At The Essington School, we know that the greatest impact on student learning comes from great teachers and great leaders.

That belief shapes how we invest in teaching, learning and our people. To strengthen outcomes for students, we need to build the capability of those leading our classrooms, teams and school.

As Essington grows, one priority is creating opportunities for talented people from within our school. This commitment sits behind Essington’s Emerging Leaders Program, designed to support staff ready to extend their influence, develop leadership capability and explore the next step in their professional journey.

“We have incredibly talented people within our school. Our responsibility is to recognise that potential, invest in it and create authentic opportunities for people to lead. The best leadership development doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens when people are trusted to contribute to real work that makes our school better.” Hannah Zwitser, Head of Improvement and Innovation

Leadership is developed, not simply appointed

Too often, leadership development begins after someone has been appointed to a formal position. At Essington, we are working to turn that thinking around.

Our Emerging Leaders Program provides opportunities to build leadership capability before staff necessarily hold a formal title. It recognises that leadership is not simply a position on an organisational chart; it is the ability to influence others, contribute to improvement, build strong teams, make thoughtful decisions and positively impact students.

Participation is not a guarantee of promotion. It is an investment in our people and in building leadership capacity across the school.

Learning leadership by doing

Leadership development needs to extend beyond professional learning sessions. Emerging leaders need opportunities to do the work of leadership.

Alongside the formal program, Essington is creating development opportunities including job shadowing, acting leadership roles, mentoring and coaching, leading projects and improvement initiatives, and working alongside experienced leaders in strategic conversations and decision-making.

Acting opportunities allow emerging leaders to experience the realities of leadership while supported by experienced colleagues. Job shadowing provides insight into roles beyond current responsibilities, helping staff understand not only what leaders do, but how they think, prioritise, communicate and make decisions.

Leadership development does not follow one pathway. Different people require different experiences at different stages of their careers. Our role is to create ways for people to stretch themselves, build experience and discover their strengths.

Through these experiences, emerging leaders develop a deeper understanding of school leadership: balancing priorities with day-to-day realities, bringing people through change, using evidence and maintaining a clear focus on student outcomes.

Just as importantly, they learn that effective leadership is fundamentally relational. It requires trust, clarity, courage, curiosity and the ability to listen.

Building leadership from within

Developing our own leaders is important for the long-term strength and sustainability of our school.

Attracting outstanding people to Essington remains important, but we also have talented people within our school who know our students, understand our culture and are invested in our future. Our responsibility is to ensure they can see opportunities to grow here.

Visible pathways for development and advancement can help retain talented educators, strengthen succession planning and build capacity.

This is not about becoming inward-looking. External experience, new ideas and different perspectives remain valuable. Rather, it is about ensuring that when leadership opportunities arise, our own people have also been deliberately prepared and encouraged to step forward.

Creating a culture of growth

We want our staff to know that ambition is welcome. We want people to be curious about what might come next, seek feedback, take appropriate risks and put their hand up for opportunities that stretch them.

Not everyone who participates will ultimately seek a formal leadership position, and that is equally valuable. Leadership learning strengthens classroom practice, collaboration, project leadership and professional relationships.

When more people understand how to lead improvement and build the capability of others, the collective capacity of the whole school grows.

Leadership that creates IMPACT

One of the most powerful examples of our approach has been the design of IMPACT, Essington’s Instructional Model.

IMPACT has been designed by Essington teachers, for Essington students, and is underpinned by contemporary educational evidence about how students learn and the teaching practices that make the greatest difference.

Our emerging leaders have been integral to this work. They have worked alongside teachers and school leaders to explore evidence, contribute to the model’s design, test ideas, listen to teacher voice and help shape how IMPACT is brought to life in classrooms.

This is leadership development in practice. It gives emerging leaders the opportunity to influence meaningful whole-school improvement while developing their ability to collaborate, engage with evidence, lead change and build the capability of others.

It also reflects what we want leadership at Essington to be: connected to teaching, grounded in evidence and focused on impact.

“The future strength of Essington will be shaped by the people we develop today. Creating opportunities for our staff to step forward, take on new challenges and learn through experience strengthens not only our leadership pipeline, but our whole school. We want talented people to see that they can continue to learn, grow and build their careers at Essington.” Paul Nyhuis, Principal/CEO

By investing in emerging leaders and giving them authentic opportunities to shadow, act, lead and contribute, we are building leadership capability across Essington now.

Whether through the Emerging Leaders Program, an acting role, job shadowing, leading an improvement initiative or helping design and embed work such as IMPACT, the principle is the same: leadership grows when people are given meaningful opportunities to practise it.

In doing so, we are strengthening the people who will continue to shape excellent teaching, learning and leadership for Essington students into the future. TQ

For more information about leadership and employment opportunities at The Essington School, visit: https://www.essington.nt.edu.au/about-essington/employment-opportunities-at-essington