Blogs and Messages

ACEL Shaping the Future Together Toolkit - Now Available

posted 2 days ago
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Shaping the Future Together The future is not something that happens to us. It is something we create. Across Australia, educational leaders are navigating unprecedented complexity. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we think about learning. Communities are changing. Expectations of schools continue to evolve. New opportunities are emerging alongside new challenges. The future feels both exciting and uncertain. In this environment, leadership is no longer simply about responding well to change. It is about helping to shape what comes next. That question sits at the heart of this toolkit. It also sits at the heart of ACEL’s work. As an ...
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Meet Our 2026 National Awardees

posted 10 days ago
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ACEL 2026 awardees – recognition of the profession by the profession We are delighted to announce this year’s 2026 National Award winners and New Voice Scholars and are looking forward to formally celebrating their achievements at our Awards Ceremony during the National Conference in Perth from 30 September - 2 October 2026. These awards are presented to those individuals or teams who have made a significant educational contribution and influenced education at a national level in Australia and beyond. ACEL Gold Medal Andy Mison, Australian Secondary Principals' Association (ASPA) ACEL National Fellowships Dr Adrian ...
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QLD Branch News: July 2026

posted 24 days ago
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The Power of Ouch: Leadership with Clothes, with Apologies to the Emperor A few weeks ago, The Weekend Australian Magazine had a superb article by Charlotte Ree entitled “ The Power of Ouch: My New Friend Offers a Beautiful Lesson ”. The following quote is instructive. Recently, Miranda looked at her friend’s face, swollen lightly from chemotherapy, and asked if she was feeling alright. “You look a little puffy,” they commented. “Ouch,” she replied. It’s a tiny act of honesty. Immediate. Sharp. Decisive. A clear incision through the theatre of politeness, where our pain is often forced to sit in silence. Too often people release ...
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WA Branch News: July 2026

posted 24 days ago
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Leading in a Climate of Change: Courage, Clarity and Connection Earlier this month, we hosted a fabulous Hot Topic event, Leading in a Climate of Change , which brought together three generous and insightful leaders from across the Western Australian education sector, Peter Allen, Principal of Guildford Grammar School; Lisa Fogliani, Principal of Aranmore Catholic College; and Stephen Jeffrey from the Campaigns and Projects team at the Department of Education, for an evening of conversation. Hosted by Dr Ray Boyd, Principal of Dayton Primary School and one of our ACEL WA executive team, the evening explored what it means to lead, not only through change, ...
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ACT Branch News: June 2026

posted 03-06-2026
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Dear colleagues, Members and guests joined us at the National Portrait Gallery last Friday for our premier event, our annual Breakfast with the ACT Minister for Education Yvette Berry. We were also very privileged this year to be joined by our National President Liz Foster who flew in from Queensland to join us. VIEW PHOTO GALLERY Minister Yvette Berry spoke with great aspiration about the profession and the future of education in the ACT taking questions from patrons. This was once again one of our largest gathering of attendees at the Ministers Breakfast and on behalf of the ACT Branch Executive I thank our distinguished guests, System leaders, ...
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The 80s Generation Leading AI-Driven Schools: A Leadership Paradox

posted 03-06-2026
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The 80s Generation Leading AI-Driven Schools: A Leadership Paradox I walked out of Optus Stadium after the AISWA Leaders Conference energised, inspired… and unsettled. It was a fantastic event. Rich conversations, powerful speakers and a sense that education is standing on the edge of something enormous. But it wasn’t the buzz of innovation that lingered with me. It was a question. One that refuses to sit quietly: How can we authentically lead a generation we no longer truly understand? Two keynote sessions collided in my thinking. First, the familiar and deeply resonant concept of Head and Heart Leadership - leading with intellect and ...
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Unmasking the Invisible: The Emotional Work in Leading Australian Schools

posted 03-06-2026
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Unmasking the Invisible: The Emotional Work in Leading Australian Schools For years, school principals have carried a weight that is rarely documented in job descriptions or policy frameworks: the intensive emotional management required to lead communities through increasingly volatile times. Our four-year research project (2022–2026), Invisible Labour: Principals’ emotional labour in volatile times , has sought to understand and highlight these aspects of principals’ work. The project is a collaboration between Monash (Professor Jane Wilkinson, Professor Lucas Walsh, myself, and Tim Delany), Deakin (Professor Amanda Keddie), and the University ...
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Winter Is Coming: Is Your Culture Ready?

posted 03-06-2026
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Winter Is Coming: Is Your Culture Ready? The warmth of summer evenings can feel like a distant memory as the days grow shorter and the chill of winter settles in, well, a Queensland winter at least. With earlier sunsets and colder mornings, we often begin to feel the weight of the season. Fatigue creeps in, illness makes its rounds, and the busyness of school life begins to show its strain. It is in these moments, when energy fades and pressure rises, that we are reminded of the importance of wellbeing. In schools, wellbeing is about more than feeling good. It is about creating the conditions where students, teachers, leaders and teams can connect, ...
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Sustaining the Profession: Lighting the Path Forward

posted 28-05-2026
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Sustaining the Profession: Lighting the Path Forward Early in my career, I was given an opportunity that I had not sought—and, if I’m honest, would never have applied for. I was teaching in a small mining town. Like many early career teachers, my focus was on doing the job well, learning my craft, and getting through each term with some sense of success. Leadership was not on my radar. It felt distant—something for “later,” or perhaps for others. And then I was asked to step into a Head of Department role. It wasn’t part of a carefully mapped career plan. It was circumstance, context, and someone seeing something in me that I had not yet seen ...
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Message from the President, Term 2 2026

posted 28-05-2026
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Together, we are shaping the future of education. The human spirit that animates our work is resilient, purposeful and ultimately irrepressible. In this edition of Australian Educational Leader, we consider the sustainability of our profession, one that enables societies to evolve with hope for the future. In 2015, the Queensland Executive of ACEL researched the criteria of established professions, with a view to ascertaining whether there exists a common set of criteria that comprise a profession. It was agreed that teaching clearly meets all but one of the criteria evident in the research. What was missing was a deep statement of ethically based values ...
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WA Branch News: May 2026

posted 07-05-2026
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Building Stronger Teams: What The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Teaches Us About Educational Leadership At our recent ACEL WA book club, a small yet passionate group of leaders gathered over coffee and cake to discuss Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team . A rich discussion ensued which led to many helpful ‘take-aways’ that were food for thought. In schools, we often speak about the importance of collaboration, shared purpose, and collective efficacy, something that, in my role as Associate Principal at Dayton Primary School, we return to often; recognising that our positive culture is not something that happens by ...
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VIC Branch News: May 2026

posted 07-05-2026
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ANZAC Day 2026 was celebrated recently across the country. This year, many of the services felt particularly poignant, perhaps, sadly, because of current world events. At my school, one of the students shared the following and I believe it is a powerful reflection of the current challenges and hopes that some of our young people recognise in relation to such commemorations. I hope you find it as thought provoking as I do. Theirs was a generation that did not have the luxury of looking away. They could not mute it, minimise it, or scroll past it. When the moment came, they stood in it — fully, completely, without the option of retreat. And in standing ...
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SA Branch News: May 2026

posted 07-05-2026
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ACEL Branch Awards 2026 It gives me great pleasure to announce our ACEL SA 2026 Award Winners: Alby Jones Gold Medal Award Dr Neil McGoran ACEL SA Fellowship Awards Anna Mirasgentis Deb Dalwood Dr Michelle Kohler The Distinguished Contribution to research in educational leadership award Prof Simon Leonard ACEL SA Educational Leadership Award Angela Phillips Rebeca Huddy Roy Page Luke Ritchie Pip Field Emerging Leaders Award Kerry Proctor Lucy Warnock Simon Miller Ed McInnes ACEL SA Media Award Will Goodings We will celebrate these outstanding leaders at the ACEL SA Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, ...
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Highly Effective Teams: Reflective Relationality and Organisational Richness

posted 07-05-2026
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Highly Effective Teams: Reflective Relationality and Organisational Richness Late last month ACEL released its new publication, The Teamwork Toolkit: Designing Teams that Matter . After the success of the Bold Teacher Toolkit , this publication promised much—and it did not disappoint. Teams are central to our organisational contexts, and it is always valuable to examine them through different lenses. The reflections below were, in part, stimulated by reading and interrogating this resource. Most schools can point to teams that are working. They meet, share information, move through agendas, and complete their work. Yet there is often ...
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ACEL Teamwork Toolkit - Now Available

posted 23-04-2026
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As we begin Term 2 across schools in Australia, I’m excited to share a new resource to support your leadership practice—our Teamwork Toolkit . So much of our work through ACELearn focuses on leadership teams: building culture, strengthening collaboration, and designing real teams—not teams in name only. Grounded in the Harvard Six Conditions of Team Effectiveness, this toolkit is designed to prompt reflection, sharpen practice and support the important work of leading together. I hope it offers something valuable for you and your teams as the term unfolds. We are also continuing to invest in leadership at every stage. Our reimagined NextGen program ...
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Courage Fatigue

posted 09-04-2026
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This month’s article has been written by ACELQ Executive Ms Fiona Roush. Fiona is currently Dean of Teaching at Sunshine Coast Grammar School. There was a genuine sense of community at the March ACEL Aspiring and Early Career Teacher Breakfast. A splendid gathering of early‑career educators and mentors sharing their experiences and thoughts of the joy of teaching. The event originated from the conceptual work of ACELQ Executive members Adam Kuss, Tania Leech and Bruce Addison. Head of St Hilda’s Learning Institute and ACELQ Executive member Majda Benzenati’s keynote address offered a compelling reflection on her teaching journey, affirming the ...
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WA Branch News: April 2026

posted 02-04-2026
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Reflections on Cyclone Narelle and Leadership I watched with interest recently as Cyclone Narelle took her time in travelling from the far north into more southern areas in WA, and noted the many reminders to be prepared as the cyclone track was updated. Being Perth based, it is rare for us to experience the direct impact of a cyclone, something that our members in the more northern parts of the state are much more familiar with. I did notice though, that the warnings were coming through for people even in Perth and to the south to be prepared, and while there is always a bit of tongue-in-cheek commentary about trampolines and garden chairs on ...
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Pacing the Pause in leadership

posted 02-04-2026
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Pacing the Pause in leadership I find myself in an unusual stage of life. After ten years of founding and building a business, I rewarded myself with the first Long Service Leave that I have been able to take in nearly 35 years of work. This is really only possible because I have an exceptional team working with me at HCA, who insisted that I would benefit from a break, (and did initially disconnect me from Microsoft teams!). I also have a very supportive partner who is a Director of our company and encouraged me to pause . The challenge has been in finding my own daily pace and rhythms in this time of leave. I am a driver. As a leader, I recognise ...
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QLD Branch News: April 2026

posted 02-04-2026
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Ours is the Best Profession in the World: Unpacking the Essence of Teaching Good morning colleagues, and especially to all our early career teachers. It is a privilege to stand with you today as a fellow member of our wonderful profession – perhaps the noblest of professions. I want to begin with a simple but profound acknowledgment: we have the opportunity and the privilege to make a positive difference in the lives of young people daily. What an honour. Each of you brings something unique to this profession—your talents, your perspectives and your way of being in the world. In the words of a giant of our profession, Emeritus Professor Frank Crowther ...
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ACT Branch News: April 2026

posted 02-04-2026
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As Term 1 draws to a close I wish to commend the exceptional work that our profession is leading in each of our sectors. For those who are about to take a well earned break I hope that it is a time to refresh before the busy term ahead. Our Branch Executive is represented by each of our 3 sectors and we are both very excited well positioned to contribute to the work of progressing ACEL as a national and local peak body in the life of our profession. We meet regularly and are planning some exciting opportunities in 2026. The first of these is the much anticipated Ministers Breakfast on 29 May at the National Portrait Gallery between 7 – 8.30 am. We have ...
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