School leader relocations: a failed process
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128 No 1, 17 February 2023, page no. 13
It is a well-known fact that the leadership in a school is pivotal to the outcomes that children achieve.
That’s why, if we are serious about wanting “Equity and Excellence” for all children in Queensland’s state schools, we have to have a truly supportive and effective relocation system.
Every child in every school in Queensland should be able to access quality leadership in their school. In a state as large as Queensland, this requires a system that encourages the best school leaders to serve in remote, regional, and rural Queensland, but that enables those who choose to or have pressing compassionate circumstances to move on once they have completed their service requirements.
This is simply not possible in a system based on separate regions. Only a statewide system that allows school leaders to return to a preferred area will do.
Many education leaders love their time in remote or rural areas and chose to stay on, but some would rather move on. Every week, I have to advocate on behalf of these education leader members, pleading for their interests and needs to be considered under the current process and for them to be treated with respect. Unfortunately, the current system simply cannot recognise or acknowledge school leaders’ completely justifiable wish to return to their area of preference.
An education leader in Mt Isa should not have to wait an additional three years for a relocation after completing service requirements. A teaching principal should not be told that they have to relinquish their leadership position if they want to relocate to another, more preferred, region.
Sadly, this is leaving these members feeling marginalised and stigmatised. I work with people who have become uncertain and unsure about what they do, and in some cases they become unwell. Continual rejection and the feeling of not being valued by their employer or peers is having a health and wellbeing impact on our members.
No system is perfect, but this current system is broken and needs to be fixed as a matter of priority.
A workable and effective relocation system would have so many benefits, not just for school leaders, but for the children in our schools
Under an effective relocation system, all leaders would be free to consider going to schools outside of the south-east corner of Queensland, knowing they could return once their service was complete, should they chose to.
The knowledge and skills that leaders learn in these remote and rural schools are not only valuable to them personally but also encourage a diversity of perspective and thinking when they return to the more populated parts of Queensland. This diversity of perspective and thinking increases innovation and improve decision-making.
Knowledge, skills, and attributes are transferable. The unique perspectives and knowledge that our leaders gain in these communities can only be learned through experience. There are so many innovative things happening in these schools and this knowledge and experience should not be discounted but valued.