Helen Davey, ANSN Networker, WA

What a fantastic workshop!

Perth had the honour of hosting a Better Together: Schools and Communities workshop on 21 and 22 August. Considering that many schools in WA have a ban on professional development (PD) at the moment, due to a shortage of relief teachers, we did well with over 50 people attending for the two days. They ranged from principals, deputies, team leaders, teachers, union reps, parents, chaplains and AEIOs, to community members, youth workers and more!

Both George Otero and John West-Burnham were captivating speakers and they allowed plenty of time for participants to interact with each other and make the topics their own. Leadership was explored, along with different frameworks that could be applied to any situation. We had time to rethink our relationships with the community and understand why this is so important for schools to be successful. We discussed strategies for improving relationships and got to hear about many successful and unsuccessful stories which offered plenty of inspiration.

We left with many practical ideas to take away with us and, perhaps just as importantly, many new contacts, which are likely to lead to collaboration with colleagues in the future. Getting together with such a vast array of people, who all shared a goal of improving children's lives, was truly beneficial for all the participants.

Did I mention the stunning view we had from the Fremantle Yacht Club? And the fabulous lunches! We even got a good dose of sunshine on the first day.

A big thankyou to George and John, for coming all this way to share their wealth of knowledge and experience, and to John and Leith Hogan for all their organising, which allowed the two days to run so smoothly.

Helen Davey
ANSN WA Networker