Last year I wrote about the changing nature of principalship. Child safety in an increasingly legal and digital environment; the rise of psychosocial risk; parent expectations; the negative rhetoric propagated by the media about schools; the challenge of attracting and retaining exceptional teachers; artificial intelligence; reputation management; high-performance; financial sustainability; are just some of the current issues in 2026.

In 2022 we developed and launched a fifteen-year facilities masterplan. This process enabled sequential staged development and carefully stewarded investment in reimagining Westbourne Grammar for the future.

Most schools have a set of articulated values representing foundational beliefs that collectively identify and guide the direction of a school community. At Westbourne, our four values are Community, Courage, Creativity, and Scholarship. While values serve as a theoretical framework indicating what a school sees as important and worthy of pursuit, their transformative power is unlocked only when they evolve from abstract concepts into a system of lived virtues.

“Leadership is both a position we hold and a disposition we embody. Our leadership principles are not just aspirational; they are a commitment we make to each other, a call to action, and a framework for how we interact, how we make decisions, and our way of being. Whether you are a senior leader, a middle leader, or hold a position of responsibility, these principles define what is expected of us all. Together, they ensure that we approach leadership with purpose, integrity, and a shared drive to inspire and empower those we work with.”

In my PhD thesis, I wrote about the “apprenticeship of observation.” Simply, this means that most of the Western world has been to school and therefore feels qualified to judge, critique, and comment on schools and those that have roles within these organizations. This judgment, critique, and comment is based on their individual experience which sometimes has merit but often is indicative of narrow or outdated views on schools and the roles of people that work in them.

In the face of Australia's persistent teacher shortage, talent management has emerged as a crucial strategic priority for schools. Talent management encompasses the identification, development, deployment, and retention of individuals who can contribute to the success of the school.