In this episode, Mark Spencer, Director of Public Policy with Christian Schools Australia, has a heart-to-heart conversation with Leah Gray and her personal experience of gender identity. Leah grew up in a Christian home, went to church, was actively involved with her faith, but always felt a little different. She didn’t fit the traditional stereotypes for a girl and once at university began to ‘explore’. Through lots of support, prayer and the grace of God, Leah has turned her life around and is now happily married with a little daughter of her own born earlier this year. On this podcast we share a little of Leah’s story and how legislation like the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 passed by the Victorian Parliament on 4 February 2021 impacts people looking to live an authentic Christian life.

Re-imagining Leadership Development for Christian Schools: The CSA Leadership Framework and the Partnership with the Church of England Foundation for Educational Leadership in the United Kingdom On this episode of the CSA Podcast series, Dr Darren Iselin talks with Andy Wolfe, Executive Director of Education for the Church of England in the United Kingdom. Andy and Darren discuss leadership development within schools and the work Andy has done co-authoring a Church of England leadership development resource with Professor David Ford from Cambridge University. Andy and Darren also discuss the recent collaboration between the Church of England and CSA on an exciting new CSA leadership framework which is due for release on the 14th October at the upcoming 2021 NLS Leadership Symposium.

Join Andrew Taylor, QLD EO and School Improvement national portfolio leader, in a conversation with Andrew Stone from Stone Creative. Andrew serves as a leadership development and communications consultant for the education sector, faith-based communities, universities, leadership colleges and not-for-profit organisations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and USA. Both Andrews will discuss the importance of effective communication in an organisation and explore that when you can clearly think about your outcomes and what you want to communicate, understand who in your organisation needs to know, and rollout with a relational and team building tone, you are well on the way to building a ‘culture of communication’. Download: CORE Framework PDF

It’s a tough time to be leader. With so much uncertainty and change, the wellbeing of leaders is certainly a hot topic. We’re also seeing leaders with great ability and charisma burn out or fall from grace, not from a lack of skill, but perhaps from a lack of attention to their own formation. In this podcast we are joined by Jeff Nagle from Heritage Leaders, who will help us explore what it is that brings leaders unstuck and how we can be intentional in our spiritual and philosophical formation – rather than just focus on the “doing” of leadership. Jeff has many years of experience in the international development and not-for-profit space, is heavily invested in supporting teachers and school leaders, and has some sage advice for leading in these challenging times.

Mark Spencer, CSA Director of Public Policy, talks with Professor Nicholas Aroney, Professor of Constitutional Law at The University of Queensland and a member of the Expert Panel on Religious Freedom established by the Commonwealth Government in 2017. Existing protections for religious freedom in Australia are discussed, and some myths about claimed protections are busted, no section 116 does not provide individual rights to religious freedom. Professor Aroney outlines simply, and in an easy to understand manner, the protections for religious freedom in international law and highlights where existing protections in Australian law fall short. He also identifies some key traps in Australian law that might not be evident to the casual reader. This podcast is an essential primer for anybody wanting to understand the law around religious freedom in Australia.

This podcast explores how we understand and positively influence school culture. There is often a tension between what a leadership team might suggest is the destination culture of a school and what, in reality, one experiences when you ask everyone else – what we might call the shadow culture or cultures. When we don’t engage sufficiently with those shadow cultures it creates a level of HR risk which, experience suggests, schools are not, currently, managing. The first time we realise there is an issue is usually when something goes wrong. So how do we understand that culture better? How do we reveal that culture effectively? And how do we engage with it more dynamically? 26mins you won’t regret giving up! *Suggested link: Pandemic as Portal

Our Director of Public Policy, Mark Spencer, talks with Rohan McHugh, Executive Director of Freedom for Faith about religious freedom and the upcoming Religious Freedom Weekend. Mark and Rohan talk about just some of the examples of the violation of religious freedom rights but more can be found here. They also discuss the report from a recent NSW Parliamentary inquiry. The full report is available here with a summary in our CSA Briefing. The Religious Freedom Weekend is coming up on 11 – 13 June 2021 with full details on the website or in our Briefing which also has downloadable resources for members.

In this episode of the CSA Horizons Podcast series, Sandra Scott talks with Sam Cheesman, Principal of Tyndale Christian School in Strathalbyn South Australia, and Meredith Lockery, Tyndale’s Executive Director Faith and Learning, about equipping teachers for the intentional incorporation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cross-Curricula Priority into the school’s curriculum and culture. Tyndale Christian School, as part of its commitment to an excellent, inclusive and Christ-centred education, has partnered with Australians Together in a pilot program which it heartily recommends to other schools. Key ideas shared in the podcast A plea from teachers: “What do we do about AITSL 1.4 and 2.4?” A partnership between Tyndale Christian School and Australians Together Growing a school culture which values honesty, justice and reconciliation It’s about changing mindsets and behaviours It starts with intentional and strategic leadership

In this episode of the CSA Horizons Podcast series, Sandra Scott talks with Catriona Wansbrough, Principal of St Andrews Christian College in Melbourne Victoria, about the intentional positioning of a mission and service culture in her school. Key things shared in the podcast School is about more than great academic results Always focus on the ‘why’: what are our end goals? In a Christian school, education is ultimately for the benefit of God’s Kingdom How do we build a school culture which incorporates a missional and service mindset? Priorities must be reflected in a school’s documents, budget, staffing, and time allocation It all starts with intentional leadership

Listen to this rich discussion on the key purpose of Christian schooling through the lens of curriculum. Cass Pendlebury hosts Peter Kilgour and Bev Christian from Avondale University College as they explore the importance of introducing Jesus to students in Christian schools and how to do that. Is it environment… is it planning… is it both? Peter and Bev also discuss their recently published book ‘Revealing Jesus in the Learning Environment’ from Avondale Academic Press and their own personal experiences with Christian education.