Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited: Towards 2035

As Season 2 of Towards 2035: Inside the Engine Room comes to a close, Tom Sexton (DOBCEL Executive Director), Ruth Appleyard (DOBCEL Marketing & Communications Manager) and Julia Petrov (DOBCEL Strategy Implementation Manager) reflect on what this term’s work has revealed about change, listening and action. Looking across Student Agency and Collaborative Innovation Research Prototypes (CIRPs)...

In this episode, Ruth Appleyard (DOBCEL Marketing and Communications Manager) explores the Collaborative Literacy Network: Sounds Write Training, a Collaborative Innovation Research Prototype (CIRP) focused on strengthening literacy practice through evidence-based professional learning, regional collaboration and shared system support. Ruth is joined by Shelley Ryan (Principal of Siena Primary Sch...

In this episode, Ruth Appleyard (DOBCEL Marketing & Communications Manager) sits down with Fiona Murphy, (DOBCEL Organisational Development Manager), along with Emily Clarke (Principal of St Alipius Primary School, Ballarat East), Narelle Cox (Principal of St Aloysius Primary School, Redan), and Jayne Bosworth (Principal of St Brigid’s Primary School, Ballan). Together, they explore Nurturing...

In this episode, Ruth Appleyard (DOBCEL Marketing & Communications Manager) sits down with Jo-anne Van der Voort, DOBCEL Education Officer: Religious Education (Primary), along with Cara Chisholm and Stacey Atkins, to explore a powerful example of collaboration and innovation in action. Together, they unpack the Star of the Sea Parish Sacramental Reimagining Prototype, a Collaborative Innovati...

In this special Catholic Education Week episode of the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 Podcast – Towards 2035 , DOBCEL Marketing and Communications Manager Ruth Appleyard joins Deputy Director: Catholic Education Matt Byrne and Deputy Director: Stewardship Megan Ioannou to reflect on the significance of Catholic Education Week and the vital role Catholic schools play across our Diocese. Together, they discus...

What happens when schools genuinely listen to students? In this episode, DOBCEL Marketing & Communications Manager, Ruth Appleyard, speaks with Dr Penelope Jean Stiles, Future Schools Director Dave Runge and some of the students and teachers who were involved in Student Agency forums held across regional Victoria. The Student Agency – Schools that Listen initiative brings together students and...

In Season 2, Episode 3 – School Voices: Why We Teach Here , Future Schools Director Dave Runge speaks with St Brigid's College Horsham, early career teacher Olivia Spadea about her journey into Catholic education, the importance of strong relationships in schools and the opportunities that come with teaching in regional Victoria. Olivia shares how her experience at St Brigid's College in Horsham c...

In this episode of Inside the Engine Room , Board Chair Eugene Dalton and Director Anne Pekin share a governance perspective on Strategy 2035 - why the Board endorsed it, what it sets in motion, and the hopes it holds for students and school communities. The conversation explores how the Board is keeping the strategy alive in its work, what they are already noticing in schools, and what is giving...

In the first episode of Season 2, Ruth Appleyard (Marketing and Communications Manager) is joined by Julia Petrov (Strategy Implementation Manager) and Tom Sexton (Executive Director) to unpack Collaborative Innovation Research Prototypes (CIRPs) – and why they matter now. This conversation brings CIRPs back to basics, offering a clear, plain-language explanation of what they are, how they work, a...

In our season finale, we break open the practical architecture of the strategy – the strategic pillars, the three practical principles and the emerging Collaborative Innovation Research Prototypes (CIRPs) that will drive system-wide learning and transformation. Discover how bold ideas can become real action, and how schools will work together to prototype, test, and scale the practices that shape...

What does it take to craft a decade-long strategy in a world that’s changing fast? In this episode, Tom Sexton (Executive Director) is joined by Ruth Appleyard (Manager: Marketing & Communications) and Julia Petrov (Manager: Strategy Implementation) to explore the rationale behind our 10-year horizon, and the formative influences that shaped it – from Catholic identity and tradition to interna...

From demographic shifts to technological disruption, global forces are reshaping education at a rapid pace. In this episode, DOBCEL Executive Director Tom Sexton joins Julia Petrov (Manager: Strategy Implementation) and Ruth Appleyard (Manager: Marketing & Communications) for a short conversation about the external drivers that make strategic renewal essential for Catholic Education Ballarat....

In this interlude, Principal of St Patrick’s Primary School in Nhill, Kingsley Dalgleish, speaks with Dave Runge about the unique character of his school community and the challenges and opportunities they are navigating. Kingsley reflects on how the 2035 strategy is coming to life in his context and shares practical examples of how the strategic pillars – especially deeper collaboration – are sha...

Professor Pasi Sahlberg and Dave Runge sit down together to reflect on the changing landscape of education worldwide. From equity to wellbeing, from system coherence to innovation, this conversation offers deep insight into the ideas that influenced the development of the DOBCEL strategy. Hear how global perspectives connect to local action – and why our context matters.

Principal of St Alipius Parish School, Ballarat East – Emily Clarke – joins Dave Runge for a candid conversation about the opportunities and pressures facing school leaders today. She reflects on how the DOBCEL strategy resonates with her school community and the ways brave leadership is required to enact meaningful change.

How did a regional Catholic education system in Victoria end up working with one of the world’s most respected educational thinkers? In this episode, Executive Director Tom Sexton is joined by Marketing & Communications Manager Ruth Appleyard to share the story behind connecting with Professor Pasi Sahlberg and futurist-educational strategist Dave Runge – a hopeful opportunity that quickly evo...

In the first of our short “School Voices” conversations, Dave Runge – Director of Future Schools, engages with Principal of Lumen Christi Primary School in Delacombe – Carmel Hanley, to discuss the DOBCEL Strategy 2035 and what it means in her own school context. Together they explore the hopes, struggles and practical realities of leading change from the ground up – and what the 2035 strategy mea...

In our opening episode, we explore the aspirations behind building a high-performing system of Catholic schools across the Diocese of Ballarat. What does “high-performing” really mean in a Catholic school context? Why now? And how have we shaped a strategic direction that is bold and brave, but not reckless? Join us as Executive Director Tom Sexton, in conversation with Julia Petrov ( Strategy Imp...