PD / SIG reports

Regional Professional Development Event held in Cairns

A Professional Development Day was held for our regional members and prospective members in Cairns on Monday 16 March 2020 – just before COVID-19 restrictions were imposed.

Lea Walker-Franks, Sue Russell and Claire Grlj presented to the group across the four pillars and then held a joint SIG on multiple topics addressing local challenges for schools in the region.

Feedback received from the event was very positive with attendees expressing their gratitude that Educate Plus value their regional members and show it by bringing a Professional Development to their hometown. The next regional event is planned for the Mackay region in the latter half of this year with dates and locations to be confirmed.

Regional membership is continuing to grow with a number of members applying for travel bursaries to attend the International Conference in Adelaide next year.

Visit to Cairns Convention Centre

Whilst on the ground in Cairns, Lea, Sue and Claire also visited the Cairns Convention Centre and local venues and attractions as part of some preliminary research into Cairns being a viable option for an international conference in the future.

Cairns is a fantastic location for a conference for our members in Australia and New Zealand, and would serve as a convenient location for a future international conference, given our organisation’s growing interest in serving members from South East Asia.

Admissions SIG – 30 April 2020

Admissions Engagement Strategies – delivered via a Zoom Webinar with over 200 participants from schools across Australia and New Zealand.

The presentation highlighted the importance of purposeful and meaning engagement as part of a successful Admissions strategy, exploring the Admissions cycle and finding ideal opportunities to engage with prospective families.

A copy of the presentation is available at the following link: https://www.educateplus.edu.au/webinar-admissions-engagement-strategies/

In feedback from this presentation, participants have shown interest in journey mapping and discovering the prospective family viewpoint, as well as the flywheel of activity, encompassing stakeholders, touch-points and initiatives that interlink to form an Admissions engagement plan. This information may well inform future Admissions SIG content. The next Admissions SIG will be conducted on 30 July, discussing scholarships and bursary management through the Admissions office.

Educate Plus Fundraising SIG Report – Annual Giving

On Thursday 30th April, 69 Advancement Practitioners from schools, tertiary and non-profit organisations joined our Fundraising SIG to share their and discuss their approaches to Annual Giving (including online appeals such as Giving Days) in a group discussion. The session was hosted by Lara Pickering, Director of Philanthropy at St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School in Brisbane, who was joined by Emma Boyar, Senior Consultant with Educate Plus Fundraising Stream Partner, Charidy.

The SIG provided an opportunity to discuss best practice and to share how different schools and organisations were adapting their annual giving programs and approaches, due to COVID-19. A copy of the video recording of this session is available here (ensure you are logged in to view).