Connected Communities Strategy evaluation report
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andrew Griffiths, Ian Watkins, Francis Matthew-Simmons, Stephen Summerlin |
| Evaluator company | Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation |
| Year | 2020 |
| Classification | Silver |
| Study type | Quasi-experimental |
| Evaluation type | Both process and outcome |
Summary
The final evaluation report examined the implementation and impact of the Connected Communities Strategy.
The report drew on a wide range of data, including school and stakeholder interviews, student performance data (attendance, NAPLAN, retention to Year 12, HSC) and survey data (Tell Them From Me, Post-School Destinations and Expectations and a bespoke survey for parents/carers and teachers).
Overall, Connected Communities is showing promising results. Connected Communities has had a positive impact in schools, particularly in outcomes for students in their early years. The strategy appears to be more effective at the primary level than the secondary level. The primary school cohort of students who have been 'fully exposed' to Connected Communities for their entire time at school appear to be showing the greatest benefit from the strategy in terms of NAPLAN results, and appear to be more developmentally ready for school than earlier cohorts. Further time will be required to see if the results in later years improve as this cohort of students continues through its schooling.
Both implementation and outcomes have varied across individual schools. The buy-in of all staff remains key to the successful implementation of Connected Communities.