Across DOBCEL schools, student agency is taking shape through grassroots projects led by young people who want to make their school communities better. Students are identifying what could change, listening to their peers and working alongside teachers to turn ideas into action.

For this episode, Paula Doran visited students of Trinity College and St Mary's Primary School in Colac to hear about the projects they’re working on and what student agency looks like from their perspective. Let’s hear what they had to say.

A long-time advocate for digital technology, Ben shares how his observations in Finnish schools—and a thought provoking conversation with educator and author William Doyle—challenged some of his previous thinking. He reflects on the importance of protecting children’s capacity for sustained attention, deep thinking and perseverance, particularly during the junior primary years.

At DOBCEL’s recent STEM MAD event at Damascus College, more than 300 students came together to share, collaborate and showcase their ideas – but what stood out wasn’t simply the quality of their innovation. It was the purpose behind it. Again and again, these young innovators demonstrated that they weren’t creating for the sake of creating; they were looking at the world around them and asking how they could make it better.

In this week’s podcast episode, Paula Doran sits down with two of the driving forces behind the collaboration that brought STEM MAD to life. We unpack the journey from an idea to an event involving hundreds of students, and hear what they discovered along the way as they worked alongside their student innovators.

Recorded at our STEM MAD event last month, Paula Doran sits down with internationally renowned Finnish educator Professor Pasi Sahlberg to explore what he sees happening across the DOBCEL system – and why it matters well beyond our own schools.

Pasi has worked alongside DOBCEL in the development of Strategy 2035, bringing decades of international experience as a teacher, researcher, policymaker and adviser to education systems around the world. In this conversation, he reflects on the importance of giving young people genuine agency, the power of teachers and schools to create meaningful change, and what events such as STEM MAD tell us about the future of education.

The conversation also takes the bigger view: how can the work happening at a grassroots level in regional Victoria contribute to a global conversation about education? And what can DOBCEL learn from the very best thinking and practice internationally?

It’s a conversation about students, teachers, innovation and the power of education systems to think boldly about what comes next – with a global thinker who has been closely involved in helping DOBCEL shape that future.

The conversation reflects on insights emerging from recent Student Agency Forums and considers how schools can move beyond consultation towards genuine partnership with students.

Ruth and Mon discuss why student agency matters in the context of Strategy 2035, how listening to students can challenge adult assumptions, and what schools can learn from the experiences young people are sharing.

They also explore the connection between student agency, Catholic identity and the dignity of each person, considering how student voice can help school communities better understand what fullness of life for all looks like in practice.

The conversation explores how benchmarking can help schools and the system better understand strengths, context and opportunities for growth. Rather than a ranking or compliance exercise, benchmarking is discussed as a tool for reflection, learning and shared improvement.

Tom and Ruth consider how trusted data and insights can support better decision-making, help identify great practice across the system and contribute to the shared pursuit of fullness of life for all.

In this episode, Executive Director Tom Sexton and Marketing and Communications Manager Ruth Appleyard discuss the next stage of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 journey and how the 3-Year Strategy Implementation Plan will help bring the long-term vision to life.

The conversation explores the shift from co-design and sense-making into implementation, with a focus on clear priorities, Catholic identity, system thinking and the pursuit of fullness of life for all.

Whether you're involved in education, leadership, strategy or organisational change, this episode offers insights into how a shared vision can be translated into meaningful action.

Looking across Student Agency and Collaborative Innovation Research Prototypes (CIRPs), this episode explores what we are beginning to notice as schools test ideas, learn together and shape the future direction of Strategy 2035.

Together, they discuss:

• What has stood out most this term
• The connection between local action and system-wide change
• What these initiatives reveal about the kind of system we are becoming
• Early signs that practice is beginning to shift
• What gives us hope for what comes next

Thank you for joining us throughout Season 2.

Ruth is joined by Shelley Ryan (Principal of Siena Primary School in Lucas) and Melita Corfee (Deputy Principal of Siena Primary School in Lucas), who share how Siena has helped create a local hub for Sounds Write training, connecting rural and regional schools and building the capacity of teachers and learning support officers.

The episode also features Danny Franc (Principal of St Joseph’s Primary School in Coleraine), who reflects on what the training has meant for a smaller rural school - from improving access to professional learning and making better use of resources, to building staff confidence and embedding consistent literacy practice for students.

Together, the conversation highlights how local innovation, collaboration and shared professional learning can support stronger literacy outcomes, empower educators and contribute to system-wide improvement across DOBCEL schools.

Together, they explore Nurturing Leadership from Within, a Collaborative Innovation Research Prototype (CIRP) focused on growing the next generation of leaders from within our school communities.

The conversation explores how schools can identify and nurture leadership potential, create opportunities for staff to develop their skills and confidence, and build a strong pipeline of future leaders for Catholic education.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why developing future leaders matters
• How these schools are nurturing leadership potential
• The value of collaboration across school communities
• Reflections on leadership, growth and opportunity

Together, they unpack the Star of the Sea Parish Sacramental Reimagining Prototype, a Collaborative Innovation Research Prototype (CIRP) that is transforming how sacramental preparation is approached across the Warrnambool parish network.

Cara (Deputy Principal and Religious Education Leader at St Joseph’s Primary School Warrnambool) and Stacey (Deputy Principal and Religious Education Leader at St Pius X Warrnambool West) share how their partnership has supported a more connected, authentic and engaging experience of faith for students and families.

Supported by Jo-anne’s mentorship, this work reflects the strength of collaborative leadership and a shared commitment to meaningful Religious Education and Catholic identity.

Recently recognised as winners of a Bishop Paul Bird CSsR Spirit of Catholic Education Award at the Catholic Education Week Awards Dinner, Cara and Stacey’s work is a compelling example of how innovation, grounded in faith, can strengthen both school and parish communities.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How the sacramental program was reimagined across a parish network
• The role of collaboration in strengthening Catholic identity
• Insights into the CIRP process and its impact
• Reflections on leadership, faith formation and shared mission

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.