2023 Government Schools Principals Conference

On Monday 5 June, the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership (the Academy) proudly hosted the 2023 Government Schools Principals Conference. The event welcomed government school principals from every corner and crag of Victoria’s vast landscape as well as distinguished guests including the Hon. Natalie Hutchins MP and Department of Education Secretary Jenny Atta PSM. The Academy is still abuzz with excitement from the event, the agenda for the day packed with inspiring keynote speakers and thought-provoking workshop discussions.  

The theme for this year was Leading people. The conference addressed key premises of leadership; leading through challenges and change, leadership that drives academic and wellbeing progress and leading the self to keep motivated and inspire development and growth with the school. 

From Academy CEO Dr Marcia Devlin’s warm welcome address, the tone was set for a day of connection, collaboration and conversation between a collection of over 1200 leaders.  

There were many macro moments, including keynote speaker Professor Lea Waters AM PhD covering the immensely important topic Replenishing staff wellbeing without depleting leader energy: The recharging power of micro moments. Lea shared the benefits of BEUs, or Brief Emotional Uplifts, reminding us all that micro-moments of positivity can restore balance and offset challenging phases. Wellbeing is a significant area of focus for our leaders and one that is owed our full support.  

To add perspective to our leader's’ roles, Susan Ogden, Dandenong High School principal, gave an inspiring presentation on the nuances of leading a complex and diverse environment, challenging leaders to search for and find the “why” of their role, even when times are trying. 

Aunty Geraldine Atkinson, co-Chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, sat with Angela Singh, Regional Director, North-Western Victoria Region, in a profound discussion that focussed on encouraging principals to build their understanding of First Nations’ perspectives around self-determination and truth telling.  

Principals also engaged in an afternoon of stimulating workshops, allowing them to gain practical insights in a collaborative environment. 

As always, a highlight of the conference is the opportunity for attendees to be a collective and connect. We captured some on-the-ground feedback from the day, and it was uplifting to hear our principals embracing the conference and its contribution to their practice. 

“Staff wellbeing is such an important aspect of school leadership,” offered Mat Anderton, acting principal of Boronia Heights Primary School. “Principals enabling staff to connect in positive ways helps build morale and contributes to a positive school culture.” 

“The wellbeing aspect is important. We can learn new strategies, but it also reinforces the work that we’re already doing,” noted Blayne Wallis, principal of Newport Gardens Primary School.  

“What I love about coming to these conferences, is being able to catch up with colleagues who aren't necessarily in my network, who are outside my network of schools. It's a great opportunity to see what they're doing, how they're going… we're connecting in different ways on different things,” shared Helene Hiotis, principal of Bentleigh Secondary College. “I think the wellbeing workshop this morning really resonated with me, I'm hoping that I can get [Professor Lea Waters] to come and talk to our staff, she was fantastic.” 

Rounding out the successful day, Tracey Ezard was our dinner guest speaker, encouraging us to lead with ferocity and warmth, to push beyond our comfort zone to help cultivate a culture of continuous growth and learning, and remember to find those “joy bubbles” in our days. 

We hope all attendees found moments of inspiration and returned to their schools invigorated, motivated and looking forward to next year.