The Mornington Peninsula Learning Guarantee (MPLG) has grown over the last few years, not because of a mandate, but because working together makes improvement possible.
What began as a small group has become a connected cluster of two secondary schools and ten primary schools. Different communities, different challenges, but a shared commitment to doing things better for their students.
The work is complex. Shifting to evidence-based practice. Leading a school through change. Supporting teachers. Rethinking how time is used. These are not small tasks, and they’re harder in isolation.
So, schools come together. Some schools are further along in their implementation. They all share what’s working, what’s not, and what they’re still figuring out.
Behind the scenes, there’s governance to support this. Two steering committees meet regularly: one focused on big-picture direction, the other on the detail of implementation. But what really drives the work is what happens day to day, in schools, and between them.
A key person in this story is MPF’s Primary School Improvement Coordinator, Nicole Esler.
Nic supports all schools in their transitions to evidence based practice, with particular attention paid to each school’s unique context and staffing. Nic connects people, coordinates learning opportunities, and helps ensure that ideas don’t stay in one place but move across the cluster.
The start of the transition process for a new school can be really daunting, especially for the Principal, who has to understand why they are doing this and have the vision and conviction to meet the challenges. Change at the best of times is not easy. Reforming whole systems is harder still.
Which is why sharing the load is so important, as one of our principals recently wrote to us...
Some days I feel like I am biting off a little too much, however, it is so nice knowing that others are at different stages along the journey and are all willing to talk about their journey. Talking to the other principals is so helpful. It was great to hear another leader’s perspective on making changes for the good of the school and students.
Having Nic on the ground, assisting with the implementation of some of our changes is a game changer. Talking through the decisions and planning the process with her assistance has helped our team see the benefits of what I am asking them to do.
I appreciate everything that you and the foundation are doing to support us to support our students. I know how lucky we are to be involved in this project.
~ Kath Lord, Principal, Mornington Park Primary School.
