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DOBCEL Strategy 2035

Pursuing fullness of life for all

From the Murray to the Sea, DOBCEL aims to realise a vision of the ‘fullness of life for all’ for more than 18,600 students across a community of 63 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

While data shows our Diocesan system of schools is performing quite well, standing still as an education system is not an option in our ever-changing world. In addition, research shows there continues to be inherent and unacceptable educational disadvantage for students outside metropolitan areas.

The DOBCEL Board and community have now co-designed a new strategy - Pursuing fullness of life for all - presenting a bold and brave, but not reckless approach to driving high performance across our system of schools over the next decade and beyond.

Download the Executive Summary of DOBCEL Strategy 2035 Read the Full DOBCEL Strategy 2035 Document

View this short video introducing DOBCEL Strategy 2035

Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited: Towards 2035

Podcast

Season 1 of Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited: Towards 2035 explores the thinking, relationships and global influences behind DOBCEL’s long-term strategy for a high-performing system of Catholic schools. Across the season, listeners are invited inside the story of how the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 came to life – from global change forces and international collaboration, to local leadership and the everyday realities of schools across the Diocese. 

Episode 1: Becoming a High-Performing System of Catholic Schools: The Why, What and How of our Strategy Episode 2: School Voices: Carmel Hanley on Context, Challenge and Opportunity Episode 3: Finding Pasi – How a Global Collaboration Began New Podcast Interlude: A Conversation with Emily Clarke

Message from the Board Chair

As Chair of the DOBCEL Board, I am proud to endorse DOBCEL Strategy 2035 as a shared commitment to the future of Catholic education across our system.
Grounded in our Catholic identity and inspired by the Gospel, Strategy 2035 affirms the sacred mission entrusted to our schools: to form hearts and minds, nurture hope, and enable every student to flourish. Across DOBCEL, Principals, teachers and staff serve with dedication and skill, working in partnership with families, parishes and communities to place students at the centre of all we do.
DOBCEL Strategy 2035 highlights the challenge for all of us to act with purpose, strengthening learning and wellbeing, deepening collaboration across our system, and responding with courage and compassion to the changing needs of students and families. Guided by the Holy Spirit, we are invited to build on what is strong while shaping a future that is both bold and faithful.
May Christ, our teacher and companion, bless our shared journey as we bring Strategy 2035 to life together.
Eugene Dalton
Board Director and Chair
Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited (DOBCEL)

Underpinned by our Catholic Identity, DOBCEL 2035 defines a high performing system of Catholic schools as one where:

  • Everyone is engaged in learning and teaching and has a positive sense of belonging in their school and community.
  • Everyone feels safe, valued, respected, and their wellbeing and health enhanced as foundations of productive learning and teaching.
  • Educational research informs contemporary practice.
  • The quality of student learning outcomes across the curriculum exceeds expectations.
  • Student outcomes across different equity groups have similar distributions and averages and where all students have equal access to excellent learning and wellbeing opportunities.
  • All human resources, financial resources, time and natural resources invested in education benefit students, schools, community and society in optimal ways.

To become this high-performing system of Catholic schools DOBCEL 2035 will build on the foundation of our Catholic identity and focus on five key pillars:

  • Collaborative Cultures
  • Engagement and Belonging
  • School as Community
  • Rich Pedagogical Practices for Deep Learning and Well-being
  • Sustainable Stewardship

Guided by our vision, we will move towards our goal through three practical principles:

  • Deeper collaboration: Systematic efforts to enable deeper cooperation in and between schools combined with building social capital across the DOBCEL system.
  • Networked ground-up innovation: Purposeful investments initiating local innovation and renewal of learning and teaching through co-designed school improvement.
  • Collective autonomy and agency: Schools understand that they are trusted to make the best decisions for those in their care and understand their mutual obligation to the Governing Authority and the responsibilities that they carry. Schools are more connected to one another, and that student voice, agency and active engagement in school is prioritised.
Unleashing the greatness in all of us
‘To realise our aspiration, it is imperative that the greatness existing in every person aligned with DOBCEL is unleashed.
‘It is by investing spiritually, emotionally, personally and financially in the social and human capital across our system that greatness will be enabled.
‘This strategy compels us to build a DOBCEL culture that is faithful to our Catholic identity and promotes both collaboration and innovation, actively seeking out and learning from existing examples of excellence within our diocese, nationally, and globally.’
Tom Sexton, Executive Director

Our Strategy on a Page

Click to View

Initial steps on the journey - 2025

2025 is primarily a year for staff and school communities to ‘make sense’ of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 and what it means for them moving forward.

Potential activities for schools include:

  • Participate in ‘sense making’ conversations both internally and through system level opportunities
  • Consider existing alignments with DOBCEL 2035 Strategic pillars
  • Collect more baseline data on current performance
  • Begin collaborating with another school(s)
  • Identify and reflect on research literature for future directions
  • Disseminate learnings across the system and beyond
  • Participate in the range of professional learning activities planned at system level to begin activating the new plan from early 2025.

Supporting articles and publications

Articles and Publications

Teacher Power Can Be the Force for Education. What Would That Look Like?
Michael Fullan and Joanna Rizzotto, Teacher Power Can Be the Force for Education. What Would That Look Like?

Reinventing Australian Schools
Pasi's publications, Reinventing Australian Schools

Why We Can't Escape the Status Quo in Education
Michael Fullan’s article, Why We Can’t Escape the Status Quo in Education: 200 years of doing the same thing just won’t cut it

Respect our Teachers
Pasi’s recent blog post, Respect our Teachers

Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform 
Wrong Drivers Fullan 2011

The right drivers for whole system success
Right Drivers 2021

A global reset of education 
Sir Ken Robinson’s final reflections: A global reset of education

"Big Tent" Strategy for System-Wide Transformation
“Big Tent” Strategy for System-Wide Transformation

Reform Challenges in School Education
Reform Challenges in School Education (full paper)

An Excerpt from Spark & Sustain 
An Excerpt from Spark & Sustain: How all of the world’s school systems can improve learning at scale.

For the love of learning 
Andy Hargreaves on transforming education in Alberta
Prof David Hopkins, Unleashing Greatness – A Strategy for School Improvement.
 


Podcast Resources

Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle: Authors of "Let the Children Play"
Podcast

The Future of Schools, how we can think about systemic change, adaptive cultures and more
Podcast featuring Dave Runge.

Education leadership equity
Podcast by Professor Michael Fullan and consider the question: What do you/we continue to do because that’s the way it’s always been done?

If Yong Zhao was Minister for Education
A podcast featuring Prof Yong Zhao and school system reform.

Pasi Sahlberg on reinventing schooling
The Edu Salon