School professional learning self-assessment tool

A support tool for school leadership teams and staff to reflect on and strengthen whole-school professional learning practice.

About the tool

The School professional learning self-assessment tool is designed to support school leadership teams and staff to build a whole-school professional learning culture where all staff engage in a cycle of continuous professional learning. It supports schools to unpack aspects of the Professional Learning for Teachers and School Staff Policy, including the High Impact Professional Learning (HIPL) model and the Principles for building capability.

Schools can use the School professional learning self-assessment tool as part of an inquiry process to identify practices within a school's current approach to professional learning for teaching and non-teaching staff. It will help suggest pathways that will move them towards a high-impact professional learning environment. It can be used flexibly to meet a school's development needs – by focusing on just one aspect, or all aspects at once, or by approaching each aspect individually over time.

The tool functions in a way that is similar to the School Excellence Framework (SEF) through the use of the familiar three levels of the SEF: Delivering, Sustaining and Growing and Excelling. It is supplementary to, not part of, the School Excellence Framework.

The tool helps schools to identify strategies to strengthen whole-school professional learning practices focused on learning and teaching practice or building non-teaching capability for all staff.

The use of the School professional learning self-assessment tool is optional. Schools are not required to use this tool or to report on it.

Elements, principles and improvement strategies described in the tool have been identified through extensive global research into leading practice and are informed by fieldwork across NSW public schools. When applied holistically to whole-school professional learning practice the evidence suggests professional learning will have the greatest impact on student progress and achievement and school improvement.

Using the tool

The tool is designed to be used flexibly to best meet the contextual needs of schools. School leaders might use it in the following ways:

School leadership team – as a group

Approach	Next steps	Sharing
As part of a meeting or planning session, work through the tool together discussing the information and agreeing on a level. Use the whole tool or focus on one or two elements most relevant to the context.	Use the report to identify areas of success and areas for development. Incorporate these into your Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP).	Feed the information back to staff through planning sessions and PDP processes.

School leadership team – individually

Approach	Next steps	Sharing
Ask each member of the school leadership team to complete the tool (or specific elements). Review anonymised responses together to identify points of alignment and difference.	Discuss the responses and clarify reasons for responses where there are significant differences. Identify points for further clarification with the team/whole school and use this to set priorities for professional learning to incorporate into the Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP).	Feed the information back to staff through planning sessions and PDP processes.

Whole staff or specific team

Approach	Next steps	Sharing
Split the staff into smaller groups (either faculty/Stage or mixed) with a school leader in each group. Give each group the same or different element from the SSA app and work through the questions.	Review responses together, identify common themes or patterns and/or any areas of difference between groups working on the same element. Use report to identify areas of success and for development. Incorporate these into the SIP.	Feedback to DEL/community as appropriate.

Access the tool

The tool is available as an online app or a PDF document. Choose the tool that best suits the way you want to work.

Access the School professional learning self-assessment app
Download the School professional learning self-assessment tool (PDF 81 KB)

To help us better understand and improve your experience using the School professional learning self-assessment tool please provide us with your feedback by completing this short 10-minute survey.

Category:

Teaching and learning

Business Unit:

Teaching, Learning and Student Wellbeing