Interim Strategic Director, Bruce Armstrong
Bruce Armstrong’s career spans more than 30 years of active contribution to public education as a teacher, principal and system leader in the Victorian Department of Education and Training.
Bruce was the inaugural Director of Bastow, leading a dedicated team in the establishment of the Institute. He was instrumental in the development of the Department’s leadership curriculum, which has provided thousands of government educators with an unprecedented range of professional learning programs tailored for different stages of development and career.
In 2009, Bruce was awarded a Fellowship with the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) in recognition of his contribution to transformational school leadership. He represented Victoria in the first cohort of the Global Education Leaders Program, and was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2015 for outstanding service and leadership in education. In 2018, Bruce’s enduring impact on education administration was recognised with ACEL’s Nganakarrawa Award, which is presented to those whose learning, experience and contribution to the Council have earned lasting respect and gratitude.
As Deputy Secretary, Regional Services Group, Bruce led significant system-wide reforms, before leaving the Department in 2019 to consult on education policy, strategy and implementation. He is excited to be back at Bastow as Interim Strategic Director, contributing to the next stage of the Institute’s vision for school leadership excellence in Victoria.
Course Provision
It takes more than just tea and biscuits to provide a memorable and fit-for-purpose learning experience.
Charged with overseeing the life cycle of Bastow’s complex portfolio of courses and programs, the Course Provision team engages directly with schools, participants and providers to successfully deliver professional learning across Victoria.
Upholding Bastow’s course quality and service standards requires the Course Provision team to manage contracts, scoping and stakeholder satisfaction, as well as undertake consultation processes and learning data analysis to produce reports and recommendations that support the betterment of course design and delivery.
The team also partners with both internal and external stakeholders to deliver the quality learning experiences that we are renowned for.
Digital Learning
Our Digital Learning team supports the digital aspects of initiatives within Bastow and across the Department's Professional Practice and Leadership Division.
Our team is responsible for the digital learning components of our professional learning. We work closely and creatively with our leadership team, departmental stakeholders, external providers and partner organisations to deliver innovative digital solutions.
We focus on ensuring the digital aspects of learning design align with the high quality standards of all our professional learning.
Learning, Development and Innovation
Great learning requires intentional design and development. We use a deliberate process to ensure that the courses and programs delivered to educational leaders are of the highest quality and designed for optimal engagement for all learners.
Our Learning, Development and Innovation team is responsible for designing our professional learning and overseeing the delivery in accordance with the learning design.
Drawing on our curriculum development process, and guided by our Professional Learning Principles, we investigate the needs of the learners to ensure the learning design attends to their needs, as well as enabling educational leaders to enact the capabilities built through the professional learning.
The team also have responsibility for gathering and analysing the evidence of the learning experience, using this to inform ongoing refinement of our professional learning. Both new and refreshed professional learning move through our curriculum development process, commencing with a strong learning design informed by evidence, designed to maximise engagement and intended to transform learner capability.
Marketing and Stakeholder Engagement
Our Marketing and Stakeholder Engagement team works collaboratively with Bastow and Department staff, the school community and other key stakeholders to ensure quality communication and stakeholder engagement.
The team’s responsibilities are to:
- align communications and stakeholder engagement with strategic directions and policies
- raise awareness of our leadership initiatives and participation with our professional learning
- ensure the integrity of our brand and voice is maintained across all our work, including the website, social media, publications and marketing materials
- develop strategic partnerships with international education organisations, leadership centres and professional associations
- support an ongoing professional conversation through our Alumni and thought leadership events.
Operations
Our Operations team develops, implements and oversees our systems, policies and procedures to ensure the highest level of operational effectiveness for all our facilities and services. This includes developing and implementing quality assurance processes, feedback and monitoring systems for continuous improvement of our products and services.
Regional Partnerships
The Regional Partnerships team expands the reach of high-quality leadership development across Victoria. The team works closely with Regional Directors to establish strong partnerships with education networks throughout Victoria.