In 2025, Australian schools are facing some tough challenges – from student disengagement and declining attendance to increasing teacher burnout and a growing achievement gap in the classroom.
Compounding these pressures is the often-overlooked impact of secondary trauma, with many educators experiencing emotional strain from supporting vulnerable students. This has been linked to stress, burnout, rumination and higher staff turnover, placing additional pressure on school leaders to keep a firm finger on the pulse of their staff’s wellbeing.
Next week, a major conference in Melbourne will address these pressing issues, bringing together leading experts from Australia and overseas to share evidence-based strategies and practical solutions.
With a focus on strengthening wellbeing, safety and inclusion, the two-day The Lead the Way Conference 2025, being held 11-12 August, aims to provide school leaders with actionable insights to help reimagine practice and create safer, healthier and more supportive school communities.
Keynote speakers include internationally renowned education expert Professor Pasi Sahlberg, who will explore how schools can shape the future of learning; Associate Professor Lisa McKay-Brown, who will present global perspectives on boosting school attendance; and Dr John Molineux, who will share new research into the impact of secondary trauma on teachers and ways to reduce its effects.
‘Schools aren’t just preparing for the future; they are shaping it’
In his keynote address, Professor Pasi Sahlberg, Professor in Educational Leadership, University of Melbourne, shared insights from around the world with global research, and looked at the current state of education in Australia and internationally.
Professor Sahlberg says “schools aren’t just preparing for the future; they are shaping it”.
“In my keynote, I argue that education sits at the heart of a global revolution driven by three megatrends: climate change, technological transformation, and social and democratic shifts,” Professor Sahlberg told The Educator.
“We can’t predict the future, but we can create one that is fairer, more inclusive, and sustainable. The future won’t be handed to us; we have to lead the way.”
Professor Sahlberg said this means schools must see themselves not as bystanders or spectators, but as active players in this transformation.
“Leadership isn’t about waiting for new policies and next reforms; it’s about using the capacity we already have to make bold changes now,” he said.
In his keynote, Professor Sahlberg highlights three leadership shifts any school can make today to have more active role in co-creating the future we need:
- Deepen student-adult relationships. Keep teachers with the same group of students for multiple years. “Learning sticks when relationships run deep.”
- Rethink the rhythm of the school day. Build in recess and breaks for reflection, connection, and movement. “Wellbeing isn’t a reward to be earned; it’s the foundation of learning and wellbeing.”
- Create a culture of curiosity. In teaching and learning regularly ask “what if…?”, make experimentation safe by preparing students and teachers also to ‘be wrong’, and use data as a mirror for growth, not a window to others on a scoreboard.
“If schools want to lead the way toward the future we need, they must dare to rethink the very rhythms and relationships of schooling,” Professor Sahlberg said. “Change is already here. The question is, will we lead it or be led by it?”
A global problem that requires local responses
Associate Professor Lisa McKay-Brown, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, presented on the topic of ‘Recalibrating school attendance: global perspectives to inform local solutions.’
She says while internationally school contexts and systems are different there are shared learnings that she has gleaned from recently visiting eight countries on her sabbatical.
“We need to shift our thinking about attendance and move it from a monitoring and accountability process to an improvement process,” Associate Professor McKay-Brown told The Educator. “Attendance data is inherently inaccurate and only focuses on who is here and who isn’t.”
Associate Professor McKay-Brown said attendance data doesn’t tell us about learner engagement, nor is it nuanced enough to identify learners at-risk of attendance difficulties.
“We need to think more broadly about how we define attendance and move beyond it being about presence or absence,” she said.
“Building cultures of attendance that are linked to the broader purpose of schooling will enable us to engage more meaningfully with a diverse range of learners.”
Associate Professor McKay-Brown said the importance of building shared networks and alliances cannot be underestimated as schools cannot provide all the necessary supports required, particularly for chronic absenteeism.
“One of the most promising responses is implementing multi-dimensional multi-tiered systems of support that bring together learning, behaviour, wellbeing and attendance to provide a holistic framework to encourage engagement with schooling,” she said.
“Tiered frameworks enable us to target supports at the point of need and engage with learners, families and the broader community to consider solutions for a complex problem one system or sector working alone cannot solve.”
The wellbeing approach that works best
In his address to the conference, Dr John Molineux, senior lecturer in human resources management, Deakin University, spoke about the issue of secondary trauma and educators’ pathways to mitigating its impacts.
Dr Molineux presented on his research report, ‘The Silent Cost,’ that explored the real impact of secondary traumatic stress (STS) on educators across Australia and practical, multi-level strategies (from individual practices to system-wide responses) to better understand and manage its effects.
He says the most effective approaches in supporting educator wellbeing are integrated programs that are designed to the specific needs of the individuals within their contexts.
“For example, special educators need context-specific strategies and school leaders need different strategies to teachers,” Dr Molineux told The Educator. “Wellbeing programs within schools are best when they focus on holistic integrated strategies, with all staff involved.”
Deakin University’s research found that the educators who were doing best used a range of strategies to cope with secondary trauma.
“These included psychological coping practices, reflective practice, debriefing and journalling, a range of recovery and self-care techniques such as mindfulness, relaxation, exercise, good sleep practice, focus on hobbies and other interests, control over non-work, job crafting with work, and seeking and obtaining support from colleagues and leaders,” Dr Molineux said.
“A supportive and trusting environment within the school is critical, especially support provided by leaders.”
Dr Molineux said the research also found that training programs are not always effective but can be very effective when using an integrated, context-specific approach.
“Alternate strategies, such as having family support workers connected to schools can help prevent trauma at the source,” he said.
“Support from EAP providers also needs to be re-imagined at a systems level and targeted to specific contexts such as special education and remote schools.”