Banish the abstract, build accountability: how school leaders can better define their purpose

Rebecca Birch

By Rebecca Birch
Community contribution / June 14, 2023

The latest Productivity Commission review into education revealed to the public what many principals and teachers already knew – that around 30 per cent of teacher time is lost to ‘low-value’ tasks.

Professor Scott Eacott says purpose statements are a means to hold others accountable – including the leaders who articulate them.

While workload is one of the issues here, perhaps the bigger concern is that the vocational allure of teaching might ...

Acting Director of Students

Penola Catholic College - Senior School Broadmeadows VIC

We have an exciting opportunity for an Acting Director of Students to join our team and contribute to our strategic leadership and culture of high expectations

Teaching - Secondary / Nov 13, 2025

Senior Infrastructure Services Officer - Infrastructure Investment & Finance

Department of Education and Training (Queensland) Brisbane

Are you a detail-oriented professional with experience in financial analysis, reporting, and briefing preparation? Join Budget Development, Infrastructure Investment...

Teaching - Secondary / Nov 13, 2025

SEMH Teaching Assistant

Veritas Central London

Teaching Aides & Special Needs / Nov 13, 2025

Community / Here and now: Why surrendering to life’s flow restores our spirit

Recently I saw a huge pod of dolphins playing in the waves at my local beach. Not many things get people to get their faces out of their phones these days (yes, even at the beach!) but once the word started to get around, we were all mesmerised.

Community / Fitness mentoring program shows great potential for students with disability

Many young people enjoy going to the gym as a recreation and fitness activity. For young people with disability, accessing and participating in gym-based fitness can have some barriers which make enjoyment, skill development and improvements in fi...

School news / ‘Adult time for violent crime’ laws coming for Victorian kids, Allan says

Children who commit serious crimes will be sentenced as adults, under a Victorian Government plan to combat youth crime.

School news / Clear frameworks key to helping schools respond to and prevent racism: new research

Clear, consistent frameworks support safer, more inclusive school communities, new research into racism in South Australia’s schools has found.

School news / ‘I’m basically retraining them’: school leaders lament cost of poor ITE

Australian school leaders are faced with devoting huge resources to ‘undoing’ everything that beginner teachers have been taught at university, a panel of prominent educators has reported.

School news / Social media ban success dependent on other nations following suit, former exec warns

Tech giants won’t bat an eyelid at the fines enforced under Australia’s social media ban but they will start sweating if other nations follow suit, a former Facebook executive says.

School news / Vision unveiled aiming to protect schoolkids, cyclists following tragedies

A spate of disturbing deaths, including school-age young people, in recent years on Melbourne streets sparked calls for the rollback of speed limits and more bike lanes – and the state response is now on in earnest.

School news / Show us the money: summit builds momentum for national financial wellbeing approach

From understanding budgets and the power of compound interest, to learning about tax, superannuation and employment, money management skills are important and can set students up for future success.

School news / ‘We’ve got the data’: Kick and Reddit added to Govt’s social media ban for under 16s

A streaming platform described as a safe haven for child predators, along with Reddit, have been added to the Government’s list of social media services set to be banned for under 16s come December.

School news / No.1 in the country again: university still the best at producing our future educators

The preparation and school-readiness of our next generation of school leaders and educators is naturally a hotly contested and discussed issue in our sector – and one university, it seems, is doing it better than all others.

Comments