THE COMMUNITY FOR PRINCIPALS

OUR MISSION

PrincipalsHQ is a dynamic online community and services platform designed exclusively for current School Principals. Supporting your principalship, regardless of geographic location or school type, to provide you support and connection throughout your principalship.

Our aim is to empower you to navigate the complexities of being a principal in your community and discern modern school leadership with confidence and support.

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PRINCIPALS MASTERMIND PEER GROUPS

A MEMBERSHIP DESIGNED FOR PRINCIPALS

As a key part of your annual professional learning budget, being an annial member of our flagship Executive Principals Mastermind Peer Group includes:

Be part of an Executive Principals Mastermind Peer Group. Our peer groups include up to 12 principals from across the Australia Pacific Region which meet online 9 times per year on a designated day/time of the month. Groups are intentionally designed with members who are not in competing markets to ensure you have the ability to have authentic conversations.

Access to your digital core group to celebrate your little wins along the way and an opportunity to ask for help between meetings – E.g. ‘I’ve got a problem and would like some advice.. does someone have 10 minutes to chat?”

Attend the Executive Principals Roundtable Retreat with your peer group, to strengthen the relationships you've made online. Held in between June - August over 2 nights at a 5-star hotel, it includes thoughtful group activities, breakfast and dinners all designed to develop your relationships through a shared experience.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP = $4595 + GST

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STRATEGIC ADVISORY RETAINER

A strategic advisory partnership offers Principals an independent, critical ally. As a crucial element of your annual consultants budget, the membership retainer provides 25 hours of service, encompassing a wide array of advisory support. This service is limited to 20 Principals across Australia, ensuring high-quality service for each member.

Advisory regarding board management and board relationships
Advisory regarding chair dynamics and chair relationships
Advisory relating to executive team performance, role descriptions or salaries
Advisory relating to middle and senior staff structures
Advisory and research related to local market demographics
Advisory related to cost-saving and financial efficiency strategies
Advisory related to business metrics and pricing
Independent reviews of strategic initiatives and projects
Advisory and research related to enrolment market dynamics
Independent research and advisory on consultant selection
Independent research and advisory on edtech solutions
An independent critical friend, there to support you and who is invested in your personal and community success.
A total of 25 hours of advisory support is included annually, applicable to any of the services mentioned above, with the option to negotiate for additional hours if required.

STRATEGIC ADVISORY ANNUAL RETAINER FEE = $9995 + GST

ENQUIRE NOW

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PRE-START STRATEGIC REVIEW

You've read the website, the prospectus, you've spoken to the recruiter, you've gone through the interview process and you've got the job as Principal! Woohoo... Congratulations!

You arrive and realise that what you've been sold, is a little different to the story on the ground, if only you had insight before you arrived. Well now you can!

We provide two levels of review that provides an independent lens on the school before your arrival, clarifying the strengths, weaknesses and hot spots of the school community to better understand what to keep doing, what to stop doing and what to start doing, so that you are better prepared for your arrival.

PRE-START LITE = $4995

Pre-start lite is an electronic survey-based review, designed with a mix of 75 quantitative and qualitative questions, to be answered anonomously by teachers, leaders and council members of your new school. Results of the survey are compiled in a report together with a rigourous written analysis, that provides you the insights you need to get you off to a flying start.

PRE-START PREMIUM = $9995

Pre-start premium is a best practice starting point for any principal entering a major independent school. In addition to the electronic survey-based review, a highly credentialed educator spends 2 days onsite at your new school, interviewing 12 stakeholders from across a school community. Combined with the qualiitative and quantitative data, this insightful report provides you and the chair a contextual and nuanced strategic review so that you are both clear on the starting point for your principalship.

These reviews will ensure you are as prepared as possible for the first day you walk in the door, saving you countless hours of your time in your first weeks and months of your new principalship.

This service is provided before you start, but can be invoiced after you've started in the role.

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THE STRATEGY HOUR

Step out of the noise. Step into the big picture

The calendar fills. The pressure never stops. The urgent. Emails. Complaints. Budgets.
The fires that demand attention. And sometimes in the middle of it all, the most important work — strategic thinking — gets crowded out.

The Strategy Hour is your break from the noise. Your regular strategy reset. One hour, once or twice a quarter, dedicated to sharpening the edge of your leadership. This is where you ask the questions that matter most: Where are we heading? What risks are coming? What opportunities are we missing?

It’s also a signal — to your staff, to your board, to your community — that your leadership is deliberate, not reactive. That you’re not just managing the day-to-day, but shaping the future.

Over time, The Strategy Hour becomes more than a habit. It becomes a discipline of leadership. A rhythm that keeps you centred, sharp, and sustainable in one of the toughest jobs there is.

Because principals need time too — time to think, to strategise, to prepare, to lead.

FIRST HOUR SESSION = FREE (Valued at $395)

1 x 1 HOUR SESSION PER TERM = $1495 / YR

2 x 1 HOUR SESSIONS PER TERM = $2495 / YR

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SABBATICAL ADVISORY

Because leadership needs renewal, not just resilience.

The unforgiving pace of principalship creates the perfect conditions for burnout.

Despite this, very few schools have a structured approach to supporting leadership sabbaticals. Boards often lack a clear framework to provide renewal without risking disruption, leaving principals with little more than ad hoc leave arrangements.

The result is predictable: without intentional renewal, leadership effectiveness declines and long-term retention suffers.

Sabbatical Advisory gives boards and principals the confidence to plan sabbaticals that are purposeful, structured, and deliver measurable benefits.

We work directly with:

Principals to clarify their personal and professional goals, ensuring their time away leads to true renewal.
Boards to design governance frameworks that support sabbaticals while guaranteeing continuity of leadership.
Schools to ensure they benefit from leaders who return sharper, clearer, and more sustainable.

Our process is practical, tailored, and evidence-based. It includes:

Board Consultation — helping you build the case for a sabbatical at the governance level.
Leadership Continuity Planning — ensuring smooth handover and coverage during time away.
Sabbatical Design — aligning activities to renewal and growth, not just “time off.”
Return Strategy — structuring re-entry so insights are applied and benefits sustained.
Reporting Framework — providing evidence of impact to the board.

Research consistently shows that well-designed sabbaticals reduce burnout, increase retention, and strengthen leadership effectiveness. Studies in both corporate and educational settings highlight that extended, uninterrupted time away from daily pressures allows leaders to return with greater clarity, renewed energy, and stronger strategic capacity. A 2020 systematic review found sabbaticals deliver measurable benefits for both individuals and their organisations, while Harvard Business Review reports that leaders gain self-confidence, perspective, and sharper decision-making. Education-specific evidence, such as the New Zealand principal sabbatical scheme, demonstrates that schools directly benefit when principals step back, reset, and return sharper and more resilient. In short, sabbaticals are not a luxury — they are a proven investment in sustainable leadership.

30 MINUTE SCOPING SESSION = FREE (Valued at $195)

PRICE: VARIABLE $995 - $1995

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EXECUTIVE CRISIS SCENARIO TRAINING

If a critical incident happened tomorrow, would your executive team be game-ready, know their roles and spring into action following your critical incident plan?

If this happens tomorrow…

You are sitting in your office and the power goes out. You look at your watch, it’s 9.48am. You yell out to your executive assistant who reports her lights have gone off too. Your computer is still on, as it has a battery, but the school wifi is off. A few minutes go past and you get a call from your head of grounds, apparently there has been an incident down the road and the power could be off for up to 12 hours. Your day just got turned upside down…

What questions do you ask and who do you call next?
Are you and the executive team prepared for what lies ahead?
When was the last time you looked at your critical response plan?
Does your team know their roles within the plan?
When was the last time you practiced responding to a critical incident in real time?

If your answer is not a resounding yes to these questions, the Executive Scenario Training will be highly valuable for you and your team. We collaborate with Principals to deliver a dynamic, real-time scenario during a 2-hour training session designed to enhance your executive leadership team's ability to handle critical incidents.

This team profesional learning will test your team’s understanding of their individual roles, teamwork skills, and agility in responding to unexpected challenges. Participants will draft communications, make phone calls, and potentially involve additional expertise as needed. Beyond testing your team’s capabilities, these scenarios are engaging and help build camaraderie among your team.

At the end of the session, a 30-minute debrief will allow you to review what went well and identify areas for improvement. An overview report will summarize team performance and provide recommendations for addressing any weaknesses.

For Principals interested in upskilling aspiring and middle leaders, we recommend running a shorter version of the same scenario on the same day. This serves as an opportunity to expose them to the challenges executive teams face and fosters collaboration and understanding between executive and middle leaders.