30 July 2025

President’s Report

Dear TPA Members & Supporters,

With this Friday marking Primary Principals Day, it prompted me to give some thought to my own primary school principal from the early 1980’s. I still have clear images in my mind of most of my teachers, but with the principal being a constant from my first day of kinder, through to my last day of grade 6, memories of my principal are particularly vivid! Lining up for a morning assembly address on the asphalt, kicking the brown plastic footballs with us grade 3’s at lunch, his walkthroughs, asking about our learning, or just checking in because he cared, all still stick with me. Right through to his reassuring presence and caring smile when dealing with playground injuries, through to helping the whole school navigate the mixed emotions, apprehension and excitement of our school site ‘closing down’ and moving to a new campus.

Curiosity got the better of me this week, and a quick Google led me to an ABC radio interview with Helen Shield from earlier this year A tale of two teachers - ABC listen; the sound of Nigel Bentley’s distinctive voice immediately took me back to that time! As Nigel says during his interview, school wasn’t always a happy place for everyone when he entered the profession, but he absolutely made it his mission to shift that. From my perspective, I can honestly say it was mission achieved in a way that no test or assessment would have shown.

So whether it’s a handwritten card from a year one, a smile of thanks from a year 6, or a young adult going out of their way to say hi and share some exciting personal news because they remember you care, we’d all have plenty of moments like these that really fill our cup, and remind us of the joy that we can draw from these connections in what really is, as Nigel said, one of the best professions!

Whilst we mark Australian Primary Principal’s Day, it’s a perfect opportunity to acknowledge and show gratitude for the role that ALL of our school leaders play in communities around Tasmania.

On behalf of our state executive (pictured here with Tim Bullard, CEO AITSL and TPA Member guests), thank you for the work that you do, the connections you foster, and your commitment to public education and the profession in our state.

National Association

ASPA and AGPPA co-convened a meeting in Adelaide last week to discuss a range of topics that are relevant and timely to principals across Australia.

Joint Statement by ASPA and AGPPA July 21, 2025

Monday 21 July marked a historic occasion as the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association (ASPA) and the Australian Government Primary Principals’ Association (AGPPA), the two national peak bodies representing all public school leaders across Australia, convened for the first time. United by our shared commitment to equity and excellence, we developed a common vision: to support the learning and wellbeing of every Australian child.

There is a full joint statement focused on 6 key objectives:

• Principal Wellbeing
• Occupational violence
• National Education Policy Reform
• Policy Co-Design and Collaboration
• Leadership support and development
• Student Wellbeing

Other key items covered at the ASPA Board meeting concentrated on key presentations and discussions with Blair Boyer, Minister for Education SA, and Martin Westwell, CEO, SA Education and Dr Sally Larsen with her paper ‘Are Australian students’ academic skills declining?’

All states and territories are actively engaging in advocacy for school leaders based on supporting key wellbeing issues. As one state HR executive framed it, "There is no point in continuing to put healthy fish into a sick pond and expect everything to improve. We need to fix the pond."

Kind regards

Mat

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