Leading School Improvement

Lead with clarity and strengthen the capability of your leadership team to drive improvement strategies aligned to goals in your Annual Implementation Plan and School Strategic Plan.

This program provides school leaders with dedicated, structured time to work together. You will have the opportunity to:

• build shared leadership practices within your school and across different schools and sectors
• share insights and learn from real-world experiences of peers
• sharpen your collective understanding of how leadership drives whole-school improvement.

• Develop strong, aligned leadership practice. Build a leadership team that works cohesively, communicates with a common language, and leads improvement with purpose.
• Plan improvement with precision. Identify your school’s current stage of improvement through a guided self-assessment to set a clear direction.
• Lead strategic, sustainable change. Implement short-, medium- and long-term improvement priorities with an agile and sustainable approach.
• Develop a Strategic Improvement Project. Focus on a real challenge in your school, ensuring the learning directly aligns and support goals in your Annual Implementation Plan or School Strategic Plan.

This program is led by an expert team of Academy Principals in Residence, supported by respected school improvement specialists; Bruce Armstrong and Michelle Miller. They bring deep knowledge of the Victorian education system, understanding the complexities and challenges, and a proven track record of leading lasting, school-wide improvement.

Bruce Armstrong 

Burce has dedicated his career to public education improvement in Victoria through leadership, innovation, policy development and system reform. Bruce brought deep knowledge and expertise to the responsibility of leading improvement in 1540 government schools.

Bruce is highly respected and regarded for having demonstrated what it takes to transform schools at the coalface. He significantly lifted the performance of low and high-performing schools as a principal before contributing to wider system reform.

'I believe that system leadership is crucial to improvement and that the Academy is the engine that can deliver this improvement to Victorian schools. I offer lived experience of school leadership in Victoria and will bring that ‘grassroots’ perspective to our work.' 

Michelle Miller 

Michelle is a former Primary Principal and Victorian School Principal of the Year, having led improvement and change in multiple schools in the Western Districts. Most recently, as the substantive principal at Warrnambool East Primary School, Michelle led the design and implementation of a comprehensive school improvement strategy and instructional capability improvement program in her school. Michelle has also completed the Open To Learning leadership™ facilitator trainer in how to have challenging conversations (contracted through the Academy).

'As a school principal, I have dedicated my career to improving student achievement and wellbeing, and engaging deeply and meaningfully with my school community. Of all the lessons I have learned in my career, the ability to bring out the best of people is among the most important. Leading meaningful and enduring change in schools means constantly developing and inspiring your staff.' 

Roles

Designed for school principals, who can invite up to 3 members of their school leadership team. This may include: 

• an assistant principal
• a campus principal
• a member of their leadership team.

This program caters to the specific needs of all leaders, including those in small school and special schools.

School sectors  

This program is available to the following school sectors: 

• Victorian Government
• Catholic
• independent.

Delivery 

Over 4 months, you will engage with and contribute to:

• 1 online orientation session (1.5 hours)
• 3 full-day workshops (21 hours)
• 3 online peer learning sessions (3 hours)
• Self-directed learning (10-15 hours). 

Orientation

Kick off with clarity and connection, build your network and know exactly what to expect. 

You will: 

• meet your lead facilitators, who will outline the program journey and show you how to navigate Academy Online with ease
• meet your dedicated peer learning group, matched (where possible) based on your school’s improvement priority, so you can collaborate with leaders facing similar challenges
• explore the key frameworks, tools and resources that shape the program, and get clear guidance on what’s needed ahead of each workshop. 

Workshops 

Workshop 1: Leadership to make it all happen

Explore the pivotal role leadership plays in driving school improvement, as a team and as an individual leader. Examine how improvement unfolds in schools, the stages of school improvement, and the leadership capabilities and dispositions needed to guide meaningful change.

Workshop 2: Building capacity and learning from others

Deepen your understanding of leadership for improvement by focusing on how to build teaching capacity. Hear directly from principals who have led improvement journeys in schools, and learn from their practical insights, strategies and theory of action.

Workshop 3: Implementing and embedding continuous improvement 

Use data effectively and articulate clear success criteria to guide your improvement work. You will present your Strategic Improvement Project, receive feedback from peers, reflect on next steps, and determine how you will apply your learnings back in your school. 

Peer learning sessions 

Connect with leadership teams from other schools in small, purposefully matched triads. These sessions offer rich opportunities for networking, reflection and collaboration. Guided conversations help you make sense of workshop content, refine your implementation strategies, and prepare your Strategic Improvement Project. 

Self-directed learning

Engage in self-paced activities that help you:

•    assess your own leadership approach
•    evaluate your leadership team’s culture and effectiveness
•    understand your school’s stage of improvement
•    design a clear improvement initiative tailored to your context.

You will be supported with step-by-step guidance and high-quality resources.

Learning outcomes

You will gain knowledge and understanding of how to:

• identify your leadership strengths and growth areas ─ individually and as a team
• explore evidence-based improvement theories to understand how leadership drives school improvement and apply these directly to your school’s goals
• assess your school’s current stage of improvement and develop a clear plan aligned to the School Strategic Plan and Annual Implementation Plan
• establish effective processes for engaging staff and stakeholders, building trust, supporting successful implementation of improvement initiatives, and building teacher capability through evidence informed adult learning approaches.

Completion requirements

To successfully complete this program, you will need to:

• attend orientation
• attend, and actively participate in all 3 workshops
• attend, and actively participate in all 3 peer learning sessions
• present your Strategic Improvement Project at workshop 3 and submit the project on Academy Online

We significantly subsidise costs for all participants.

Financial support

Victorian school participants may be eligible for additional subsidies.

Fees and financial support