Note - in SPaRO, the 'Focus themes' column will already be prepopulated with data schools added to their SEF S-aS. Also, for this school sample, the external validation (EV) column is empty, as EV occurred before 2018 or will occur in coming months.
Legend:
- WTD = working towards delivering
- D = delivering
- S&G = sustaining and growing
- E = excelling
- NA = not applicable.
| Element | 2018 | 2019 | EV panel report | Focus themes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEARNING | ||||
| Learning culture | D | D | NA | Strengthen the commitment that all students make learning progress. The transition point from Stage 5 to Stage 6 requires strengthening. Student learning data needs to be passed on here and understood. Stronger parental partnerships and stronger collaboration with parents of students at risk. |
| Wellbeing | S&G | S&G | NA | Increase the opportunities for students to meet with staff. |
| Curriculum | S&G | S&G | NA | Require evidence-based change to whole school practices. |
| Assessment | S&G | S&G | NA | Improve student feedback, parental involvement, processes to support teachers' consistent evidence-based judgement and moderation of assessments. |
| Reporting | D | S&G | NA | Report on academic growth and cross-curriculum data. Growth and next steps. Parent engagement. |
| Student performance measures | D | D | NA | Students are not aware of expected growth. Low percentage in top two bands. School needs to focus on identifying growth targets using internal progress data as well as external measures. HSC progress and achievement of equity groups is below that of the remaining school cohort and will be a key focus moving forward. |
| TEACHING | ||||
| Effective classroom practice | D | D | NA | Need to improve collaboration across faculties to share and use data about student progress and achievement. Move towards a whole school approach of evidence-based teaching methods. Effective feedback also needs to be a focus. |
| Data skills and use | D | D | NA | PL required in data concepts with a need to promote consistent and comparable judgement of learning. Not sufficiently promoting PL in data concepts, analysis. Require improved community engagement reflecting on student progress. Teachers not using data effectively to evaluate student understanding of lesson content and differentiate based on student need. |
| Professional standards | D | D | NA | Coordinated whole school approach to developing professional practice in literacy and numeracy informed by research. |
| Learning and development | S&G | S&G | NA | Embed explicit systems to facilitate professional dialogue. Continue to refine coaching practices. Teachers to share expertise within the school. |
| LEADING | ||||
| Educational leadership | S&G | S&G | NA | PL does emphasise effective instructional leadership. Teachers actively seek to improve their performance. |
| School planning, implementation and monitoring | D | S&G | NA | Leadership team actively supports change for improvement. Research and evidence based strategies to improve learning required. |
| School resources | S&G | S&G | NA | Technology is effectively used. Genuine integration of technology into lessons. |
| Management practices | S&G | S&G | NA | Management practices could be more responsive to community feedback. Stronger measures of community satisfaction required. |
Reflections on SEF S-aS and EV
SEF reflections - 4 areas become apparent:
Student performance
From the SEF S-aS it is clear that professional learning (PL) is required in data concepts associated with the need to promote consistent and comparable judgement of learning as formative assessment. Teachers are not using data effectively to evaluate student understanding of lesson content. Through effective formative assessment teachers need to adjust their practices to meet the needs of individual students. PL on effective feedback will also strengthen this area of learning.
Students appear to be unaware of their expected growth and the school is not using internal progress data. Work on the progressions and PLAN2, and the development of individual learning goals will improve students' understanding. Strengthening the agreement on expected growth and next steps in order to achieve it is required for all stages.
There is a low percentage of students receiving the top two bands in both NAPLAN and HSC. There is a need to focus on the achievement of equity groups, particularly in the HSC to enable them to achieve in an equivalent way to all students.
Whole school practices
The school requires evidence-based change to its practices, including data analysis and the collection and use of internal learning data along with the implementation and development of evidence-based teaching methods.
There is a need to embed explicit systems to facilitate professional dialogue which could be achieved by refining coaching and mentoring practices and allowing teachers to share expertise within the school. The refinement of research-based high-quality collaborative practice within the school would assist.
A stronger and more seamless integraton of technology into lessons will support more differentiation through strategies such as PBL and CPL.
Cross-curricula collaboration
There is a requirement to embed explicit systems to facilitate professional dialogue. Teachers need to be encouraged and supported to share expertise within the school. This will be best achieved by school-wide mechanisms such as refinement to the coaching model, research-based high-quality collaborative practice, and the delivery of CPL and PBL.
Parental partnerships
Increase the opportunities for students to meet with staff, enabling parent involvement in improving student performance. This should strengthen agreement on expected growth and next steps for students in order to achieve that growth. Currently students are not aware of expected growth or the steps treachers want to take with them.
The school should seek increased parent and community engagement to collaboratively support student progress and performance.