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The Sydney Morning Herald Schools Summit
A premier gathering of Australia’s foremost educators, thought leaders, and policymakers for insightful conversations.
5 March 2025 | ICC Sydney
Sydney Morning Herald Schools Summit 2025: Uniting Australia’s Leading Educators
The Sydney Morning Herald Schools Summit is back on March 5, 2025, at the ICC Sydney, inviting Australia’s top educators, school leaders, policymakers, and education professionals. This premier event for Australian education will feature insightful discussions on challenges in today’s classrooms and proven strategies for enhancing student learning and teaching practices across the nation.
The SMH Schools Summit 2025 is designed for teachers, school principals, and education sector leaders to explore cutting-edge policies and evidence-based approaches. Discover new insights to address student engagement, teacher support, and academic performance through actionable policy and innovative grassroots solutions.
Register your interest to receive registration link when it opens, early bird access and the official agenda release!
Confirmed Speakers for 2025
The Hon Prue Car MP
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning
Paul Martin
CEO,
NESA
Stephen Gniel
CEO, Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority
Murat Dizdar PSM
Secretary, NSW Department of Education
Lisa Brown
Principal, Meriden School
Belinda Giudice
Principal, Gledswood Hills High School; Board Member, Australian Education Research Organisation
Peter Hill
Director of Schools, Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong
Carolyn Blanden
Principal,
Warakirri College
Dr Nathaniel Swain
School of Education,
La Trobe University
Dr Jenny Donovan
CEO, Australian Education Research Organisation
Prof Michele Bruniges AM
Industry Professor, Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion, UTS
Jocelyn Seamer
Founder,
Jocelyn Seamer Education
Prof Jenny Gore
Laureate Professor at the School of Education, The University of Newcastle
Prof Jae Jung
School of Education, UNSW
Martin Graham
Deputy Secretary Learning and Student Wellbeing, NSW Department of Education
Assoc Prof Kelly-Ann Allen
Founder and Lead Director of the Global Belonging Collaborative, and Research Fellow, Monash University
Sarah Warby
Director of Research and Practice, Loreto Kirribilli; HALT Assessor, NESA
Doug Taylor
CEO,
The Smith Family
Cara Varian
CEO,
NSW Council for Social Services
Stef Thom
Assistant Principal, St John the Apostle Catholic School
Anthony England
Director of Innovative Learning Technologies, Pymble Ladies College
Lee Barrett
Prompt Engineer and AI Advocacy Officer, CEnet
Miriam Scott
Generative AI Education Consultant, Association of Independent Schools of NSW
Anthony Smith
Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Narromine Christian School
Dan French
Executive Director, School Excellence, NSW Department of Education
Leanne Brooke
Advanced School Counsellor, NSW Department of Education
Shaun Ruming
Chief People Officer, NSW Department of Education
Henry Rajendra
President, NSW Teachers Federation
Dr Paul Wood
Director of Education Standards, NSW Department of Education
Rebecca Birch
Director of Research & Practice, Queenwood
Lucy Carroll
Education Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald
Bevan Shields
Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald
Agenda
5 March 2025
7:50
Registration and Morning Coffee
8:20
OPENING | Opening remarks from the Chair
8:30
In Conversation
The Hon Prue Car MP, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning
With
Bevan Shields, Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald
9:00
Keynote Address: Addressing the challenges of the year ahead
Followed by audience Q and A
Murat Dizdar PSM, Secretary, NSW Department of Education
9:30
Panel: Establishing and enhancing students’ sense of belonging
- The importance of student and teacher relationships
- The significance of school belonging in protecting mental health
- Practical strategies to foster positive student belonging
- Student solutions to rebuilding belonging in schools
Assoc Prof Kelly-Ann Allen, Founder and Lead Director of the Global Belonging Collaborative, and Research Fellow, Monash University
Leanne Brooke, Advanced School Counsellor, NSW Department of Education
Peter Hill, Director of Schools, Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong
10:00
Keynote Address: Disrupting Disadvantage in Australian Schools
- Maximising impact
- Concentrations of Disadvantage in Australian Schools
- Evidence-Based Approaches for Policy and Interventions
- Enhancing Education through Socio-Economic Diversity
Prof Michele Bruniges AM, Industry Professor, Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion, UTS
10:20
Panel: Alleviating disadvantage in Australian schools
- Addressing disadvantage through early education
- Evidence-based approaches to achieve long-term outcomes for young people experiencing disadvantage
- Improving outcomes for priority equity cohorts
- Strategies to improve school attendance and year 12 completion
- Enhancing pathways for post-school support
- Issues in tracking and measuring equity
Doug Taylor, CEO, The Smith Family
Cara Varian, CEO, NSW Council for Social Services
Belinda Giudice, Principal, Gledswood Hills High School; Board Member, Australian Education Research Organisation
10:50
Morning tea
11:20
Panel: Harnessing the power of AI in the classroom
- Responsible AI in the Age of Pervasive Tech
- From Automation to Augmentation: AI as a Teaching Assistant
- Student-Driven AI Use Cases: Shaping Policy through Practice
- Towards a Collaborative AI Framework: Co-Creation with Teachers, Students, and AI Specialists
- AI And Assessments – Detecting inappropriate use and using AI to decrease the burden of marking and evaluation
- Equity in AI Education: Ensuring Access for All Students and All Staff
Lee Barrett, Prompt Engineer and AI Advocacy Officer, CEnet
Anthony England, Director of Innovative Learning Technologies, Pymble Ladies College
Dr Paul Wood, Director of Education Standards, NSW Department of Education
Miriam Scott, Generative AI Education Consultant, Association of Independent Schools of NSW
11:50
Addressing the Myths and Misconceptions of Explicit Teaching
- How students learn best
- Minimising the risk of cognitive overload
- How chunking information can help manage the cognitive load
- Breaking down complex information into smaller instructional tasks
- The need to demonstrate and model what students need to learn
- Effectively implementing evidence-based practice in the classroom
Dr Jenny Donovan, CEO, Australian Education Research Organisation
12:10
Can great teaching be scripted?
- Ensuring teachers get what they need at each stage of the teaching journey
- Understanding the Situational Leadership Model
- Matching leadership style with individual needs
- Moving from scripted teaching to full-guided support
- Reading the room – responding to the needs of the students
- The use of data to measure impact
Jocelyn Seamer, Founder, Jocelyn Seamer Education
12:30
Panel: Embracing Explicit Teaching and a knowledge-based curriculum
- Improving student outcomes with an explicit approach to knowledge and skills
- How explicit teaching can bring every child along for the learning journey
- Understanding cognitive load theory and how this can aid student learning
- Minimising the risk of cognitive overload
- Improving classroom behaviour through explicit instruction
Paul Martin, CEO, NESA
Anthony Smith, Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Narromine Christian School
13:00
Lunch
14:00
Panel: Solving teacher workforce issues?
- How can we uplift morale in the teaching profession today?
- How are we tracking on admin burden?
- How can schools and the system work smarter to avoid burnout?
- How are we addressing supply issues?
Henry Rajendra, President, NSW Teachers Federation
Rebecca Birch, Director of Research & Practice, Queenwood
Shaun Ruming, Chief People Officer, NSW Department of Education
14:30
Panel: The future of Professional Development in NSW Schools
- Enhancing flexibility by removing Accredited and Elective PD categories
- Effective models of teacher recognition and professional growth across all career stages
- How investing in teachers impacts student success by developing a culture of Professional Learning in the School Context
- Recent experiences from the HALT program
Prof Jenny Gore, Laureate Professor at the School of Education, The University of Newcastle
Sarah Warby, Director of Research and Practice, Loreto Kirribilli; HALT Assessor, NESA
Stef Thom, Assistant Principal, St John the Apostle Catholic School
15:00
Afternoon tea
15:20
Panel: Addressing High Potential and Gifted Education
- Supporting every student to maximise their potential in the academic, arts, sport, and social domains
- Enrichment, extension and extra-curricula programs. How effective are they?
- How best to train teachers and equip schools to recognise potential and implement high-potential programs
- Coaching colleges. A blessing or a curse?
- Equity and HPG education
Martin Graham, Deputy Secretary Learning and Student Wellbeing, NSW Department of Education
Prof Jae Jung, School of Education, UNSW
Lisa Brown, Principal, Meriden School
15:50
Keynote Address: Shaping Australia’s national assessment to support improved student outcomes
- Where we’ve got to – online NAPLAN assessment, earlier test window, new clearer proficiency levels, earlier reporting to schools
- What’s next in 2025 – trend data, cohort comparisons and improved data reporting
- What’s in the future – future of national assessment
Stephen Gniel, CEO, Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority
16:10
Harnessing the Science of Learning – Success stories to help kick start your school improvement
- Combining classroom practice, school leadership and scientific research for initiating and maintaining school improvement
- Exploring practical ways to harness transformation through exemplary school case studies
- How discrete changes can have marked impacts
Dr Nathaniel Swain, School of Education, La Trobe University
16:30
Panel: School Improvement
- What does school improvement look like? Is continual growth possible?
- What are the major impediments to school improvement and how are they best overcome?
- Achieving staff buy-in to new programs and ideas
- Prioritising future growth opportunities
Dan French, Executive Director, School Excellence, NSW Department of Education
Carolyn Blanden, Principal, Warakirri College
17:00
Closing remarks from the chair and networking drinks
Pricing
| Packages | Early Bird | Full Rate |
| FACE TO FACE – Schools/Govt/NFP Rate | $895 + GST | $995 + GST |
| VIRTUAL Pass – Schools/Govt/NFP Rate | $795 + GST | $795 + GST |
| FACE TO FACE – Supplier Rate | $1,995 + GST | $2,295 + GST |
| VIRTUAL Pass – Supplier Rate | $795 + GST | $795 + GST |
Event Pricing:
- Early bird rate – expires on 20 December 2024
- Full Rate from 21 December 2024
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Don’t miss the opportunity to share your expertise and showcase your products, services, and solutions at this highly regarded event. Forge new business relationships, share your experiences and position yourself as a leader in the education field.
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Andrew Sinkovich
+61 2 9080 4308
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Venue
ICC Sydney
14 Darling Dr,
Sydney NSW 2000
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