Tech heroes recognised

A Workplace Learning Logbook mobile application, developed by staff at Mindarie Secondary College, was just one initiative celebrated by the West Australian Technical Support in Schools Association (WATSSA) recently.

WATSSA celebrated the contributions of WA’s technical support community through five categories at its awards night, as part of the 2025 Technology in Education Conference.

Chris Barnett, from the School of Special Educational Needs (SSEN): Behaviour and Engagement, won Technical Support Staff Member of the Year for his work leading the development and implementation of Microsoft SharePoint and Teams across the extensive school network. 

"What I enjoy most about my role at SSEN: Behaviour and Engagement is the combination of challenges, variety, and autonomy it offers,” Mr Barnett said.  

“I'm also fortunate to work with supportive colleagues and leadership who foster an environment where we can all perform at our best.” 

A surprised Mr Barnett said being recognised by his colleagues and peers was deeply meaningful, and he was truly grateful for the kind words he'd received. 

“Having worked alongside so many talented professionals in the Department of Education, I feel honoured to receive this recognition, even as I know many others are equally deserving,” he said.  

Mindarie Senior College staff members, Library Officer Patricia Clyde and IT Technician Dillan Bailey, took out the Innovators of the Year award category for their work developing a Workplace Learning Logbook mobile application. 

The pair began the project in late 2023, developing a phone-based application to help students log their hours and record their attendance at their workplace, replacing a paper logbook. 

The application went through vigorous testing and refinement until it was rolled out in January 2025 to the full complement of the school’s 168 workplace learning students.  

The next stage is to share the application with other schools in a scalable, safe and supported manner. 

“We were honoured to accept this award on behalf of the team at Mindarie Senior College,” Ms Clyde and Mr Bailey said in a joint statement. 

“Without the help and encouragement of leadership and colleagues we would not have had the time or opportunity of assisting Workplace Learning with its unique challenge.” 

The 2025 WATSSA Award winners were: 

• Technical Support Staff Member of the Year – Chris Barnett (SSEN: Behaviour and Engagement) 
• IT Support Leadership Excellence – Scott Fernando (Halls Head College) 
• IT Community Engagement – Brett Standen (Aveley Secondary College) 
• Regional Technical Support Staff Member of the Year – Jason Thomas (Mount Barker Community College) 
• Innovators of the Year – Dillan Bailey and Patricia Clyde (Mindarie Senior College) 

A full list of nominees and winners are available on the WATSSA website.