Education Ministers Commit to Principal and School Leader Wellbeing

Canberra, April 29 2024

The Australian Secondary Principals' Association (ASPA) welcomes the statement over the weekend from Australia's Education Ministers expressing their continued support and commitment to principal and school leader wellbeing. The statement follows a presentation to the Education Ministers Meeting (EMM) group last Friday in Perth by Andy Mison, ASPA President, and Angela Falkenburg of the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA).

This commitment was highlighted in the April communiqué published over the weekend from the Education Ministers' Meeting (EMM), which now includes the wellbeing of principals and school leaders as a critical aspect of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan.

"ASPA is pleased that the importance of retaining and sustaining our principals and school leaders is now firmly on the national agenda," said Andy Mison, ASPA President. "EMM has responded to the requests from ASPA and APPA for education officials to work with the national peak bodies to provide advice on further actions that can support principals and school leaders."

This positive development comes after many years of alarming data from the annual Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey published by the Australian Catholic University’s Institute of Positive Psychology and Education, which has consistently highlighted the challenges faced by principals and school leaders. The commitment from EMM to include the profession in discussions at the highest level of government about how to address these issues is a significant step forward.

The long running survey shows rates of occupational violence and other ongoing stressors are unacceptably high, with the issue of teacher retention a significant factor. Given that school leaders play the most critical enabling role in our schools , their health, wellbeing, and efficacy are essential prerequisites for happy, healthy, and successful schools. After more than a decade of monitoring, effective interventions are required.

The issue of principal and school leader wellbeing is now firmly on the EMM agenda as part of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, and will be discussed again at the next meeting of the EMM. This is a direct result of the work of ASPA, who raised the worrying trend data when they met with Federal Education Minister Jason Clare on March 21, and then secured a public commitment from Minister Clare to have this added to the Education Minister’s agenda at the ASPA National Education Summit at Parliament House on March 26th as reported in The Educator Online.

“With this renewed collaborative focus from Education Ministers, we look forward to developing and implementing practical measures to assist and enable our principals and school leaders to thrive in the job they love on behalf of school communities across the country,” Mison said.

ASPA looks forward to more detail from the Federal Department of Education in the coming days and will continue to provide advice on actionable steps to support the wellbeing of school leaders, ensuring their voices are heard.

Media enquiries: Andy Mison 0400202088

About ASPA:

The Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA) is the national peak body representing government secondary school leaders in every Australian state and territory.