Ulverstone Campus Principal 

During the term break, I had the privilege of visiting schools in the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland with six other Leighland staff, two staff from a Christian school in Queensland, and Dave Runge from Future Schools. Together we enjoyed an immersive experience in local cultures and learnt from the students, teachers and leaders in the schools and municipalities we spent time in.  

Whilst each school was unique, there were commonalities between the schools. There was a deep sense of community and commitment to academic achievement, and staff and student wellbeing. Each decision they made was informed and underpinned by research and aligned to the values and goals of their schools, municipalities and countries. We saw examples of how equity, inclusion, belonging, engagement, real-world learning, joy and fun can be meaningfully enabled in schools. 

Earlier this year we hosted Ben Mardell for a Pedagogy of Play professional development day to learn about his research and experience with playful learning.  Ben Mardell is the former project director of Harvard’s Project Zero Pedagogy of Play, a collaboration with the LEGO Foundation and the International School of Billund, exploring how play can have a central part in children’s learning in school. During our time in Denmark, we had the awesome opportunity to visit the International School of Billund and spend time with the Head of School, Head of Playful Learning, and the Communication Manager. We learnt how playful, highly engaging learning experiences can coexist with explicit teaching experiences and saw this learning in action.  

For the past two years we have been working with Brad Scanlon from New Tech Network Australia and developing teachers’ knowledge, skills and understandings of Project Based Learning (PBL). During our time at Vestre Skole, in Denmark, we learnt about their work with PBL and playful learning over the past 5 years, and how it has helped their students to engage meaningfully with their learning. They shared tools to help enhance our planning and pedagogy, otherwise known as our practice of teaching.  

Just like the learning experiences we provide our students, we were making connections between our prior understandings and experiences and what we were learning from the generous staff and students in our host schools.At Leighland, we believe that explicit teaching provides students with the knowledge and skills to apply and demonstrate their learning in playful ways and real world contexts. As evidenced in the schools we visited, the research we have read, and the professional development we have participated in, playful and project based learning can be highly engaging, meaningful and rigorous. Engaging a student’s head, heart and hands can lead to very positive outcomes for students. Learning by doing is a proven and effective way for students to develop, learn and grow both socially and academically.  

Our school visits in Europe helped deepen and consolidate our understandings and knowledge of education. They challenged and inspired us to continue providing authentic and real world learning for our students. Like our colleagues in the schools we visited, we too are deeply committed to academic achievement, student and staff wellbeing, and our school and local community. Our staff want the very best for our students and aim to do this by providing Christ-centred education that inspires, nurtures and equips students to connect learning to life. We are leading with innovation and we are committed to personalised learning. We embrace partnerships with experts in Australia and around the world and we are looking forward to providing further opportunities to partner with parents and celebrate our students’ learning and achievements in the future. 

Katrina McNab

Ulverstone Campus Principal