The Principal, School Leadership (PSL) and Principal, Coach-Mentors (PCM) team members work professionally with principals to develop the mindset and capabilities needed to create sustainable leadership practices, and an effective, healthy school.

Each PSL/PCM supports principals through coaching, mentoring and professional learning activities. These combine to build the skillset needed by principals to lead and manage their schools, and enable strategic school improvement.

The PSL/PCM team assists principals to improve quality teaching in their school, and ensure the progress of all students, in alignment with the School Excellence Policy. This includes working with principals to facilitate the development of an evidence-based Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP), and facilitating the external validation process. Read the External Validation Guidelines on the School Excellence Policy webpage (listed under 'implementation documents' at right).

PSL/PCM support

Access the PSL contacts webpage for a list of PSLs across NSW and the networks they are affiliated with, and a list of all PCMs.

PSLs and PCMs are a statewide resource. If a specific or specialist skillset is required, email pslcoord@det.nsw.edu.au with your request and a PSL manager will contact you to discuss how the PSL/PCM team can best support your school.

The Principal, School Leadership role

The PSL role supports principals by:

• Work in strategic partnerships with other business units to support principals to lead effective, evidence-based improvement, innovation and change through the implementation of the School Excellence policy.
• Support principals of varying levels of experience to improve their professional practices with a focus on student growth and attainment, and strategic school improvement.
• Contribute to effective and sustainable leadership practices of principals by strategically supporting them to operate effectively in a complex and dynamic role.
• Support newly appointed, first time and relieving principals to reflect on their professional practice and set goals using the Australian Professional Standard for Principals and the Leadership Profiles.
• Work in a complementary manner with Directors, Educational Leadership (DELs) to provide differentiated assistance to principals in the management of their schools by developing their knowledge and understanding of instructional leadership, policy requirements and by developing their skills in resource management including finances, assets and staffing.
• Work in a complementary manner with DELs and other colleagues to provide differentiated support to principals in their instructional leadership role by working with them to analyse evidence of student progress and achievement in order to assess the impact of teaching and learning and determine high impact strategies for further improvement.
• Support principals to continuously improve teacher performance by developing principals’ skills to coach and mentor staff and provide quality feedback in order to continuously build the capabilities of teachers and leaders.
• Support principals in managing difficult and contentious operational and educational school-based issues.

The Principal, Coach-Mentor role

The PCM role supports principals by:

• Coach and mentor principals of varying levels of experience to improve their professional practices with a focus on student growth and attainment, and strategic school improvement.
• Contribute to effective and sustainable leadership practices of principals by strategically supporting them to operate effectively in a complex and dynamic role.
• Support newly appointed, first-time and relieving principals to reflect on their professional practice and set goals using the Australian Professional Standard for Principals and the Leadership Profiles.
• Maintain and model continuous improvement and active engagement in high impact professional learning.
• Develop a culture-reflective practice for principals to confidently apply relevant quality strategies and techniques when providing leadership, to meet challenges and capitalise on opportunities to determine high impact strategies for further improvement.
• Support the facilitation of professional support and learning networks for newly appointed first-time and relieving principals.
• Support principals in managing difficult and contentious operational and educational school-based issues.

The Collaborative Support Unique Settings (CSUS) role

Collaborative Support Unique Settings is a flexible, responsive, support for schools with unique settings. It is a partnership between a Principal in Residence and a literacy and numeracy expert, to provide targeted, timely support to build the improvement capacity of schools in specific areas of Literacy and or Numeracy. The support assists schools on their improvement journey and is aligned to the NSW Plan for Public Education, Strategic Improvement Plan and in particular SD1 Student Growth and Attainment and utilises evidence-based DoE resources.

The support is tailored to individual school context and is collaborative, evidence-based and well-structured. The focus of work is on building teacher and leader capacity to deliver improvement in student outcomes in Literacy and or Numeracy. It is not an additional program. It builds on school strengths and embeds a logical process into the School Improvement Plan. The expertise and support of the CSUS team ensures authentic partnerships and contributes to a collaborative environment.

The delivery mode is individualised and contextualised for each school and takes on a mixed approach with face to face and virtual sessions. A dedicated CSUS team is allocated to each school to work shoulder to shoulder with staff and principals to implement plans for improvement. Decisions regarding face to face or online delivery are made at individual local level. Opportunities for building communities of schools exist within the process.