Flagship Strategy 6 - School Improvement
Excellence in the Victorian public education system should be driven by a relentless focus on improving student learning.
School planning, accountability and review arrangements have a vital role to play in improving student outcomes. These processes provide precise information on student, school and system performance and highlight the performance of particular groups and cohorts of children and young people. They must be used as a starting point for improvement.
The existing Accountability Framework works effectively for schools and is well accepted. However, changes are needed to make it even more responsive to immediate and future school needs in terms of planning and achievement. Changes are also required to:
- streamline and target the arrangements
- reduce the administrative burden on schools
- maximise time and energy spent on improving outcomes for children and young people.
School improvement initiatives include:
- Targeted school improvement
- Single planning and accountability document
- Enhanced school review program
- Staff, student and parent surveys
Targeted School Improvement
The Targeted School Improvement initiative focuses support on schools identified through the Department’s accountability and reporting processes where students are performing below expected levels.
Regional office staff support participating schools to:
- better understand the underlying issues affecting school performance and student outcomes, and
- develop and resource improvement strategies
Each school in this initiative is faced with different challenges and the strategies need to be tailored to ensure that the priority for improvement in each school can be supported. School teams work with Regional office staff to develop an improvement plan and identify the resources required to implement the strategy.
For further information access School Improvement and Accountability.
Contact
Dale Cooper - cooper.dale.r@edumail.vic.gov.au
School Accountability and Improvement Framework
The School Accountability and Improvement Framework, introduced in March 2005, articulates three outcomes that government schools strive to achieve; that is, improved student learning, enhanced student engagement and wellbeing, and successful transitions and pathways.
The Framework supports schools by enabling them to:
- Focus on what is important for school improvement;
- Promote innovation in thinking and delivery;
- Streamline the administrative workload in schools;
- Use one integrated system of school accountability.
The School Accountability and Improvement Framework comprises four main elements that assist schools to:
- Plan for improvement via a four-year school strategic plan and an annual implementation plan;
- Evaluate progress towards the improvement goals and targets via an internal school self-evaluation and an external school review;
- Report on progress in core school performance indicators and other achievements via an annual report to the school community; and
- Manage risk and compliance with legislation and departmental policies via an on-line school compliance checklist (due to be released in 2007).
These elements are not discrete and independent tasks but rather, in keeping with the intent and principles of good leadership and governance, are part of a coherent planning and reporting process for organising school improvement efforts. Moreover, there are strong linkages between school planning and Principal Performance and Development planning.
The Framework is supported by extensive school performance data, including the Staff, Student and Parent Opinion Surveys.
For more information see:
Contact
Louise McDonald (mcdonald.louise.a@edumail.vic.gov.au)
Enhanced School Review Program
The school review is a key component of the Accountability and Improvement Framework in Victorian Government schools, and is designed to provide an expert, independent analysis of current school performance and practice, and to advise on the goals for student outcomes and appropriate improvement strategies that will help shape the school's new strategic plan.
Schools undertake different types of review to reflect their particular needs, as introduced in the Blueprint's Enhanced School Review Program. The types of review are as follows:
- Negotiated review is a flexible and focused style of review, and is generally used to assist schools with student outcomes and other key indicators above expected levels.
- Continuous improvement review involves an expert reviewer providing independent analysis and advice, and is generally used to assist schools with satisfactory student outcomes and other key indicators, but with scope for improvement.
- Diagnostic review is similar to continuous improvement review but more intensive, and is generally used to assist schools where some student outcomes and other key indicators are below expected levels; or for schools with a complex context or structure (eg multi-campus, P-12).
The type of review a school undertakes is determined according to the school's performance data over the previous four-year period, together with input received from regional staff based upon local contextual information.
Guidelines, templates and examples can be found at the:
School Self-Evaluation
School self-evaluation provides an opportunity for the whole school community to reflect on student outcomes in light of their goals, targets and key improvement strategies from the previous planning cycle. This includes examining teaching and learning strategies, the performance and development culture and other aspects of school operations so they can be strengthened and supported to improve student outcomes.
Effective schools consistently reflect on their performance as a matter of course. School self-evaluation merely formalises this process and makes the process accessible to all school communities.
From 2005 the school self-evaluation replaces the school self-assessment. The new school self-evaluation process has been streamlined and adopts the Effective Schools Framework to assist schools to evaluate current practice and inform the selection of improvement strategies.
Guidelines, templates and examples can be found at the:
Contact
Graeme Harvey - harvey.graeme.lg@edumail.vic.gov.au
Staff, Student and Parent Surveys
The objective of this initiative is to provide all schools with consistent staff, student and parent opinion surveys. Opinion data will be collected independently to ensure its integrity. These surveys are undertaken each year with the data integrated into the School Level Report. These surveys were initially improved in 2004, with further refinements to the survey methodologies being made in 2005 and 2006. Details of the major improvements to the surveys are:
Staff Opinion Survey
In 2004, the Staff Opinion Survey was enhanced to include:
- an online questionnaire, significantly reducing school administration workloads;
- optional leadership questions;
- a state-wide timeframe over a six-week period, rather than any time during the year;
- different versions of the questionnaire for principals, teaching staff and non-teaching staff;
- reporting that contains benchmarks;
- information on how to interpret and act on the survey results;
- training provided to Senior Education officers and school leadership teams.
Student Opinion Survey
Following minor improvements in 2004 and 2005, the Student Attitudes to School survey underwent a major review for 2006. The entire questionnaire has been strengthened based on an extensive trial and factor analysis. Details of the new Attitudes to School questionnaire can be found at http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/standards/improve/opinsurv.htm
Parent Opinion Survey
In 2004, two key changes introduced to:
- better measure aspects of schooling that are important to parents and schools;
- reflect a more robust methodology giving it greater statistical validity. For instance, school staff no longer enter parent information and it is conducted state-wide over a common two-week period.
The 2006 survey reflect the outcomes of an extensive review following feedback from schools about the 2004 and 2005 surveys. The development of the 2006 survey has involved extensive consultation with parents and schools, coupled with both qualitative and quantitative analysis of trial data.
For further information access School Improvement and Accountability.
Contact
Anne O'Connell (oconnell.anne.p@edumail.vic.gov.au)