Together, they discuss why Catholic Education Week matters, the impact Catholic schools have in local communities, and the importance of celebrating Catholic education. The conversation explores how schools nurture learning, belonging, faith, service and opportunity, while supporting young people to flourish.

This episode celebrates the incredible people, stories and communities that make Catholic education such a hope-filled part of life across the Diocese of Ballarat – from the Murray to the Sea.

In this episode, DOBCEL Marketing & Communications Manager, Ruth Appleyard, speaks with Dr Penelope Jean Stiles, Future Schools Director Dave Runge and some of the students and teachers who were involved in Student Agency forums held across regional Victoria.

The Student Agency – Schools that Listen initiative brings together students and teachers to ask an important question: What makes a great school for all?

Through a learn, share, do approach, students are encouraged not only to contribute ideas, but to take action within their own school contexts – building confidence, leadership and connection along the way.

Olivia shares how her experience at St Brigid's College in Horsham confirmed her passion for teaching and reflects on the sense of connection, belonging and purpose that makes Catholic education unique.

The conversation explores how the Board is keeping the strategy alive in its work, what they are already noticing in schools, and what is giving them confidence in the direction ahead. A key focus is the role of Collaborative Innovation Research Prototypes (CIRPs) as the engine of action, helping turn strategy into practice and make progress visible across the system.

This conversation brings CIRPs back to basics, offering a clear, plain-language explanation of what they are, how they work, and why they are central to delivering on the DOBCEL Strategy 2035.

Together, Ruth, Julia and Tom explore how CIRPs act as the engine of action and learning across the diocese – moving ideas beyond discussion and into real, testable change in schools. In this episode, you’ll hear a clear explanation of what a CIRP is, why prototyping is such an important approach right now, and the problems it is designed to solve. The conversation also explores what staff can expect to see, learn and achieve by the end of a CIRP, and how this work connects directly to Strategy 2035 priorities and system-wide improvement.

Discover how bold ideas can become real action, and how schools will work together to prototype, test, and scale the practices that shape the future of Catholic Education across the Diocese of Ballarat.

We also introduce the framework guiding our next stage: the Strategic Implementation Plan.

Hear how global perspectives connect to local action – and why our context matters.

In the second half of the episode, Tom and Pasi sit down together to reflect on the early beginnings of the DOBCEL strategy. They explore the big questions that sparked the work: Why now? What challenges and opportunities were emerging? And why is courageous, future-focused change essential for Catholic Education Ballarat?

This episode reveals the human side of strategic design: the relationships, curiosity, and shared purpose that set our bold and brave journey in motion.

Together they explore the hopes, struggles and practical realities of leading change from the ground up – and what the 2035 strategy means for students and staff today.

Join us as Executive Director Tom Sexton, in conversation with Julia Petrov (Strategy Implementation Manager), unpacks the origins of the strategy, the co-design process that engaged leaders across the system, and the critical role of the DOBCEL Board in shaping, challenging and ultimately endorsing the vision for 2035.