Peter Lalor News

Teaching and Learning

David Husk - Assistant Principal

School Review

Term 3 is always a busy term for students and staff. It is a period of transition both intellectually from Semester One, to Semester Two (completing units of work and starting new ones), but also socially (physically/emotionally) as we move out from the cold harsh winter months to the new warmer summer months, and move toward the completion of another academic year with its celebrations, hopes and dreams (and some disappointments). This term has been especially busy for our Principal Team as we prepare for our whole school review with the completion of our current School Strategic Plan (SSP).

The following outline has been developed in the spirit of transparency and accountability to our school community to keep all our members informed of the key improvements that are occurring across the school. It is a detailed snapshot and will take time to read and review, however, I encourage our school community to be informed of the review process, the rational behind a school review and the importance of continual improvement to achieve better outcomes for all our students.

All schools must participate in a school review every 4 years. The school review informs the development of the school’s 4-year School Strategic Plan (SSP).

There are 2 components of a school review:

  1. the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) has allowed our school to review our data and other evidence to form a collective view of our current practice and areas for improvement. We have completed the PRSE on the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT) and have the support of our senior education improvement leader (SEIL) – Losh Pillay in this initial stage.
  2. our school review begins with a pre-review meeting (September 10) and is facilitated by an independent school reviewer with a panel comprising the principal, school council president, SEIL, and challenge partners. The panel considers the PRSE and undertakes additional fieldwork activities such as classroom observations, focus groups and interviews. The review concludes with a report proposing draft goals, targets and key improvement strategies for the school’s next SSP and this will inform the next Annual Implementation Plan (AIP).

The school reviewer also completes an assessment of the school’s compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard. Compliance with the other Minimum Standards for registered schools which is assessed separately through the Minimum Standards Compliance Assessment conducted by the department’s Operational Policy, School Engagement and Compliance Division (OPSEC). This process commenced in Term 2.

We have been allocated 4 review days which include a validation day (October 15), 2 fieldwork days (October 28), & (October 30), plus a final panel day (November 13). 

 

Roles and Responsibilities

The Principal

The principal or their nominee is responsible for:

  • communicating with the school community throughout the review process
  • leading and completing the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) with the support of nominated members of the school leadership team or other staff
  • confirming review panel members and any additional staff are available to participate and understand how they contribute to the review
  • sharing the PRSE with panel members
  • collaborating with the SEIL to select 2 challenge partners (more if preferred)
  • meeting with the SEIL and reviewer for the preparation meeting
  • coordinating logistics for the validation day, including circulating the agenda to panel members, organising a room for panel meetings with any necessary audio-visual requirements, scheduling classroom observations and inviting any school community members to present to the panel about the school if desired
  • chairing the validation and final panel days
  • checking the accuracy of the school review report
  • presenting the final review report to staff
  • presenting the final review report to school council (unless a ‘Transform’ performance grouped school).

Senior education improvement leader

The senior education improvement leader (SEIL) supports the school through the review process and is responsible for:

  • liaising with the principal and the School Review Unit to support the scheduling of the school review, identifying where specialist reviewer expertise is needed and recommending changes to the timing and length of reviews where appropriate
  • supporting the principal and their nominated staff to collaboratively complete the PRSE
  • reviewing and endorsing the final PRSE
  • collaborating with the principal to select challenge partner(s)
  • meeting with the principal and reviewer for the preparation meeting and supporting the principal to plan for the review
  • participating in the review
  • checking accuracy and approving the final draft of the review report
  • supporting the principal to present the final review report to school council
  • if any areas of non-compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard are identified, supporting the school to achieve compliance and reporting back to the Operational Policy, School Engagement and Compliance Division once achieved.

Reviewer

The reviewer facilitates the review process and is responsible for:

  • contacting the SEIL and principal to organise the preparation meeting
  • reviewing the PRSE prior to the validation day
  • requesting any further data or documentation required
  • meeting with the principal and SEIL for the preparation meeting
  • facilitating the validation, fieldwork and final panel days, including ensuring the panel is engaged and synthesising the data and evidence
  • preparing and delivering presentations to support and guide panel discussions including any further analysis, observations and synthesis of findings
  • designing and managing the fieldwork activities
  • preparing the review report, including editing the draft review report in response to feedback and quality assurance processes and submitting the final school review report for approval
  • presenting the school review report back to school council (‘Transform’ performance grouped schools only)
  • preparing the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard compliance assessment report.

School council president

The school council president represents the school council and is responsible for:

  • supporting communication to the school community about the review and how they can contribute. This could include gathering feedback from parents and carers
  • reviewing the PRSE prior to the validation day
  • participating in the validation and final panel meeting days and can participate in fieldwork
  • attending the presentation of the review report to school council.

Challenge partners

Challenge partners are responsible for:

  • reviewing the PRSE prior to the validation day
  • participating in the validation and final panel days to contribute their expertise to panel discussions
  • participating in fieldwork if available.

Challenge partners are selected by the principal and SEIL to offer an external, independent perspective on the school’s practices and performance. They can be department subject-matter experts working in regional or central office roles, members of the regional school improvement workforce, principals of other schools, or external subject matter experts.

 

What Occurs during the school review?

As previously mentioned, we have been allocated 4 review days which include a validation day (October 15), 2 fieldwork days (October 28), & (October 30), plus a final panel day (November 13). 

Validation day

The first formal day of a school review is known as the 'validation day' and is where the panel will:

  • validate the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) findings through panel discussions, observations, and other evidence. The panel will review and discuss the information and evidence presented in the PRSE, and any other data or evidence presented to the review panel
  • identify specific areas of the school’s practices, particularly related to the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0) core elements, that require investigation and analysis through fieldwork
  • develop terms of reference questions to guide inquiry and seek to understand how specific school practices in each of the FISO 2.0 core elements are impacting student learning and wellbeing outcomes. 
  • plan the approach to fieldwork.

The principal chairs the validation day, the reviewer facilitates, and other panel members actively participate throughout the day.

 

Fieldwork

Fieldwork is undertaken to gather further evidence about school practices and identifies:

  • findings against the terms of reference questions
  • other significant findings, including outcomes and supports for priority cohorts
  • implementation progress of professional learning communities
  • practices against the FISO 2.0 core elements and continua of practice self-assessment
  • where needed, evidence to support the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard compliance assessment.

The reviewer synthesises and reports fieldwork findings back to the panel.

Fieldwork can take many forms and include classroom and meeting observations, examination of documents, and interviews or focus groups with members of the school community.

The reviewer will lead fieldwork activities, supported by panel members including the senior education improvement leader (SEIL) and challenge partners where available. To preserve independence of the fieldwork, principals and other school leaders do not usually participate in focus groups and interviews but can participate in classroom observations.

All fieldwork should be completed by the morning of the final panel day, so the panel has sufficient time to develop key directions for the next School Strategic Plan (SSP).

 

Final panel day

The final panel day is where panels:

  • reflect on data and findings from the review process
  • come to a shared understanding of the schools’ strengths and areas for growth
  • finalise any outstanding discussion of the school’s performance against the past SSP and other significant outcomes or findings
  • agree on the FISO 2.0 continua of practice ratings for each core element
  • agree on next steps, and collaboratively develop the key directions for the new SSP, which articulate the most appropriate goals, targets and key improvement strategies.

Developing key directions for the next School Strategic Plan

 

On the final day of the school review, the school review panel collaboratively develops the key directions for the new School Strategic Plan (SSP). The SSP ensures that the school’s strategic direction to improve student outcomes over the next 4 years is identified and expressed through the development of goals, targets and key improvement strategies (KIS) based on the evidence gathered throughout the review process.

Goals and targets focus on what the school is trying to achieve, and how their progress will be measured. Goals and targets align to the learning and wellbeing outcomes at the centre of FISO 2.0.

Key improvement strategies (KIS) articulate how the school will achieve their goals and targets. KIS align to the FISO 2.0 core elements.

The key directions for the next SSP are recorded in the final section of the school review report. Once the report has been finalised, the department will populate the key directions from the report to the school’s draft School Strategic Plan on SPOT.

 

Process for developing key directions

Over the course of the review process the panel will form a view regarding the next steps for school improvement.

The final panel day is an opportunity for panel members to reflect on data and findings from the review process, come to a shared understanding of the school's strengths and areas for growth, agree on next steps, and articulate the most appropriate goals, targets and KIS for the next SSP.

It is recommended that the panel spend approximately 5 hours developing the key directions, and that they structure thinking around the following questions:

  • Where are we now? Reflection on data and evidence collated throughout the review.
  • What do we want to achieve? Developing goals and setting targets.
  • How will we get there? Developing KIS.

School review report

The school reviewer prepares a report to document the findings of the review, including key directions for the next School Strategic Plan (SSP). The report is quality assured by the independent review company, checked for accuracy by the principal, and then approved by the senior education improvement leader (SEIL). This process takes approximately 30 business days. 

The review report consists of a public and confidential section. The public section of the review report can be shared with the school community, for example through publication on the school website. It provides a summary of the key findings and directions for the next School Strategic Plan (SSP). The confidential section of the review report provides more detailed information for the school’s planning purposes.

The principal presents the approved review report, including the confidential section, to school council, with support from the SEIL. For ‘Transform’ performance grouped schools, the reviewer presents the review report to school council on behalf of the review panel.

The principal determines the extent to which the confidential section is shared with school community members. For example, the principal can choose to share the full confidential section with the school leadership team, the key directions with the school improvement team, and relevant excerpts with curriculum leaders. 

I hope this information provides our community assurance that as a school, we are committed to improving the outcomes for our students in both the teaching and learning domain, and engagement and wellbeing domain.

 

David Husk

Assistant Principal

Teaching & Learning 

PLSC