UK expert arrives to clean up troubled school our super principal

Alex de Vos
State Government has appointed an “executive principal” to raise academic standards at a Geelong primary school.
Phil Dunlop-Moore is one of a handful of the super principals on big pay packets to clean up troubled schools around Victoria.
Fresh from the UK, a passionate and enthusiastic Mr Dunlop-Moore said he couldn’t wait to begin “shaping and helping young people change and grow” at Whittington Primary School.
“I’m absolutely passionate about primary education,” he said.
“I think primary is such a special time – they come in and they almost certainly can’t read and in some cases their spoken language is minimal.
“Then you see them leave in year six and they’re adults.”
Mr Dunlop-Moore said he was determined to turn the school around and ensure “every child reaches their full potential”.
“I don’t think it’s ever too late. If you said there’s a point at which it’s too late then you’re saying there’s a point of impossibility.
“And I don’t really do can’t.”
The Government used new “executive contracts” to lure Mr Dunlop-Moore from England to Whittington.
Under the initiative, top principals from Australia and overseas can apply to work in “challenging” schools on performance-based contracts offering packages of up to $182,000 a year, almost double the usual principal wage.
Mr Dunlop-Moore said he had been responsible for 1800 primary schools in the UK.
He had “lots and lots of ideas” of how to lift standards at Whittington.
However, he would have to do his own homework first.
“I can’t say that at the end of January we’re going to do this program or that program because I really have to know and understand in more detail what is already happening,” he said.
“According to the new My Schools website, there are very positive things happening in this school – you don’t get the best year-three reading result from that group of schools accidentally.
“My leadership style isn’t about what I’m going to dictate to you – it’s about being a learning community and drawing on the expertise of all the staff.”