Narrator

The Aboriginal Education and Communities Directorate presents an illustration of practice from Singleton High School, showing how the school strengthens Aboriginal education by embedding the Guiding Principles in its leadership approach.

The Guiding Principles in Leading Aboriginal Education framework empowers school leaders to drive positive change through collaborative leadership, cultural responsiveness, high expectations, place-based decision making and high impact professional learning. It provides structure for self-reflection and action, opening connections with Aboriginal communities.

Leaders at Singleton High School foster an inclusive culture, and shared responsibility for Aboriginal education through personalised learning pathways. This enhances visibility, engagement, and collaboration, improving communication with families and keeping student goals at the forefront.

Liana Gill

We're a comprehensive high school. We are in a rural setting but we have about 912 kids and we have approximately 240 Aboriginal students and over a hundred staff.

Belinda James

The actual process itself we found really helpful because it was so structured. It was, it was hard to lose your way, so it kept us on track and at a pace that was realistic and where we needed to go.

There were quite a few data collection points at the outset towards the end and at different, after different PL opportunities that we had, and we were able to utilise that data to direct the work that we were doing, which was really good.

The staff that worked with us were sensational. They were so approachable when they came into the school to deliver.

Beay Berman

I had two roles in this. The first one was as a PLP mentor, but then I was also responsible for developing a folio in our learning management system where we could communicate with parents and upload work samples that were matched against the goals from the PLP.

Having teaching staff back involved in the PLP process is probably the biggest outcome in my staff room alone. Just the conversations around the students, their goals, their interests that are coming out of those PLP discussions.

I think because we had those regular PLPs that the training sessions, it was always the forefront of my mind as to where we were in the process, what we needed to develop next, and it just kept us very on track.

Zoe Allmark

I think for me it's the time to actually do it and the expertise training to be able to complete the PLP process. I'd never completed one before. I'd heard about them, but of course that was something that was done by the Aboriginal team, so for me it was just the confidence to actually complete the program, to actually complete the interviews and to also bring the academic rigor that us as teachers bring into the process.

It's also opened up conversations with the students that I'm a PLP mentor for, mentor for, and they feel like they can come to me and talk about not just the academic side, but also cultural significance as well, which has been a really important process.

Narrator

The professional learning is designed in three components, modelled on high impact professional learning. The Guiding Principles focuses on the expected, observable practices of principals and school leaders who are committed to focusing on Aboriginal education within the SEF'S leading domain.

In Component one, school leaders are encouraged to evaluate their school's performance in Aboriginal education. Using the Aboriginal perspective of the school excellence framework. They also reflect on their own abilities to effectively lead Aboriginal education in their school community.

In Component two teams work on a place-based action plan designed to meet the specific needs of their school. This phase lasts up to 10 weeks, allowing for targeted and strategic efforts.

In Component three, school leaders showcase and celebrate the accomplishments achieved during the process, emphasising the progress and positive impact of their work in strengthening Aboriginal education within their school.

Jo Vincent

The whole process has reinforced to me that we are on the right track. It is picked up some things along the way that we could have done better, and there's always things that you can do better. There's always room for improvement and, and it's really important for us to know what they are.

Peter Jackson

The most significant thing is a whole school shift, where it’s no longer one person or one team's responsibility. It is a responsibility of senior high school to meet the needs of the kids that come through our gates.

Narrator

Through leadership, that is equitable, relational and responsive, schools can drive positive changes in practice, school culture and student outcomes, benefiting the entire school community.

Reach out to your local Aboriginal Education team to further discuss this professional learning and other opportunities we offer.