• The Age Schools Summit

    Disruption, resilience and new possibilities

    11 June 2025 |  The Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne

    BOOK NOW Register Interest

Overview

The Age Schools Summit 2025 – The premier event returns to Melbourne this 11 June.

Shaping the Future of Education in Victoria

Join leading educators, policymakers, and thought leaders at The Age Schools Summit 2025, where we tackle the most pressing challenges and opportunities in Victoria’s education landscape.

Through insightful keynotes, expert panels, and dynamic discussions, this summit provides a platform to unite Australia’s top educators and explore innovative solutions, policy updates, and evidence-backed approaches to enhance student outcomes.

Why Attend?

✔ Gain exclusive insights from top education leaders
✔ Engage in forward-thinking discussions on curriculum, technology, and student wellbeing
✔ Network with key decision-makers and peers shaping Victoria’s education sector

Register your interest to be amongst the first to receive early bird discounts, speaker announcements and the official agenda release!

2025 Exhibitors

Speakers


The Hon Ben Carroll MP
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education


David Howes
Deputy Secretary, Department of Education Victoria


Dr Edward Simons
Executive Director, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools


A/Prof Lisa McKay Brown
Associate Dean Diversity and Inclusion, Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne


Bronwyn Ryrie Jones
Teacher Educator & Instructional Leader


Sarah Asome
Principal, Bentleigh West Primary School


Chloe Painter
Deputy Principal, St Roberts Primary School


Dr Tim McDonald
CEO, the Y WA; Subject Matter Expert, The Engaged Classroom Initiative, AERO


Charlotte Peverett
Head of Teaching and Learning and Inclusion Outreach Coach, Lake Colac School


Penny Wade
Junior School English Coordinator, MLC


Karina Stocker
Learning Specialist and Instructional Coach, Docklands Primary School


Sonia Loudon
Assistant Principal for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Elevation Secondary School


Dr Ben Jensen
CEO, Learning First


Katie Roberts-Hull
CEO, Think Forward Educators


Justin Roberts
ReLate National Program Director, The Mackillop Institute


Shane Elevato
Principal, Surf Coast Secondary College


Tina King
President, Australian Principals Federation


Noel Towell
Education Editor, The Age


Melodie Potts Rosevear OAM
Founder, Teach for Australia


Kendra Parker
Director, Leadership Excellence Division, Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership


Alain Van Gurp
Student Wellbeing Leader,
St Kevin’s College


Sam Butterfield
Director of Teaching and Learning,
Hume Anglican Grammar School


Tim Bullard
CEO,
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership


Michelle Gillett
Principal, St Francis of Assisi Tarneit

Agenda

7:50

Registration and Morning Coffee

8:20

OPENING | Opening remarks from the Chair

Key Challenges for Victoria Schools in 2025

8:30

Keynote Address and Fireside chat |

The Hon Ben Carroll MP, Deputy Premier and Minister for Education

9:00

Keynote Address | The implementation challenge

  • Taking evidence-led change to scale
  • Addressing teacher workload in a world of increasing change and rapid technological advancement
  • Learning and wellbeing: the symbiotic connection

David Howes, Deputy Secretary, Department of Education, Victoria

9:30

Panel Discussion | Principals’ Panel – Addressing the key challenges in running a school today

  • Curriculum 2.0 – where are we at?
  • Navigating the move towards Explicit Teaching
  • Classroom management and behavioural issues
  • Addressing teacher workforce issues
  • Enhancing inclusivity in schools

10:00

Panel Discussion| Where are our future Principals coming from?

  • Assessing the evolving role, challenges, and competences of middle leaders in today’s schools
  • How sustainable is the leadership pipeline?
  • Managing Principal workloads
  • Achieving diversity in educational leadership
  • Successfully identifying and supporting aspiring middle leaders

Kendra Parker, Director, Leadership Excellence Division, Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership
Melodie Potts Rosevear OAM, Founder, Teach for Australia
Tina King, President, Australian Principals Federation
Tim Bullard, CEO, Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership

10:30

Morning tea

Behaviour Management and Wellbeing

11:00

Keynote Address | Interventions to promote school attendance and build systemic change

  • Risk factors for attendance difficulties
  • The multi-tiered systems of support

A/Prof Lisa McKay Brown, Associate Dean Diversity and Inclusion, Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne

11:30

Keynote Address| An evidence-based approach to classroom management

  • The engaged classroom initiative
  • De-escalating misbehaviour and conflict
  • Maximising students’ learning time

Dr Tim McDonald, CEO, the Y WA; Subject Matter Expert, The Engaged Classroom Initiative, AERO

12:00

Reclaiming the classroom – an integrated system-wide blueprint

  • Empowering teachers to teach and students to learn
  • Digital devices and the distracted generation

Dr Edward Simons, Executive Director, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools

12:20

Panel Discussion | How successful classroom management can enhance wellbeing

  • How to create a whole-of-school approach to wellbeing?
  • What are high-impact wellbeing strategies and what are their benefits?
  • How positive behaviour programs can enhance wellbeing and help to nurture respect, inclusiveness and belonging
  • How successful classroom management can alleviate bullying and harassment

Sarah Asome, Principal, Bentleigh West Primary School
Justin Roberts, ReLate National Program Director, The Mackillop Institute
Alain Van Gurp, Student Wellbeing Leader, St Kevin’s College

12:50

Lunch

Disability and Inclusion

1:50

Panel Discussion | Disability and Inclusion

  • Determining the needs of individual students. What works best for them and their classmates?
  • Building knowledge and increasing awareness of student needs
  • Staff training and development to enable inclusive education to excel
  • Building inclusive education capability through outreach coaching

Charlotte Peverett, Head of Teaching and Learning and Inclusion Outreach Coach, Lake Colac School
Michelle Gillett, Principal, St Francis of Assisi Tarneit
Karina Stocker, Learning Specialist and Instructional Coach, Docklands Primary School

Curriculum Reform and School Improvement

2:20

Challenges schools are facing with the new curriculum

  • Understanding what is and isn’t in Curriculum 2.0
  • The most common areas of concern for schools implementing the new curriculum
  • Structuring teaching and learning to overcome the challenges of a new curriculum

Dr Ben Jensen, CEO, Learning First

2:40

Panel: School Improvement

  • What does school improvement look like? Is continual growth possible?
  • What are the major impediments to school improvement and how are they best overcome?
  • Achieving staff buy-in to new programs and ideas
  • Prioritising future growth opportunities

Shane Elevato, Principal, Surf Coast Secondary College
Sam Butterfield, Director of Teaching and Learning, Hume Anglican Grammar School

3:10

Afternoon Tea

Evidence Based Teaching and School Improvement

3:30

Implementing responsive teaching

  • Why should we invest in explicit and responsive teaching?
  • Everyday barriers on the ground
  • Supports to sustain improvement in schools

Bronwyn Ryrie Jones Teacher Educator & Instructional Leader

4:00

Panel Discussion | Implementing explicit teaching with fidelity

  • The first steps to making big instructional shifts across a school
  • The professional learning teachers need to be successful
  • Ensuring fidelity to the evidence on explicit teaching
  • How to monitor and evaluate whether implementation is working to improve student learning

Katie Roberts-Hull, CEO, Think Forward Educators
Sonia Loudon, Assistant Principal for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Elevation Secondary School
Penny Wade, Junior School English Coordinator, MLC School
Chloe Painter, Deputy Principal, St Roberts Primary School

4:30

Closing remarks from the Chair and Networking Drinks

Pricing

Early bird rate expires 16 May 20245

Packages Early Bird Rate Full Rate
FACE TO FACE – Schools/Govt/NFP Rate $895 + GST $995 + GST
FACE TO FACE – Supplier Rate $1,995 + GST $2,295 + GST
VIRTUAL PASS $795 + GST $887 + GST

Past Event Photos

The AGE Schools Summit 2023

Sponsorship & Exhibition

The Age Schools Schools Summit brings together Australia’s education sector to network and learn. Our event attracts the decision-makers in schools, associations and government, and we place a great emphasis on providing our sponsors and exhibitors with a highly targeted, quality audience.

Event sponsorship or exhibiting will allow your organisation to:

  • Generate leads from a high-level, targeted audience
  • Close sales in a more personal manner than via phone
  • Build relationships with potential & existing clients
  • Demonstrate your product in person
  • Network with the industry extensively in our pre-event marketing campaign

This year presents a unique opportunity to connect with buyers and sector leadership both face-to-face and virtually

Form meaningful connections, generate quality leads and build brand awareness at the premier meeting place for VIC’s education sector.

Testimonial

A great opportunity to discuss policy changes and the rationale for policy change in Victorian schools with other like-minded school leaders – 2024 Past delegate

It was a privilege and honor to present at the AGE School Summit. I was particularly impressed with the range of speakers and their ability to learn best practices occurring in schools. It was also interesting to hear from various speakers about how they are grappling with related topics and how each speaker is addressing the concerns of their individual situations – creating the opportunity to gain better insight from other’s perspectives.

An aspiration of mine is to improve the authentic connection between policymakers, University, current teachers and researchers to improve educational outcomes and reduce stress in schools – The AGE School summit is attempting to make this a reality.

ConnectMe

ConnectMe • Networking enhanced

All of our events utilise a bespoke dynamic smartphone app, ConnectMe – which guarantees attendees a premium event experience. Logins are sent prior to the conference commencement allowing you to check who’s attending, schedule in meetings and catch ups, participate in live Q+A and interactive polls, and much more. ConnectMe ensures you never miss a beat prior, during and post event.

Sustainability

Our Commitment to Sustainability

In Australia, we are committed to running our events in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Across Informa Connect we are focusing on the short and long-term sustainability impacts we have on customers and colleagues alongside the communities we work in.

We recognise that it’s not just about the way we produce our events and products but recognising that we have a role to play in providing a space to work in partnership together with our markets to inspire the sustainable development of the industries we serve.

To read more on our latest sustainability reports and Faster Forward initiatives – click here.

Venue

Rendezvous Hotel Melbourne
328 Flinders St
Melbourne VIC 3000
+61 (03) 9250 1888

Contact Us

Still have a question?

General Information & Registration
Customer Service
+61 2 9080 4307
[email protected]

Sponsorship & Exhibition Opportunities
Andrew Sinkovich
+61 2 9080 4008
[email protected]

Speaking Enquiries
Keith Barks
0412 642 124
[email protected]
Marketing & Media Enquiries
Libbie Sinclair
[email protected]