4 minute read
Secretary’s Message
BY MURAT DIZDAR, Secretary of the NSW Department of Education
As the school bell rings in a new year, I am filled with great optimism for everything that lies ahead in 2025. It’s always a pleasure to be welcoming back our students, their families, and our educators as they embrace the challenges and triumphs the year will undoubtedly bring.
Firstly, I hope all parents and carers had a relaxing summer break with your loved ones. With term 1 now underway, I am prouder than ever to be leading a system that is charged and ready to unlock your child’s potential.
As always, I am incredibly appreciative of the ongoing support from our parents and carers in giving students the best chance to thrive in the year ahead.
Congratulations to Aresha Quaass who begins her first year as President of the P&C Federation of NSW. I’m looking forward to working together with Aresha and Federation CEO Gemma Quinn to strengthen our school communities and ensure the views of parents and carers are embedded in what we do.
Choosing Public Education
Choosing public education is such an important decision, and I’m truly thankful to every family in NSW who believes in what we do.
Our schools are among the finest in the country, staffed by some of the most skilled and dedicated teachers you will find anywhere. They are also warm and engaging places where students not only learn, but forge lifelong connections.
By choosing us and sticking with us, you reinforce the strength of our system and everything we stand for.
This year, we will be doubling down on our efforts to make public schools the first choice for even more parents and carers. We will be giving greater support to schools to showcase all they have to offer and delivering system-wide messages across NSW on why families should join us.
Transforming Lives Through Learning
This is our second year of delivering on Our Plan for NSW Public Education. As I travel across the state, I feel energised to see it have pride of place in school offices and staffrooms. The plan will remain at the heart of everything we do this year to bring equitable and outstanding learning opportunities to every student.
The thoughts and feedback from our parents and carers continue to play a vital part in bringing the plan to life. It’s therefore crucial that you have a transparent view of our efforts to help your children learn, grow, and feel they belong in our school communities.
This year we’ll update you on how we are tracking against the plan’s focus areas through our own report cards, highlighting new and significant initiatives underway, guided by the strategic path the plan puts us on.
High Potential And Gifted Education
In 2025, we are setting the stage for high potential and gifted education opportunities to be available in all NSW public schools. Postcode or circumstance should never determine whether a student receives an outstanding learning experience.
Recognising that every young person has unique talents and capabilities, our HPGE strategy is designed to foster potential in myriad ways, whether they shine brightest in academia, the arts, sports, or leadership.
All school staff will be engaging in new professional learning to ensure they are equipped and ready to nurture high potential and gifted learners effectively.
The aim is to see this ingrained in our system at every level. In the classroom, it will involve differentiated explicit teaching strategies or advanced learning pathways that cater to diverse intellectual needs. At a school level, we will offer extracurricular, extension or enrichment programs. We’ll also continue to open up our system-wide initiatives like representative sporting pathways or signature events like Schools Spectacular and the Game Changer Challenge.
New Public Schools Survey
The perspectives of your children, our teachers, and you as parents and carers matter deeply to shaping the course of public education.
This year, we are excited to be launching a new format for gathering information about the thoughts and experiences of our students. A new model for parents and carers and teachers will then follow in 2026.
This means we are moving away from the Tell Them From Me surveys and introducing a new model. These surveys will be more concise, faster to complete, and will run annually on a new platform.
Feedback collected through these surveys around equity, wellbeing, sense of belonging, and teaching practices will be invaluable to supporting the goals set by Our Plan for NSW Public Education. Ultimately, we want to uphold a responsive and supportive educational environment for every student and their family.
I hope you all have a terrific term and a year filled with learning, growth, and success.
