2025 Victorian Government Schools Principals Conference: Key resources & insights

Welcome to the official resource hub for the 2025 Victorian Government Schools Principals Conference. Held at the MCEC with the theme 'Excellence in every classroom', the event brought together over 3,000 Victorian school leaders for professional learning and networking. Here you can access presentations, keynote recordings, and materials from the event to support your school improvement journey.

Keynote addresses - Leading for impact

Watch or read insights from leading experts on educational leadership, change, and the future of schooling in Victoria.

Dr. Sonja Hood AM: Leadership Matters

Dr. Hood, CEO of the Scanlon Foundation, is a renowned leader in public policy and community development. Her address focused on the crucial role of school leadership in building cohesive communities. Watch the video below:

Professor Joanna Barbousas: Leading for impact when change is never straightforward

As a transformational leader from La Trobe University, Professor Barbousas shared her expertise on navigating change and fostering evidence-based teaching practices in schools. Watch the video below:

Panel discussions

Dr David Howes: What is our why? 

Panel Discussion: Dr. Howes, Deputy Secretary of Schools and Regional Services, led a discussion with principals from Melton, Wangaratta, Keysborough Gardens, and Ballarat on the purpose of schools in the 21st century.

Kate Rattigan: Child Safe Schools

Panel Discussion: Deputy Secretary Kate Rattigan led a panel on supporting each other in creating a safe school environment, focusing on insights from the Child Safe Schools framework.

Workshop presentations

Access a range of presentations on key topics for Victorian school leaders, from wellbeing to curriculum and policy.

Leading for wellbeing

• Amy Green, The Wellness Strategy: Leading Well: Creating Thriving Schools Through Wellbeing-Driven Leadership (PDF, 1.46 MB)
• Dr. Jodi Richardson: Empowering Anxious Students for Classroom Excellence (PDF, 437 KB)
• Justin Robinson, The Wellbeing Distillery: A School Wellbeing Operating System for Sustainable Success
• Selena Fisk:  Leading for impact

Curriculum & pedagogy

• Dr. Nathaniel Swain, Educreative: Revolutionising Your Teaching Drawing Upon VTLM 2.0
• Dr. Simon Breakspear: Responsive Implementation of the VTLM 2.0
• Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO): Leading a deliberate and structured approach to implementing evidence-based practices (PDF, 2.01 MB)
• Dr. Jordana Hunter, Grattan Institute: The Maths Guarantee: Boosting student learning in primary schools

Racial equity & inclusion

• Div Pillay, MindTribes: Racial Equity in Schools – How to lead and govern change in the workforce with student and parent communities (PDF, 1.33 MB)
• Pearl Subban: Managing Incidents of Racial and Cultural Discrimination in Victorian Schools

School workforce & policy

• Monash University: Codesigning solutions to teaching shortages
• Department of Education: Preventing and addressing racism in schools - policy and practice
• VIT: A stronger workforce: Elevating quality and support.

School Stories: Case Studies in school improvement

Discover school improvement strategies and best practices directly from fellow principals and school leadership teams. These presentations offer practical insights into challenges and successes.

• Aitken Creek Primary School: Achieving cultural and behavioural change through the implementation of FISO 2.0 and a Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) (PDF, 1.44 MB)
• Alpine Towong Network: Bringing collaboration to every aspect of network operation (PDF, 4.03 MB)
• Auburn Primary School: Redefining Instructional Practices - VTLM 2.0 in action (PDF, 1.52 MB)
• Australian Education Union: What the Profession Needs Now for the Future
• Barwon Heads Primary School: Implementing VTLM 2.0 with fidelity and consistency (PDF, 4.79 MB)
• Bayswater Secondary College: A school-wide approach to wellbeing, engagement and inclusion (PDF, 4.27 MB)
• Beachside Network: Curriculum & Pedagogical Think Tank (PDF, 1.89 MB)
• Belgrave South Primary School: Strengthening Community Connections for Student Wellbeing and Development (PDF, 1.46 MB)
• Beverley Hills Primary School: Building leadership capacity from the ground up to drive school improvement (PDF, 672.36 KB)
• Camperdown College and Woolsthorpe Primary School: Implementation of a structured literacy approach in F-2 (PDF, 3.73 MB)
• Coburg High School: Raising the Bar Through Achievable Sprints (PDF, 2.95 MB)
• Country Education Partnership: Positively P-12 (PDF, 1.16 MB)
• Doncaster SC / Mount View PS and regional staff (Monash Manningham Network): VTLM 2.0 - Start with 'why' (PDF, 2.47 MB)
• Fitzroy North Primary School: The Unrelenting Pursuit of Educational Excellence (PDF, 5.77 MB)
• Greater Bendigo Network: Small Schools Community of Practice (PDF, 2.07 MB)
• Hesket Primary School: Developing the revised F-2 reading position in a small school (PDF, 7.96 MB)
• Hobsons Bay Network: 6-7 ASD transition COP (PDF, 824 KB)
• Irymple Secondary College: Developing and Sustaining a Positive Workplace Culture (PDF, 2.86 MB)
• Kurnai College: Identifying and Supporting Priority Cohorts - An approach to Inclusion Practices at Kurnai College (PDF,  7.67 MB)
• Kyneton High School: Literacy development in a Secondary School context (PDF,  1.86 MB)
• Lake Colac School: The Science of Learning and Creating Conditions for Change (PDF, 8.3 MB)
• Melrose Primary School: Maximising engagement and attendance - strategies that are working in schools (PDF, 2.34 MB)
• Milawa Primary School: Building on Strengths to embrace complex change (PDF, 3.12 MB)
• Myrtleford P-12 College: Student Centred Implementation of VTLM (PDF, 2.22 MB)
• North Geelong Secondary College: Be Bold, Be Heard - empowering middle years girls to improve student voice and agency (PDF, 4.53 MB)
• Pascoe Vale South Primary School: School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Framework (PDF, 10.83 MB)
• Rochester Primary School: Flood Recovery: A reason not an excuse (PDF, 5.24 MB)
• Rosewood Downs Primary School: The Rosewood Way - Embedding the Positive Classroom Management Strategies to Shift Whole School Behaviour (PDF, 9.66 MB)
• Rutherglen Primary School: Explicit Teaching at Rutherglen Primary School (PDF, 3.74 MB)
• Saltwater P-9 College: Explicit Teaching in Numeracy Aligned with VTLM2 (PDF, 1.92 MB)
• Sandringham College: Successful Implementation of Disability Inclusion in Schools (PDF, 1.81 MB)
• South Gippsland Network: Aspiring for Excellence: Growing Together (PDF, 3.85 MB)
• Southern Cross Primary School: Driving sustained whole school improvement (PDF, 7.01 MB)
• Southern Mallee Network: Better Together: Strengthening collaboration across the network (PDF, 3.51 MB)
• Strathmore North Primary School: Strategic Planning and Implementation: A Deliberate Approach (PDF, 6.21 MB)
• Surfside Primary School: Mathematics Retrieval Practices & Active Engagement (PDF, 4.56 MB)
• Templestowe Heights Primary School: Curriculum Design and Delivery Aligned to the VTLM 2.0 (PDF, 3.57 MB)
• The Grange P-12 College: Implementing Marrung at a School Level (PDF, 2.44 MB)
• Thornbury High School: Implementing Explicit Teaching (PDF, 1.41 MB)
• Victoria Road Primary School: Thinking Routines: transforming learning and wellbeing outcomes (PDF, 2.8 MB)
• Wangaratta West Primary School: Leading change – A wholistic approach to the revision of a literacy instructional model with connections to VTLM 2.0 and understanding of student learning (PDF, 7.57 MB)
• Warragul & District Specialist School: Implementation of an inclusive systematic synthetic phonics approach within a specialist setting (PDF, 2.75 MB)

Department of Education presentations

Curriculum, teaching and pedagogy

These presentations include resources focused on instructional practice and student learning.

• Curriculum and Teaching Practice Division: Implementing Victoria’s reading position: Principals who have transformed reading instruction in their schools with impact
• Curriculum and Teaching Practice Division: Maximising school improvement with VTLM 2.0
• Curriculum and Teaching Practice Division: Unlock the power of Victorian Lesson Plans in Mathematics
• Financial Performance Information Systems (FPIS): Building whole school inclusive practices to support excellence in every classroom

Leadership, workforce, and professional development

These presentations include resources aimed at school leader capacity building, staff support, and professional growth.

• Employee Safety, Wellbeing, and Inclusion Division: Engaging with the Early Intervention Program and the Peer Group Supervision Program: A workshop on supporting principal wellbeing
• Schools Workforce Group: Career Start - Lessons from Implementation
• Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership: Believe and Excel (A Workshop for Female Assistant Principals)
• Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership: Leveraging the Academy Leadership Excellence Framework to build leadership capacity
• Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT): A stronger workforce: Elevating quality and support

Strategy, policy and school improvement

These presentations include strategic planning, policy implementation, and the use of data to drive improvement.

• Strategy and Secondary Reform (Performance and Evaluation Division):Digging into student engagement and wellbeing data to lead school improvement
• Strategy and Secondary Reform (Performance and Evaluation Division): Digging into the school performance report and setting targets
• Strategy and Secondary Reform Group: Unlocking school-based VET at more schools
• Student Education Programs and Support (SEPS) - Inclusive Education Division: Leading your school through transformational change in inclusive practices. Find more information on Disability Inclusion Reform
• Student Education Programs and Support (SEPS) - Statewide Programs and Tech Schools: Preventing and Addressing Racism in Schools - Policy and Practice

School operations and management

These presentations include to the administrative and financial aspects of running a school.

• Student Education Programs and Support (SEPS) - Inclusive Education Division: Building a Secure and Innovative Future for Victorian Schools
• Financial Policy and Information Services (FPIS) - Procurement Division: Simplifying Procurement and Reducing Admin Burden for schools

Indigenous education and cultural inclusion

This presentation specifically focused on initiatives supporting Koorie students and cultural perspectives.

• Academy Geelong and Barwon Koorie Education Workforce: Strengthening Wadawurrung Perspectives in Barwon Area schools

Conference Exhibitors