The WA Education Summit returns in 2026 for its seventh year, bringing together school leaders, IT managers and educators from across Western Australia and beyond for a day of insight, collaboration and future-focused thinking.

This year’s theme, From Digital Risk to Resilience: Navigating Threats and Building Stronger Schools, explores how education communities can confidently adopt technology and AI while strengthening digital safety, governance and resilience. As schools face increasing cyber risks and rapid technological change, the Summit provides practical guidance to help education leaders respond with clarity and confidence.

Held at Optus Stadium, the event features keynote presentations from Yasmin London, a global expert in digital safety and resilience, and Dawid Naude, founder of Pathfindr and a leading voice on artificial intelligence. The day will also include a locknote session from Chris Tanti, offering powerful insights into leadership and navigating change.

Attendees will hear real-world case studies from schools, engage with leading education technology partners, and connect with peers from across the sector. Your registration includes morning tea, lunch and post-event networking drinks, making the Summit a valuable opportunity to learn, connect and shape the future of education.

Dawid Naude

As CEO and founder of Pathfindr, Australia's leading, AFR-award winning AI accelerator, Dawid is one of the country's foremost AI innovators, educators and implementers. With his infectious energy, he is renowned for converting cautious AI onlookers into confident champions.

Every Student Supported. Every Teacher Empowered.

Imagine a future where every student has a personal tutor 24/7, patient, tailored to their pace, language and individual learning needs.

Now imagine every teacher with a tireless, uber responsive assistant — helping plan lessons, provide feedback and focus on what matters most: teaching. In this compelling keynote David explores how AI isn't just enhancing education — it's poised to transform it. Through vivid stories, live demos and real world examples, Dawid paints a picture of what's possible when every learner and every educator is supported in the right way.

What happens when no child is left behind? When no teacher burns out? We don't just improve education — we unlock the full potential of every student and every school.

Yasmin London

Yasmin is a leading expert in digital resilience, leadership and education, and the founder and CEO of First Movers Co. — a consultancy that helps people build the skills and knowledge to thrive in a tech shaped world.

From Digital Risk To Resilience: Supporting Students In A Digital World.

Digital environments now shape how students form relationships, explore identity and experience harm. But as technologies, online subcultures and AI-driven tools evolve, the risks facing schools are changing faster than policies and systems can keep up.

In this powerful keynote, Yasmin examines the emerging digital threats influencing student behaviour today — from cyberbullying and social conflict, particularly among girls, to image-based abuse, deep fakes and hidden online communities.

Drawing on real school experiences and global research, this session moves beyond fear and reaction. Yasmin shares practical insights to help school leaders detect risks earlier, respond with confidence and build a coordinated approach to digital safeguarding.

The result; stronger schools, better supported staff, and students who are safer and more resilient in a rapidly evolving digital world.

Chris Tanti

Mindset, leadership and resilience global motivational speaker.

Mindset Under Pressure

Chris Tanti’s story is as extraordinary as it is raw. Originally from South Australia and now based in Perth for more than 20 years, Chris built his career in one of the world’s most demanding environments: deep sea commercial diving.

He spent more than 1,000 days living under extreme pressure inside saturation diving chambers and worked across more than 20 countries. Chris was part of the elite team that completed the deepest commercial dive in Australian history and became the first person to set foot on the seabed at 250m.

But the dive came at a cost. A serious injury triggered a long journey of recovery, identity loss and reinvention. Today, Chris shares powerful lessons on mindset under pressure, leadership in high-risk environments and why resilience is a skill that can be learned.

Workshops with Tailored Learning for Every Role in Schools

The Summit’s breakout program includes three tailored streams designed to ensure there is something valuable for everyone working in schools:

School Leaders
IT Managers
Teaching and Learning

These sessions are designed as hands-on, practical workshops, delivered by industry experts, education leaders and educators. Through real-world case studies, research insights and shared experiences from schools, attendees will gain strategies and tools they can immediately apply within their own environments.

Leading Safe and Purposeful AI Use in Schools

In this breakout session, Paul Reid shares a global view of what it takes to lead safe, purposeful AI adoption in schools. Drawing on recent work with GEMS Education in the Middle East, alongside long-standing partnerships with Western Australian schools and systems, Paul will unpack how leaders can move beyond hype, fear, and one-off pilots towards a practical whole-school approach. The session will explore the leadership conditions, governance moves, staff capability strategies, and learning design principles that help AI adoption stay anchored in student learning, teacher judgement, and community trust. School leaders will leave with clear examples, useful questions, and an implementation lens they can apply immediately in their own context, whether they are just starting or trying to scale with confidence.

About Paul

Paul is Co-Founder of Next Learning and a long-standing educator and digital strategy consultant who helps schools turn emerging technology into practical improvement in teaching, learning, and leadership. He has worked across schools and systems in Australia and internationally, with a strong focus on digital transformation, staff capability, and the purposeful adoption of AI. Most recently, Paul has been working as a Lead Digital Transformation Consultant with GEMS Education in the Middle East, supporting large-scale change across school improvement, professional learning, and AI-enabled teaching and learning. His work is known for being practical, human-centred, and grounded in the real conditions schools face.

The Personalised AI Tutor: Inside Hale School’s Hale-GPT

Many schools are experimenting with AI, but what happens when an assistant truly understands each student? At Hale School, a team set out to build what they described as the “Holy Grail” of classroom AI — a personalised assistant that knows each student’s learning context. In this session, Rob will share how Hale developed Hale-GPT using Azure OpenAI, integrating student data such as enrolments, assessments, grades and deadlines to create an AI that can generate study schedules, practice questions and tailored academic support. He will also explore the guardrails and monitoring systems used to ensure AI supports learning rather than shortcuts it.Drawing on real classroom use and inquiry-based research, Rob will provide practical insights for school leaders exploring how personalised AI can responsibly support teaching, learning and student independence.

About Rob

Rob is the Director of Learning Technology at Hale School. He has over 20 years of experience in education technology, with a focus on student 1:1 computer programs, generative AI, adaptive technologies, Microsoft 365, and data analytics. He is passionate about enhancing student learning outcomes and engagement through innovative and effective use of technology, particularly in his chosen field of biology. He has presented at various national and international conferences and workshops on topics such as AI in education, data analytics, and online learning.

Leading Difficult Conversations in Schools

Strong leadership requires the confidence and skill to engage in professional conversations that are clear, respectful, and focused on improvement. This session explores practical strategies for leading effective performance conversations that maintain accountability while preserving trust and psychological safety within teams. Participants will be introduced to a simple structure that helps leaders prepare for and navigate performance conversations with clarity, professionalism, and purpose. The session will also demonstrate how leaders can address situations where staff are not meeting school expectations, including expectations around the appropriate and professional use of technology in their practice. Through practical examples, participants will gain confidence in approaching difficult conversations in a way that supports growth, reinforces standards, and contributes to a culture of professionalism and high performance within their teams.

About Kelly

Kelly is a highly respected educational leader with extensive experience across Primary and K–12 settings. She has served as both a Primary Principal and Deputy Principal in a large K–12 college, leading strategic improvement in teaching practice, professional learning, and whole-school systems. She later worked as a School Improvement Advisor in Catholic Education, supporting principals and leadership teams across a large network of schools. Earlier in her career, she represented principals nationally as an Executive Member of the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA). A recognised leadership coach and facilitator, she specialises in professional conversations, leadership development, and building high-performing teams.

It Happened At Home....Now It’s a Classroom Problem

Teachers are increasingly managing digital incidents that occur inside school hours, outside them, and across platforms schools don’t always control. The question many educators ask is simple: what do we actually do when something happens? In this practical workshop, Bec and Trent explore real-world scenarios schools are facing today, including cyberbullying, image sharing and AI-enabled abuse. Participants will learn how to respond with clarity and confidence — what to do first, who needs to be involved, and when to escalate. Together we’ll co-create a simple response tool you can use immediately, plus resources to help engage families and strengthen your school’s approach to responding to online harm.

About Trent and Bec

Trent Ray and Bec Martin are leading digital safety educators dedicated to helping schools create safe, supportive digital learning environments. Trent, co‑founder of the Cyber Safety Project, brings deep expertise in EdTech and whole‑school digital strategy. Bec, a trusted eSafety provider for six years, specialises in practical, evidence‑based programs that empower teachers to guide young people to thrive online. Together, they support schools and communities to build confident, positive digital habits.

Design Smarter Lessons with Canva Magic

In an ever-evolving digital world, educators play an important role in helping students build confidence, resilience, and safe online habits. Join Jo in this practical, hands-on workshop exploring Canva’s Magic tools and how they can support teaching, learning, and classroom creativity. Participants will explore simple ways to design engaging resources, experiment with the Code for Me tool, and create interactive, student-led learning experiences that strengthen digital literacy, critical thinking, and responsible technology use. You’ll leave with practical ideas, time-saving tips, and ready-to-use strategies to support safe and meaningful technology use in your classroom.

About Jo

Jo is Australia’s first Canva Learning Consultant and 2025 National Primary Teacher of the Year (The Educator), and empowers educators and students to harness the power of visual communication. With 20+ years in education and expertise in technology integration, she delivers dynamic workshops, training, and resources that boost creativity, digital literacy, and engagement. As a content creator, her work has been used tens of millions of times worldwide. Passionate about making design accessible, Jo inspires innovative teaching and learning, helping teachers embed Canva into curricula and streamline workflows for meaningful student outcomes.

The Science Of Teacher Resilience

As schools accelerate through AI, digital tools and ongoing change, the demands on teachers continue to intensify. This session reframes resilience from an individual trait to a system-level responsibility, grounded in the PR6 model of resilience: Vision, Composure, Reasoning, Health, Collaboration and Tenacity. Drawing on resilience science and psychosocial risk frameworks, this presentation explores how pressure accumulates across these domains in modern school environments. Participants will be introduced to how the PR6 domains can be strengthened through intentional design, structured routines and supportive workplace systems. Practical strategies will demonstrate how schools can reduce unnecessary load, enhance collective capacity and improve staff wellbeing. You will leave with a clear, actionable framework for building resilient schools where people are supported to thrive: because sustainable innovation depends on human capacity, not just technology.

About Stuart

Stuart is an educator, consultant and specialist in teacher wellbeing and psychosocial risk, with more than 30 years of experience across the education sector. A former teacher, he combines deep classroom insight with expertise in organisational systems and staff wellbeing.His work focuses on addressing the growing challenges of teacher burnout, retention and workload by helping schools design healthier, more sustainable working environments — not just more resilient individuals. Specialising in psychosocial hazard management, resilience science and educator wellbeing, Stuart works with school leaders to translate research, legislation and psychology into practical, system-level strategies that reduce risk, support staff and strengthen whole-school culture.

Safeguarding Student Privacy and Data in a Connected World

As K-12 schools across WA expand their digital footprint through integrated "full-service" community models cybersecurity professionals face a rapidly growing attack surface. While the adoption of AI learning tools, smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policies offers tremendous value, it also introduces serious security risks. This presentation explores the critical intersection of keeping children safe online, rigorously protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII), and adhering to strict compliance regulations without sacrificing the modern educational experience. Join us to discover how to mitigate external and insider threats while preparing students to become good digital citizens through everyday "teachable moments."

About Adam

Adam Saul is a highly accomplished Senior Solutions Engineer at Netskope, specialising in cloud security and digital transformation.With nearly 19 years of experience in the ICT industry, Adam effectively leverages his deep expertise to lead the technical direction, scope, and strategic security approach for Enterprises and Government Agencies.His career history—which includes significant roles spanning the Customer (Department of Education), Integrator/Partner (NTT), and Vendor (Check Point and Netskope) sectors, gives him a unique and holistic viewpoint that is a critical asset. This comprehensive experience allows him to not only design dynamic solutions but also anticipate operational challenges, mitigate deployment risks, and ensure technology aligns perfectly with an organisation's strategic goals and real-world needs.

Using AI to Understand Community Sentiment and Drive Enrolment Growth

Schools are increasingly looking for new ways to understand and improve the experiences of their communities. This session explores how AI driven sentiment analysis and smart system integration can transform the way schools monitor parent and student interactions. By unifying data from call centres, messaging platforms, and on site services, schools can gain real time visibility into community sentiment, identify service gaps, and respond proactively. Using practical examples from AIC, Tamjid will demonstrate how improved sentiment directly contributed to stronger community trust, increased reenrolments, and successful new campus launches. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how similar strategies—regardless of the tools they use—can be applied in any school environment to enhance engagement and drive positive outcomes.

About Tamjid

Tamjid Aijazi is the Chief Information Officer at Australian Islamic College in Perth, leading technology strategy across one of Western Australia’s largest school networks, serving over 6,000 students. A seasoned technology strategist and entrepreneur, he has a proven track record of scaling innovation, including transforming ShorPoint into a multi-million-dollar company and founding Miracle Mobile, later acquired in 2020.Tamjid has delivered software solutions for global organisations including Amazon, Verizon and Warner Bros, and is currently Founder and CEO of GenieSign. Passionate about digital transformation in education, he focuses on building secure, inclusive and future-ready learning environments that empower students and educators through practical, human-centred technology.

Managing Macs Securely at Scale

As Mac adoption grows across schools, IT teams are under increasing pressure to deploy, manage and secure devices at scale without adding complexity. This session explores how modern device management (MDM) approaches enable zero-touch deployment, automated policy enforcement and consistent security across every Mac in your environment. Learn how to streamline provisioning, maintain visibility and control, and protect student and staff data through centralised management. We’ll cover practical strategies for enforcing compliance, managing updates, and reducing risk across distributed school networks. Designed for IT leaders and managers, this workshop will show how to simplify Mac management while strengthening security, reducing manual workload and building a more resilient, future-ready school environment.

About Brennan and Patrick

Brennan Godfrey is a Senior Engineer at Solutions IT, specialising in device management, deployment and security across education environments. He works closely with schools to design and implement scalable solutions that support teaching and learning. Brennan brings hands-on expertise in managing Apple and Microsoft ecosystems, with a strong focus on efficiency, reliability and safeguarding student and staff data. Patrick is an Apple systems engineer based in Perth.

Bletchley Park Primary School

Dayton Primary School

Duncraig SHS

Hale School

Iona Presentation College

John XXIII College

Living Waters Lutheran College

Methodist Ladies College

North Harrisdale PS

Penrhos College

St Marks Anglican CS

Wellard Primary School