From the Principal

I am very pleased to share our latest newsletter with our school community. During a busy school term, it is good to pause and enjoy some stories of student achievement, success, and growth. 

The following pages are full of these stories. 

In reflecting on these, I am also very pleased to share both aspects of our 2026 NAPLAN results and our 2026 Student Attitudes to School data (commonly referred to as AToSS). Both are undertaken annually and are used to inform school decision-making and evaluation of learning and wellbeing programs. 

Results from the AToSS are also shared with students in a variety of formats, including assemblies and our annual student-led ‘Teach the Teacher’ program. The survey is conducted statewide and therefore enables comparisons with all schools as well as those deemed similar in terms of size, location, enrolment, demographics, etc.

What is most pleasing for me is seeing the hard work of our staff and the positive behaviour of our students being reflected in steady improvements in both data sets. 

It is a pleasure walking through our calm, orderly, and learning focused classrooms as well as outside during lunchtime and recess, knowing that our work together is being recognised in these positive results. 

Some of the highlights below contribute directly to our ‘School Performance Report from the Department of Education. 

Some highlights from our 2026 NAPLAN results

Our NAPLAN focus as a school is improving student relative learning growth from Year 7 to Year 9 across Reading, Writing and Numeracy. Relative learning growth is the measurement of progress that respects the variation of starting points and levels that our students are at when starting Year 7. 

The NAPLAN tests are conducted at the end of Term 1; this is only a short time after students have commenced at the school. The relative growth across the 2 years from 7 to 9, better reflects student progress based on their time in our classrooms. 

Over the last few years, NAPLAN relative growth data has not been available as the test design has undergone significant changes; this has made it unfeasible for data of this kind to be provided to schools. In 2026, the relative growth data is available again and can be sorted into students who completed the test at the same school. This way, the data can reflect the students who have experienced 2 years of our learning program at Cranbourne Secondary College. 

For our students, the results show that in the areas of Reading, Spelling and, Grammar and Punctuation, our students' learning growth exceeds state, similar, and network (local) schools. This is an excellent result. 

In the area of Numeracy, our overall student growth between years 7 to 9 was above state and similar schools. A fantastic result!

The area of writing is slightly lower in comparison with state and similar schools.

Overall, these results are very positive and provide excellent evidence of our progress as a school. These results will continue to be analysed alongside curriculum design and teaching and learning practices to inform our continued focus on improvement.

There is a clear link between the 2026 NAPLAN results and the improvement agenda at the school since our return from remote learning. 

The results in the student survey also provide strong evidence of this work, as well as the commitment of staff and parents in providing positive conditions for learning. 

Some highlights from the 2026 AToSS (student survey)

Stimulating learning 

Has improved 13% since 2022 and is now above state and similar schools. This category reflects the expertise of our staff and leaders to collaborate and provide interesting and inspiring learning experiences for our students. Our staff works diligently every year to improve curriculum, assessment, feedback, and reporting to students. In the last 18 months, our teachers have also been working towards the full implementation of the revised Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM 2.0). This has included an increased focus on explicit teaching and a close revision of our Instructional model and teaching strategies.  There has been a particular focus on this work in the junior school, where our Year 7 cohort recorded the highest positive endorsement of stimulated learning in the last 5 years. 

Our Year 9 cohort and team are also worth a particular mention as the Connect program matures further the cohort also recorded their highest ever endorsement in this category, almost 15% higher than 5 years previous and well above state and similar schools. 

Student Voice and Agency 

This area continues to improve and has grown by 11% in the last five years, consistently above state and similar schools. This category reflects our commitment to listening and engaging with our students both in the classroom as learners and as young people as members of our community. 

Emotional awareness and regulation 

The work in this area is linked to the strong School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) framework in place at the school. The positive endorsement rating has grown 11% in the last 5 years and is well above state and similar schools. 

The SWPBS framework enables clear focus on teaching positive learning and social behaviours as well as recognising students when these behaviours are demonstrated. The work of our Student Wellbeing and Inclusion teams also strongly supports student emotional awareness and regulation through their support of staff in designing learning experiences and techniques to build student emotional understanding and regulation, as well as small group and cohort specific programs. Their work also extends to individual support of students to build these skills. 

Managing Bullying 

This category has improved 12% since 2022 and is clearly above state and similar schools. It is an ongoing area of focus for all schools, including ours, and is closely linked to Student Voice and Agency and the culture created regarding help seeking and building relationships built on trust and respect. The adjacent category of ‘Advocate at school’ continues to improve, and in 2026 it was over 70%, making it well above state and similar schools. The Advocate at school category is an indication of student confidence in supportive relationships with school staff. 

Student connection 

In the last 4 years, this has grown by 13%. This growth is double what has occurred for state and similar schools. Our school is now equal when compared to state and similar schools. Our work to build student connection to the school is supported by our recognition of achievement and positive behaviour as well as providing a broad learning program and additional learning opportunities beyond the classroom. I am very confident it will continue to grow into the future. 

The steady growth and improvement across all areas of the data provide some excellent evidence of the positive impact our staff has on student learning and wellbeing every day. These results also reflect high positive endorsement from our staff and parent surveys.

Thanks to all students for completing the survey and providing us with their valuable feedback and insights. 

Parent Opinion Survey

The 2026 Parent Opinion Survey is now open, with details available on Compass.

I would encourage all parents to complete the survey in order for the data to be valid and therefore a more reliable source of evidence for the school to use as part of informed decision making.

I am also available to undertake school tours with parents to support a greater understanding of our day-to-day operations, instructional strategies, and range of student supports available. 

Please contact the school should you wish to come on a tour. These are usually held on a Wednesday morning. If you need another time, this can be negotiated by emailing the college. ( cranbourne.sc@education.vic.gov.au )

Thanks in advance for your time in completing the parent opinion survey. 

College Production 

It would be remiss of me not to mention this year's production of Freaky Friday; it was absolutely fantastic, and I am looking forward to this being shared in more detail in our next edition. 

And on one final note, it has been wonderful to commence in our refurbished learning spaces. I am looking forward to sharing these with the school community as part of our 50th year celebrations.