LEANNE NIXON

Leanne Nixon was appointed Deputy Chief Executive in 2019 with the responsibility to lead schools across the Northern Territory. Leanne has more than 30 years’ experience in education as a teacher and principal and has a passionate commitment to lifting outcomes for all students. Before joining the department, Leanne held executive roles in the Queensland public sector, including Acting Deputy Director-General State Schools and Assistant Director-General State Schools – Performance, where she developed innovative strategies to improve student outcomes including developing a statewide school improvement model.

Leanne as Acting Chief Executive earlier this year, led the department’s planning and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including achieving the department’s objective of ensuring continued education provision to students throughout the Northern Territory (NT). The NT was the first jurisdiction to return to compulsory, in person learning for all students at the start of Term 2, this along with the biosecurity zones presented some unique challenges for the Territory. Leanne continues to lead the department’s recovery phase, including implementing key learnings from the department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic across the system and in schools.

Leading Innovation as we Rebound to Recovery

“The Kaleidoscope has been shaken. The pieces are in flux. Soon they will settle again. Before they do, let us re-order this world around us”. (Tony Blair, 2 October 2001). The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the pieces and presented many challenges for all of us – now we need to ensure that when the pieces settle, we are prepared for a very different world to the one before, but that we also leverage the disruption to lead innovation and change.

The Northern Territory was the only jurisdiction in Australia to deliver uninterrupted learning and was the first jurisdiction to return to compulsory, in person learning for all students at the start of Term 2, 2020 - this along with the biosecurity zones and mobility of students presented some unique challenges for the Territory.

Leanne Nixon, Deputy Chief Executive will share the Northern Territory Department of Education’s COVID-19 response story so far, including how the pandemic challenged previous assumptions and presented a window of opportunity to lead innovation and change, using the change in mindset and agility of staff to focus on addressing new or existing wicked problems. This presentation will explore how key learnings and opportunities will challenge our thinking for system transformation as we rebound to recovery.