Looking at the agenda of this summit, I’m struck by not just its breadth – curriculum, assessment, workforce, wellbeing, AI, civics – but its coherence.

Because these are not separate conversations anymore.

They are all expressions of one central question - how do we deliver an equitable education grounded in excellence at scale in schools in 2026?

A recent global report out of McKinsey called ‘Spark and Sustain’ put the answer simply and powerfully - the systems that improve learning at scale don’t chase every new idea.

They pick a small number of priorities, back teachers to deliver them well, and stick with the work long enough for it to make a difference.

Looking across many jurisdictions, the Spark and Sustain report draws a clear distinction between short-term change and sustained improvement, showing us that lasting progress does not come from constant reinvention.

It comes from clarity of direction, disciplined execution and deep respect for the people doing the work every day.

That thinking sits behind everything we’ve been chasing – and will continue to chase – through our strategic roadmap, Our Plan for NSW Public Education.

It’s a commitment to be clear about what matters most, to support schools to do it well and to stay the course long enough for change to take hold.

We are all here because we share the belief that when schools are at their best we inspire impassioned young people, unlock their potential and ensure they are ready to make a positive difference in the world.

And public education is here to prove that EVERY learner – across more than 2,200 schools – CAN reach their aspirations in whatever field they choose.

The reality check – what schools are carrying

Everyone in this room knows that working in a school comes with enormous responsibility.

Teachers step into classrooms because they are eager to change lives, because they believe in their students and because they want to make a difference that lasts beyond the school gate.

I know that’s why I entered the profession 30 years ago.

I still consider myself to be a teacher first and foremost and that stays with me in how I lead at the system level.

But the conditions around teaching have changed over the years.

Expectations have grown and evolved over time – both for what students need, and for what parents and carers expect.

Teachers wear many hats. They are responsible for lifting literacy and numeracy, closing equity gaps, responding to student wellbeing needs, integrating AI thoughtfully and preparing students for civic life and work that doesn’t yet exist.

And doing this well relies on a system that is mindful of workforce pressures and reform fatigue.

My belief is that the future of schooling will not be built on more initiatives, it will be built on better coherence.

Improvement doesn’t come from volume; it comes from focus, sequencing, and execution.

And in NSW, reform isn’t about adding more to schools - it’s about making the system serve them better.

This is why the most high-performing systems around the world deliberately reduce noise.

Carey Wright – who led significant improvements in educational outcomes in the US state of Mississippi and spoke at this very conference in 2024 – put it simply when she said, “if everything is a priority – nothing is”.

It offers a warning many of us would recognise - that change overload exhausts schools, dilutes impact, and erodes trust.

We cannot ask schools to sprint a marathon – and we have a responsibility to protect time for planning and put our energy into where teaching and learning will have the greatest impact.

Teaching is a profession that thrives on purpose, on the drive to transform lives, and systems must honour that calling rather than crowd it out.

We can only inspire excellence if we invest in the conditions that make it possible.

And we can only lift outcomes for all learners if those conditions exist in every school community – not just some.

Curriculum and assessment – clarity before complexity

From a system perspective, our position is clear - a knowledge-rich curriculum matters deeply because knowledge is the great equaliser in schooling.

And when rich, structured content is systematically available to every learner, it expands what students can access, think about, and aspire to.

But curriculum alone does not change outcomes.

The true power of knowledge is only fully realised when it is taught well.

Which is why – in public education – the new curriculum is sitting alongside a greater push for explicit, evidence-based instruction in every one of our schools.

So every student, in every classroom, is able to build that knowledge step-by-step, with clarity on what they are learning, why it matters and how to improve.

This is where getting the balance right between diagnostic and formative assessment comes in.

At the end of the day, assessment should tell us how students are learning, not just where they sit on a single day.

Standardised testing like NAPLAN, phonics checks, and numeracy checks all have a valuable role to play.

They deserve our close attention and are critical in meeting and exceeding standards for the students we serve.

But the most powerful assessment in any school happens each and every day in the classroom.

It’s built into the way teachers listen to how students explain their thinking, the questions they pose mid-lesson, the feedback they give in the moment and the adjustments they make, lesson by lesson, student by student.

Over time, this adds to an even richer picture of where students sit in their learning - one that captures progress, not just performance.

Which is why the future of assessment should place value on learning growth for students of all abilities and on the professional judgment of teachers.

Because when students can see their progress, when they experience learning as something they can grow into, they believe they can further improve.

And that belief inspires them to see excellence within themselves.

If we look at some of our strongest value-add performers across the system:

Public schools like Menai High School, Arthur Phillip High School and Bossley Park High have been driving measurable progress for students over multiple years.

Menai High School, for example, has been a high value-add school for more than a decade.

This is a testament to Principal Luke Meagher and his team’s deliberate, whole-school approach to learning.

Enrichment streams in Year 7 are fluid to allow for movement where needed.

Year 9 students select electives aligned with their interests and strengths.

And in Year 11, teachers work with precision to push students to move up one band from wherever they currently sit.

This shows us that assessment should be used to inform teaching, guide improvement and support growth – not act as a proxy for worth.

And critically, when we talk about assessment reform – we must ensure that it is not done to teachers. It must be built with them.

When curriculum clarity, assessment design, and professional judgement are aligned, standards rise across whole classrooms and whole communities.

And those standards rise without gaps widening, which is the balance that a strong public education system is built to deliver.

Workforce – from attraction to retention to respect

No reform agenda survives contact with reality unless it is workforce credible.

We can talk about curriculum, AI and innovation all we like – but schools run on people.

We are proud that more teachers are choosing to join NSW public schools, with vacancies at a 12-year low for the start of the school year.

Increasingly, we are seeing teachers choose to build their careers in public education.

Resignations and retirements are trending down.

Teachers are staying longer, deepening their practice with us and continuing to invest in the communities they serve.

But the challenge in 2026 is not just supply – it’s sustainability.

I want every NSW public school teacher to build deep expertise, deliver decades of impact and ultimately feel like the system is in their corner.

That means we need to keep listening closely.

And we continue to hear loud and clear from schools just how much time matters.

That it’s the oxygen of quality teaching and instructional leadership and that without it, even the strongest strategy will suffocate.

This means protecting time to plan well, to engage in professional development, to differentiate for their students and to know them deeply.

It’s why we need to stay disciplined at the system level.

Because every new initiative costs attention.

And it’s why NSW public education has made a deliberate shift - from asking schools to cope better with workload to asking the system to create the conditions that make it manageable.

And we do that by:

• Removing or simplifying low-value administrative tasks – like streamlining all mandatory training modules into a single competency check.
• Reducing duplicative reporting and compliance where it does not improve learning – like making external validation simpler and less onerous on schools.
• Providing clearer guidance and sequencing to schools aligned with curriculum reform and our focus on explicit teaching.
• And using technology, such as our generative AI tool, NSWEduChat – to streamline processes – not add surveillance.

So if we are serious about retention, we have to be serious about time.

And we have to pay close attention to teacher satisfaction because this isn’t a 'soft' outcome - it is the leading indicator of student success.

We are proud to now be seeing that reflected in the data.

Our latest People Matter Employment Survey results show a nine-percentage point lift over the past three years in teachers who say they are satisfied with their job.

It’s an extremely positive signal that the conditions for steady teaching and sustained improvement are being built.

Systems that ignore workload will continue to struggle with retention and lifting outcomes.

But systems that tackle it deliberately – like we are – will build stability, expertise and improvement over time. Creating the conditions where student excellence can truly flourish.

AI, innovation and the disciplined future

AI looms large in today’s program – and rightly so.

But the most important question is not, 'can we use AI?', it’s 'what problems are we trying to solve?'

And what must never be automated?

Our task is not to decide whether it belongs in education – it’s clear that it does because it’s already here.

Our task is to ensure it operates in the service of learning, not in substitution for it.

Our public schools are seeing proof of that with NSWEduChat – designed specifically for students and teachers.

To the points I made earlier about the protection of time, early data shows teachers are saving around 90 minutes per week through NSWEduChat.

This is time redirected back into the classroom.

And I want to be clear that AI can never replace the judgment of a teacher, the relationships that underpin learning, the daily observations and conversations that reveal how a student is feeling and the deeply human nature of education itself.

The future classroom will not be teacher-less.

It will always be teacher-centred.

So a successful embrace of AI requires clear guardrails, investing in professional learning and moving at the speed of trust, not hype.

In an AI age, knowledge matters more – not less.

Students need to know how to judge AI outputs, ask better questions, detect errors and create original ideas.

That’s why NSWEduChat does not simply generate answers.

And teachers have attested to its ability to guide students with structured questioning that deepens thinking and reflections.

Let me take one of many examples at Carlingford West Public School.

A Stage 3 teacher guided students to use NSWEduChat to generate feedback on their writing.

The assistant principal observed stronger engagement in the editing process, with students more willing to act on feedback and refine their work.

We must stay open to new tools like AI with intent and care and we must stay anchored in what we know works in education so, as our tools evolve, our commitment to lifting every learner, in every classroom, remains constant.

That is how we ensure innovation strengthens both opportunity and outcomes at the same time.

Equity and excellence – together

If I leave you with the one non-negotiable for our entire education system today, it is this - excellence without equity is fragile.

Equity without excellence is insufficient.

We need both — together.

Because excellence lives in every one of our schools.

It lives in reading and writing at Balgowlah Boys, in STEM enrichment at Murwillumbah Public School, in debating and public speaking at Batemans Bay High, in creativity at Campbelltown Performing Arts, in leadership and student voice opportunities at Griffith High, on the sporting fields at Eagle Vale and in thousands of other examples all over NSW.

The Inspire Program for high potential and gifted students now sits across every one of our schools - not as a specialist add-on but as a system responsibility to notice, nurture, and stretch all student ability.

True excellence, by design, should never limit opportunity by postcode, fees, or selection.

Rather, equity must be the lens through which every reform is tested and that includes the pursuit of educational excellence itself.

That is how we show communities what opening doors truly looks like.

And that is how we build trust that when families choose their local public school, they are choosing a first-rate education.

One built on high expectations, inclusion, and opportunity.

A shared responsibility

Schools sit at the centre of who we are as a society.

They are one of the greatest drivers of both economic prosperity and social cohesion.

When horrific terrorist attacks happen on a culture or religion like they did at Bondi – it's Education that is turned to as the answer.

Because education is where we build the shared knowledge, understanding and the mutual respect that hold diverse societies like NSW together.

We don’t shy away from that role, we double down on it.

Educational excellence will therefore always be discussed, scrutinised and reflected upon.

And so it should.

That is a healthy and necessary conversation for any society that cares about its future.

But the future of schooling will not be delivered by one sector, one minister, one system or one reform.

It will be shaped in grounding our ambitions in the people that carry the work every day - the principals who lead with courage and the teachers who we trust as professionals.

The road to long-term improvement also requires an enduring focus on the fewer, more cohesive priorities that make the biggest difference; consistent knowledge and explicit teaching practices in every classroom, enriching offerings that stretch learners in every community, and high expectations and aspirations for every one of our students.

And that’s why I know we are heading in the right direction.