[00:00:07] Kylie Speer:
Hello and welcome to The Educator TV. I’m Kylie Speer and joining me today is Chrissy Gamble, Principal at Kingswood College. Kingswood College has been named as one of the winners of the Educator Hot List 2025. Welcome to you Chrissy, huge congratulations and thank you so much for joining us today.
[00:00:29] Chrissy Gamble:
Thank you. I’m really grateful and excited to be with you.
[00:00:33] Kylie Speer:
Well, firstly, Chrissy, you lead the College’s Future Focused Strategic Plan 2025 to 2029, a five-year roadmap that reimagines what school can be. How did you decide on the five strategic pillars of bold expectations, exceptional staff, strong connections, future ready and sustainable legacy?
[00:00:57 ] Chrissy Gamble:
That’s a great question. Firstly, I just wanted to say how incredibly proud we are of the plan. It is bold, it is ambitious, and we’re really delighted with how well it’s been received, both within our community and beyond our community. The five pillars emerged from a process of really deep listening and a lot of reflection. We spent a lot of time engaging with our students, with our staff, with families and with our alumni to understand what truly makes Kingswood College really special and where our ambitious could take us for the next 135 years, given that this is our 135th year. Each pillar was chosen to reflect both who we are and also who we aspire to be. Bold expectations represents our shared belief in high expectations and also in the growth of every learner in our care. Exceptional staff acknowledges that none of that will happen without the backing and commitment of incredible staff and they are the heart and soul of our school and very much we believe in people. So strong connection speaks to community and to partnerships. Future Ready really focuses in on our master plan and our learning environments very much through a lens of innovation. And sustainable legacy ensures that the choices that we’re making today will ensure that we continue to thrive and be responsible tomorrow and in the many years beyond us. So we see the pillars as the five core anchors for our school’s future.
[00:03:01] Kylie Speer:
Chrissy, if we narrow in on the Sustainable Legacy Pillar, which embeds environmental practices, strengthens international student programs and expands reconciliation initiatives within the curriculum. Is the true test of your leadership to ensure these things are a fundamental part of the school, even after your tenure?
[00:03:25] Chrissy Gamble:
Leadership to me is actually not about leaving a mark. It’s about leaving a legacy that continues to grow when I’m not here. So the sustainable legacy pillar is designed exactly for that, to ensure that Kingswood College’s culture of stewardship, of service, of inclusion and global citizenship remains ingrained into the very fabric and fiber of our school. Our work in environmental sustainability, international education, reconciliation is about embedding core values, not programs. For instance, our commitment to reconciliation is not actually a statement, it’s an ongoing journey, one that continues to shape how we teach, we learn and we ultimately connect. Similarly, our environmental focus is about equipping our students with both the mindset and the agency to act for the planet. If these principles sort of remain lived and visible long after I’ve gone, I think that will be the measure of my leadership. In other words, sort of a community that continues to evolve with integrity and purpose well beyond my time here.
[00:04:51] Kylie Speer:
And if we look at the Future Ready agenda, which includes the implementation of a renewed school master plan, what does the master plan entail and how do you instill a culture where staff are focused on the future but don’t lose sight of the present?
[00:05:09] Chrissy Gamble:
We’re really excited about our master plan. If you haven’t had an opportunity, just jump onto our website and check it out. It’s a really important cornerstone of our Future Ready pillar, it’s not actually just about the buildings, it’s about creating learning environments that inspire learning, lots of creativity, and most definitely connection. The plan includes reimagined learning hubs, flexible learning spaces, and revitalized sort of outdoor areas across the school that really promote connection to nature and community. It’s a 50-year plan, so that’s incredibly ambitious and it balances both the future and the present, and I think that is most certainly a leadership art form. So I really encourage staff to be visionary, but also for our staff to be grounded and to keep the long-term goals always in sight whilst also sort of focusing on every individual student in front of them today. And we achieve this through being really reflective in our practice, through lots of collaboration and lots of clear aligning between daily teaching and our strategic ambitions. So I think the future is built in the moments of the presence and our job is to ensure that both are on it equally. Together the pillar forms a framework that not only directs our strategy, but also articulates the very reason why our beautiful school exists, and that is to embolden hearts and to inspire minds.
[00:06:58] Kylie Speer:
As a member of the Association for Gifted and Talented Education, Victoria, how do you lead your school to meet the needs of gifted learners without it being at the expense of other students?
[00:07:12] Chrissy Gamble:
I think that meeting the needs of gifted young people is actually not about creating separation at all. It’s about meeting every learner where they are and challenging them to go further. I believe with all my heart that every student has the fundamental right to learn in their zone of proximal development every day. I have been fortunate to have attained a master’s by dissertation looking at academic acceleration gifted students. So alongside that foundation, I’m really passionate about ensuring that gifted young people have an opportunity to be part of an inclusive school and one that values learning for all students, not just one type of student, but every single learner. And I think meeting the needs of gifted students is an area that can be particularly challenging for schools and one that we’ve really developed our niche in. And our school differentiation is actually central to our philosophy for every day. We want to create an environment where every student, whether they’re gifted or twice exceptional or developing at a steady pace, can experience challenge, success and joy in learning every day. And I think that gifted education, when it’s done well actually lifts the whole school because it really champions a culture of aspiration and curiosity that surely benefits every young person.
[00:08:58] Kylie Speer:
And finally Chrissy, as you are recognized on this year’s Hot List for your leadership, what does being a good educational leader mean to you and as a leader where do you receive feedback and what metrics do you monitor to judge your own performance.
[00:09:15] Chrissy Gamble:
Oh, good question. I guess I wanted to say that being recognized on the Educator Hotlist is a deeply humbling experience for me and I only lead the way I lead because of the influence of so many incredible people in my life. So I want to actually acknowledge them because they are the reason I am and I’m humbled because the accolade really represents such a collective achievement. I think that… I’ve always felt that leadership is a privilege and it’s deeply grounded actually in service, in a profound vision and also in a big bucket load of humility. For me, good educational leadership is about creating conditions for other people to really thrive for young people. I try very hard to listen before I lead. I try to be really courageous and to make decisions, but I also try to remain anchored in our values, our core values and my own personal values, which deeply align, even when things get really complex and tricky. So I guess feedback then is central to everything that I do. I… Seek it from so many sources, from students, from staff, from parents, from peers. A lot of the time, feedback is really hard to hear, but it’s really incredibly important. And I deeply value that feedback and reflect on it a lot. I try to sort of monitor outcomes, student growth and engagement metrics are absolutely me. fundamental to what we do here and it’s how I measure our success as a school. Are our students learning? And that’s how I sort of reflect on my effectiveness as a leader. But I think it’s also to try and measure more qualitative metrics like trust, like culture and joy. And ultimately, our recent MMG survey was a whole school survey that we conducted really gave us reassurance that our school community definitely trusts my leadership and our collective leadership and that was really reassuring to hear. But I guess I would say that ultimately leadership growth or leadership success is not actually for me measured by my own personal recognition but rather by the growth, the character and ultimately the confidence of the community that I am entrusted to lead.
[00:12:21] Kylie Speer:
Fabulous. Well, thank you so much for your time today, Chrissy, and congratulations once again. It’s always so lovely to have you on the show.
[00:12:29] Chrissy Gamble:
Thank you. It’s been an absolute pleasure to talk today and really grateful for the opportunity.
[00:12:36] Kylie Speer:
And thank you, of course, to our viewers for watching the latest episode of The Educator TV. We look forward to seeing you again soon.