Notable speakers ranging from school principals to independent experts will address issues such as educator burnout, conflict resolution, and the challenges faced by school leaders, at the National Education Summit.
For New Zealand-based former principal Mr Andrew Murray, being diagnosed with long COVID in 2023 was a significant turning point in his career. Working long hours prior to his illness, health and wellbeing was not top of his list of priorities.
“I was the 80-hour-a-week principal. I was the guy that used to go to a wellbeing conference and be in the back row answering emails. I probably wouldn’t have been able to tell you who any of the speakers were,” he says.
“When I got long COVID, it changed my life. I lost the ability to read and write, ride a bike and swim, and drive a car. My life was confined to the loungeroom for about three months. I had to pull the pin on my principal position and in 2024 I started a PhD in wellbeing and leadership.”
Mr Murray is one of several high-profile speakers in the Wellbeing for Future Focused Schools conference at the National Education Summit, taking place in Brisbane in July, and Melbourne in August.
As the education sector continues to grapple with the challenges of teacher burnout, student mental health struggles, and the evolving role of school leaders, the 2025 National Education Summit is placing a renewed emphasis on wellbeing.
“Wellbeing has become a critical issue that schools can no longer afford to overlook,” says Margo Metcalf, Creative Director of the International Expo Group, which organises the event.
“Teachers are leaving the profession in droves due to feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, while students are facing increasing pressures that are impacting their mental health. We have to find ways to better support the people at the heart of our education system.”
The Wellbeing for Future Focused Schools conference will feature a range of expert speakers tackling this multifaceted challenge. Opening the program in Melbourne will be Mr Adam Voigt, a former principal and prominent advocate for educator wellbeing. He will discuss how school leaders have, over time, absorbed an inordinate number of ancillary responsibilities as educators.
The opening session of the Brisbane conference will feature new initiatives from the Queensland Department of Education.
“The Department recognises that the wellbeing of our teachers is fundamental to the success of our education system. They really want to do more to support those on the frontlines, and this conference provides a great platform to showcase the strategies and resources they’re implementing,” Ms Metcalf says.
One of the key initiatives the Queensland Department of Education is highlighting is a new Principal Hotline.
“Principals are dealing with so many complex challenges these days, from student mental health crises to staff conflicts. The Department has set up this hotline to give principals a confidential outlet to discuss these issues and get the guidance they need, whether it’s connecting them to counselling services or providing advice on conflict resolution,” Ms Metcalf says.
She notes that the Department’s presence at the conference also reflects a broader push to reduce administrative burdens on teachers.
“They know red tape and excessive paperwork are major contributors to educator burnout, so they’ve convened a new working group to identify ways they can streamline processes and free up teachers to focus on what matters most – supporting the wellbeing and learning of their students.”
The conferences will also feature sessions from organisations such as The Big Sister Experience, which has been awarded a tender with the Victorian Department of Education to address educator burnout and mental health.
Current principals from schools including Padua College, Heathdale Christian College and St Joseph’s College Toowoomba will share practical strategies for fostering wellbeing in their communities.
“It’s not enough to just talk about the problem,” Ms Metcalf says. “We want to give attendees tangible takeaways they can implement as soon as they get back to their schools. The wellbeing of our teachers and students is simply too important to ignore.”
Taking place in Brisbane from 31 July to 1 August and in Melbourne from 28 to 29 August, the National Education Summit continues to be an important key professional development event for Australian educators since it was established in 2016.
Meet the speakers
Andrew Murray
Speaking from his own experience, Mr Andrew Murray says principals are overburdened and saying ‘yes’ to too much.
“I was the poster child for saying ‘yes’. I’d put my hand up and say, ‘Yeah, let’s do that, that sounds good’. It’s not only that principals are saying yes to too much but also that there’s too much expectation in terms of documentation.”
He says principals are also severely under resourced, which is leading to burn out, as the 2024 Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey highlighted.
“There’s renewed focus on student and staff wellbeing, but who’s caring for the carers? There’s a lot of data that links principal burnout with first responder burnout,” he says.
Having swapped his shirt and tie for in-depth conversations over coffee in the pursuit of research, Mr Murray will share insights from his research and interactions with professionals in the wellbeing space.
Thinking ‘big picture’, Mr Murray says effective wellbeing strategies need to go “beyond the weeds” of superficial initiatives such as morning teas and lunchtime yoga sessions, and instead become embedded in culture.
He highlights the need for principals to set an example by disconnecting from work and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
“If you’re going to set an example that at four o’clock you go home, don’t say to your staff that you don’t expect them to be there at four o’clock – and then they look at your office at a quarter to six and you’re still there,” he says.
Bianca Sciessere
Joining Mr Murray at the Melbourne conference are sisters Kritz and Bianca Sciessere, co-founders of The Big Sister Experience. Both former classroom teachers, Kritz and Bianca had noticed increasing mental health challenges in their classrooms.
Launched in 2019, The Big Sister Experience focuses on mental health and wellbeing programs for female-identifying and gender-diverse students, as well as parents and teachers.
“As a start-up, it was difficult trying to convince school leaders that mental health and wellbeing deserved to be front and centre for their school communities,” Bianca says.
She says the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of mental health, leading to increased funding and recognition of the issue.
In 2024, The Big Sister Experience was included in the Victorian Department of Education’s mental health menu, allowing schools to access its programs fully funded.
Bianca says many students are struggling with self-identity and lack safe spaces to explore who they are.
“Families are also dealing with mental health challenges, which can affect students’ willingness to share their own feelings. Social media comparison and the pressure to present a perfect life online are significant issues for young people too,” she says.
The sisters’ presentation at the National Education Summit will delve into these issues and focus on strengthening connections to improve student attendance.
“We created this session because we had so many schools reaching out to us, facing challenges of low attendance. We were seeing it firsthand – we’d have schools book a session for 100 students and 50 would show up,” Bianca says.
“Our session aims to empower teachers to set up school communities as a safe space so that students feel like they want to be there, they feel like they belong, and they feel like they’re being valued, seen, heard and respected.
“It’s a practical session with implementable strategies for teachers to go and implement in their school community to start rebuilding these connections with students in an emotionally safe way so that they actually want to be at school.”
Their session marks the fourth year presenting at the National Education Summit, which Bianca says has led to long-term engagement with schools.
“Many schools have returned year after year to work with us based on the value they find in our sessions,” she says.
Dale Sidebottom
In a time when teacher burnout and stress are at an all-time high, one speaker at the upcoming National Education Summit is aiming to reignite the joy and wellbeing of educators through the most unlikely tool: play.
Mr Dale Sidebottom, founder of The School of Play, knows firsthand the challenges of keeping students engaged. While struggling as a supply teacher in London, he had a revelation that would shape the rest of his career.
“I realised that unless I could get the students to feel safe and have fun, nothing I taught would really stick,” he says.
He began incorporating playful icebreakers and activities into his lessons and saw immediate improvements in classroom management and student learning. This experience sparked Mr Sidebottom’s journey into the world of play-based learning.
He developed mobile apps, ran workshops, and eventually left full-time teaching to focus on his play-based presentations, which are now in high demand worldwide.
His approach, which he calls the PEGG framework (Play, Exercise, Gratitude, Giving), is backed by research from La Trobe University showing significant benefits for mental and physical wellbeing. But the real power lies in the experience itself.
“Wellbeing can’t be taught – it has to be felt,” he says. “That’s why I don’t label my activities as ‘mindfulness’ or ‘gratitude.’ I just create fun, engaging experiences that allow teachers to be present and connect with themselves and their students.”
Rather than instructing students to write down three things they’re grateful for, Mr Sidebottom takes a different approach.
“We practice gratitude, but none of it involves writing anything down. We use specially designed play-based activities to practice gratitude – but we don’t label it.”
By stripping away their obligations and expectations, Mr Sidebottom aims to help educators rediscover the joy of teaching. His presentation at the National Education Summit will invite participants to play, laugh, and feel the transformative effects of bringing more presence into the classroom.
“If teachers can learn to have fun again, they’ll be so much more motivated to share that with their students,” he says. “That’s when the real magic happens.”
Mr Sidebottom’s own journey is a testament to the power of play. After leaving his full-time teaching job, he has gone on to present in 25 countries, including United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore.
With his infectious energy and evidence-backed strategies, Mr Sidebottom is on a mission to help teachers rediscover their passion and resilience through the transformative power of play.
Adam Voigt
Starting as a teacher in 1994, Mr Adam Voigt has worked in remote Aboriginal communities, special education, and primary schools, eventually becoming an assistant principal and principal.
His interest in school culture was sparked when he was appointed foundation principal at a new school in Darwin, leading him to establish Real Schools, an organisation which partners with schools across Australia to transform their school culture.
“Developing a thriving school culture is crucial, yet many struggle to define it beyond vague terms like ‘the vibe’ or ‘atmosphere’,” Mr Voigt says.
“Everybody thinks that culture is really important, but nobody’s quite sure what it is.”
He defines school culture as a collective noun for behaviours that are encouraged – and those which are tolerated.
“A good framework should move tolerated behaviours to encouraged behaviours efficiently and effectively. The school leadership’s primary job is to develop and maintain this culture, which is the focus of my presentation at the National Education Summit in Melbourne,” he says.
Mr Voigt says student behaviour is the number one cause of negative impact on teacher wellbeing.
“A school culture that reduces the need for teachers to deal with student behaviour issues can improve teacher wellbeing. We want teachers to focus more on helping students make progress in learning and social interactions rather than managing behaviour,” he says.
Real Schools’ team of 12 former principals works with 300 schools across Australia over a three-year period, offering support through professional learning, classroom mentoring, and teacher coaching to overhaul school culture. Schools that have implemented Real Schools’ program have seen positive results, such as increased staff retention and satisfaction.
“Some of the schools we’ve worked with have reduced their student suspensions by 50-60 per cent,” Mr Voigt says. “We’ve got schools with 100 per cent of their staff saying they’ve got absolutely no intention of leaving the school or leaving their teaching career.”
National Education Summit
Brisbane: 31 July – 1 August
Melbourne: 28 – 29 August
Register at www.nationaleducationsummit.com.au
