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[00:00:09] Kylie Speer: Hello and welcome to The Educator TV. I'm Kylie Speer and joining me today are Melissa Powell, Principal and Celena Meacham, Head of Secondary Teaching and Learning at Swan Valley Anglican Community School. Swan Valley Anglican Community School has been named as one of the winners of the Educator 5 Star Innovative Schools for 2025. Welcome to you, Melissa and Celena. Huge congratulations and thank you so much for joining us today. 

[00:00:39] Melissa Powell: It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you. 

[00:00:42] Celena Mecham: Thank you, Kylie. 

[00:00:43] Kylie Speer: Well, firstly, Swan Valley turns 20 in 2026. Melissa, looking back on the school's journey, how has it grown and how does it ensure that the diversity of its students coming from more than 78 national backgrounds is recognized and celebrated? 

[00:01:02] Melissa Powell: So our school has grown remarkably over the past 20 years from a brand new small school into a really vibrant pre-Kindy to Year 12 Innovative Centre for Learning. So next year in 2026, we anticipate that we're going to grow to around 1500 students. So our facilities and programs have expanded, but we believe that what truly defines us is our commitment to inclusion, compassion and respect. They're the values that guide everything that we do. Alongside that, our Anglican identity is the foundation of our school culture. It reminds us every day that every person is welcomed and valued regardless of background. And that ethos shapes our approach to diversity, which we see as one of our greatest strengths. So as you said, with students representing more than 78 nationalities, we actively celebrate this richness through initiatives like our Buddy Program, NAIDOC Week, Harmony Day and special cultural events such as Diwali. And these experiences create fabulous opportunities for students to learn from one another and foster a deep sense of belonging. So beyond events, diversity is embedded in our daily life. Our curriculum reflects global perspectives. And our student wellbeing programs nurture empathy and understanding. As we look ahead to our 20th anniversary in 2026, we remain really committed to being a school where diversity is not just acknowledged, but celebrated. And we believe that's what makes our community so special and so strong. 

[00:02:39] Kylie Speer: How do the school's values help shape the kind of young people you want your students to become? 

[00:02:46] Melissa Powell: So we've got six school values, commitment, compassion, excellence, inclusion, resilience and respect. And it's the foundation for the kind of young people that we really aspire to nurture. These were generated by our staff and are owned by our whole community. So they genuinely reflect who we are and what we stand for. So together with our mission and vision, they help guide us to develop students of integrity who are aspirational, accountable, courageous and community minded. We bring our values through a whole school focus to life every year. One value is chosen as our theme. This year, it was compassion. So at our welcome assembly in term one, we announced the theme and we share clear markers, the practical ways that our whole community can live out that value across the year. Our weekly assemblies keep the theme front and centre and remind everyone how they can demonstrate it in daily life. to make the theme visible and joyful. Our technologies department creates really large, colourful letters spelling out that value, and our staff and students take these letters to excursions, incursions, carnivals, and significant events. It's really playful and great for creative photography, but more importantly, it sparks conversations about why the value matters and how we embody it together. So recognition is another key part of our approach. Every term, one student from every primary class and every secondary homeroom is presented with a certificate for embracing the theme. And staff are also acknowledged after peer nominations. We also highlight the theme through creative learning. In term three, every primary class designs a poster on that year's value and presents it at our whole school poster parade. And every poster is featured in our yearbook. At the end of the year we compile the theme posters and photos into a short video reflecting on how the values shaped our year. And finally, one of our most cherished traditions happens at Valedictory. When our Year 12 students graduate, each receives a copy of All the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss, a book that encourages resilience, self-discovery and taking responsibility for life's journey. Over 200 students and staff from kindy to Year 12 join together with me to read the book aloud in a video shown on Valedictory Day. It's a powerful reminder that while challenges are inevitable, our graduates leave equipped with values and character to navigate life with what we hope is courage and hope. 

[00:05:34] Kylie Speer: The Whole School Buddy program connects students of different ages and experiences. How does this program strengthen belonging and connection across the school community? 

[00:05:46] Melissa Powell: Belonging is absolutely essential for our students to thrive. And at Swan Valley, our whole school buddy program is one of the most powerful ways that we create that sense of connection. It brings together all of our students from kindy to year 12. We pair our primary students with their secondary buddies for shared activities on all sorts of important days throughout the year. And the goal is simple, but we think it's quite profound. And that's to develop relationships that make our school feel friendly, warm and supportive. So these connections benefit absolutely everyone. So the younger students, they gain confidence and they feel secure knowing that they have an older buddy looking out for them. For the older students, the program reinforces how important they are as individuals within our school context. They see that who they are and how they think, act and behave contributes to our school culture. And regardless of the activity, the real benefit lies in the familiarity and friendship forged between the little buddy and their big buddy. Our buddy program is also a really amazing expression of our values and action. Every year we choose a song that reflects the whole school theme and we choreograph a dance for everyone, the whole school, students and staff from kindy to year 12, all performing side by side. So this year our theme was compassion and our song was Try A Little Kindness by Glen Campbell. So we all joined together in a whole school line dance in country and western style. We shared the video with our community, which captured all the unity, joy and spirit that flows from living our values together. 

[00:07:27] Kylie Speer: The school has designed a bespoke learner profile with eight attributes. Can you talk about how this framework came about? 

[00:07:36] Celena Mecham: Sure. Our bespoke learner profile was created to clearly define the qualities and skills that we want every one of our Swan Valley graduates to have. It reflects our mission, which is to inspire our students to be the best that they can be, whatever pathway they choose. And it ensures that our teaching and learning programs prepare students not just for academic success, but for life. So the idea was inspired by my previous experience in an IB school, where the IB learner profile gave staff and students a shared language. So we wanted something similar for Swan Valley, but something that was uniquely ours. The process began with whole school discussions about what we wanted our learners to be. Our teaching and learning committee drove this work and recognising that we are a pre-Kindy to Year 12 school and that some students will spend up to 15 years with us. So we wanted a framework that united the entire school community. It was very deliberate. It was a staged process, very small steps to start with, lots of time, and then we scaled it up. It took a full year to craft a statement of intent, which informed the learner profile, and two years of whole school contribution to decide on the eight attributes. It was really important that it wasn't top down, but it was built with ownership by the staff and input from across the school. So our learner profile attributes are now embedded in our curriculum, in student wellbeing and all of our co-curricular programs. And they even influenced how we celebrate achievement. Our academic awards now reflect pride in effort and growth and not just grades. The learner profile gives us a common language and a clear vision. 

[00:09:29] Kylie Speer: How do you build a culture where teachers feel confident to try new ideas and how do meeting schedules, leadership expectations and access to research and evidence help enable this? 

[00:09:45] Melissa Powell: So I think I'll start on this and I'll pass over to you. So building a culture where teachers feel confident to try new ideas absolutely starts with leadership modelling the right mindset. So at Swan Valley, we actively promote a growth mindset, encouraging staff to experiment, to take calculated risks and to look for new ways to improve teaching and learning. We make it really clear that it's okay to make mistakes because everything is a trial and learning should be enjoyable for both students and teachers. We also make sure that we celebrate the success and share stories of our staff who are you trailblazers and champions who've tried something new and made a real impact. So this recognition builds confidence in them, but also helps to inspire others to be innovative. And we also recognise the changing nature of our workforce. As everyone knows, we have different generations that bring different expectations. Some seek flexibility and creativity, while others value stability and clarity. So ultimately, we feel that when teachers feel safe to innovate and they know that their efforts are celebrated, they will thrive. And of course, when teachers thrive, students thrive. So what about you? 

[00:11:10] Celena Mecham: So thanks, Melissa. For me, building a culture where teachers feel confident to try new ideas comes down to intentional design. Our teachers are really willing to innovate when the structures around them feel coherent, purposeful and trustworthy. So we're really deliberate about how we use time. Our meeting schedules are designed to be efficient and effective and also to create that space for thinking. We protect time for staff to discuss, refine and share ideas and that consistency sustains motivation and keeps us aligned to our overall direction. Leadership expectations matter as well. So we're responsive to the pace of change. We adjust our expectations accordingly and teachers know they're supported. They can reflect on their impact and refine their practice rather than feeling the pressure, pressure to get everything right straight away. 

[00:11:57] Kylie Speer: How do teachers actively embed the learner profile in classroom practice and use it to guide teaching and learning? 

[00:12:07] Celena Mecham: Thanks Kylie. So as was said before it took a number of years to develop so it was first embedded as a shared language and over time it's become a framework for practice. It's been deliberately made visible across the school from pre-kindergarten right the way through to year 12. And we have our posters and icons that provide a consistent reference point for both staff and students. And visibility, we know, is particularly important for our younger learners, where the visual cues and shared language support that early reflection and understanding. But in the classrooms, all teachers begin with dialogue. So the learner profile has become the language of teaching and learning, helping students talk about how they learn, not just what they learn. and teachers are then able to connect the learner profile directly to learning and assessment experiences. So it's intentionally embedded in task design, formative assessment and feedback, and it's a strong focus on the development of attributes. Teacher feedback is not just about achievement, it's also about growth, how students are becoming more reflective, more collaborative, or more resilient over time. 

[00:13:10] Kylie Speer: After creating a culture that encourages experimentation, what's a- make it possible for teachers to continue using innovative teaching practices in meaningful and lasting ways? 

[00:12:07] Celena Mecham: Sure. So sustaining innovation requires strong systems that support both consistency and teacher agency. And we've been very intentional in establishing structures that allow innovation to endure. So this is rather than relying on individual effort or enthusiasm alone. A key support for us has been our whole school professional learning plan. It provides clarity while still allowing flexibility and staff are encouraged to find their own point of entry, recognising that innovation looks different across learning areas and at different career stages. We have found this approach builds ownership and helps teachers feel part of the work rather than overwhelmed by it. Also critical to this has been professional learning communities, which is our teaching and learning committee. So it provides protected time for teachers to work collaboratively, draw on evidence, trial ideas and reflect on their impact together. So the shared process helps innovative practices move beyond individual classrooms and become embedded across teams. We also use structured evaluation processes, which is our curriculum evaluation day. We have survey instruments and we also look to policy to reflect on what is working and where refinement is needed. 

[00:14:37] Kylie Speer: Since joining the New Metrics Research Partnership in 2022, how has this work influenced teaching, learning and the way the school understands and assesses student capabilities? 

[00:14:51] Celena Mecham: Well, we were really excited to join the new Metrix Research Practice Partnership in 2022. It gave us a really coherent research-backed framework for work we were already deeply committed to. What it did for us as a school was strengthened our understanding of learning as more than academic attainment alone and gave greater clarity to the attributes that we valued. So from the outset, leadership focused on making the work accessible and achievable. We were deliberate in scaffolding the approach, clarifying the purpose and supporting the staff to engage in ways that felt manageable and meaningful in their own classrooms. And I would say one of the most significant shifts has been an increased focus on student agency and voice. And the learner has been positioned as central, which aligns closely with our learner profile and our statement of intent. And what we're seeing is that teachers are increasingly designing learning and assessment experiences that value reflection, collaboration and personal development alongside curriculum knowledge and skills. So importantly, Newmetrics has strengthened how we understand and assess complex competencies. It has given us a robust framework that reinforces rather than competes with our existing assessment practices and further strengthening the value of the learner profile across the school. 

[00:16:07] Kylie Speer: As one of 20 schools nationally authorised to co-issue the Australian Learner Competency Credential in 2024, how have competencies such as agency, collaboration and personal development started to change what teaching and learning look like in classrooms? 

[00:16:28] Celena Mecham: So, co-issuing the Australian Learner Competency Credential has had a particularly powerful impact in our VET programs. It's shifted how students understand their learning, moving beyond a transactional view of units of competency to a deeper recognition of transferable competencies. Students are able to now curate personalised portfolios of evidence and they create roadmap of artefacts that demonstrate the competencies of agency and learning collaboration and personal development. Notably, the work is student-driven and grounded in authentic learning experiences, which has significantly deepened engagement and ownership. And for teachers, this has prompted closer alignment between looking at conventional assessment and mapping these to the new metrics language. So the competencies are explicitly taught and assessed alongside technical skills. It makes the learning clearer and the feedback more meaningful. And perhaps the credential has elevated the status of VET pathways. Receiving a micro-credential co-issued with the University of Melbourne has reframed success for both students and families. And this was powerfully reflected in our Year 12 Awards Assembly where the ALCC recognition sat along traditional ATAR achievements, reinforcing our view that multiple pathways are valued, credible, and we're preparing our students to be future ready. 

[00:17:48] Kylie Speer: How do you see research-informed practice guiding the next stage of the school's growth in teaching, learning and student outcomes? 

[00:17:58] Melissa Powell: So I think that's back to me now. Research-informed practice is really central to the next stage of growth here at Swan Valley because it ensures that every decision that we make about teaching and learning is purposeful, it's evidence-based and it's aligned with our mission. As we all know, education is evolving rapidly and we know that student outcomes improve when strategies are grounded in research rather than trends. So our learner profile, as we've said, was shaped by global best practice and local consultation. And that gave us a really clear framework for developing aspirational, accountable and resilient learners. So as we look ahead, research will guide how we refine curriculum design, embed inquiry-based learning and strengthen our student wellbeing programs. We're really committed to continuing to participate in trials and pilots, such as the ASEWERT Student Wellbeing and Creating Respectful Relationships initiative, because these opportunities allow us to test new approaches, to gather data and to scale what works. Access to evidence also empowers our teachers to innovate with confidence. So by combining research with professional learning and collaboration, we create an environment where staff can take calculated risks, share successes, and ultimately improve. So we believe that research-informed practice gives us a roadmap for sustainable growth. It helps us to measure impact, to adapt to change, and to ensure that our students leave equipped for success. 

[00:19:40] Kylie Speer: And finally, if you could describe Swan Valley Anglican Community School in three words that capture its vision for the next decade, what would they be and why? 

[00:19:52] Melissa Powell: Only three words is really hard, but if I was going to choose three for the next decade for our school, I think they would be inclusive, aspirational and future ready. So inclusive because belonging is at the heart of everything that we do here. With students from more than 78 cultural backgrounds, and that number will probably continue to grow, our commitment to inclusion ensures that every child feels valued, respected and proud of who they are. Aspirational, because our mission is to inspire students to be the best they can be, whatever pathway they choose. And through our learner profile and our values-driven culture, we encourage students to aim high, not just academically, but in character, leadership and contribution to society. And finally, it's hyphenated, but I'll say it's one word, and that's future ready, because education is evolving rapidly and we want our students equipped for an ever-changing world. So I think that means fostering creativity, critical thinking, resilience and collaboration, and this is supported by research-informed practice and innovative teaching. So I think those three words reflect our identity and our direction. We're a school that welcomes all, that inspires excellence and helps prepare young people to thrive and we hope make a really positive impact in the world. 

[00:21:27] Kylie Speer: Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for your time today, Melissa and Celena, and congratulations once again. 

[00:21:34] Melissa Powell: Oh, thank you so much. It's been an absolute thrill for us and great recognition of the fantastic work that our staff and our students do on campus. 

[00:21:43] 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.