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00:00:00.000 We need to stop making students fail 

00:00:02.360 before they get the right support. 

00:00:07.205 >> [music] 

00:00:13.960 >> Hello and welcome to The Educator TV. 

00:00:16.600 I'm Kylie Spear and joining me today is 

00:00:19.200 Angela Warr, Executive Principal at Y 

00:00:22.040 Queensland. Y Queensland has been named 

00:00:24.960 as one of the winners of The Educator 

00:00:27.400 Five Star Employers of Choice for 2026. 

00:00:31.000 Welcome to you, Angela, and thank you so 

00:00:33.400 much for joining us today. 

00:00:35.320 >> Thank you for having me. I'm so excited 

00:00:37.080 to be here. 

00:00:38.520 >> Well, firstly, Angela, congratulations 

00:00:41.040 on being recognized as one of The 

00:00:42.920 Educator's Five Star Employers of 

00:00:45.120 Choice. Many of the young people who 

00:00:47.400 come to Y Schools Queensland have 

00:00:49.520 experienced significant barriers to 

00:00:52.000 learning and engagement. What have you 

00:00:54.400 learned about the conditions that need 

00:00:56.280 to be in place before meaningful 

00:00:58.160 learning can occur? And how might those 

00:01:00.920 lessons benefit mainstream schools as 

00:01:03.000 well? 

00:01:04.199 >> Yeah, I've learned um with young people 

00:01:07.160 that relationships and safety must 

00:01:09.480 always come before learning. And it's 

00:01:12.080 belonging before achievement in every 

00:01:14.800 situation. I think relationships and 

00:01:17.440 true connection come before anything 

00:01:19.480 else. And that these things are also not 

00:01:23.000 alternative school strategies, they're 

00:01:24.560 just good teaching strategies. And I 

00:01:27.000 think if educators spend time creating 

00:01:29.680 the conditions to enable students to 

00:01:31.720 meet expectations, then they absolutely 

00:01:34.400 will. So, I think if you create the 

00:01:36.520 right conditions, student behavior um 

00:01:39.360 incidents will decrease, attendance and 

00:01:41.280 engagement will increase, and students 

00:01:43.760 will want to learn. So, the time you 

00:01:46.040 spend on connection will come back to 

00:01:47.800 you tenfold. 

00:01:49.440 >> You spent much of your career working 

00:01:51.400 across primary, secondary, specialist, 

00:01:53.800 and alternative education settings. 

00:01:56.480 Looking across those sectors, what do 

00:01:58.400 you believe the most effective schools 

00:02:00.280 are doing differently when it comes to 

00:02:02.400 supporting students who are at risk of 

00:02:04.800 disengagement? 

00:02:06.360 >> Over my career, I have learned that 

00:02:08.679 disengagement tells us something in the 

00:02:10.720 system isn't working. And honestly, the 

00:02:13.640 best schools utilize student voice in 

00:02:16.320 everything they do. 

00:02:18.120 They do not wait for failure before they 

00:02:20.440 respond, and they put high support and 

00:02:22.880 high expectations together. 

00:02:25.400 They know their students behind the 

00:02:27.200 behavior because at the end of the day, 

00:02:30.080 behavior is just a response. 

00:02:32.560 And they celebrate all successes, both 

00:02:34.920 big and small. They support students as 

00:02:37.480 a whole person, not just based on their 

00:02:40.280 grades. 

00:02:41.680 >> Angela, there is often a tension between 

00:02:44.520 maintaining high academic expectations 

00:02:47.320 and responding to the complex well-being 

00:02:49.959 needs of students. 

00:02:51.800 How do you ensure why schools Queensland 

00:02:54.160 remains both deeply supportive and 

00:02:56.920 academically ambitious for every young 

00:02:59.040 person? 

00:03:00.480 >> Really good question. I think we focus 

00:03:02.840 on the progress and not just 

00:03:04.600 performance, and we understand that 

00:03:07.120 academic ambition and student success 

00:03:09.760 looks different for every single 

00:03:11.320 student. 

00:03:12.680 We are deeply compassionate, and we 

00:03:15.080 recognize and value that our young 

00:03:17.120 people, when they come to school, they 

00:03:19.239 have a lot going on outside of school. 

00:03:21.840 So, our team works really hard in 

00:03:24.040 removing or supporting students through 

00:03:26.519 and over those barriers whilst holding 

00:03:29.120 high expectations. 

00:03:30.920 We wrap around all the support around 

00:03:34.239 them, and at times their families as 

00:03:36.720 well, and we are there for them at the 

00:03:40.120 other end, cheering them on and helping 

00:03:42.959 them work towards their personal goals. 

00:03:45.120 We believe that they will overcome the 

00:03:46.880 challenges and succeed, and we ensure 

00:03:49.320 that they feel 

00:03:51.200 um that belief as well. 

00:03:54.360 >> Trauma-informed practice has become a 

00:03:56.920 major focus for schools in recent years. 

00:04:00.320 In your experience, what are the biggest 

00:04:02.400 misconceptions about trauma-informed 

00:04:05.200 education, and what does effective 

00:04:08.000 implementation actually look like in 

00:04:10.320 day-to-day practice? 

00:04:12.480 >> Yeah, the biggest learning I have had 

00:04:14.920 over my years is that trauma-informed 

00:04:17.120 practice does not mean soft. It doesn't 

00:04:20.399 mean that there are no boundaries or no 

00:04:22.600 consequences. 

00:04:24.160 It's about firm, fair, calm, and 

00:04:27.400 predictability 

00:04:29.040 while working with young people. It's 

00:04:31.160 connection before correction, and 

00:04:34.120 sometimes, um, repair after rupture. If 

00:04:37.240 a student can't hold it together and 

00:04:39.520 and, um, need extra support, we're there 

00:04:42.360 to repair and support them. It's also 

00:04:45.480 about spending time teaching the 

00:04:47.760 strategies to young people, so that they 

00:04:50.000 can identify their needs and also 

00:04:52.320 regulate their own emotions and 

00:04:54.160 responses. They need to have that 

00:04:56.320 understanding 

00:04:57.880 so they can then persevere and be 

00:04:59.760 resilient when they need to be. And it 

00:05:02.480 also involves staff and students 

00:05:04.080 understanding behavioral responses so 

00:05:06.760 that we can all work together to 

00:05:08.680 overcome the barriers and the triggers. 

00:05:11.280 It's understanding, it's dignity, it's 

00:05:14.040 respect, and it's a belief that they can 

00:05:16.600 and will succeed. So, we don't don't 

00:05:18.880 excuse behavior, but we do make sure we 

00:05:21.480 understand it well enough to teach a 

00:05:23.240 better way forward. 

00:05:25.320 >> You have worked extensively in inclusion 

00:05:28.080 reform and school improvement. If you 

00:05:30.840 could change one aspect of the 

00:05:32.760 Australian education system to better 

00:05:35.080 serve vulnerable and disengaged young 

00:05:37.480 people, what would it be and why? 

00:05:40.720 >> I think we need to stop making students 

00:05:42.960 fail before they get the right support. 

00:05:45.919 I think we need to intervene earlier 

00:05:47.720 with flexible learning as core 

00:05:50.560 and not seen as a peripheral new new age 

00:05:53.760 way of working. We need to invest in 

00:05:56.360 workforce capability around trauma, 

00:05:58.600 disability, and complex behaviors, and 

00:06:01.080 we need to stop underestimating 

00:06:02.920 belonging and connection and the impacts 

00:06:05.520 they have on student outcomes and 

00:06:07.160 success. 

00:06:08.600 So, if I could change just one aspect, 

00:06:10.960 it would be that we need to stop 

00:06:12.440 treating reengagement as a rescue 

00:06:14.360 response and realize engagement is the 

00:06:16.480 only response that matters. 

00:06:19.040 >> And finally, Angela, when you think 

00:06:21.160 about the next decade of education, what 

00:06:24.160 gives you the greatest sense of optimism 

00:06:26.520 for young people, particularly those 

00:06:28.440 whose strengths and potential may not 

00:06:30.520 always fit the traditional mold of 

00:06:33.120 schooling? 

00:06:34.640 >> Um as educators, I truly believe that 

00:06:37.480 we're starting to recognize that 

00:06:39.440 different strengths, pathways, and 

00:06:41.200 definitions of success for our young 

00:06:44.080 people 

00:06:45.280 that um one pathway doesn't suit 

00:06:48.720 everybody, and I think our young people 

00:06:51.280 have a louder voice than they have ever 

00:06:53.160 had before. And in my experience, the 

00:06:55.680 students who do not fit the mold often 

00:06:57.720 show us where the mold needs to change. 

00:07:00.840 So, my optimism come comes from hearing 

00:07:03.520 our young people show us how they want 

00:07:05.720 to learn and engage, and we shape what 

00:07:08.160 we do around them. And when we get it 

00:07:10.480 right, we get results, and that's what 

00:07:12.320 excites me. 

00:07:14.320 >> Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for 

00:07:16.320 your time today, your lovely insights, 

00:07:18.960 and congratulations once again, Angela. 

00:07:22.000 >> Thank you for your time. 

00:07:24.160 >> And thank you, of course, to our viewers 

00:07:26.280 for watching the latest episode of The 

00:07:28.120 Educator TV. We look forward to seeing 

00:07:30.680 you again soon. 

00:07:36.540 >> [music]