MACS - Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools

Home > News and Events > 2025 > July > The inaugural MACS Flourishing Learners Conference The inaugural MACS Flourishing Learners Conference

Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) is hosting the inaugural Flourishing Learners Conference, a milestone in pursuit of the MACS 2030 strategy The dynamic two-day event will enable teachers and leaders across our diverse system of 291 schools to deliver equity and excellence in education.

Empowering and informing educators at the Flourishing Learners Conference

Here at MACS, we are committed to helping growing minds discover futures filled with purpose. Our system-wide approach to teaching and learning is consistent, reliable and effective, informed by Vision for Instruction and Vision for Engagement . These evidence-based instruction models ensure best-practice in every MACS school to support teachers and improve student outcomes across learning, behaviour and holistic development.

The Flourishing Learners Conference will provide MACS educators with interactive and in-depth exposure to the science behind explicit teaching, equipping them even further to achieve academic excellence for every student.

Flourishing Learners Conference highlights and keynote speakers

A powerful selection of experts in explicit instruction and education will be delivering invaluable keynotes and workshops over the two-day conference. We are grateful to our expert keynote speakers:

Professor Brother David Hall FMS (Foundation Dean of La Salle Academy at ACU):
‘Education for a new humanity: the gift of Catholic schools.’

Kristen Douglas (National Manager and Head of Headspace Schools and Communities):
‘Ecosystem engineers: megatrends in education and wellbeing.’

Professor Dylan Wiliam (Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at UCL Institute of Education):
‘Leading with or without evidence: elevating teacher quality.’

Emina McLean (Literacy policy and practice implementation expert):
‘Literacy leadership in a time of change.’

Tom Sherrington (Education Author and CPD Provider: teaching, curriculum, assessment):
‘The liberating power of great technique in teaching.’

Bron Ryrie Jones (Instructional coach and teacher educator):
‘Big ideas in responsive teaching.’

Jamie Clark (Author of Teaching One-Pagers & Head of Professional Growth at Mercedes College, WA):
‘Embedding growth culture through curriculum design.’

The Flourishing Learners Conference is not only an unparalleled opportunity for professional networking and access to subject-matter experts, but an environment designed to elicit dialogue around the best way to support teachers so they can best support students. The conference will take place 8-9 September 2025 at Marvel Stadium.