Real Schools of Thought with Adam Voigt

Leading 1,400 students across two campuses could easily become an exercise in control. Instead, Wanneroo Secondary College Principal Justine McNaught-Conroy has built a culture where clear structures, high expectations and genuine trust give people the confidence to do their best work. In this conversation with Adam, Justine shares what intentional visibility really looks like, why authentic relationships need to survive the hard conversations, and how building a place where people feel supported has transformed staff retention.

For almost two decades at Ocean Road Primary School, Dean Finlay has built his leadership around one deceptively simple idea: people need to know you care. In this conversation with Adam, Dean shares how small, consistent acts have built trust with students, staff and families – and how restorative practice has helped turn those relationships into a culture that is shared and lived across the school. It’s a conversation about leadership, legacy and why, after a career spent learning what makes good schools work, Dean keeps coming back to where he started: relationships.

Peter Bush, Principal of Kalianna School, joins Adam to challenge some long-held assumptions about special education and what young people with disabilities can achieve. From high expectations and authentic learning to the power of language, predictable routines and repairing relationships, Peter shares lessons that reach well beyond the special school setting. It’s a conversation about looking past what kids can’t do – and creating schools that help every young person see what they can.

What happens when a school stops operating as individual classrooms, teams and campuses – and starts working as one? Baden-Powell College Principal Vicky Minton joins Adam Voigt to talk about building collective ownership of culture, creating genuine collaboration between teachers and giving students the skills to manage relationships and resolve conflict. And amid all the noise about workload, burnout and behaviour, Vicky makes a compelling case for something we probably don’t say loudly enough: teaching is brilliant, important and deeply rewarding work.

Adam sits down with Jacqui Fimister, a classroom teacher at Kananook Primary School, for a conversation that spans thirteen years of partnership between Jacqui and Real Schools. It's an easy, honest chat between two people who know each other well, Jacqui is candid about the "performative" teacher she used to be (pegs going up and down, "don't smile till Easter") and how a single piece of sharp, sensitively delivered feedback from Adam reshaped her entire approach to behaviour and relationships in the classroom. Along the way, they cover reflective practice, restorative language, trauma-informed teaching, and what it looks like when a whole school, leadership included, genuinely trusts its staff.

In this engaging conversation, Liz Foster and Adam discuss the profound impact of great teachers, the importance of building trust in educational leadership, and the need for a culture of courage and experimentation in schools. They explore the role of professional associations in supporting educators and the significance of collaboration and connection in fostering a positive school environment. Liz emphasizes the need to elevate the teaching profession and encourages school leaders to take actionable steps towards creating a more trusting and innovative educational landscape.

Interested in our work?

1. Learn more about Real Schools here.
2. Attend one of our upcoming workshops in-person or online? Register here.
3. Check out our Student Behaviour PhD.
4. Enquire about Adam Voigt's speaking engagements here.
5. Get your copy of Adam's book Restoring Teaching here (It's FREE for all teachers in Australia)

When Amanda Kowalczyk arrived at Koonawarra Public School in Wollongong, something felt heavy. Kids shuffled through the gates with their heads down. The school was surrounded by barbed wire. Staff were pitying their students. And the culture was one of low expectations dressed up as compassion.

Today? Kids skip in. Staff greet families by name from every gate. And the New South Wales Department of Education has changed its policies because of what Amanda built there.

In this episode, Adam sits down with Koonawarra's principal - and one of his favourite school leaders in the country - to talk about what it actually takes to transform a complex, low-socioeconomic school from the inside out.

Interested in our work?

1. Learn more about Real Schools here.
2. Attend one of our upcoming workshops in-person or online? Register here.
3. Check out our Student Behaviour PhD.
4. Enquire about Adam Voigt's speaking engagements here.
5. Get your copy of Adam's book Restoring Teaching here (It's FREE for all teachers in Australia)

Tracey Ezard is one of Australia's most respected voices on school culture, leadership and the conditions that help adults do their best work. She is the author of Ferocious Warmth and has worked with over 600 schools and 16,000 educators across Australia.

She is also, as Adam makes clear from the outset, his mate. This is one of those conversations that only happens between two people who have been watching each other work for over a decade, cheering each other along and occasionally wondering what the other one is up to.

What emerges is a rich, honest discussion about what school culture actually looks like when it is struggling, what it looks like when it is thriving, and the uncomfortable gap between the two that too many schools are sitting in right now.

Interested in our work?

1. Learn more about Real Schools here.
2. Attend one of our upcoming workshops in-person or online? Register here.
3. Check out our Student Behaviour PhD.
4. Enquire about Adam Voigt's speaking engagements here.
5. Get your copy of Adam's book Restoring Teaching here (It's FREE for all teachers in Australia)

Adam Voigt sits down with AFL legend and Hall of Famer Simon Madden for a conversation that covers a lot more than football. Simon is also a former teacher and assistant principal, and in this episode, he brings those two worlds together in the best way. From the teachers who shaped him as a kid to the high-performance habits he developed across decades in elite sport, Simon shares a refreshingly grounded take on what it means to lead, learn, and build a culture worth showing up for.

Simon Madden played 378 games for Essendon Football Club and is a member of the AFL Hall of Fame. Before and during his football career he worked as a teacher, and later as a vice principal. Since retiring from football he has built a career as a speaker, mentor and leadership consultant, working with leaders, executives and teams across a range of industries. His wife is still a practicing teacher.

Interested in our work?

1. Learn more about Real Schools here.
2. Attend one of our upcoming workshops in-person or online? Register here.
3. Check out our Student Behaviour PhD.
4. Enquire about Adam Voigt's speaking engagements here.
5. Get your copy of Adam's book Restoring Teaching here (It's FREE for all teachers in Australia)

Lisa Newland is the incoming CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL). She is a former English teacher and school leader who has spent decades in and around Australian schools, and she has arrived in this role with a clear sense of what she wants to change.

This is a conversation about compliance culture, teacher autonomy, the pressure of public data, and what happens to innovation and joy when schools spend too much time playing it safe. Lisa is direct, warm and refreshingly honest about the profession she loves, including the parts that frustrate her most.

If you have ever felt the gap between the idealistic reason you got into education and the reality of what consumes your days, this episode is for you.

Interested in our work?

1. Learn more about Real Schools here.
2. Attend one of our upcoming workshops in-person or online? Register here.
3. Check out our Student Behaviour PhD.
4. Enquire about Adam Voigt's speaking engagements here.
5. Get your copy of Adam's book Restoring Teaching here (It's FREE for all teachers in Australia)