Education Assistant Professional Learning Day (REPEAT)

Meika Pfeiffer-Gough is a School Leadership and Teaching Quality Consultant, a new role for 2022. Meika has gained her experience and knowledge whilst working across a variety of educational settings in the PK-12 environment, during her 17 years as a teacher and leader. She has always been a firm advocate for empowering staff and students to develop growth mindsets and is passionate in her belief that strong, positive, and supportive teacher-student relationships, are fundamental to improving teaching and learning outcomes in schools.

Julie is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist who has worked with Non-Government schools in Western Australia for over thirty years. Julie is currently the lead of the AISWA School Psychology Service. She has a passion for sharing psychological knowledge to support schools in optimising the learning, development and wellbeing of students.  As part of the school psychology service, she works with children, parents, carers and teachers to help them understand issues students may experience. Julie is a current psychology board approved supervisor who has a passion for supporting the professional growth and development of psychologists. 

Lynne McCarney brings a wealth of experience and diverse skills as an Early Childhood Consultant. Her global journey includes roles as a Specialist Teacher, Early Childhood Educator, Academic Sessional Tutor, and literacy specialist. Lynne’s commitment to enhancing early childhood education is evident through her international teaching experiences, from an International Baccalaureate school in Canada to Independent schools in Perth.

Passionate about evidence-based practices, Lynne specialises in early literacy, relational pedagogy, and trauma-informed teaching. She is an advocate for play-based learning, contributing significantly to resource development aligning with the National Quality Standard and Early Years Learning Framework. Dedicated to shaping the future of education, Lynne is poised to empower both educators and students through innovative, research-driven approaches, fostering holistic development in young minds. Many of these resources are accessible via the ACECQA website for Early Childhood teachers across Australia.

Simon has worked in the Education Support Special Needs Education field for over a decade in both Department and Non-Government schools. He has worked in Education Support and mainstream settings with a wide range of students with differing levels of need. Simon is also an Occupational Therapist who has worked in private practice. He has a wealth of experience and knowledge in disability and brings a holistic but pragmatic view to his Inclusive Education Consultant role at AISWA.

Prior to joining AISWA in 2017, Nigel was an officer with the Independent Education Union of WA for 18 years. 16 years of those as Assistant Secretary (Industrial Relations). 
During that time, Nigel focussed on developing strong professional working relationships with Employees, Employers and key sector participants. His key objective was to provide consistent, accurate and timely advice and advocacy.

Since joining AISWA Nigel has been responsible for providing advice and support to member schools on all things relating to Industrial Relations, Human Resource matters and Workplace Health and Safety.  He assesses and advises on ‘conflicting’ issues (e.g. industrial issues and staff welfare; duty of care and discrimination; behaviour management and discrimination; student welfare and rights as well as staff welfare and rights).

Nigel supports schools on any issue that may have legal implications.