School improvement update
Next year, the college will undergo a department review which will analyse the schools progress over the past four years.
In preparing for this review, analysis of our data across that time period is occurring to map out patterns of improvement and reflection on what still needs to be developed.
The school council was recently presented with an overview of some of this analysis and wishes to share it with our community. The following is an overview of some of the data that we feel is worth celebrating.
Learning data
At our last review, the school was measured as being in the category of ‘Transform’ for our learning data, with Numeracy data being lowest.
This year, our school performance report rates the school at ‘medium’ for performance and in the category of ‘Improved’. Our Numeracy results are now above the similar schools’ average for both performance and growth demonstrating a significant improvement across the past four years.
Our literacy data is also holding strong at the ‘medium’ level and it will be our Reading data, in particular, that will likely be a key focus for the school as we move into our next strategic plan to identify areas for growth and improvement into the next phase of the college’s improvement journey.
Similarly, we are seeing improvement in our senior study scores results and this will be a continued focus into the next review cycle.
Wellbeing data
It is in the wellbeing data that we see the most significant improvement in the school’s progress.
After COVID, the school’s wellbeing data ‘dipped’ quite significantly. We were not alone in this as it was a pattern experienced by most, if not all, schools as a result of the global pandemic.
Across all of the opinion data reports, the school has seen significant increases in wellbeing measures, with many being significantly higher than similar schools. These results are summarised and highlighted below:
Student opinion data – Attitude to school survey
Parent opinion data – parent opinion survey
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 | Difference | Sim schools |
| General satisfaction | 59% | 68% | +9 | 63% |
| Physical environment | 69% | 81% | +12 | 69% |
| School improvement | 50% | 62% | +12 | 55% |
| School pride and confidence | 55% | 70% | +15 | 63% |
| School connectedness | 72% | 73% | +1 | 74% |
| Positive transitions | 56% | 68% | +8 | 64% |
| Parent participation and involvement | 47% | 54% | +7 | 53% |
| School communication | 66% | 68% | +2 | 70% |
| Teacher communication | 41% | 59% | +17 | 51% |
| High expectations for success | 71% | 73% | +2 | 74% |
| Student motivation and support | 46% | 51% | +5 | 50% |
| Stimulated learning environment | 53% | 58% | +5 | 59% |
| Effective teaching | 53% | 63% | +10 | 57% |
| Managing bullying | 57% | 68% | +11 | 62% |
| Not Experiencing bullying | 52% | 73% | +21 | 64% |
| Promoting positive behaviour | 64% | 70% | +6 | 64% |
| Respect for diversity | 75% | 79% | +4 | 72% |
| Student agency and voice | 60% | 64% | +4 | 63% |
| Confidence and resiliency skills | 62% | 70% | +8 | 66% |
Staff opinion data
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Difference | Similar schools |
| School climate | 53% | 55% | +3 | 55% |
| Instructional leadership | 65% | 63% | -2 | 59% |
| Staff safety, health and wellbeing | 60% | 54% | -6 | 54% |
| Teaching and learning practice improvement | 68% | 72% | +4 | 61% |
| School leadership | 66% | 65% | -1 | 62% |
| Collective efficacy | 52% | 54% | +2 | 52% |
| School Culture of Trustworthiness | 76% | 79% | +3 | 70% |
On almost all of the measures above, we are at or above similar schools’ measures. The exception being in our student opinion data however, the improvement that we are seeing on that survey suggests that it will not be long before we are achieving at high levels there as well.
School stage transitions
It is worth highlighting the positive change we are seeing in student reporting of the transition process as they move through the school. Improvement of seven percentage points for new students and 9 percentage points for senior students is a significant improvement and reflects the work of both the junior transition team and the careers and transitions teams in how these seminal moments in the student academic journey are managed. These teams will continue this work into the next review cycle to further build on the improvement that we have noted this year.
Bullying data
Recent announcements by the Federal Government have placed a renewed focus on tackling bullying in Australian schools, with new expectations that schools strengthen their prevention and response practices. While these changes aim to support safer and more inclusive school environments nationwide, our own data shows that our students and parents already report feeling well supported and safe at school. There is some work to do to improve our staff sense of safety in the work environment although we are still above similar schools on this measure. This data reflects the strong culture of care, respect, and connection that our community continues to build together.
Having said this, the college recognises the importance of continuing to improve how bullying behaviour is managed and responded to, especially with the rise of cyber bullying. The college is currently working on how we respond to bullying and how this response is communicated to families and students. Whilst we respond to bullying, it is important that we find ways to adequately communicate the actions being taken so that all members of our community are able to feel supported and safe within our school community.
You can expect to see further information about how the school is managing its response to bullying behaviours across the next 6 months.
How can you support this work?
As part of our review process, parents will be invited to participate in some parent focus groups by the independent reviewers. We encourage all parents to engage with thee focus groups to provide the school with invaluable information about what it can do better and how.
We also encourage all families to communicate with us about their experiences in an open and collaborative way so that we can continue to improve. At the end of the day, it is the student experience that is most important and we want our school to be a place where all young people feel connected, supported and appreciated so that they can achieve at levels that will enable them to succeed. As our missing statement claims:
“At Heathmont College, we empower our community to achieve their best and flourish in a changing, future focused world.”