Reflections from the 2026 Education State Public Schools Forum – 29 April 2026
The annual Education State Forum brings together education leaders, practitioners and stakeholders to discuss key priorities, challenges and opportunities across the Victorian education system. This year’s 2026 Education State Public Schools Forum centred on the theme Continuing to Build Excellence Together, with a strong focus on collaboration, innovation and strengthening partnerships to support every student to thrive.
The forum opened with an address from Department of Education Secretary Tony Bates, who acknowledged the collective achievements of the school sector and announced a new public education video to launch during Education Week 2026.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education Ben Carroll reflected on the evolution of education in Victoria, government capital investment in public schools and the shared commitment to ensuring every student can succeed. Attendees also heard from award-winning principal Christopher Quinn, Western Port Secondary College who titled his speech “From Excuses to Expectations”, he highlighted the importance of high expectations and opportunity for every learner.
Three concurrent workshops explored key themes shaping Victorian education:
The Evolving Role of Schools and Schooling
Discussions focused on how schools continue to evolve while remaining central community hubs. Participants explored the increasing role of schools in supporting student wellbeing, digital learning and integrated community services, with a strong emphasis on supporting principals and school communities to meet changing needs.
Teaching and Learning Excellence
This workshop examined what excellence looks like in practice — engaged students, confident teachers and consistent, evidence-based teaching across schools. Participants highlighted the importance of strong professional networks, relational trust and collaboration to strengthen teaching and leadership outcomes across the system.
Families as Partners in Learning
A major highlight of the forum was the Families as Partners in Learning workshop panel featuring, Anthony Rodaughan, Principal, Kurnai College; Sarah Eccles, Acting Principal, Latrobe SDS and Karen Dimmock, CEO, Advocating for Children with Disability (ACD). The discussion reinforced a simple but powerful message: strong relationships between schools and families make a real difference for children and young people.
Key themes included:
- Never assume — all families want the best for their children
- The importance of trust, genuine listening and understanding family context
- Meeting families where they are and recognising the diversity of school communities
- Celebrating positives through proactive communication with parents
- The value of effective Student Support Groups and Individual Education Plans
- Being honest, accountable and willing to say sorry when things go wrong
The workshop’s practical ideas and authentic storytelling strongly resonated with attendees, reinforcing that meaningful partnerships between schools and families are essential to student success.
Supporting Family Engagement Every Day
Families play a vital role in every child’s learning journey, and Parents Victoria continues to provide a wide range of practical family engagement resources, tools and information to support school communities across Victoria.
Explore the latest resources here: Parents Victoria – Family Engagement Resources
Photo: From left: Karen Dimmock (ACD), Anthony Rodaughan (DE), Sarah Eccles (DE) and Gail McHardy (Parents Victoria CEO) at the Education State forum.