School Excellence
School excellence is central to the work of all NSW public schools and focuses on continuous school improvement to create an outstanding education system. NSW public schools use a world-leading and evidence-informed approach to school improvement that recognises each school’s unique context. This approach is inclusive and reflects the school and community voice in NSW. The department also ensures accountability across our schools through policy monitoring and system registration.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s (ACARA) My School WebsiteExternal link is a useful resource for parents, educators and the community to receive information about individual schools.
School Excellence Policy
The School excellence policy provides direction for all NSW public schools on school planning, reporting and evaluation. All NSW public schools follow the school excellence cycle which is underpinned by the School Excellence Framework (SEF).
The approach to school improvement is student-centric and built on:
- an evidence-informed School Excellence Plan (SEP) for every school
- a clear focus on student wellbeing, growth and attainment
- strong assessment and evaluative practices
- progress monitoring, through regular collection and analysis of evidence, to inform next steps
- meaningful community engagement.
School Excellence Framework
The School Excellence Framework (SEF) guides a school’s pursuit of equity and excellence by clearly outlining what is valued as excellence in schools. It provides a clear description of quality practice across the key domains of education – learning, teaching and leading.
The School Excellence Framework (PDF 753KB) focuses on those practices that evidence shows are directly related to continuous, school-wide improvement and better student outcomes.
The framework helps schools to:
- engage their communities in identifying strategic directions
- decide on focus areas for improvement
- plan strategies
- assess their progress.
School excellence cycle
All NSW public schools follow a four-year school excellence cycle underpinned by the SEF.
School planning is student-centric and built on:
- strong self-assessment and evaluative practices
- a clear focus on student wellbeing, growth and attainment
- an evidence-informed School Excellence Plan (SEP) for every school
- progress monitoring, through regular collection and analysis of evidence, to inform next steps.
- The My School WebsiteExternal link is a useful resource for parents, educators and the community to receive information about individual schools.
- Schools can also refer to the ACARAExternal link website for information on school curriculum, assessment and reporting.
- For further information on the School Excellence Framework email: SEstrategyandpolicy@det.nsw.edu.au
- For department staff, visit the School Excellence intranet for more information and supporting resources.