Steve Roberts

I am a long-standing member of QASEL and experienced special education leader having worked as a teacher, HOC, DP and Principal across a number of schools. I am passionate about connecting people to build capability. At Kuraby Special School we did this by sharing the skill and expertise of our staff to support staff in primary and secondary schools. This was achieved through case management and targeted professional development opportunities. Supporting students with disabilities in all settings is a role for all of us in the system- regardless of our setting. I presented this work at QASELCON in 2021.

A side-project for me has been capturing the reflections, advice and legacy statements of our most experienced educational leaders. It is important to me that the experience and knowledge of those leaving our system is captured and shared with the next generation of leaders. I have been interviewing principals who are towards the end of their careers asking questions including the following:

What are you most proud of in your educational career? What advice would you offer the next generation of special education leaders? What is one of the biggest challenges you have overcome? How would you like to be remembered?

I shared a snippet of this work at QASELCON in 2022. This is a project that remains ongoing and I look forward to continuing to collate and share this work.

As a member of the QASEL management committee in 2022 I have enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to the position papers and other work of the committee.