Today, principals and school leaders from our 38 Catholic schools joined with Professor Emeritus Helen Timperely and support staff from the Catholic Education Office to learn more about how to keep school improvement simple, practical and focused on the main thing. This gathering—the fifth in our 2023 Continuous Catholic School Improvement Colloquium series—was held at The Pavilion Kiama, just a few hundred metres from the
picturesque Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Parish Primary School, Kiama.

Our model of Continuous Catholic School Improvement is at the heart of our strategy. It reflects the evidence-based position we have taken, that the best way to realise the outcomes in Lighting The Way is for schools to drive their improvement agendas— with enough time, resources and support to achieve real and lasting results.

Our mission is realised in the day-to- day interactions within schools, through the work of our dedicated teachers and school leaders and the commitment and engagement of our more than 20,000 students.

But as our Director of Schools has said, "our optimism doesn't mean we can't see opportunities to innovate and improve. In fact, the belief that every student is capable of improving in their learning while growing in their faith is at the very heart of our mission and moral purpose".

We have set ambitious aspirations in Lighting The Way. If we want to achieve these student-centred faith, learning and wellbeing outcomes, we need to ensure the conditions are in place for schools to drive high quality, local school improvement, while empowering our people to focus on the core work of teaching and learning.

Thank you to Professor Emeritus Helen Timperley for sharing her deep knowledge and experience of how to apply practical strategies to achieve real impact for students.

We can’t wait to see how our schools continue driving their improvement agendas and supporting students to grow in their faith, learning and wellbeing.