Principal among top in the state

FOR the past six years, Kim Saddlier has worked hard to grow Kangaroo Flat Primary School into a supportive and inclusive place for students and families.

Now, Ms Saddlier has been recognised for her dedication and commitment with a nomination for Outstanding Primary Principal in the 2021 Victorian Education Excellence Awards.

“I’m quite humbled by the nomination, and the subsequent shortlisting as a finalist, because I think it’s a testament to the hard work we’ve been doing here at Kangaroo Flat Primary School,” she said.

“I think every principal would say you can only be as good as the team behind you.”

Ms Saddlier heads a school of 258 students, 12 per cent of whom come from non-English speaking households.

When she first took on a role as assistant principal at the school 10 years ago, KFPS didn’t have any students from culturally diverse backgrounds, and Ms Saddlier said the school has focused on removing some of the barriers to education.

“We’ve had certainly an increase in enrolments with our English as a second language students form refugee backgrounds when I first started here,” she said.

“We’ve had an increase in our First Nations students, we have a number of Aboriginal students and families here and we’ve learned what we need to learn in terms of supporting their needs.”

Ms Saddlier credits her staff leadership, wellbeing, English as an additional language and speech teams with helping to foster a welcoming and supportive environment for students.

KFPS has a speech pathologist on campus twice a week, is part of the mental health support in primary schools program and even has a canine staff member Bonnie, who helps students with anxiety or who need support in the classroom.

“What we try to do is build a really strong home/school partnership with parents and try to be really respectful of their needs and their understandings of how their children are and what they want to achieve for their children,” Ms Saddlier said.

“I think sometimes we’re a hidden gem in terms of the programs and initiatives we’re involved in.”

The Victorian Education Excellence Award winners will be announced in October.