In this episode
The 2023 Western Australian Education Award winners.
The 2023 Western Australian Education Awards winners share their thoughts and feelings on being recognised for the dedication and achievements of their staff. They explain how the award’s application process is a great chance for school staff to reflect on their progress and reaffirms their commitment and work in supporting and educating students. A new category has been added to the 2024 awards. Judith King, from Service Design and Support, discusses why celebrating Excellence in wellbeing and learning is important to acknowledge.
About the 2023 WA Education Award winners
Elizabeth Wildish, principal of Two Rocks Primary School
The school won the Excellence in school leadership award for its commitment to its inclusive, collective approach to leadership. Staff collaborate on how best to improve student outcome as they are collectively responsible for every student’s success.
Anika Blackmore, foundation principal of Brabham Primary School
The school won the Excellence in teaching and learning (primary) award for its excellence in teaching and learning through innovative learning programs. It provides a variety of experiences and is committed to engaging and collaborating with the community.
Rod Rykers, principal of Manea Senior College
The school won the Excellence in teaching and learning (secondary) award for continuing to provide tremendous education pathways for its students and fostering community partnerships.
Nikki Sandilands, former principal of Wananami Remote Community School
The school won the Excellence in cultural responsiveness award for its commitment to providing a culturally safe and engaging learning environment for students.
Natalie Hatton, principal of Joondalup Education Support Centre
The school won the Excellence in disability and inclusion award for its range of quality programs shaped to each child’s individual needs and abilities.
Judith King, Director of Service Design and Support
Judith was part of the team that developed the student wellbeing care strategy and launched the student wellbeing care future directions.
Transcript
Fiona Bartholomaeus
You're listening to Ed Talks WA.
My name is Fiona Bartholomaeus and I'm your host for this episode.
The WA Education Awards is a special time for those in education as it highlights the exceptional achievements, dedication and innovation happening at WA public schools, and celebrates the important role they play in shaping the lives of young people.
From regional to metro, all schools have the chance to come out on top in their nominated category.
In 2023 we saw five schools awarded across the categories of Excellence in school leadership, Excellence in teaching and learning for both primary and secondary, Excellence in cultural responsiveness and Excellence in disability and inclusion.
Last year during all of the excitement of the awards, we sat down with the principals from Two Rocks Primary School, Brabham Primary School, Manea Senior College, Wananami Remote Community School and Joondalup Education Support Centre to find out what the award meant for them.
Elizabeth Wildish is the principal at Two Rocks Primary School and they won the Excellence in school leadership award.
Elizabeth Wildish
It's a huge honour, particularly with the leadership because there are so many great schools out there with great principals, and to be named as the Excellence in Leadership. I just can't even explain how overwhelmed I feel and how very, very proud for our school.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So what is it about your school that you think set you up to win the award?
Elizabeth Wildish
It's been a long journey. I opened the school in 2007 and we have maintained the pathway that we want the school to go, we're not at the end yet. And I have a collective group of people that make it happen.
It's not about the principal, it's about all the people that work with us in the school and every single one of them has a leadership role within the school and make Two Rocks Primary School the great school that it is.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So how do you hope this recognition will shape the school in the coming years?
Elizabeth Wildish
I hope that it will continue us along the pathway of excellence that we are aiming for and striving for every day, to make sure every student gets the best possible education that we can give them.
Our school is amazing, everybody works tirelessly to ensure that everything is running smoothly all the time and most of the time it works.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Why is it important to recognise the work and dedication of education staff across the whole of WA?
Elizabeth Wildish
Because they work tirelessly to ensure that our students have the best education possible and they do it every day willingly without an awful lot of praise and I think it's amazing they are shaping our future and we need to remember that.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So why should schools apply for the WA Education Awards?
Elizabeth Wildish
Because there's not a feeling quite like it when you win.
I think we should promote what we do and I don't think we're very good at promoting what we do as well as we possibly could because every school is working every day tirelessly to ensure that their students have the best education possible.
Anika Blackmore
I'm Anika Blackmore. I'm foundation principal of Brabham Primary School.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Brabham Primary School received the Excellence in teaching and learning primary award.
So what is it about your school that set you up to win?
Anika Blackmore
I would definitely say it's 100% down to the very passionate and dedicated team that we have. So they've really worked hard over the last three years to establish really innovative specialist programs, extracurricular programs.
They give and give for our students so that everyone can achieve success.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
You won the Excellence in teaching and learning primary award. How is that for you and the school to be named the winner in the area of school teaching and learning?
Anika Blackmore
It's actually very incredible because we are a fairly new school and we are a very large team, so we've got 1,100 students and we feel we are building a culture where they can all develop their talents so it's really an acknowledgement to the hard work of our whole community and so very excited to share in the win today.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So why is it important to recognise the work and dedication of education staff across Western Australia?
Anika Blackmore
Well, look, over the last few years it's been a changing landscape and the teaching profession, education in general, it is quite a challenging context in some ways and I just feel like when you get the right people together on a team, you can achieve amazing things.
I think all schools should consider applying because it really does validate and share back with the community the incredible work that educators do do and it's just a wonderful way to recognise the hard work of everyone across your community.
I'd probably just like to again, recognise and acknowledge the middle leaders in my school. They lead teams within our broader team and they just give their heart and soul to the job so I'd love to acknowledge our middle leaders.
Rod Rykers
My name is Rod Rykers, I'm the principal of Manea Senior College, which is located in Bunbury.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
The staff at Manea Senior College walked away with the Excellence in teaching and learning secondary award.
Rod Rykers
It still hasn't sunk in to be honest, it's been a fantastic event this morning. Just to be nominated I think and recognised as a finalist was fantastic, but to actually be announced the winner has just been a fantastic experience for us.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Would you mind telling us about the event we're at today?
Rod Rykers
Yeah, look, it's been a fantastic event. It was really great to see Justin Langer and hear some of his gems of wisdom that he had to share with the audience, but it was also fantastic to see the performances of our young people in schools in WA. Because we don't often, we don't always get to see those passionate performances from our young people because sometimes education is seen as classroom based and it's much more than that.
So to see those young people performing in their element was fantastic.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So what is it about your school that set you up to win?
Rod Rykers
Well, it's been a long journey, to be honest. We've been on a journey for some time, probably 2016, 2017, in terms of trying to reimagine and refocus education with more of a skills base and I suppose, authentic learning opportunities for students trying to extend beyond the classroom. And I think we've made some inroads in that space over the last few years.
This year, the introduction of the Southwest Innovation Academy, the brainchild of Lynette and Michelle, two of our staff, has been fantastic in connecting schools together but connecting them not only with each other but with community business and industry to solve real world problems and take learning outside the classroom. So I think those opportunities are things that are really crucial.
Yes we're a senior school and there are components of senior schooling that are very important but it's also important to note that it's things that occur outside the classroom that value add to young people's experiences.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So your school won the Excellence in teaching and learning, the secondary category. How is it for you that the school was named a winner in teaching and learning?
Rod Rykers
I think the focus, as I said earlier, has been in the last few years to try and provide authentic real-life learning experiences.
Often textbook learning and the like has been the go-to and I think what we've tried to do is expand those opportunities. We have a professional learning time slot in our timetable that allows students to explore other areas that they wish to take, but we're also encouraging our teachers to make, where possible, connections to community so that students can actually connect with their community and get an understanding of what impact they can have in real life.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So how do you hope this recognition will shape the school in coming years?
Rod Rykers
I think, one, I think it's recognition for the work that's already happened, but I think now it hopefully gives us a little bit more impetus to push down this direction and keep going in that particular way.
I will say that I think, you know, some may perceive Manea as being a little left field in terms of being able to do different things, particularly in a Year 11 and 12 setting, where the focus is often on ATAR and graduation and VET. So I think this gives us the currency to sort of keep pushing forward and hopefully it means that other schools perhaps want to take a look at what we do and perhaps we can expand that across more schools within the Department.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So why is it important to recognise the work and dedication of education staff across WA?
Rod Rykers
Because it's a tough job and I think most, if not all teachers have a real care and passion for young people and we want to see them succeed and to do that it requires some hard yards at times, time and challenging situations that arise.
So it's these moments I suppose where you can receive that recognition as acknowledgement for the hard work, not that that's the reason you do it but it's nice to say, ‘hey, you know what, you're doing a very good job and we want to recognise you for that’.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So that kind of leads into my next question. Why should schools apply for the WA Education Awards?
Rod Rykers
I think the recognition and an opportunity to try and showcase what you do.
I think the written part of the application allows you to reflect on what you've done and look at where you've come from to get a sense of, so what's our journey been like? And I would lie if I wouldn't say that the financial benefits that are going to come with this, which we will be able to put into programs within the college as well, is just an added bonus as far as I'm concerned.
I guess I'd like to just acknowledge the Manea Senior College staff, all of the people that are involved, because it does take a collective approach in terms of trying to achieve these sorts of results.
As I mentioned earlier, to Michelle and Lynette for their vision in terms of creating Innovation Academy, and that connection with other schools and businesses industry, I think has been fantastic as well.
Nikki Sandilands
My name’s Nikki Sandilands, principal at Wananami Remote Community School.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
The team at Wananami Remote Community School and now former principal won the Excellent in cultural responsiveness award.
Nikki Sandilands
It's very exciting.
It's wonderful, I think, for our school, but more importantly, our community to be recognised for the incredible work that they do in supporting our school and leading our school's vision.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So what is it about your school that set you up to win, do you think?
Nikki Sandilands
So we have an incredible community. Our students come from three communities, Kupungarri, Imintji and Dodnun and our families within those communities want the absolute best for their children, our students.
So our school's vision is thriving in two worlds, so we provide an excellent learning program in terms of literacy and numeracy, but then the other half is all integrating culture and then Ngarinyin heritage into their curriculum as well.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Your school won the Excellence in cultural responsiveness. How is it for you for the school to be named a winner in the area of cultural responsiveness?
Nikki Sandilands
It's incredibly important, if there was one award that we were striving to achieve, it would have been, it is the cultural responsiveness because that is something that's incredibly important to us that we walk alongside our community and we share the vision and we work together and we provide amazing education for our students.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
How do you hope this recognition will shape the school in the coming years?
Nikki Sandilands
I'm so excited that it validates and recognises the work that our community members do and our families do. Our school is like a village and everybody plays their part and what I'm most excited about is that this recognises the work of our communities as well as the school.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Why is it important to recognise the work and dedication of education staff across WA?
Nikki Sandilands
Our education staff are trailblazers. We're pushing the boundaries of education, I suppose, in terms of being able to look at it more flexibly and contextually and what's important for our students.
And they're going above and beyond, all of our education staff go above and beyond to provide the absolute best education for our students.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Why should schools apply for the WA Education Awards?
Nikki Sandilands
Oh, it's an amazing process to go through and it's really nice to sit back and reflect on what as a school you accomplish.
All schools do amazing things and to take the time and reflect and celebrate as a staff what it is that makes your school unique is really important and it's really nice.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Finally, are there any other comments you would like to make?
Nikki Sandilands
Just a big thank you, particularly to Miss Deb.
It is amazing watching Miss Deb work and how tireless she is and how no matter how difficult things get, Miss Deb always puts our sunflowers, our students first and foremost.
So yeah, I'm really proud of what we've accomplished today and I'm super thrilled.
Natalie Hatton
My name is Natalie Hatton and I'm the principal at Joondalup Education Support Centre.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Joondalup Education Support Centre staff receive the Excellence in disability and inclusion award.
Natalie Hatton
It's a pretty special feeling, I'll be honest, and I feel quite privileged that I'm the person who physically gets to receive the award on behalf of everybody that I work with and the families and students at school.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So what is it about your school that set you up to win?
Natalie Hatton
We work pretty hard at school. I don't think you can receive recognition for something that's happened in a moment or in a short time, this is something that's been building for a long time.
Our school has a pretty strong vision and a pretty strong culture in terms of making sure that every student really has what they need to learn. So whatever that looks like, whether it's in their social capabilities or their communication or academics, or in their general development.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
How is it for you that your school was named a winner in the area of disability and inclusion?
Natalie Hatton
I couldn't describe how proud I am, really, of that award.
In terms of for the section of disability and inclusion, it's a really special feeling to be working at a centre, so 100% of our students who attend our school have a disability and to be acknowledged that a centre specialising for kids with disabilities is, I guess, being recognised for the work that you do.
We do share a campus with Joondalup Primary School, and Joondalup Primary School, we have such a lovely relationship, and it really is two schools on one campus. So they're a really important part of what we do as well.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So how do you hope this recognition will shape the school in coming years?
Natalie Hatton
I think it gives us a really good foundation and helps us reflect on what we've been doing is a good job and what we are doing is driving in the right direction. So I guess it reinforces that and it, although we're really passionate and motivated already, it continues to fire that spark that we have.
For us, when a student arrives at our school and they might be quite you have some really complex needs we're really excited by that because it's about how. How can we support this student to access the curriculum and do what they need to you know do what they need to do to be able to develop rather than, ‘oh my goodness, what a difficult situation we've found ourselves in’.
So yeah, we find that really exciting.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So why is it important to recognise the work of education staff and their dedication across WA?
Natalie Hatton
Well, the reality is that they're the most influential people in education for students.
The people that work at Joondalup Education Support Centre and educators throughout WA, it's something that I think is a vocation. You wake up wanting to go to school to make a difference in somebody else's life and to be recognised under the disability and inclusion category agree I think makes it just all that little bit more special.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So why should schools apply for the WA Education Awards?
Natalie Hatton
There aren't too many times in a school year where schools actually have the opportunity to reflect at their successes as a group and share their successes.
Often when schools reflect you look at improvement and we've achieved this that's wonderful what's next in terms of improvement to make the school even better. Award days and ceremonies like this is a is a collective celebration where people can actually say ‘you know what we do a great job come and learn about what we do I'd love to learn about what you're doing’ and it just takes out of that that one little moment out of the busyness of what is such a you know a really full-on school day.
I would like to congratulate all the other finalists so Geraldton, Bob Hawke and Malibu school.
I think it's quite testament to the awards about the diversity of schools that were finalists in our category and I guess just encourage people to keep doing the great work that everybody's doing. As I said I think everybody wakes up in education, wakes up to try and make a difference for other people.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
This year a new category has been added to the awards.
Judith King
The new category is excellence in well-being and learning.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Judith King is the Director of Service Design and Support at the Department of Education.
So what is the main criteria that schools need to know when applying for this award?
Judith King
It very much focuses on engagement programs, so how do we make sure our kids feel welcome, wanted, valued in our school community and what extra services or supports do we put in place or engagement programs that make our children really connect with their school community.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So why is it important to celebrate this area within schools?
Judith King
This is a really important area to celebrate in our schools. We know that supporting the wellbeing of our children over the years has become more complex.
We also know that schools take on more and more and do more to support our students, so understanding what role we can play in supporting the wellbeing of our children is really important and schools do that in a range of ways across our system.
So it's really important that we celebrate the great work that's actually already going on in our schools.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
And why is wellbeing important in our schools?
Judith King
Wellbeing is really important. We cannot just focus on the academics all the time. It's around wellbeing engagement and of course learning and making sure our children through quality teaching have the best opportunities within their school, as well as being able to show their strengths and what they like to do through other opportunities and other engagement programs.
So it's an extra way to foster connection to the school community and to make sure that all of our children get to celebrate things that they're really good at and that they feel that they can master.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
So what is your role in wellbeing at the department?
Judith King
I have been a part of the team that has developed the student wellbeing care strategy and we've recently launched the student wellbeing care future directions, which really talks about what is our role in supporting our most vulnerable children from a wellbeing care perspective? And what is the role of us in education?
And we go back to the focus on our quality teaching, the ability to provide engagement and support programs for our children and we know that when our children feel welcome valued and connected to their school community incidences are reduced.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
Is there any other comment you'd like to make about the awards or the category?
Judith King
It's just really fantastic to see the Department recognising schools that go above and beyond to support the well-being needs of their students so good luck to all schools.
Fiona Bartholomaeus
You've been listening to Ed Talks WA, a Department of Education WA podcast.
Thanks to our guests for joining me on this episode and congratulations on their wins during last year's Education Awards.
If staff at a WA public school wants to nominate for the 2024 Western Australian Education Awards, you can do so on the Department of Education website at education.wa.edu.au/awards.
That again, education.wa.edu.au/awards.
This episode was recorded on Wadjak Noongar land.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians and pay respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
Stay tuned to your favourite podcast player for future episodes.
Notes
Read about last year's WA Education Award winners.
Learn more about the 2024 Western Australian Education Awards here.