Schools can become self-improving learning organisations, with the ability to keep getting better.
Dr Simon Breakspear is an internationally recognised researcher, advisor and Speaker on educational leadership, improvement and change. Simon specialises in translating complex evidence into practical frameworks that help leaders lift performance, build strong learning cultures and drive sustained improvement. His capability-building programs have supported more than 100,000 educators across 10 countries, positioning him as a trusted voice for leaders navigating change in rapidly evolving environments.
Simon is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at UNSW and advises the NSW Department of Education on leadership and school improvement. He also contributes to national policy through his role on the expert steering committee for the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. With qualifications from UNSW, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, Simon brings academic rigour alongside real-world insight grounded in his early career as a high school teacher.
Simon equips audiences with tools they can use immediately, making him a powerful addition to conferences focused on leadership, performance and building cultures of continuous improvement.
Talking Points
Schools in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence is evolving at breathtaking speed. In just a few years, generative AI has shifted from curiosity to an everyday tool, raising pressing questions for educators: How can we navigate the fast-paced evolution of AI to enhance learning and human development?Schools in the Age of AI
This keynote goes beyond “what is AI?” and focuses on the decisive calls educators must make about if, when, and how AI belongs in learning. Drawing on cognitive science, the science of human development, and emerging education trends, it offers practical wisdom for adopting AI carefully and with confidence. Schools cannot predict the future, but they can equip young people to flourish within it by prioritising the timeless practices that have endured and served learners best over time.
In this practical session, participants will:
- Extract lessons from past EdTech missteps to avoid predictable pitfalls.
- Distinguish between AI for productivity and AI for pedagogy
- Use insights from psychology and human development to guide decisions about if, when, and how AI should be used.
- Practise deliberate non-use in some contexts to build and sustain underlying cognitive and interpersonal capacities
- Double down on enduring practices that form capable learners and connected communities
The future is uncertain, yet the path is clear: schools must strengthen their timeless humanising role. As technology accelerates, they must be more human than ever.
Trust Moves
Trust is the hidden engine of school improvement. Over three decades of research have demonstrated a strong link between high trust and improved outcomes for students, teachers, and communities. Where trust is strong, people take risks, collaborate deeply, and sustain change. Where trust is weak, even the best strategies stall.Trust Moves
This keynote explores the “trust moves” leaders can make to intentionally build and sustain trust. It highlights the human dynamics at the heart of schools – between teachers, leaders, students, parents, and communities – and shows how the quality of these relationships determines the quality of improvement. Trust does not just appear; it can be cultivated, protected, and rebuilt. And when it is, schools experience a powerful trust dividend that pays off over time.
In this keynote, participants will:
- Understand why trust is the foundation of sustainable improvement.
- Explore what trust is, how it is built, how it is broken, and how it can be restored.
- Learn practical “trust moves” that help leaders become both trusting and trustworthy.
- See how strengthening trust delivers long-term gains in collaboration, culture, and outcomes.
- Trust is the currency of lasting change. In times of challenge and change, trust must move first – and everything else follows.
The Pruning Principle
Educators, leaders, schools and systems are overloaded and exhausted. We seem collectively stuck in a relentless ‘additive cycle’ of expanding the number of commitments, programs and initiatives. In this session, Simon will outline the case for strategic subtraction. What if the answer to inducing positive change in our teams, organisations, and systems lies in doing less?The Pruning Principle
In this provocative presentation, you will:
- Unravel the misguided tendency to keep adding more
- Surface the power of subtracting, streamlining and simplifying
- Explore how to apply The Pruning Principle across roles and contexts
- Consider why pruning will require courage and creativity
- Apply simple strategies and practical tools
Rethinking Resistance
Are you searching for effective strategies to ignite change in others? Do you want to find an approach that can help ‘move the middle’ and get more people on the path to positive practice change?Rethinking Resistance
In this practical session, we will explore what behavioural science research suggests is the best way to respond to the passive and active resistance that emerges during an improvement journey. Rethinking Resistance provides a clear framework to enable leaders to support big and sustained changes in the professional practices that matter most. You will learn what to do when change is hard, your people are sceptical, and motivation is low.
In this engaging presentation, you will:
- Examine the challenge of adult behavioural change
- Build confidence in harnessing behavioural science approaches to help shift practice
- Uncover simple strategies to overcome obstacles and build momentum
- Apply practical tools for immediate progress
Elevated Conversations
Teacher collaboration time is precious and limited, so the challenge is making every minute of it truly count. Shifting from ‘teaching mode’ to ‘collaboration mode’ isn’t easy. Too often, conversations drift, lose focus or stay surface-level.Elevated Conversations
Elevated Conversations introduces a set of simple, field-tested tools that help teams use their collaborative time more productively and purposefully.
In this practical session, participants will:
- Identify the common challenges that limit the impact of teacher collaboration
- Explore how structured tools can deepen connection, focus and professional thinking
- Practise facilitation techniques that lift the quality of team dialogue
- Plan practical ways to apply these approaches in upcoming collaboration sessions
- This session will help you make collaboration time count, transforming everyday meetings into opportunities for shared growth and improved practice.
Video
Dr Simon Breakspear| Founder of Strategic Schools | Saxton Speakers
Working with Simon is the safest way to make sure a high profile, ambitious event for school leaders breaks new ground and leaves people wanting more. Nobody can engage, challenge, provoke, ... keep reading Microsoft
(Simon's)professionalism, preparation and insight are admirable and he made a deep impression on participants. His role as a moderator in the panel was simply fantastic, facilitating a meaningful discussion for heads of school.
QELi is privileged to work with and alongside Simon. His high impact programs tailored to leaders at all levels, from teachers through to Principals and System Leaders, rate significantly high in our impact evaluation process. Simon connects well with all audiences and is a pleasure to work with.
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