Federation has introduced a new course for women to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to undertake leadership positions at various levels.
Women from across the state have learned about leadership styles and roles within the education system as well as skills and attributes that are vital to fulfil these roles.
Highlights of the course were hearing from guest panellists Joan Lemaire (Federation Deputy President), Cheryl McBride (Principal and Chairperson of the Public Schools Principals Forum), Jennifer Leete (Director of Teachers Mutual Bank and former Federation Deputy President), Gemma Ackroyd (former principal and current Federation Vice President and Nicole Calnan (Federation Deputy Secretary, Communications and Administration), who shared and reflected on their experiences of leadership in education as women.
The development of a sisterhood to build resilience was a goal identified by participants as an important issue. Course participant Penny Coleman said: “The course has been a great learning experience to identify a variety of aspects relating to leadership and to assess my capacity for leadership roles in both school and union contexts.
“It provided me with the ability to build a network of women I can connect with on this topic and a particular highlight was the panel of women leaders who provided insights to the challenges and achievements they have experienced.”
Federation recently extended the scope of endorsement as a provider of NESA-registered professional development at the Highly Accomplished Teacher level.
The Women in Leadership course will contribute 20 hours of NESA Registered PD addressing 7.1.3, 7.3.3, 7.4.3 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Highly Accomplished Teacher Accreditation in NSW and there will also be other PD registered at Highly Accomplished available through the CPL from next year including Leading Aboriginal Education in Your School, Leading Decision Making in your School, Mentoring for School Leaders and more.