8:30

OPENING 

Lisa Davies, Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald

8:40

Ministerial ADDRESS

The Hon Sarah Mitchell, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning

9:00

Q and A with the Minister

Facilitated by Lisa Davies, Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald

9:20

Panel discussion: Keeping calm and carrying on. How Schools in NSW coped and, in many cases, thrived in an unprecedented year

• How prepared were we and what were the major challenges we had to address?
• Have students lost a year of their academic life? Can they catch up?
• What price student and staff wellbeing during lockdown and disruption?
• What have we learnt and what are we doing differently?
• How can we better leverage technology to support our students?
• What does the future hold for NSW schools?

Mark Scott, Secretary, NSW Department of Education
Dr Geoff Newcombe AM, Chief Executive, Association of Independent Schools of NSW
Danielle Cronin, Director Education Policy, Catholic Schools NSW

9:50

Keynote Address: Implementing the NSW curriculum reform

Paul Martin, CEO, NESA

10:10

ACARA – a look ahead

• Australian Curriculum Review update
• Moving NAPLAN online

David de Carvalho, CEO, ACARA

10:30

The Great Debate –Desegregating education.  Should the Government fully fund all schools?

• Will this achieve equity in education? Is this still the desire?
• International comparisons – Canada, Finland, Singapore
• Is there the political will and parental appetite to make this happen?
• Can we ever reach consensus in funding education?

Prof Adrian Piccoli, Director, Gonski Institute for Education
Dallas Mclnerney, CEO, Catholic Schools NSW

11:00

Morning break

11:30

Keynote International Address: Engagement is the new frontier of achievement

• Between a quarter to a half of kids are bored in school or feel life has no purpose. Why?
• Getting engagement is about more than beating back boredom, though
• We must ask how we – in schools, policy and universities – actively create disengagement
• If we are the problem, we can be the solution.

Andy Hargreaves, Director of Chenine (Change, Engagement and Innovation), University of Ottawa

12:00

Panel discussion: Is it time to double down on early childhood education?

• Is it time for universal, fully funded pre-school education?
• Understanding the long-term benefits of early childhood education
• Managing the transition to primary

Prof Pasi Sahlberg, Deputy Director Research, Gonski Institute for Education
Julia Davison, CEO, Goodstart Early Learning
A/Prof Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett, Academic Director of the Early Years, University of Wollongong

12:30

Lunch

13:30

Valuing Teachers: Key Findings from the independent inquiry into the teaching profession

Emeritus Prof the Hon Geoff Gallop, Chair, Valuing the Teaching Profession Inquiry

13:50

Panel Discussion – Addressing the pressures of the teaching profession in the 2020s

• Ensuring a support network for teachers
• Is teacher training supplying the skills needed to manage the modern classroom?
• Are teachers now under too much scrutiny?
• Is Quality Teaching working?

Angelo Gavrielatos, President, NSW Teachers Federation
Cameron Paterson, Director of Learning and Teaching, Shore School
Alice Leung, Head Teacher, Concord High School

14:20

Unravelling the tutoring package and how schools can make it work

• How the equity gap widened during COVID-19
• How small group learning can boost learning by five months in just a few weeks
• Ways to make small group tutoring work in your school

Julie Sonnemann, School Education Fellow, The Grattan Institute

14:40

Panel – Playing catch up. Addressing lost lessons, time-out and getting kids back on track

• Identifying children who have fallen behind this year
• Strategies for catching up such as the $370m NSW Tutoring package
• How regional NSW was impacted by floods, fire and pandemic in 2020
• Wellbeing issues from a year of disruption

Murat Dizdar, Deputy Secretary, School Operations and Performance, NSW Department of Education
Renee Cooper, Principal, Nymboida Public School
Pam O’Dea, Principal, St Phillip’s Christian College, Newcastle

15:10

Afternoon break

15:30

Panel Discussion on Student Wellbeing. Are the policy frameworks working?

• Empirical evidence and anecdotal perspectives on tackling wellbeing in schools
• Are teachers and schools equipped to deal with healthcare issues?
• Delivering successful learning while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of students

Dr Jen Petschler, Assistant Principal Pastoral Care and Wellbeing, St Scholastica’s College, Glebe
Kristen Douglas, National Manager, Headspace Schools
Houda Kbbar, Head of Wellbeing, Malek Fahd Islamic School

16:00

Panel Discussion – Measuring Non-Academic Attainment

• How do you gather evidence, report and measure for areas such as?
  • Creativity
  • Critical Thinking
  • Collaboration
  • Cultural Competence
  • Equity
  • Happiness
  • Faith
  • Wellbeing
• Why would you try and measure these attributes? To what end?
• Empowering teachers to use evidence effectively
• Ensuring meaningful data is collected and analysed

Prof Jim Tognolini, CEO, Centre for Educational Measurement & Assessment
Dr Pauline Ho, Associate Director, Evidence for Learning
Tim Bowden, Headmaster, Trinity Grammar School

16:30

Lifting student outcomes through effective Behavioural Management

Georgina Harrisson, Group Deputy Secretary, School Improvement and Education Reform, NSW Department of Education

16:50

Panel Discussion on Behavioural Support

• Exploring best practice classroom management
• The need for an evidence-based approach for behavioural management
• How do can we best measure classroom disruption?

Tom Bennett, Founder, researchED and Chair Behavioural Management Group, Dept Education, UK
Matt Johnson, National President and CEO of ASEPA; State President SEPLA NSW; Principal Glenvale School
Mary Creenaune, Head Student Services, Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta

17:20

Networking Drinks

18:00

End of the 2021 SMH Schools Summit