School excellence
Direction for schools on school planning, ongoing self-assessment, annual reporting and external validation.
Audience
All staff and communities of NSW public schools.
| Version | Date | Description of changes | Approved by |
|---|---|---|---|
| V03.0.0 | 14/05/2024 | Under the 2023 Policy and procedure review program, this policy consolidated with the Professional Learning for Teachers and School Staff policy. Updates include conversion into the new template, consolidating existing instructions, and improving document readability. | Executive Director, School Excellence |
Document history
2024 Feb 26 - update to contact details in policy statement and updates to the school excellence procedures and external validation guidelines that reflect changes to external validation process for 2024 along with repairing broken links.
2021 Oct 05 - update to implementation document: School Excellence Procedures - updated sections 3.2, 8.2 and 8.5 to clarify needs-based funding and school development review process.
2021 Apr 08 - maintenance update to implementation document: School Excellence Procedures - updated contact details.
2021 Feb - Inclusion of new implementation document: External Validation Guidelines.
2020 Aug - repaired link for school excellence framework related document.
2020 Aug - policy update and new School Excellence Procedure implementation document supersedes the previous implementation documents - School Excellence Implementation Guidelines External Validation, School Excellence Implementation Guidelines School Planning and School Excellence Implementation Guidelines Self-Assessment. All related documents removed except School Excellence Framework version 2 and a new related document added, School Excellence in Action.
2020 August 5 - policy update and new School Excellence Procedure implementation document supersedes the previous implementation documents - School Excellence Implementation Guidelines External Validation, School Excellence Implementation Guidelines School Planning and School Excellence Implementation Guidelines Self-Assessment. All related documents removed except School Excellence Framework version 2 and a new related document added, School Excellence in Action.
2020 August 3 - Updated policy and new school excellence procedure document and numbering of the following existing implementation documents, School Excellence Implementation Guidelines External Validation (PDF 709.29 KB), School Excellence Implementation Guidelines School Planning (PDF 526.73 KB), School Excellence Implementation Guidelines Self-Assessment (PDF 739.01 KB)
School Excellence implementation guidelines Annual reporting (PDF 833 KB) - superseded. Now provided as the annual report in the related document section in the policy library.
Updates to records management processes in accordance with FA387.
Reference to the external validation process included in the policy statement. Related doc School development review procedures Oct 2018 updated and replaced Dec 2018. Related School Excellence Manual for School development reviews (staff only) (DOC 492 KB) | Link: https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/related- updated 12 Dec 2018.
Requirements are supported by school excellence implementation guidelines and the School Planning and Reporting Online (SPaRO) application.
Superseded documents
01. School Excellence Implementation Guidelines External Validation
02. School Excellence Implementation Guidelines School Planning
03. School Excellence Implementation Guidelines self-assessment
School Excellence implementation guidelines Annual reporting
School Excellence implementation guidelines Annual reporting 2018
School Excellence implementation guidelines Annual reporting 2017
School Planning Policy PD/2008/0378;
School Planning Guidelines;
School Planning and Reporting - The Implementation Cycle;
School Planning Guidance to assist schools;
School Development Policy PD/2005/0310;
School Development Policy 1999;
- Policy statement
- NSW public schools are committed to pursuing excellence and providing high-quality educational opportunities for all students. This policy provides direction for schools to lead strategic improvement planning and annual reporting, to self-assess, and undertake external validation using the School Excellence Framework.
- Schools engage in all aspects of the School Excellence cycle, which includes external validation, situational analysis (optional), Strategic Improvement Plans, implementation and progress monitoring of the plan, and an annual reflection of progress and impact.
- Strategic improvement planning, implementation and progress monitoring, self-assessment, situational analysis, annual reporting, external validation, and school development reviews will be undertaken in accordance with the School excellence and external validation procedures.
- All schools will use the School Planning and Reporting Online (SPaRO) software to undertake and complete their Strategic Improvement Plan, implementation and progress monitoring, self-assessment, situational analysis, annual reporting including reporting on the impact of equity, targeted and initiative funding linked to effective practice and improvement measures, and external validation.
- All schools will consult their community as genuine partners in culturally appropriate and accessible ways including using interpreters and translated documents as required. Community consultation is embedded in all phases of the School Excellence cycle. Schools will develop a 4-year Strategic Improvement Plan. The plan has up to 3 strategic directions and includes improvement measures relating to student learning and outcomes. These form the basis of the planning cycle in accordance with the purpose and specific context of each school.
- Each year, schools will undertake a self-assessment of practice and development, using the School Excellence Framework to identify areas of strength and areas to improve. This will include completing the School Excellence Framework Self-Assessment Survey (SEF S-aS) and reporting the findings in the school's annual report.
- Once during the 4-year School Excellence cycle, each school will undertake an external validation of their school self-assessment evidence.
- Schools report annually to their communities and the system in the school's annual report. Schools will publish the annual report as well as the Strategic Improvement Plan (in the first year of the 4-year School Excellence cycle) on the school's website by the end of Term 1. This is a state record requirement.
- The School Excellence cycle supports schools that require targeted assistance. Where the Director, Educational Leadership, in consultation with the principal, identifies that a school requires significant assistance in its pursuit of excellence, a school development review may be undertaken.
- The School Excellence cycle will support principals to shift the school onto a sustainable path of performance and improvement.
- Professional learning is a key enabler across the learning, teaching and leading domains in the department’s School Excellence Framework. It will be undertaken in accordance with the Professional learning for teachers and school staff procedures.
- Context
- The NSW Government and the department are committed to providing the highest quality of education for NSW students.
- The School Excellence Framework is a statement of what is valued as excellence for NSW public schools, both now and into the future, and provides guidance on achieving this. It identifies quality practice across the 3 key domains of learning, teaching and leading. School excellence is pursued through the components of strategic improvement planning, self-assessment, reporting, and external validation to support ongoing school improvement.
- Schools will engage their communities in developing a shared vision, identifying strategic directions, and tracking and reporting progress as the basis for achieving school excellence.
- Objectivity, transparency, and consistency are important elements for ensuring a system-wide approach that supports schools to achieve excellence. The external validation process provides assurances to the school and the community that progress aligns with the expectations articulated in the School Excellence Framework.
- An additional process involving school development reviews enables appropriate intervention and support for schools requiring targeted assistance.
- Policy contact
Director, Strategy and Policy, School Excellence
SEstrategyandpolicy@det.nsw.edu.au - Monitoring the policy
The Director, Strategy and Policy monitors the implementation of this policy, regularly reviews its contents to ensure relevance and accuracy, and updates it as needed.
School excellence and external validation procedures.