School Performance Health Check

The purpose of the school performance health checks is to identify strengths and areas for improvement.  We do this by asking, and systematically answering, the following eight key questions.

Is there a culture of continuous improvement at the school?

We will help identify and target strategies that are needed to build a culture of continuous improvement at the school.  We will work with the school leadership team to set improvement targets in the short, medium and long term.  These may include:

• literacy and numeracy
• kindergarten and Prep year transitions
• Australian curriculum achievement standards
• school attendance
• year 12 outcomes.

We will also work with the school community to ensure that improvement targets clearly communicated and understood.

Is there a focus on teamwork and professionalism?

Leadership, collegiality and professional integrity are at the heart of high performing teams.  We ask, are the teaching staff and leadership team functioning optimally? In order to achieve the highest possible standards and effectively make locally relevant choices, staff should be able to differentiate and balance individual and shared responsibility.

Is there a focus on learning?

What is the learning environment like at the school?  Decades of education research tells us that every student is capable of learning if there is a culture of:

• supportive learning
• a focus on the individual child
• high expectations.

Using these three areas, we will work with the school to map the learning environment to provide direction for whole of school planning. A strong and focused learning environment means that support can be targeted to those students with learning difficulties to those exceeding the expected standards.

How effective is curriculum planning and delivery?

The introduction of the Australian Curriculum means that schools throughout Australia are undergoing a process of curriculum planning.  A systematic and coherent curriculum plan to implement the Australian Curriculum is a fundamental part of school improvement and student achievement.

We will work with schools to identify and target strengths and areas for improvement around four elements of effective curriculum planning:

High expectations for all students

High student expectations are built on differentiation of teaching and learning for all students in single and multiple year-level contexts.

Alignment of teaching and learning, and assessment and reporting

Curriculum and assessment planning is thoughtful and uses a systematic process for continually checking to ensure that all parts are connected.

Standards- and school-based assessment for learning

Teachers use standards to build a shared understanding of the qualities of student work, and to communicate student achievement to students, parents/carers and the system.

Balance of informed prescription and teacher professional judgment

Teachers exercise their professional judgment and make decisions about student learning in their school within the context of the specified curriculum requirements and system and sector priorities.

How well standards being used to assess and report student achievement?

Assessing and reporting student achievement has changed in recent years.  All schools are required to report to parents, twice a year, on an A-E scale (or equivalent). The introduction of the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards provides a new set of expectations for schools and students.

We will work with schools to identify and target strengths and areas for improvement in five areas of effective assessment and reporting.  These are:

• Identify Curriculum
• Plan assessment
• Sequence teaching and learning
• Make judgements
• Use feedback

How effective are the teaching practices?

While curriculum and assessment planning are vitally important, without highly effective teaching practices, school and student improvement will not be achieved. In fact, a focus on good pedagogical practice is the key to improving student learning throughout the school.  We ask, are teachers at the school using the full range of teaching methods to ensure that students fully challenged and engaged in learning?

Is school achievement data being used to best effect?

Effectively analysing and using systemic collected data is a key element in improving school performance.  We will work with teachers, and the school leadership team, to look at individual, class and whole school data to identify and target areas of strength and areas in need of improvement.

Is the school effectively engaging with the local community?

Community engagement is a core part of any school improvement strategy.  We know that effective engagement is about partnership and trust.  It involves two way, open communication and clear expectations. We will work with schools to identify and target strengths and areas for improvement in relation to how the school engages with its community.

Final report

Education Standards Australia will deliver a full, plain English report that identifies the school’s strengths and areas for improvement in the eight areas. The report will be prepared in a way that is both useful for the school but easily communicated to the school community

Of course, fully individualised and targeted professional development, following on from the schools health check can be arranged.

Undertaking the School Health Check

The length of time to undertake a school health check will vary depending on the size of the school, and the schools configuration, eg.

• P-12
• P-10
• P-7
• 7/8 – 12.

Consultation usually involves:

• face to face interviews with key staff and community members
• analysis of curriculum and assessment planning materials
• application of audit on-line tool