I can’t remember how I became aware of the Early Learning Centre at Ivanhoe Girls’, but as soon as I did, the solution to the problem I had been wrestling with became clear. In 1998 my four-year-old started her formal education here, dressed in little brown shorts and a gold polo shirt. It was never our intention that she would go through to Junior or Senior School here, but as many staff, students and parents know, this is a very hard place to leave.

That four-year-old is turning 30 this year and is a member of the Class of 2011. My first year as a staff member at Ivanhoe Girls’ was in 2003, so I came into the celebrations of the School’s centenary year and, after nine years away, I have returned in the year when we celebrate our 120th birthday.

It is such a privilege to be back as the 13th Principal of Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School. 

The role of Principal in an independent school is an intense one due to the significant workload, the high level of responsibility for people, and the very public nature of the role. It’s a job, but it’s also more than a job, and that’s what I love about it. It is about being part of a community. Having worked at all levels in both corporate and educational settings, I have certainly ‘found my niche’. 

I enjoy coming to work every day due to the variety and challenge of the role: interacting with students, colleagues and community members; driving the educational improvement agenda; and running a business. This enjoyment gives me the energy to consistently work on implementing the School’s strategy and seeking the very best outcomes for students and their futures.

We know as members of this community that there is so much more to a truly excellent education that sets students up for their futures than good VCE scores… sure, they are important because they open doors, but it is the character and personal qualities of the person who walks through that door that matters most, how we have shaped a student’s thoughts, feelings and intentions; and sparked in that student the will to change the world.

That’s where the power of schools is and will continue to be, and where the Ivanhoe Girls’ edge will continue to come from. This is a school that has always had a progressive agenda with community and service at its heart.

As I look to the future of education across the next 10 years, and what we as a community need to focus on, I keep coming back to the work of the OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 Project, and its Learning Compass 2030. This is an evolving learning framework, the product of collaboration among government representatives, academic experts, school leaders, teachers, students and social partners from around the world who have a genuine interest in supporting positive change in education systems.

The Learning Compass 2030 sets out an aspirational vision for the future of education to support two key outcomes: individual and collective wellbeing. The metaphor of a learning compass was adopted to emphasise the increasing need for students to learn to navigate by themselves through unfamiliar contexts, and find their direction in a meaningful and responsible way, instead of simply receiving fixed instructions or directions from their teachers.

The OECD Learning Compass 2030 has identified three “transformative competencies” that students need in order to contribute to and thrive in our world and shape a better future. These competencies are:

1. Creating new values
2. Reconciling tensions and dilemmas
3. Taking Responsibility

These transformative competencies are not simple ideas, nor are they the domain of any ‘subject’ or co-curricular area. It will take a very committed, extended community and significant partnerships, locally and globally, to give our students the very best opportunities to develop these competencies. 

Our students’ education will need to go well beyond the confines of our school grounds and beyond what is traditionally seen as school-based learning. 

The next chapter in the innovation story of Ivanhoe Girls’ is indeed going to be a very exciting one.

Ms Narelle Umbers
Principal