What happens when schools ask students what matters to them—and give them the chance to act on their ideas?

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.

In this episode, Paula Doran speaks with Ben Shields, Principal of St Patrick’s Primary School Ballarat, about how stepping away from the daily demands of school leadership during DOBCEL’s recent study tour to Finland created space to reconsider the role of technology in education.

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.

What happens when students are given the freedom to identify a problem, imagine a solution and create something that could genuinely make a difference?

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.

What happens when one of the world’s leading education thinkers gets to see DOBCEL’s young people putting creativity, curiosity and purpose into action?

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.

In this episode of Towards 2035: Our Strategy in Practice, Marketing and Communications Manager Ruth Appleyard and Student Agency Lead Monique Ryan continue the student agency conversation by exploring what student voice is helping DOBCEL understand about learning, belonging and community.

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.

In this episode of Towards 2035: Our Strategy in Practice, Executive Director Tom Sexton and Marketing and Communications Manager Ruth Appleyard introduce benchmarking as part of the next stage of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 journey.

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.

The Towards 2035 podcast returns for Season 3 with a new focus: Our Strategy in Practice.

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.

As Season 2 of Towards 2035: Inside the Engine Room comes to a close, Tom Sexton (DOBCEL Executive Director), Ruth Appleyard (DOBCEL Marketing & Communications Manager) and Julia Petrov (DOBCEL Strategy Implementation Manager) reflect on what this term’s work has revealed about change, listening and 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.

In this episode, Ruth Appleyard (DOBCEL Marketing and Communications Manager) explores the Collaborative Literacy Network: Sounds Write Training, a Collaborative Innovation Research Prototype (CIRP) focused on strengthening literacy practice through evidence-based professional learning, regional collaboration and shared system support.

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.

In this episode, Ruth Appleyard (DOBCEL Marketing & Communications Manager) sits down with Fiona Murphy, (DOBCEL Organisational Development Manager), along with Emily Clarke (Principal of St Alipius Primary School, Ballarat East), Narelle Cox (Principal of St Aloysius Primary School, Redan), and Jayne Bosworth (Principal of St Brigid’s Primary School, Ballan).

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