Head of Department — Technology
Overview
Leading the Technology department at one of Queensland's leading independent schools. Overseeing curriculum design, assessment, staff development, and department operations across Digital Solutions, Industrial Technology, Design, and Engineering.
Head of Technology at TSS is the broadest leadership role I have held. The department spans multiple disciplines, and keeping curriculum rigorous, current, and aligned across all of them is where most of the planning goes. No two days look alike: teaching periods sit alongside budget decisions, compliance work, and longer-term strategy.
A major focus has been modernising the Digital Solutions curriculum to include real-world tools and workflows: Python, SQL, web development, and increasingly, AI-assisted development. I believe students learn best when the tools they use in class are the same tools professionals use in industry.
Taking on Industrial Technology, Design, and Engineering alongside IT meant learning new contexts quickly. Moving between a coding lab and a woodworking workshop in the same afternoon requires a different kind of thinking, and I have found the cross-disciplinary perspective genuinely useful.
Key Achievements
- •Redesigned the Digital Solutions curriculum across Years 7 to 12, integrating Python, SQL, web technologies, and AI tools
- •Authored endorsed assessment items aligned to QCAA and ACARA standards
- •Expanded departmental oversight to include Industrial Technology, Design, and Engineering
- •Managed department budgets, resource procurement, and WH&S compliance across all technology learning spaces
- •Established a staff professional development program focused on digital pedagogy and AI literacy
- •Built and deployed internal tools (QueryForge, Assessment Deadline Tracker) used by students and staff
- •Member of School-wide AI Committee, Pedagogy Committee and Timetable Review Working Party, these committes allowed me to have insight and shape learning at The Southport School.
- •NAPLAN Test Administrator working across both the Year 7 and Year 9 testing periods, this role requires a high level of organisation and attention to detail to ensure compliance with testing protocols and the smooth administration of tests to over 150 students across both year levels.
