It's been a few months since the last edition of Principals Byte was published. During that time Principals Australia has been managing a number of changes. Chief among these was Susan Boucher's decision not to reapply for the position of CEO. I was appointed to that position in January, and began work in late February. As you can imagine, the last three months have been hectic as there are significant challenges, both internal to PA and external that require immediate action; and at the same time I'm learning about the organisation and its people, and they are getting to know me.

The work that Susan Boucher did in establishing and growing first APAPDC and then Principals Australia was important. The legacy she leaves the profession, and in particular principals and other school leaders and their associations is particularly valued. Her commitment to improving learning outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people (which began well before this became central to the national agenda), and mental health outcomes for students generally, leaves a most valued legacy. I am determined that the work of Dare to Lead, MindMatters and KidsMatter continue and flourish.

The experience I bring to this position includes senior management and policy development at national and state levels in education, health, and the not-for-profit sector. My last role with the SA Department of Education and Children's Services was coordinating the Departments input to, and the shaping of, the national education agenda that all Australian governments have signed up to.

The education landscape in Australia has changed dramatically over the last couple of years, and continues to change at high speed. As one of the associations' presidents commented, "It's like walking into a gale". The pressure on schools and those who lead and manage them, has been strongly ratcheted up. There is nothing to make us think that this is not the way it will be from now on. It is our job at PA to do what we can to inform, support and develop the profession's responses and capabilities through the provision of professional support, development and life-long learning in managing the current agenda, and increasing its influence on the agenda as it evolves.

To do this well we need to get a snap-shot of the context, concerns, needs and dreams of principals from across the country. In this age of evidence-based decision-making, we need robust and credible data to inform our strategic conversations and planning and to facilitate resourcing. At the moment the data is fundamental and, of course empowering. As a result the PA Board and owner organisations have agreed that PA should implement a nation-wide approach to gathering vital information from principals with the assistance of a professional research company.

This is very important in obtaining and utilising the information we need, and leveraging it to effectively support you.

I know how busy you are dealing with the impact of the national reform agenda let alone the day-to-day leadership and management of your schools; but to make it work we will need your help. We will be in touch soon about next steps and arrangements for sharing the information with you.

Principals Australia would like to thank and acknowledge the work of two of our Branch Conveners that retired from their voluntary role with PA at the end of 2009. Mrs. Bobby Court (Tasmania) and Ms Bernie Lloyd (Victoria) gave many hours of their leadership skill and experience to their respective branches, and to Principals Australia nationally.

We therefore extend a special welcome to our new Branch Convenors , Peter Fraser (principal of Beaconsfield Primary School, Tasmania) and Jude Rivers (principal of Our Lady of the Way Primary School, Victoria).

John Laing, a former Tasmanian school principal, was a foundation member of the Australian Principals Association Professional Development Council (now Principals Australia) in 1993. John's passionate belief and energy was the driving force behind the first cross-sectoral professional learning project for all school leaders in Australia.

John's retirement from the profession prompted a special award to be set up in 2004 in his honour - the John Laing Professional Development Award. This was established to recognise the significant contribution of school leaders to the professional learning of other school leaders.

The John Laing Professional Development Award is a non competitive, peer nominated celebration of school leadership and professional learning, and is managed through the Branches. Our main aim is to celebrate leadership learning: for school leaders by school leaders.

As the support project for schools affected by the February 2009 bushfires moves into its final two months, we are pleased to report that most schools are making significant progress with their regeneration and recovery process.

Many school staff have attended the Series 1 and 2 training and support days provided by the Principals Australia (PA) and the Australian Child and Adolescent Trauma, Loss and Grief Network (ACATLGN) in 2009 and 2010. Positive feedback from these sessions has indicated that we have a made a real difference in supporting staff and their students with the recovery process.

To complement the Series 1 and 2 training we are now asking for schools to express their interest in individual school visits. The Series 3 School Visits Program aims to provide schools with the opportunity to engage in a session(s) that would support an individual school's recovery process. To meet this need the PA and ACATLGN team are working with the Department of Education and Early Childhood & Development (DEECD) and have devised an individualised school visit program to be undertaken in the second half of Term 2, 2010. Schools can request to have members of the ACATLGN & PA team visit their school and work with staff and parents on selected topics.

The objective of these Series 3 support sessions is to provide professional learning sessions in flexible ways, formats and times that suit individual schools, parents and their staff. A range of topics can be addressed, including:

• The impact of grief, loss and trauma on student well being and learning;
• Classroom strategies to engage and assist bushfire affected students;
• Management of the self care needs of teacher and other school staff;
• Whole of school recovery for Principals, school leaders and the school community; and
• Referral options for students of concern.

The L5 At Work: leadership learning online

Principals Australia's L5 at Work online modules have been designed for current and aspiring school leaders. 2010 has seen the addition of a new leadership module: Leading values education. A further module is in the development stage: Leading language education.

MindMatters: mental health and wellbeing in secondary schools

News of the MindMatters resources (updated 11 June)

The updated MindMatters resource documents remain in draft format, awaiting formal approval. They will include the latest evidence based research to support the professional development workshops and modules.

Draft versions of the revised Whole School Matters booklet have been widely consulted, providing guidelines for schools to develop a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing. These draft materials will be available to support the Level Two professional development workshops in the near future.

The classroom booklets on the topics of resilience, change; loss and grief, empathy and safety: bullying and harassment are in the process of incorporating consultation feedback and are also in draft format.

The MindMatters website is continually updated with many of the tools and models used to support the promotion of mental health and wellbeing across the school community.

Dare to Lead: Indigenous education

Dare to Lead has a commitment to supporting school leaders in making a difference for Indigenous students at all stages of education. The wide span of this commitment is exemplified by a Dare to Lead event on transitioning Indigenous students into post-secondary employment held in Melbourne in late April, and a forthcoming Early Years conference to be held in Adelaide in June.

There is a growing awareness that the parameters of school leaders' involvement must be expanded if outcomes for Indigenous students are to be improved. This means that Dare to Lead principals are looking not just at their youngest students, but also at the years between birth and formal schooling, and not thinking that the commitment and connection ends when students exit secondary school but extend into establishing worthwhile and viable pathways to higher education and the workforce.

The key messages of the Transitioning Indigenous Students into Employment event were summarised by moderator Lani Blanco-Francis as being practical and realistic; taking a collaborative approach; creating intergenerational change; and the importance of celebrating successes. "We are talking about intergenerational change here, for our children and our grandchildren," Ms Blanco-Francis said. "When we talk about holistic change it is for future generations as well."

At the other end of the spectrum, Dare to Lead is holding a full-day conference in Adelaide for preschool and early years leaders on 11 June 2010, called 'Leading the Little Fellas'.

Dare to Lead for Business (DTL4B)

While individual staff changes have occurred in recent weeks the activity of DTL4B remains unchanged. DTL4B continues to work with its current partners and indeed, during 2010, will be seeking to broaden its corporate partner membership even further. Action on the ground in a range of school-corporate partnerships is strong.

Principals Australia is currently discussing a variation to the contract to continue the project. Our first personal learning plans for students from Queensland have been signed - congratulations to the students, their families and their schools. We look forward to working with schools to support outcomes for young Indigenous people in other states in the Transitions Pathways work for DTL4B.

KidsMatter Primary

KidsMatter Primary is at an exciting stage of growth at the moment and it is hard to keep abreast of all that is occurring across Australia. Project Officers and partners continue to work closely with education and health sector personnel to manage the dissemination of KidsMatter in their respective state and territories. As the word continues to spread, the interest continues to grow!

The release of the final evaluation report is the culmination of three years of dedicated work by the Flinders University Evaluation consortium. In the past two months, members of the team have travelled around Australia presenting the key findings to pilot schools, new schools, education, and health and community personnel. To quote from the Executive Summary of the KidsMatter Evaluation Final Report:

KidsMatter appears to have impacted upon schools in multiple ways, being associated with a systematic pattern of changes to schools, teachers, parents and students. These included changes associated with school culture and approaches to mental health difficulties as well as changes that served to strengthen protective factors within the school, family and child. Importantly, KM was associated with improvements in students' measures mental health, especially for students with higher existing levels of mental health difficulties.

These presentations have provided an engaging forum to acknowledge the work of pilot schools and bring to life the findings in a meaningful and contextual way for the audience.

The beginning of the KidsMatter Early Childhood pilot and the Transition to School Parent Initiative are further examples of the commitment shown by health and education in supporting the mental health and well-being of Australian children and families.

Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia Project

Principals Australia commenced managing the Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia Professional Learning Program in September 2009 in partnership with the Asia Education Foundation. This national agenda project will be completed by June 30 2010.

The Principals Australia Branches have been integral to the project. The Branch Convenors from NSW, SA, QLD, NT, TAS, and WA were invited onto the State and Territory Coordinating Group, had input into the design of the training day agenda, delivered the Acknowledgement of Country and a background to Principals Australia at the start of the training day and received project reports and briefing for Branch members information. We thank our Branch Convenors for volunteering their time to assist us with this project.

Ninety three school leaders have formally entered the project from six states and territories and participated in their training days. A full day of professional learning has been completed in all states except Victoria, who have their own project.