A quick update – 12 months of new adventures ahead

I wanted to share a quick personal update. In 2026, I’ll be taking 12 months’ leave from my role at Brighton Grammar School to focus on a series of projects with schools around Australia and overseas.

Over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly interested in how schools build strong cultures of behaviour, learning, and professional growth. Next year, I intend to work schools and systems to explore four key areas:

• Behaviour management essentials – the everyday routines and practices that make classrooms calm and predictable.
• The link between the science of learning and behaviour – how cognitive load, attention, and motivation shape what happens in classrooms.
• Staff development for improved behaviour and learning – using evidence-informed coaching to support teacher growth.
• System support for behaviour – ensuring leaders and teams have the structures and clarity to sustain change.

It’s an exciting (and slightly daunting!) step, and I’m looking forward to learning from a wide range of colleagues and contexts along the way. If you’re working on any of these areas or know of schools exploring similar questions, I’d love to connect and share ideas.

The first Staff Development Network email was sent to a group of five like-minded people; now we have over 500 leaders in schools who follow the email. I’ll continue to write and share my work via Linkedin and from my other email at mark@classroommanagementhandbook.com

Happy coaching.

Kind regards
Mark