague Caroline Dock. He is a proponent of the application of the creative arts to support diverse learners across all curriculum areas, with a particular focus on using the arts to support science, as well as diverse learners. Roy has authored nine books and multiple articles, using his 17 years’ experience as a teacher to inform his academic research. He regularly advises state and federal politicians from across the political divide and is a regular education commentator for broadcast and print media.
CHRISTINE VALE Head of education Scholastic Australia
Christine Vale is described as “an unsung heroine of education”, who has contributed exceptionally to education in Australia over many years. Her diligent work has equipped hundreds of thousands of students across the country with high-quality numeracy and literacy resources. Recently, Vale collaborated on a numeracy resource, entitled PR1ME Mathematics, as a response to the increasing challenge of problem-solving being a focus of many schools’ mathematical blockers. She has fully linked the resource to the Australian national curriculum. Vale has taken the best of mathematical pedagogy from Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea, creating a tool that’s intended to function as a gateway for thousands of students and teachers to mathematical understanding and comprehension.
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SPONSORED BY
DR CHARLOTTE FORWOOD
PETER WEST
MARK SAVERY
Director of eLearning
Head of STEM and social innovation coordinator
Leader of advanced learning
Saint Stephen’s College (Qld)
Emmanuel College (Vic)
Described as dogged in his determination, Peter West has been director of eLearning at Saint Stephen’s College for a number of years. Over this time, he has played a leading role in transitioning the school from one that applies a traditional approach to one that utilises technology to enhance its learning offerings. He has been tireless in his work to provide professional development opportunities for staff, selecting the best digital resources for students, and working with the school’s tech staff to maintain robust support systems. He has organised for Saint Stephen’s to host major technology and education conferences, and positioned the school as a Microsoft Showcase school. He has spoken at many conferences, including EduTECH on a number of occasions, and has also been invited to present at higher education conferences. He’s published over 50 articles on blended learning, organisation-wide change and online learning environments nationally and internationally. He’s also received a number of accolades, including the D2L BrightSpace APAC Excellence Award in 2015, for innovation in eLearning and whole organisation change.
Mark Savery plays a critical role within his school as an advocate for education transformation and the utilisation of technology to help bring innovation. Much of his role involves training and mentoring staff and students. As coordinator of the developing STEM program, he’s connected with industry leaders, companies and universities to present cutting-edge research and technology tools to students to develop their skills in 21st century learning and STEM. He’s also been involved with many conferences, local and international, as well as webinars. Savery has encouraged the use of technology to school executive staff to transform the way it handles staff professional development. Utilising a OneNote Staff Notebook, he led the charge to create a platform that all teaching staff could use to record their professional development. It also provides the opportunity for oversight by the directors of curriculum, who can offer private feedback, encouragement and support to staff. For two consecutive years, Savery has been recognised as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert.
Strathcona Baptist Girls’ Grammar School (Vic)
Dr Charlotte Forwood is an educator committed to modelling best practice through evidence-based teaching and learning approaches. Her capacity to introduce cutting-edge innovations has seen her make a significant contribution to the school and wider community. Forwood provides professional development to the education community through seminars, conferences and through her role in the development of Independent Schools Victoria’s middle years language consultancy program. She’s also the author of over 20 published teaching sources supporting teaching and learning in English, humanities and STEM. Forwood has also led an interdisciplinary team of teachers to implement Strathcona’s Year 7 and 8 SEED program, using guided inquiry and design thinking frameworks to underpin authentic, real-world investigations. Forwood is constantly looking to extend learning opportunities through partnerships and collaborations with schools, organisations and universities. She has been invited to curate global Twitter chats, and has shared her experiences and supported peers in using Twitter as a professional learning network.
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT: HOT LIST 2017
CATHERINE EYERS Principal Bethania Lutheran School (Qld)
Catherine Eyers has led significant change in a small school, within a short period of time and with limited resources. It’s been driven by her firm belief that school culture is the most important factor when creating lasting change. Under her leadership, Bethania Lutheran School has gone from having a traditional model to being characterised by an innovative and engaging learning landscape, where a strong collaborative teaching culture is fostered and staff members are equipped with the tools necessary to deliver the contemporary education about which she is passionate. Eyers is a strong believer in the importance of investing in teachers to support their access to the most current and innovative professional learning experiences. She gives her staff permission to take risks and plan boldly when designing new and engaging learning experiences for students. The meaningful and lasting change that has occurred under Eyers’ leadership has seen the school regularly attract visitors from interstate and overseas to observe how authentic contemporary practices are achievable, even in smaller schools.
GARY RACEY Deputy principal Swan Valley Anglican Community School (WA)
MARK ROBERTSON Principal Oakleigh Grammar (Vic)
Mark Robertson’s key priority has always remained improving the learning journey for each student in his care. During his six years as principal of Oakleigh Grammar, he’s overseen an outstanding school improvement agenda, which has achieved significant results. Notable outcomes of the agenda include authorisation of the school as an IB World School in the middle years, an increase in the VCE median score of six points, the utilisation of neuroscience to improve academic results, and a significant increase in NAPLAN results. Multiculturalism thrives at Oakleigh Grammar as a result of Robertson’s commitment to internationalism and globalisation in an educational context. The focus on the values of inclusivity and diversity have been a cornerstone of the community feel of the school. Today, Oakleigh Grammar is recognised locally and internationally for its educational programs, enrolments have doubled, and the school’s focus on neuroscience, character development and thought leadership are said to have transformed it into a school of choice in Melbourne.
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Gary Racey has authored a systemic professional development program, entitled the Staff Learning Journey and Exchange program. It was conceived after Racey identified a need for staff to have greater access to professional learning and collaborative opportunities with colleagues across a variety of schools, to enhance collegiality, resource management and the sharing of best-practice pedagogy. Racey’s program was accepted by the Anglican Schools Commission (ASC) of Western Australia, and all schools within this system are now part of the program, including ASC metropolitan Perth, country WA and interstate schools. While his program has been rolled out to ASC schools, Racey believes it has a place in all education systems, including the government and independent sectors. He is therefore planning to meet with the CEOs and heads of the varying systems to promote the program.
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SPONSORED BY
MAT EGAN Assistant principal Miranda Public School (NSW)
Mat Egan is regarded as a unique educator, having made a remarkable contribution since his graduation from a Master of Teaching (Primary) degree seven years ago. Egan uses sport as an important pedagogical tool to build life lessons for his students, and to fight for inclusiveness and gender justice in the school context. At a previous school, Egan created a cricket team for a group of female students who wanted to be as successful as the school’s boys in the sport. Giving up after-school time and weekends to train the team, he ultimately led the girls to victory in several tournaments and organised a systematic pathway within the school so that girls in the team could become school sports leaders, being role models and mentors for the younger girls in the school wanting to become athletes, too. Egan has been assistant principal at Miranda Public School since 2013, when he became the youngest teacher in the school’s region to be part of an executive team.
LISA RODGERS Chief executive officer Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership
JEN MCVEITY Chief executive officer and creator Seven Steps to Writing Success
The author of over 20 books, Jen McVeity established the Seven Steps to Writing Success program to share author techniques behind writing, in order to enable educators to teach the skills quickly and creatively. Today, 14 years on from its foundation, the Seven Steps program is used by over 60,000 teachers in Australian schools. “Writing is predominantly about communicating and sharing ideas and experiences with others,” she says. “We should concentrate on the big-picture ideas first, then focus on the secretarial side of writing (spelling and grammar) afterwards. Most adults do this instinctively, students don’t.” The Seven Steps program breaks down writing into seven teachable chunks. By using the latest and best practices in education – explicit teaching, collaborative classrooms, multimodal literacy and verbal interaction – McVeity’s goal is to inspire children to love writing. The Educator understands that the Seven Steps program has been shown to raise national test scores (NAPLAN) by 10-30% in less than a year. McVeity has been a keynote speaker at 50 conferences in Australia, Asia and the US.
Lisa Rodgers was appointed as CEO of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership last October. With an impressive track record as a senior executive in education and policy, Rodgers is known for her work transforming the New Zealand education system. As a deputy secretary across research and policy portfolios, she enabled results and change for students by using evidence-driven insights. The work she has undertaken has spanned strategic policy, curriculum design, and assessment and resource allocation from the system to the school level, to make a difference to student progress and achievement. In her current role, she works with federal and state government educational leaders, as well as directly with education professionals across Australia. She seeks to understand and identify what makes a difference in student achievement, and to develop solutions to assist every learner, teacher and school in achieving this goal.
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FEATURES
PRE-PRINCIPAL CERTIFICATION
Preparing leaders to lead A national framework now in development will ensure that new principals around Australia are equipped to deliver optimal outcomes to students THE JOB of any school principal is and has always been tough. But as Lisa Rodgers, CEO of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), tells The Educator, the role is changing and appears to be becoming even tougher. “Basically, principals are CEOs of businesses,” she says. “They are also the instructional leaders in schools now, or expected to be.” Figures say it takes an average of 27 years for educators in Australia to become principals, which is in stark contrast to Singapore, where the average time is 14 years. And right now the profession is faced with the reality that many principals are nearing retirement, with 71% aged over 50. Another concerning issue for the education sector, Rodgers says, is that a number of principals come into the role feeling insufficiently prepared for the job. Approximately 35% of principals report not having received any school administration training, while 30% say they received no instructional leadership training. That’s especially alarming in light of evidence that indicates instructional leadership has the greatest impact on student outcomes. “We don’t want to be putting people in
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those positions and they’re going to sink or swim,” Rodgers says. “They might get by, they might run great businesses, but it’s the principals that are critical to leading the student outcomes, reforms and the improvement work.” When it comes to the current potential talent pool, the number of aspiring principals in Australia is not substantial.
will look to strengthen the principal pipeline by increasing the number of well-prepared candidates for the top job. A complete national leadership development framework will be created, which will include evidence-based policy guidelines, evaluative questions and implementation advice for each of the identified elements of effective leadership development. Rodgers discusses the work AITSL has undertaken in the lead-up to the decision to create pre-principal certification. “We went out and consulted on this and the strong advice we got, and what we heard, was that there was an absolute appetite for some form of pre-principal certification or process, but it had to be situated within a broader niche development space,” she says. “You can’t just think about some form of principal accreditation or certification. You have to think about principalship, from identifying emerging leaders through to eliciting that aspirant, developing them through to principalship, induction into
“We need to ensure that it is a consistent, quality, standards-based approach to ensure aspiring leaders are well prepared for the role” Lisa Rodgers, AITSL “When you ask teachers and deputies, ‘Would you like the job of principal?’, about 90% of them say no,” Rodgers says.
the role and, at the other end, our retirees, our very experienced principals, and what we do there.”
Time for change
The process
In September, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham announced plans for pre-principal certification, a process that AITSL has been tasked with developing. Focused on assessing preparedness for principalship, the pre-principal certification
When it comes to the form the process will take, Rodgers says AITSL will be building voluntary certification that will enable leaders to pick up credentials against the Australian Professional Standard for Principals (Principal Standard). “We’ve got a professional Principal
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PRINCIPALS IN AUSTRALIA Standard, so principals will be able to understand the Leadership Requirements and Professional Practices set out in the standard, understand the criteria, and then basically certify or accredit against those elements,” she explains. “[In terms of ] how that looks at the moment, we’re still working with the sector to design it, but … it’s got to be a good, credible assessment ... We have to be able to use multiple methods. Aspirants aren’t going to go and sit in an exam room for three hours. There need to be multiple ways to demonstrate readiness for the role against those particular elements.” Rodgers points out that what’s proposed is not something that will take the shape of a simple checklist. “It’s a national approach. We need to ensure that it is a consistent, quality, standards-based approach to ensure aspiring leaders are well prepared for the role,” she says. “It’s something sophisticated that
27 years
71%
35%
30%
is the average time it takes to become a principal in Australia
of current principals are aged over 50
of principals say they received no school administration training
of principals say they received no instructional leadership training
the profession will have the opportunity to engage with.” Additionally, she emphasises its voluntary nature. “We will be designing how it’s done [and] what it looks like with the profession,” Rodgers says. “There will be a part of that which will allow aspirants to identify themselves early as people with leadership potential or people that want to go into leadership. Currently, we’ve got a number of resources teachers and principals can use, and they can self-assess against both the Teacher Standards and the
Principal Standard, and we get a lot of good feedback from the profession about those tools and the insights they give to them. A lot of teachers underassess, in terms of their competencies and the ability to take the next step, so this gives them a little bit of feedback. It will indicate readiness for a principal position and it will also recognise diverse career pathways.” Rodgers continues: “It will be an authentic assessment that aspiring principals will be able to use to demonstrate their alreadyacquired learning and readiness for principalship.”
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FEATURES
PRE-PRINCIPAL CERTIFICATION Brought to you by
An inclusive conversation AITSL has bipartisan support in examining principalship in Australia at a national level. “Buy-in from across the board is key to any success,” Rodgers says. “We’ve also consulted extensively across states and territories with the profession, and we’ve found agreement on a number of elements. Again, this is really important to success. “People want to be able to identify potential leaders early; they want a consistent, high-quality approach to principal preparation … They want a framework or
glove with them. It will be delivered for them, almost by them.” While pre-principal certification is a new initiative, AITSL itself has been supporting educators for several years. Rodgers talks about its school leadership development resources, a package launched in August that’s designed to assist aspiring and new principals in addressing their responsibilities and the situations they can expect to face. Included in the resources package are ‘Leadership Scenarios’ that offer new principals strategies and tools to help them deal with common challenges, including
“It will be an authentic assessment that aspiring principals will be able to use to demonstrate their already-acquired learning and readiness for principalship”
AITSL The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) provides national leadership for the Australian, state and territory governments in promoting excellence in the profession of teaching and school leadership. AITSL is funded by the Australian Government. More information is available from www.aitsl.edu.au.
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opportunities or the support around inducting principals into that standardbased process … Expert and experienced principals want to give back and … people want to be able to leverage principal expertise across the country. “All of that’s in place and we’ll build on that work and continue to work with the profession to go forward and develop the best model.” But Rodgers stresses that it’s still early days. “We’re not anywhere near finalising what this might look like; we’ve got to the point where these are the things people are asking for, [and] this is what we agree on,” she says. According to Rodgers, existing school principals will play a crucial role in developing the process. “We’re working with them now and they’ll continue to play an absolutely vital role in the development of any model,” she says. “These people are in the job, at various stages of their careers, and we work hand in
time management and the establishment of a learning culture. “There are also some new video profiles there, where we’ve got inspiring principals discussing their journeys to becoming principals and offering advice about preparing for leadership,” Rodgers says. “There is a series of multimedia case studies about how to use the Teacher Standards and the Principal Standard, and how to support professional growth in leadership skills. [And] we recently released an evidence summary around preparing for the rewards and challenges of the principal role and what that looks like.” Looking ahead, AITSL’s consultation with principals, professional associations and school leadership academics will see the development of a model for voluntary pre-appointment certification in the coming months. The work will then be presented to the Education Council for endorsement in December.
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FEATURES
TECHNOLOGY
A smart approach to technology Jeff Lowe and Peter McAlpine of SMART Technologies discuss their recent conference and the important lessons that emerged about technology in education THE SMART Technologies Inspire Greatness conference hosted by Sydney’s Shore Grammar in September was a two-day event devoted to the discussion of how technology can be used to achieve tangible outcomes for students. “It was a deep conversation about how we actually get value and outcomes out of technology,” Jeff Lowe, SMART Technologies’ global vice president of marketing, tells The Educator. Over the last 50 years, more than $7.3bn has been directed towards technology for the education sector. Yet despite the enormous investment, Lowe says, outcomes for students and teachers are not materially improving. “It’s basically a flat line, despite all the spend,” he says. “I think it really is incumbent upon everybody in the industry and in government and everybody associated with technology to come to attention and say, ‘What are we going to do about this?’ That’s what we’ve been talking about for two days.” But Lowe says it’s not all doom and gloom. “There are all sorts of great examples of incredible educators doing incredible things with technology … Those examples are readily available … We’ve been talking about formulas for success, we’ve been talking about research, we’ve been profiling and showcasing the best
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teachers and the best principals, and their approach, and having them speak about that.” So, what is the key to success on this front? Lowe cites a straightforward formula outlined in a research paper entitled Teaching Technology and Learning. “The formula starts with pedagogy, and then … what’s the best software that’s suited to accelerating and supporting that pedagogy, and next, what purpose-built hardware enables that software,” Lowe explains. “And then all of that is wrapped in training
and professional development, not just around the technology but around the pedagogy.” He says a mistake commonly made by educators is starting with the hardware first. “That doesn’t work – we know that,” Lowe says. “It’s not rocket science … it makes total sense, but, for whatever reason, it’s a hardware-first industry in a lot of cases.” Another stumbling block for some is when training and professional development is provided only around the tech itself.
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“It’s ‘here’s how to use this widget’, but not how to map it to my curriculum and my teaching practices,” Lowe explains. Many in the profession also have the perspective that social media and gamification are tools for use only outside of the classroom. “School and fun should actually be synonymous,” Lowe says. “Gamification, social media and personal devices are the reality. We ignore that at our peril. Whether you agree with it or not, it is a reality. You need to embrace that and say, ‘How can we use things like mobility and gamification and social media in the classroom?’” Peter McAlpine, the Asia Pacific region manager of SMART Technologies, emphasises
“School and fun should actually be synonymous. Gamification, social media and personal devices are the reality. We ignore that at our peril” Jeff Lowe, SMART Technologies the importance of change being driven from the top down. “It’s having the principal of the school … engaged and on board and connected to the technologies and the outcomes,” McAlpine says. “And then, secondly, it’s having that driver in the school, the teacher, that gets it, that can actually then help operationalise
that and push it down and make the school successful. Strong leadership is ultimately incredibly critical to outcomes.” Asked about technological advances that have grabbed their attention, McAlpine mentions gamification, while Lowe singles out the facilitation of global collaboration among students.
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FEATURES
TECHNOLOGY
“Technology shrinks the world and the ability for different classrooms to connect to other classrooms on the other side of the world that are actually studying a similar topic … Through technology now, they can get connected,” he says. “If the time zones can line up, they can see each other and actually do real-time … And where time zones don’t permit, they can still work on a project together … At SMART, we have a global community of teachers, like an advocacy group, that’s 1,800 strong in 40 countries, and they do it all.” When it comes to those principals who are totally unsure where to start in order to make effective use of new technologies in their
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schools, what are the first steps they should be taking? “Sit back, assess, [and devise] a technology strategy for the school that’s well articulated and is just a component of the overall school strategy, rather than something that’s sitting almost in isolation and you’re trying to find a use for technology,” McAlpine says. “So, where does it fit within your community? What drives your community? When kids go home, what access to technology do they have? How does that fit into the overall plan?” Lowe says it’s not necessarily the best move to approach school leaders who are experts in the implementation of new technologies.
“There are some great success stories and some incredible leaders … the challenge with them is that they’re so advanced. Sometimes they don’t know what they don’t know, in terms of being able to teach.” Lowe shares some advice offered by learning consultant Bron Stuckey during the conference. “Get someone who’s just on the path, who has just taken a couple of steps,” he says. “They’re actually going to be the most useful people to help someone take the first couple of steps, rather than someone who is way down the road.” There’s no denying it’s a challenging path, but if navigated correctly, the outcomes for students and teachers can be significant.
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SPONSORED FEATURE
PRINCIPALS AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE
Susan Pascoe to oversee Certification Advisory Board RESPECTED LEADER Susan Pascoe AM has been appointed as independent chair of the Australian Principal Certification Advisory Board, which is managed by the Principals Australia Institute (PAI). As chair, Pascoe will work closely with the Australian Principal Certification Advisory Board – which will also include current school leaders and individuals with regulatory experience outside of education – to implement and oversee Australian Principal Certification to ensure it has the integrity to lift the quality of educational leadership in Australia. Australian Principal Certification recognises the unique role of principals in improving the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The Australian Professional Standard for Principals (Australian Principal Standard) sets out what principals are expected to know, understand and do to achieve the highest standard of school leadership. Principal Certification is a formal endorsement that an experienced, practising principal has attained a designated standard of accomplished practice in accordance with professiondeveloped requirements and the Australian Principal Standard. Pascoe is a firm believer in the important role that school principals play in Australian communities. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity of elevating the profession of school principals through Australian Principal Certification. Certification will offer education systems and the community the confidence that school leaders and principals are able to demonstrate
the leadership required for schools in our fast-changing world,” Pascoe said. “Formally recognising those principals and school leaders who attain certification standards will shine a light on the complexity and challenge involved in today’s demanding school leadership roles, as well as the skills and experience of the certified individuals.” Pascoe brings decades of experience to this new role. Currently the inaugural Commissioner for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, she has also been a commissioner at the State Services Authority in Victoria, and one of three commissioners who served on the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. PAI is a national organisation providing quality professional learning, leadership development and certification to Australia’s principals and school leaders across government, Catholic and independent schools. Paul Geyer, CEO of PAI, said Pascoe’s background in educational leadership and her track record in providing executive oversight made her an ideal candidate for the role. “Principals Australia Institute is delighted to have been able to appoint such a respected figure with significant experience in the education sector to chair the Certification Advisory Board,” Geyer said. Pascoe has also previously held the roles of president of the Australian College of Educators (of which she is a Life Member), CEO of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, and chief executive of the Catholic Education Commission of
Victoria. In 2007 she was appointed Member of the Order of Australia for service to education through a range of executive roles, and in November last year she was awarded the 2016 Leadership in Government award for outstanding contribution to public administration, presented by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. PAI initiated development of Australian Principal Certification in 2012, designing a national framework for certification of principals. This year, the first cohort of school leaders who have undertaken this certification will be recognised as Certified Practising Principals. For more information about Principals Australia Institute, please visit pai.edu.au
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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
MELBOURNE GIRLS GRAMMAR
FROM GIRLS TO LEADERS When it comes to responding to the changing learning needs of today’s young women, Melbourne Girls Grammar is breaking new ground. Brett Henebery reports
ON 1 SEPTEMBER, Melbourne Girls Grammar unveiled a groundbreaking new facility at its Merton Hall campus, located in South Yarra. The Artemis Center – which the school’s principal, Catherine Misson, refers to as “a gendered facility” – blends academic, co-curricular and wellbeing programs for the school’s students. The centre is the heart of the school’s forward-thinking Senior Years Program. Launched in February 2017, it responds to the changing learning needs of today’s young women. However, the concept of this revolutionary facility was hatched long before this. Nine years before the school ‘switched on’ its new educational architecture on 1 January 2017, Misson was appointed as its principal, with a task to examine the available research that would provide her students with the best possible education. “I was struck at the time by the research that was available, mainly coming out of Europe and North America, around forecasting on health for girls – things such as the early onset of puberty, mental health issues and sedentary behaviours,” she tells The Educator. “What’s really interesting was that Australia did not have that calibre in its scope of research in 2008, but lo and behold, now we have it. What was being
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forecast in that international research is exactly what we’re seeing today.”
A proactive approach to wellbeing Misson recalls reading a statement from the World Health Organization at the time, which warned of a “tsunami of mental health issues” around the corner. “After reading this statement, we started to think about wellbeing and how we could provide a proactive programmed approach to this issue,” she says. “There was also the epiphany that girls’ schools have generally taken the concept of a physical performance space [that
The groundbreaking Artemis Center at Melbourne Girls Grammar
“We started asking: ‘What sort of experience would inspire our girls to get out of bed and come to this campus that they couldn’t have anywhere else?’ ” we call a gym] from boys’ schools and simply put up something rather similar in girls’ schools.” Another thing on the school’s mind was the fact that the world was continuing to become very connected, in particular through advances in technology and the Internet of Things.
“We started asking: ‘What sort of experience would inspire our girls to get out of bed and come to this campus that they couldn’t have anywhere else? And what would make school such an enticing and engaging experience if the future of education was a migration online?” says Misson. “So we thought about a facility that
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AN EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCE Centre for Educational Enterprise: Allows teachers two weeks out of the classroom to gain hands-on professional development in various industries Exchange in cultural immersion: Teachers are visiting the internationally renowned Liger Learning Center in Cambodia to study its unique project-based approach to learning Instructional designers: Online curation of students’ courses gives them 24/7 access to learning and ongoing diagnostic feedback Global perspectives course: Girls in Years 7 and 8 study the significance of gender, spending a day observing an all-boys class to explore the question, ‘What is a boy?’
was a community hub. When you put those three domains together, that’s essentially what the Artemis Center is.” Misson says the centre includes a 25m multipurpose hydraulic swimming pool, an outdoor seated amphitheatre, a dedicated fitness hub, and ‘Me Zones’ for small groups and one-to-one wellbeing coaching. “It was designed by a group of female architects with girls in mind. They took a number of things into consideration, such as privacy and transparency within the building, the privacy of the amenities – and the interconnectedness of adults and students in the building through social spaces provide that sense of community connectedness that we wanted,” she says.
To enhance the health aspect of the centre, Misson says the school brought in wellbeing coaches as a “proactive dedicated specialist workforce”.
Student agency at the forefront In the Artemis Center the girls have access to a schedule of activities that are hosted every day, Misson explains. “The girls simply go online and book themselves into an activity that fits into their day or week, and avail themselves of that at a time that makes sense for their wellbeing,” she says. “All of this is nested within the bigger picture of what we’ve done with our architecture for schooling, which actually
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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
MELBOURNE GIRLS GRAMMAR
“The Artemis Center is not just a milestone in educational practice in our school but a milestone for what schools can dream of and deliver” allows our senior girls to put wellbeing in their day and craft their wellbeing provisions so that it is personalised to them and supports their approach to their learning, which we want to be focused, calm and empowering.” Misson says the school also understood from the research that adolescents thrive best when they’re in an intrinsic control environment – or, in other words, when they feel that they have real choices to make and are in control of where they’re headed.
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“Our wellbeing program wraps around the learning program, so by creating time in most days for our girls, that is their time for them to make their own authentic real choices. This can involve booking in a one-on-one with their wellbeing coach or booking in a ‘Be Fit For Life’ session,” Misson says. “The Artemis Center also has a Learning Commons, which is an independent learning area. There, academic coaches help the school’s students at a time and in a sequence that makes sense for each student.” Misson says she visited the Artemis Center recently to speak to one of the senior girls who wanted to do some lap swimming in the pool because she had a maths test. “She had figured out that when she did physical activity earlier in the day, it helped her be calmer and better prepared,” Misson says.
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“Because our girls can make those choices, and have the time in which to realise those choices, that is an intrinsic control environment.” Misson says that when she took last year’s Year 8 students through a preview of the school’s new architecture for schooling, one of the boarders walked into the boarding
in – they’re the most punctual cohort in the school, and have the greatest attendance,” Misson says. “They have higher sustained attendance and greater punctuality than the girls in Year 12, so that’s telling me that we’ve really engaged our adolescents and we’re really honouring that.”
“In a school environment, adults draw the boundaries and have clear expectations, but to actually share the decision-making? That shows real trust in adolescents” house and said to the director of boarding: “Finally, someone understands what it means to be an adolescent!” “The girls feel very proud that we are giving them so much trust. In a school environment, adults draw the boundaries and have clear expectations, but to actually share the decision-making? That shows real trust in adolescents, and the girls really value that,” she says. The girls now feel they are better prepared for life after school because they’re practising being independent. “They say that the wellbeing coaching is something that they embrace as a positive and compare it to counselling. We have wonderful counsellors here, but students often attribute ‘there’s something wrong with me’ to visiting a school counsellor,” Misson says. “However, with the wellbeing coach it’s proactive. It’s about someone in your life who is listening to you, and someone who is skilled at suggesting strategies and practising those strategies before you encounter a problem.”
‘A milestone for what schools can dream of and deliver’ “One of the things we share with our parents is that, in this very different approach to schooling – where the girls have great scope to make choices and put themselves in the places and activities they want to take part
Misson says the school is fielding daily requests from others who want to visit and explore how the various programs are improving teaching, learning and wellbeing opportunities for staff and students. “I think the attraction really comes from the way that we’ve wrapped wellbeing around learning at the school. Schools are very committed to the wellbeing of their students, but often you have to try to fit it in or put in on the side,” she says. “What we did was say: ‘If we were to provide an environment where the value proposition was wellbeing, what would that look like?’ So we went from there.” The school’s Year 9 girls’ first semester results were “absolutely fantastic”, Misson says, and compared favourably with those of previous cohorts in the old paradigm. “The Artemis Center is not just a milestone in educational practice in our school but a milestone for what schools can dream of and deliver. For me, it’s the intention of the building that is superb,” Misson says. “We truly appreciate that we have this centre, a beautiful facility, but the intention of being a community hub that symbolically represents learning, social connectedness and physical health through lines for wellbeing, we truly believe that all schools can focus on that, and that’s the empowering agenda for young people now and into the future.”
CUSTOM-BUILT FOR WELLBEING
25m multipurpose hydraulic swimming pool
Court spaces (‘Team Zone’) for basketball, netball, badminton and volleyball
‘Me Zones’ for small groups and one-to-one wellbeing coaching
Learning Commons (learning, study and consultation spaces)
Fitness hub and fitness studio
Jumpstart Room for three- to 14-year-olds to explore movement and how to learn to take appropriate risks
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PEOPLE
CAUGHT ON CAMERA STUDENTS GRADUATE FROM FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND LEADERSHIP COURSE In 2015, Sydney’s Trinity Grammar School introduced a program offering students the chance to extend their leadership qualities through the Australian Army Cadets. In September, the first 19 participants in the course graduated with a nationally recognised Certificate II in Leadership Through Cadets qualification – the only one of its kind in Australia. Delivered to students in Years 8-10 who are enrolled as cadets, the course is taught and assessed as a supplement to normal cadet activities. Special guest Lieutenant Colonel Paul Simadas from the Australian Army Cadets attended the graduation ceremony, distributing awards with assistance from Major George Stefanovic. Additionally, Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills Karen Andrews addressed the graduates via a video presentation.
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TOP TEACHERS ACKNOWLEDGED In September, 29 teachers across New South Wales were recognised for achieving the highest levels of accreditation. “These 19 Highly Accomplished Teachers and 10 Lead Teachers are strengthening the profession in a very significant way,” said David de Carvalho, NSW Education Standards
Authority CEO, in a statement. The awards of Highly Accomplished Teacher and Lead Teacher indicate that each of these teachers has satisfied nationally agreed benchmarks and demonstrates the highest-quality teaching skills, expertise and leadership qualities.
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FEATURES
EMPLOYEE DISMISSAL
DEMYSTIFYING THE DISMISSAL PROCESS Alice DeBoos, partner at K&L Gates, outlines the dos and don’ts for employers looking to dismiss employees
DISMISSING EMPLOYEES is hard, right? Of course it is. Emotions run high, and none of us are machines. This is a process that takes a personal toll on all involved. The difficulty, however, is in the human side of the decision, not necessarily the legal requirements. While employers will often feel daunted by the risk of unfair dismissal claims in particular, the law is in reality quite logical and straightforward. It becomes complicated only because we are all human and often our perceptions of a set of circumstances are very different when assessed by an outsider.
So, in simple terms, what does an employer need to remember? Before stepping into the breach, consider whether there is a valid reason for dismissal. Be able to clearly articulate that reason and ensure that the reason is supported by evidence before making a final decision. It is often the case that the reason relied upon by the employer is undermined by evidence that later comes to light during the legal process. Ensure that the decision-makers are clear on the reason for dismissal and that the reason is proven and supported.
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The fundamental requirement is one of process. Was there a proper, soundly
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based performance management process? That involves explaining to the employee the issue with their performance, allowing them an opportunity to improve before revisiting the issue, and assessing whether or not improvements have occurred. If it was an issue of misconduct, was a proper investigation or fact-finding process undertaken and conclusions formed based on sound facts and evidence? Is dismissal fair in all the circumstances? In large part, this often relates back to process. If performance is the issue, the Fair Work Commission will consider whether the employee was afforded a fair go all round. Were they given a genuine chance to improve, and did they clearly understand that failure to improve could lead to dismissal? This is a really important step to be able to verify: whether or not a policy applied to the issue in question. Also relevant is whether the employee knew about and followed the policy. If an employer has a
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unblemished record, treatment of other employees in the same circumstances, or some other consideration of the personal circumstances of the employee.
Above are the four fundamental dos, so what are the don’ts? Never construct a reason for dismissal that is not the real reason. If an employer wants to dismiss an employee, the reason for that decision needs to be genuine and the one communicated to the employee. Very often we see situations in which, as a consequence mainly of frustration, a quick decision to terminate is made and performance problems are constructed. This will always unravel in Commission proceedings. Never fail to follow a clear and fair process. Process failings are perhaps the most common reason for successful unfair dismissal claims. Take care with process and seek advice as appropriate.
“While employers will often feel daunted by the risk of unfair dismissal claims in particular, the law is in reality quite logical and straightforward” policy it has to be followed. Failure to follow policies is a common mistake. The issue of whether the dismissal is harsh in all the circumstances needs to be considered. That is, does the punishment fit the crime? This is often an area that employers struggle with. The best way to mitigate risk is to ensure that the decisionmaker actually records that they have considered issues that may add to the harshness of a decision to dismiss, such as a very lengthy period of service, a previously
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Don’t ignore factors such as length of service and disciplinary record. Where the conduct is objectively serious, these factors will be discounted, but they still need to be considered. In general terms, decisions of the Commission tend to allow employees a chance, rather than accept that dismissal is an appropriate outcome. On that issue, be sure to consider alternatives to dismissal and record your consideration of them before making a decision. Would demotion, transfer or counselling be a more appropriate outcome in all the circumstances?
COMING OUT IN FRONT There is no way to manage away entirely the risk of unfair dismissal claims. However, by following fair processes and relying upon clearly articulated reasons for dismissal, not only is the chance of a claim reduced, but the ability to defend a claim and refuse to settle is greatly increased.
Lastly, always conduct dismissals in a dignified, respectful manner. In my experience, the more that an employee feels humiliated by the manner of the dismissal, the more likely a claim will arise. Hold meetings and discussions in private areas and in a manner and tone that demonstrates you understand how serious an impact this decision will have on the employee’s personal life. There is rarely a need to have security escort an employee off the premises and, wherever possible, this type of overt, humiliating experience should be avoided. This does reduce the likelihood of a claim. There is no way to manage away entirely the risk of unfair dismissal claims. However, by following fair processes and relying upon clearly articulated reasons for dismissal, not only is the chance of a claim reduced, but the ability to defend a claim and refuse to settle is greatly increased. Always remember that you will need evidence to properly manage the risk of claims, so ensure that all of these factors can be supported by notes, forms and other types of evidence. The process itself will always remain a difficult one because of emotion, but the legal risk can be effectively managed. Alice DeBoos is a partner and global practice area leader of the Labour, Employment & Workplace Safety team at K&L Gates.
www.educatoronline.com.au
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PEOPLE
CAREER PATH
A CYCLICAL PATH Trinity Grammar School headmaster Milton Cujes is about to complete his 45-year career at the place where it all began Three years after completing Year 12 at Trinity Grammar School, Milton Cujes returned there to begin his teaching career as assistant history master. “Getting to know the boys as individuals and learning how to encourage and challenge them to reach their potential academically as well as personally was very gratifying.”
1972
BEGINS TO TEACH
1980
HAS PIONEERING EXPERIENCE Cujes was appointed foundation headmaster of Caulfield Grammar School. Establishing a new school and his first experience in co-education represented a learning curve. The school started with 197 students from Years 3-7 and within 10 years grew to 1,040 students. “Overseeing building works, employing staff, interviewing students, gaining registration and accreditation, and establishing procedures from scratch were challenging, exhilarating experiences that gave me a wonderful exposure to all facets of education.”
1996
BACK TO HIS ROOTS Cujes returned to Trinity Grammar School as headmaster. With the introduction of the IB Diploma and Primary Years Program, the school embraced global education. “A field studies campus was developed and the curriculum adapted to meet the needs of boys in the middle years. The introduction of the Life Skills Pastoral Care Program at primary and secondary levels took our level of pastoral care to a new level.”
2017
COMES FULL CIRCLE Cujes is closing out his career at the school where his career began. “I’m looking forward to spending more time with my better half, and our induction to the world of the grey nomads in Ruby, our motorhome. Teaching can be regarded as the sorriest of trades or the most noble of professions. I am fortunate that it has always been the latter for me and an opportunity to give expression to my Christian faith.” 54
1975
GETS A 24/7 ALLROUND EDUCATION
“As boarding housemaster, I was responsible 24/7 for the well-being of some 50-60 boys aged 10-18. I gained much experience in leading a team, and in administration. Ministering to the needs of boys and their families in life’s ups and downs was both humbling and rewarding.” 1992
GAINS INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE Cujes attended the International Baccalaureate Organisation’s conference in Ottawa, Canada. “This exposed me to a global perspective of education and, in 1993, when I was headmaster of Brisbane Boys’ College, the school became the first in Queensland to introduce the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma course.”
2007
TAKES A NEW APPROACH Cujes attended Harvard Graduate School of Education where he was exposed to the work of Professor Richard F Elmore, whose insights led him to develop the Practice of Teaching at Trinity (POTT) strategy. “POTT’s core purpose is to promote an ongoing dialogue and reflection regarding the practice of teaching in the context of our distinctive school culture and Christian ethos. Such a focus has helped us to make gains in key areas of academic performance and student engagement.”
www.educatoronline.com.au
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PEOPLE
OTHER LIFE
TELL US WHAT YOU GET UP TO Email brett.henebery@keymedia.com.au
ART, LIFE AND ROSS ROORDA
The Sydney principal says painting gives his life meaning and is the one thing he seems to understand
21
Age at which Roorda started becoming seriously interested in painting
56
2013
First year Roorda entered – and became a semi-finalist for – the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize
$150,000
Prize awarded to the first place winner of the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize
FOR ROSS Roorda, principal of Casuarina School in northwest Sydney, art has become a much-needed avenue for self-expression. He studied art at university, earning a degree in fine art. “At present, I am doing a PhD that explores the way I represent people and animals in my studio practice,” he explains. “It’s a comparative study that focuses on the faces and heads of both subjects.” In 2013 and 2014, Roorda entered the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and was a semi-finalist both times. His subject was Australia’s most infamous police officer, Roger Rogerson.
“The truth is that I am interested in all types of characters that make up our society, and I tend to lean to those that don’t always fit in. I found Rogerson to be a complex character and a joy to work with. His story was interesting to me because he went from a hero to villain in the eyes of the public.” Roorda says painting Rogerson’s portrait was a good experience. “I think my greatest achievement with the Rogerson portraits was to represent the man that sat in my office chair. I think I captured his character without making any judgment. This is what it’s all about.”
www.educatoronline.com.au
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