Ian Kent
Eastern Fleurieu R-12 School, SA
Peramangk and Ngarrindjeri
Teaching Fellow
In South Australia’s Eastern Fleurieu R-12 school, many children face trauma, learning disabilities and socioeconomic challenges. The school’s principal Ian Kent has shown exceptional leadership and initiated game-changing programs to assist his students across the school.
Over the past six years, Ian has introduced initiatives like New Pedagogies for Deep Learning and the Berry Street Education Model, which have enhanced student wellbeing, emotional regulation, and competency development. His efforts in creating a whole school assessment and reporting policy and introducing targeted literacy and numeracy interventions have contributed to the highest Year 12 achievements in the school’s history.
Ian promotes shared and distributed leadership within his school, mentoring 25 aspiring leaders and fostering their development in alignment with AITSL Principal Standards. His approach includes increased use of data and championing professional learning to refine pedagogy and the school curriculum, in addition to widely sharing knowledge with other schools.
Ian worked with the Governing Council to clarify their role, making changes to governance, financial management and decision making that puts student learning and wellbeing at the centre. Ian has also improved community engagement through a comprehensive digital communication strategy, including a webpage, digital newsletters and social media outreach, which has strengthened the school’s culture.
Ian’s dedication to equitable education and his strong advocacy for disadvantaged students have resulted in higher-quality teaching, sustained student engagement and an environment where all students have the capacity to thrive in a complex world.