Ground-breaking program helps principals flourish - School News Australia

“In 2016, the NSW Primary Principals Association’s (NSWPPA) conducted a well-being survey of principals and other school leaders.

What it found was that a significant number of school principals are not coping with the pressures of the job – an issue also reflected in the national Principal Health and Well-being Survey, which was released in February.

This prompted the creation of the Flourish Project – a research-based initiative created by Dr Adam Fraser and school principal Bob Willetts – designed to reduce burnout and boost efficiency for principals across NSW.

The Flourish Project began as a collaboration between Fraser, Deakin University Business School and The Shoalhaven Primary Principals’ Council, based on the NSW south coast.

The program encompasses three phases; the research phase, the intervention phase and the re-testing phase, all of which are designed to help participants understand and overcome the issues affecting them the most.

To give the project a research component, Willetts approached Dr Kylie Lipscome from the University of Wollongong, while Fraser approached Dr John Molineux from Deakin University.

Deakin University was selected due to it having a research methodology in place from a previous project with HR Managers, which Fraser and Willetts felt suited the Flourish Project well.

The project brings principals together just once a term while providing behaviour change support in between. This helps school leaders implement what they learned in the workshops – and it has shown outstanding results.”