Deputy News 

At Sacred Heart, tracking student growth is a continual process throughout the school year. Our educators collect and analyse a broad range of data to inform planning, refine teaching practices, and identify areas where students may benefit from targeted support. As we move into our midyear assessment period, significant time and care are dedicated to evaluating key learning areas across the curriculum.

This assessment period is a whole school effort, involving a combination of one-on-one and whole class tasks. Standardised, research backed tools play a key role in this process, offering valuable insights into student progress and helping teachers determine the most appropriate next steps for each learner. One of the many strengths of our program is the opportunity for teachers to engage with students individually, deepening their understanding of each student’s journey across the year.

Alongside measuring individual growth, this data also helps us reflect on our practices and identify areas for school wide improvement. This reflection helps shape our strategic planning and ensures we continue to create strong learning foundations for the remainder of 2025 and beyond. Across English and Mathematics, teachers use a range of tools; checklists, observation notes, student work samples, and formal assessments to build a clear picture of each student’s understanding.

As part of our writing assessment program, we use the No More Marking platform. This research based tool uses comparative judgement, where writing samples are evaluated side by side instead of against a traditional rubric. It provides a reliable and efficient way to assess writing, offering insights into individual and cohort wide progress. The platform also enables our teachers to participate in national benchmarking, helping align our expectations with broader standards and further refine teaching practices. 

Our Year One students completed a writing task that linked to their Knowledge Rich Curriculum, which is designed to build deep understanding by exposing students to carefully sequenced and meaningful content across subjects. Combined with our approach of building writing skills at the sentence level through a focus on grammar, vocabulary and structure, this ensures students are not only developing knowledge but also learning how to express it clearly and confidently in writing. 

We are incredibly proud of our Year One students and the remarkable progress they have made in such a short time. In just 18 months of schooling, these young learners have developed foundational knowledge across subject areas and are now confidently applying that knowledge in their writing. Their ability to construct clear, purposeful sentences using rich vocabulary and sound grammar is a testament to their hard work and the intentional, sequential and consistent teaching practices. 

Our approach ensures that we are not only assessing for the sake of reporting but using data meaningfully to guide learning, celebrate growth, and prepare our students for continued success.

Kate Stroud 

Deputy Principal