380 educators from 176 schools have been involved!

The use of data is no longer limited to a single person in a school, or to people who have data in their role description - it is the responsibility of all teachers in all schools to know the numbers and use this knowledge to target teaching and learning so that it benefits young people. Leading this change is difficult, and many schools have data champions, but they would like to see greater, more significant, or faster change in their school. These data champions have a key role to play in building others' skills and leading change in their setting; however most are self-taught and would benefit from additional support and guidance.

This 12-month professional learning program and action research project aims to build participants' skills and awareness of effective use of data, and empower them to return to their context to upskill and train others in data storytelling. After each collaborative session, participants go back to their sites with actions and ways forward, to shift the evidence- and data-informed culture. By the end of the year, participants will report on and present the impact of their project and will be able to talk about the effect of this work on their school community.

In 2025, I launched Data Champions in an online mode, making it more accessible to those in regional and remote areas, smaller schools and those with a more limited budget. The option was so popular that it will be on offer again in 2026 in the same format of 9 (roughly monthly) 3-hour Zoom sessions.

Changes are coming for the in-person format in 2026! In an effort to provide better balance for everybody, three terms will be face to face with one term being delivered online. All cities will attend in-person in Terms 1 and 4. Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne participants will then attend online for Term 2, and face to face again in Term 3. Brisbane and Sydney will attend face to face in Term 2 and then online in Term 3.

We're going to have a lot of fun and we're going to lead change. Why not join us?