School Review

Policy

This policy sets out the requirement for schools to participate in a school review.

Summary

• 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.
• The school reviewer also assesses compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard.
• Specific information to guide schools through the process is available in the Guidance tab.

Details

School review is a key element of the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes 2.0 (FISO 2.0) improvement cycle.

Schools undertake a school review every 4 years to inform the directions of the school’s 4-year School Strategic Plan (SSP).

There are 2 components of school review:

1. the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) where schools review their data and other evidence to form a collective view of current practice and areas for improvement. Schools complete the PRSE on the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT) with the support of their senior education improvement leader (SEIL)
2. a review 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.

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 is assessed separately through the Minimum Standards Compliance Assessment conducted by the department’s Operational Policy, School Engagement and Compliance Division (OPSEC). Refer to Minimum Standards and School Registration for more information.

Schools due to participate in a review are advised by the end of Term 2 of the year before.

Principals are allocated a school reviewer and offered professional learning 2 terms before the review. Schools are matched to reviewers with relevant knowledge and expertise for the school’s context.

Most schools are allocated 3 review days (including a validation day, a fieldwork day, and a final panel day). Fieldwork includes observation and interviews/focus groups.

In allocating the number of days, the minimum is 2 days (for ‘Influence’ performance grouped schools, ‘Not grouped’ schools and new schools) and additional fieldwork days are allocated based on:

• the school’s Differentiated School Performance Method (DSPM) grouping. For more information, refer to School Performance Reporting and Data
• context-specific factors, with specialist school settings, schools with flexible learning options and schools with over 600 enrolments each attracting an additional fieldwork day
• requests for additional fieldwork days from SEILs or reviewers if required. Requests should be sent to SchoolReview@education.vic.gov.au

The school review and review report must be comprehensive and cover all campuses of a school, including any flexible learning campuses.

Related policies

• Annual Implementation Plan (AIP)
• Annual Report to the School Community
• Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0)
• Minimum Standards and School Registration
• School Strategic Plan

Relevant legislation

• Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic)
• Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 (Vic)

Guidance

This guidance contains the following chapters:

1. Timelines for school review
2. School Review Panels
3. Preparing for a school review
4. Pre-review self-evaluation
5. What happens during a school review
6. Developing key directions for the next School Strategic Plan
7. School Review Report
8. Advice for small schools
9. Advice for specialist and specific purpose school settings
10. Assessing compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard and department policy requirements

1. Timelines for school review

Below is a high-level timeline for school review.

June – The School Review Unit emails principals to confirm that they will be undertaking a school review in the following year, and will advise of the term of the review.

Actions for schools:

• Begin working on the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) at least one term before the scheduled review
• Hold the preparation meeting one to 2 terms before the review
• Submit the PRSE on SPOT for senior education improvement leader (SEIL) review and endorsement at least 5 weeks before the review
• Share the SEIL endorsed PRSE with review panel members at least 4 weeks before the review

2. School review panels

The school review is facilitated by the reviewer and includes the principal, senior education improvement leader (SEIL), school council president and challenge partners. Review panel member roles and responsibilities are described below, including information on how to select challenge partners.

Principals can choose to invite members of the leadership team, middle leaders, other staff members and student leaders to participate in the school review at their discretion.

Principal

The principal 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.

The school review process is addressed in school council governance training. Refer to School Council – Training and Good Governance.

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.

To find and contact department subject-matter experts who have completed challenge partner training, principals and SEILs can download the Trained challenge partners contact list from SPOT. Training is encouraged for challenge partners, but not required.

The School Review Unit offers challenge partner training twice a year. Requests to register for training can be emailed to SchoolReview@education.vic.gov.au

3. Preparing for a school review

This chapter provides information on the notification process and how to prepare for the review, including professional learning and establishing the review panel. For information on completing the pre-review self-evaluation, refer to the Pre-review self-evaluation guidance chapter.

Notification about the review

The School Review Unit emails principals by the end of Term 2 in the year prior to review to confirm:

• the allocated term of review, noting senior education improvement leaders (SEILs) will discuss suitable timing with the principal and communicate preferences to the School Review Unit in advance
• how to register for school review professional learning
• any additional supports or flexibility that are available for specific school contexts and settings. For more information refer to the Advice for small schools and Advice for specialist and specific purpose school settings guidance chapters
• the date when the school’s PRSE template will be available in the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT). For more information refer to the Pre-review self-evaluation guidance chapter.

Reviewers will contact principals and SEILs 2 terms before the review to introduce themselves, arrange the preparation meeting and set specific school review dates.

The school’s SEIL and reviewer will advise the principal of their school’s number of allocated fieldwork days for the review.

Professional learning for principals and school leaders

Professional learning is offered to principals 2 terms before their review. All sessions are optional, and principals can choose to invite other members of the leadership team or staff to attend.

Professional learning includes:

• webinar overview of the school review structure and process
• PRSE-specific workshop with activities to assist schools to plan and commence their PRSE. A tailored workshop is offered to schools with 200 enrolments or fewer.

For schools with 30 enrolments or fewer, a special half-hour pre-review briefing for the principal, SEIL and reviewer is held online and coordinated by the School Review Unit the term prior to the review.

Principals unable to attend the professional learning can email SchoolReview@education.vic.gov.au to request session recordings and a short individual briefing from the School Review Unit if required.

Preparation meeting

The preparation meeting is usually scheduled one to 2 terms prior to the review and is for the principal, reviewer and SEIL to:

• develop a shared understanding of their roles
• discuss and book dates for the review (if not agreed sooner)
• plan the first in-school review day (the validation day), including the agenda and a schedule and questions for classroom observations and any focus groups. For more information on the validation day refer to the What happens during a school review guidance chapter
• discuss the status of the PRSE and any additional data and supporting evidence.

Other school staff can be included in the preparation meeting if desired.

For shorter (2-day) reviews, the terms of reference focus questions are developed during the preparation meeting (for other schools, these are developed during the validation day).

Communicate with the school community about the review

The school principal should use their existing communication channels to let the school community, including staff, students, families and school council members know about the review and how they can contribute, including:

• the purpose and benefits of school review
• when the review is scheduled
• opportunities for school community members to get involved with the PRSE and the review (for example, focus groups, interviews, surveys)
• how review findings will be shared back to the school community and used after the review.

For advice on engaging the school community in preparation of the PRSE refer to the Pre-review self-evaluation guidance chapter. School community members should also be engaged in the review through fieldwork, described further in the What happens during a school review guidance chapter.

4. Pre-review self-evaluation

Schools must complete the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) in the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT) at least 4 weeks prior to the validation day.

How to complete the PRSE

The PRSE includes the following sections, and schools analyse and upload data and supporting evidence on performance, practices and processes for each of these:

• reflection on school performance against the last School Strategic Plan (SSP)
• reflection on other significant findings including student learning or wellbeing outcomes not captured in the previous SSP
• reflection on implementation of professional learning communities
• self-assessment against the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0) continua of practice
• self-assessment of compliance against the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard and department policy requirements.

Reflection on performance against the School Strategic Plan

The school assesses performance against the goals and targets in the previous School Strategic Plan (SSP), including:

• assessing whether goals and targets were met, partially met, not met, no longer relevant or not able to assess with evidence of outcomes for each target
• identifying enablers and challenges for meeting goals and targets.

In relation to the 'priorities goal' that was introduced into the Annual Implementation Plan in 2021, schools can reflect on performance as follows:

• where the school’s existing SSP goals align to the priorities goal, address priorities goal work in the relevant SSP goal
• if existing SSP goals do not directly align to the priorities goal, acknowledge this in the enablers and challenges sections, and where relevant, note that improvement efforts were reprioritised away from the SSP goals towards the priorities goal. This can be further expanded upon in the ‘other significant findings’ section described below
• for more information on the priorities goal, refer to the guidance tab in the department’s Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) policy.

Other significant findings

The school reflects on other significant findings and student learning or wellbeing outcomes not captured in the school's last SSP.

These can include:

• other learning and wellbeing outcomes, for example where school improvement efforts related to the priorities goal were not reflected in the previous SSP, or where improvement priorities for the school have changed since the last SSP. This could include numeracy now being an area of focus for the school if not identified as a goal in the previous SSP. Note that where the school’s existing SSP goals aligned with the department-wide priorities, the priorities goal does not need to be explicitly addressed in this section
• outcomes for priority cohorts, including how the school is supporting these students, in particular equity funded students, students who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, students with a disability and/or additional learning needs, and students who speak English as an additional language
• any other considerations, initiatives, and programs not captured in the previous SSP and were identified as significant.

Professional learning communities

Schools that have completed the core professional learning for the Victorian Professional Learning Communities (PLC) initiative reflect on the implementation of PLCs in their school. The school identifies 3 principles of effective PLCs that are strengths for the school and describes current practices for each.

Framework for Improvement Student Outcomes 2.0 continua of practice self-assessment

Schools self-assess their practices against the FISO 2.0 continua of practice for each of the 5 core elements.

Data sources to be explored for each core element are identified in the FISO 2.0 system measures (DOCX). Refer to the FISO 2.0 PAL topic under practice tools guidance.

Engaging the school community when preparing the PRSE

Principals can involve their school improvement team, school leadership team or other nominated staff.

The school community, including staff, students, families and school council members, should be consulted to support the preparation and completion of the PRSE.

Further advice for small schools and specialist schools regarding the PRSE can be found in the Advice for small schools and Advice for specialist and specific purpose school settings guidance chapters.

Accessing the PRSE on SPOT

The PRSE is available on SPOT 2 terms before the review.

The PRSE will be linked to the most recent SSP (or AIP for new schools), and can be accessed by the principal, SEIL and school council president. The department will grant reviewers access as needed. The principal can provide access to other school leaders or staff if needed using the 'Delegate editing rights' section at the top of the My School page in SPOT.

Finalising the PRSE

When the PRSE is complete, the principal can use the attest and submit button in the Review and endorse tab to submit the PRSE for SEIL approval. The SEIL can revert the PRSE to draft if changes are needed, in discussion with the principal. Upon SEIL approval, the PRSE can be shared with panel members, ideally 4 weeks before the review.

For further information or questions regarding SPOT refer to the SPOT troubleshooting guide (DOCX) (staff login required) or contact the School Planning and Annual Reporting Unit via SPOT.Support@education.vic.gov.au

5. What happens during a school review

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. These can be developed in advance for shorter (2-day) reviews
• 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.

For further advice, refer to the Developing key directions for the next School Strategic Plan guidance chapter.

6. Developing key directions for the next School Strategic Plan

A printable handout version of this new guidance is available on the Resources tab.

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.

For support and advice relating to the key directions for the next SSP, please refer to the School Strategic Plan policy in PAL or contact the School Planning and Annual Reporting Unit: Improvement.Support@education.vic.gov.au

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 panels 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 panels 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 (approximately 90 minutes).
• What do we want to achieve? Developing goals (approximately 30 minutes) and setting targets (approximately 90 minutes).
• How will we get there? Developing KIS (approximately 90 minutes).

1. Where are we now?

The panel should ensure they have a shared understanding of the school's improvement priorities by reflecting on the data and evidence available through:

• the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) report
• current performance data and identified areas for improvement
• the school’s validated self-assessment of current practices against the FISO 2.0 core elements, including how these impact student outcomes and identified practice strengths and areas for growth
• the enablers and barriers to improvement identified with respect to progress in the school’s last SSP and in their recent Annual Implementation Plans (AIP)
• findings against the review’s terms of reference (ToR) focus questions gathered through fieldwork.

On the final day, panels can reflect on the data and evidence collated across the review by:

• brainstorming key themes that have arisen throughout the review
• reviewing available data and identifying the most significant areas for growth
• discussing the root cause of issues identified throughout the PRSE, fieldwork findings against the terms of reference or the school’s performance against the previous SSP.

2. What do we want to achieve?

Once the panel has agreed on where the school is in their improvement journey, the next step is to identify what the school would like to achieve through their SSP. The panel articulates this through goals and targets.

Goals

Goals are a high-level statement that articulates the student learning and wellbeing outcomes that the school will focus on improving in their next strategic plan.

General guidance for developing goals

• Goals should be developed based on areas where there are the greatest opportunities for growth and improvement in student outcomes, as identified throughout the review
• Consistent with FISO 2.0, it is expected that all schools will have at least one learning and one wellbeing goal. Schools can also set goals that cover shared learning and wellbeing outcomes
• Schools can choose to set goals at the broad student outcome level (for example, ‘improve student wellbeing’) or can choose to focus on a specific cohort or area within student learning and/or wellbeing (for example, ‘strengthen the resilience of all students’ or ‘strengthen the literacy of EAL students’)
• Goals should have scope for a range of supporting strategies over the 4-year SSP
• Goals should be accepted by staff and the community as appropriate

Recommended process for developing goals

• Draw on the understandings developed in the previous step
• Prioritise the areas of student learning and wellbeing most in need of improvement so that there are an appropriate number for focus
• Articulate these areas as simple and clear goals

Tailoring goals for different school contexts

• The panel should develop between 2 and 4 goals depending on school context, to ensure a sharp and narrow focus. Smaller schools can choose to pursue 2 goals in total, where medium to large schools can choose up to 4. It can be appropriate for very large schools to choose up to 5 goals
• Schools can choose to set a specific goal for each of literacy and numeracy. However, schools whose next steps for improvements in student learning outcomes are foundational, supporting both literacy and numeracy (such as documenting a viable and guaranteed curriculum or developing a pedagogical model), can be best served by a single broader student learning goal. Once these foundations have been achieved, it may then be appropriate to focus on separate literacy and numeracy goals in subsequent strategic plans. Schools with sustained high performance in a given area can identify goals in other areas with greater opportunity for growth, or alternatively can specify a goal to maintain high performance in the area of strength, or to focus on a particular cohort or sub-area within it. For example, the school might look to a different area of learning or wellbeing, or, within an area of general high performance, focus improvement efforts on a priority cohort where data indicates there are opportunities for growth

Things to avoid when developing goals

• Expressing goals as a statement saying ‘how’ the school will improve (this would be the KIS)
• Focusing on improving leadership or teaching practice (this would be the KIS)

Targets

Targets are the measures of achievement of the goals.

General guidance for developing targets

• Targets measure the outcomes of all students
• Targets should be developed using student data that will enable schools to meaningfully measure progress towards the student outcomes articulated in the goals
• Targets can identify separate measures for specific cohorts of students where appropriate (that is, EAL, Koorie, disability, at risk)
• Targets are expressed as a proportion of students (for example, X% of Year 7 students) and should include a baseline figure and a numerical target
• Review panels should use multiple datasets to measure progress against each goal
• Schools are encouraged to use the FISO 2.0 system measures where appropriate for their context, as these measures have been identified as having the largest impact on and correlation to positive learning and wellbeing outcomes
• In addition to the standard data sets in Panorama, review panels can also utilise other data sets that support the school to track their progress towards their goals, including locally generated data

Recommended process for developing targets

• Identify which data sources will most effectively measure progress towards the goals
• Consider which additional data sources can be used to triangulate progress (for example, including measures from NAPLAN data, Victorian Curriculum teacher judgement data and a learning-related factor from AtoSS to track improvements in student learning outcomes)
• Identify a baseline for each different measure which articulates where the school is now. This is expressed as a proportion of students or cohorts (for example, X% of Year 7 students)
• Identify an appropriate target which articulates what the school wants to achieve over the 4-year period, expressed as a proportion of students. Panels should consider how percentages translate to the number of individual students in their cohort as well as the performance of similar schools
• If appropriate or needed given the school’s data, identify any priority cohorts who should be captured within targets and set sub-targets or separate targets for these cohorts

Tailoring targets for different school contexts

• Each goal should have 2 to 4 targets and draw on multiple data sets where possible. Medium to large schools should include at least 3 data sources to ensure they are able to triangulate and verify their data. It can be appropriate to include 2 targets per goal for small schools with challenging data contexts. Larger schools can include 4 targets per goal to capture the breadth of their work.
• The data sets chosen for targets can vary between schools based on their context, the findings of their review, and their future directions for improvement.
• New schools cannot have baseline data available when setting targets – in these instances it can be appropriate for schools to draw baseline figures from similar school performance.

Things to avoid when developing targets

• Expressing targets without a numerical figure (for example, ‘improve the proportion of students assessed at age expected level of the Victorian Curriculum by teacher judgements’, which lacks a baseline figure and target figure)
• Using phrases like ‘state average’ or ‘similar schools average’ as a target (for example, ‘will be at the same level as the stage average’). This should be avoided as state averages and similar school averages change each year. If schools wish to reference similar school or state averages, they should do this using a baseline figure drawn from that dataset, and then set their own target (for example, 'increase the proportion of students assessed at the age expected level of the Victorian Curriculum by teacher judgements from 75% (2023 similar schools average) to 80%’)
• Using only one data source (for example, NAPLAN) for all targets in one goal. Multiple sources of data support schools to build a more accurate and holistic picture of progress towards a goal, as well as allowing schools to triangulate data so that they can verify their progress

3. How are we going to get there?

Once the panel has established the long-term goals for improvement, they identify how the school will reach these goals through changes in practices and processes across the school.

Key improvement strategies

Key improvement strategies (KIS) are the high-level strategies that the school will implement to achieve the goals and targets.

General guidance for developing KIS

• KIS are strategies that articulate ‘how’ the school will achieve their goal through changes to practice
• KIS are aligned to one or more of the FISO 2.0 core elements and will be operationalised through the next 4 AIPs
• They take between 2 and 4 years to complete
• They are focused on strengthening leadership practices, teaching practices, or whole school processes

Recommended process for developing KIS

• Using the FISO 2.0 core elements, discuss the areas of practice most in need of strengthening to improve the student outcomes articulated in the goal
• Consider what the next logical step is for the school to move towards the level of excellence for each core element as articulated through the FISO 2.0 Illustrations of practice
• List possible KIS in order of sequential implementation (for example, it can be necessary for the school to document the scope and sequence of the curriculum (Teaching and learning) prior to focusing on developing systems and processes to support the moderation of student work (Assessment))
• Narrow down to 2 to 4 KIS that are achievable across the next 4 years per goal, with consideration to sequencing and impact

Tailoring KIS for different school contexts

• Each goal typically has 2 to 4 KIS that the school will implement over the 4-year SSP. Smaller schools can choose to pursue 2 KIS while medium and larger schools may choose to pursue 3 or 4
• Review panels can advise that some goals have more KIS than others, based on the level of practice change required and the resources the school will dedicate to each goal (for example, ‘improve student learning’ can require 4 KIS, while ‘improve student outcomes in STEM’ can require 2)

Things to avoid when developing KIS

• Articulating an action that will take less than 12 months (these can be captured in the AIP)
• Expressing a high-level outcomes statement which should be captured as a goal

Overall example of a goal, targets and KIS

7. 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. If there are delays, please contact SchoolReview@education.vic.gov.au

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.

Feedback on the school review process

At the conclusion of the review, the School Review Unit will email a survey link to principals, SEILs and challenge partners to provide the opportunity to give feedback on the review process.

Feedback can also be provided by emailing SchoolReview@education.vic.gov.au

8. Advice for small schools

Matching of reviewers

The School Review Unit will match schools to a reviewer with expertise in working with schools with 200 enrolments or fewer.

Professional learning

In addition to the briefings available to all schools, schools with 200 enrolments or fewer can access a pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE) workshop tailored to needs of smaller schools.

A special half-hour pre-review briefing is also offered to schools with 30 enrolments or fewer in the term prior to the scheduled review. The School Review Unit will contact principals to arrange a suitable time.

Further information on professional learning is available in the Preparing for a school review guidance chapter.

Time release to participate in school review activities

Schools with up to 100 enrolments are eligible to claim reimbursement for up to 2 days of casual relief teacher (CRT) coverage to support completion of the PRSE and/or participation in review days.

Schools submit reimbursement requests through the Schools Targeted Funding Portal after the review is completed. Further information on claiming the reimbursement is provided to schools before the review begins.

For more information refer to the Schools Targeted Funding Portal.

For a quick guide on how to use the portal, refer to Submitting a reimbursement request (PDF).

Cluster reviews

Schools may express interest in a cluster review, which involves undertaking a review together with one or more local and/or similar schools.

The principal, in partnership with the senior education improvement leader (SEIL) and reviewer, can agree what activities will be shared or separated. For example, schools may have joint fieldwork but separate panel meetings. If desired, the cluster schools can develop common key directions for the next School Strategic Plan (SSP).

Annex or hub schools that have a shared SSP can combine their school reviews, sharing review days and the review report.

If schools are interested in a cluster review, this can be discussed with their SEIL, who will follow-up with the School Review Unit to coordinate.

Advice on the use of data for smaller schools

Data coaches will proactively contact schools with 200 enrolments or fewer to offer support, including to measure achievement against the previous SSP, identify other outcome measures or help set target levels for the new SSP. If further support is needed or your school has not been contacted, contact the Data coach hotline on 03 7022 0366 or School.Performance.Data@education.vic.gov.au

Use 3-year aggregated data sets

When using data with cohorts of fewer than 100 students, using a 3-year aggregated data set will be more robust than a single year of data. It is recommended that when setting new targets, the baseline is calculated on the mean over 3 years, rather than a single year of data.

When setting a new 3-year baseline, review panels should calculate the mean of the percentages of each year, rather than calculating a mean of the total number of students over the 3 years.

Similarly, when evaluating the achievement of targets, it is recommended to use the mean over 3 years, rather than a single year of data.

Use existing locally generated data sets

Existing locally generated data sources can be useful and reliable sources of information for evaluating school improvement across all school contexts. In small schools, the use of local data supports in depth analysis and discussion of student outcomes. Small schools are not required to collect additional data as part of the school review process, rather a focus should be placed on existing data sources.

In addition to data captured through fieldwork, focus groups and interviews, school review panels may examine other existing local data, including:

• professional conversations and reflections from the teacher and/or principal
• individual student work/artefacts
• records of observational data, such as classroom observations
• teacher assessment records, such as formative and summative assessment rubrics
• classroom management data recorded on the learning management system (LMS)
• locally developed surveys and community feedback, such as parent letters/emails or teacher notes from parent-teacher interviews
• progress reporting results (if available) or report comments.

Review panels can use locally generated data to:

• evaluate progress towards goals – for example, the goal ‘improve student numeracy outcomes’ could be verified through analysis of a representative sample of student work across the strategic plan period, analysis of teacher feedback on student work, progress reporting or report comments
• evaluate and diagnose areas of strength and growth – for example, to identify strengths and areas for growth, review panels may utilise the observational data gathered through fieldwork and feedback from student focus groups alongside wellbeing data in the LMS and records of parent feedback
• set targets – when access to data sets is not available due to low cohort numbers, review panels could identify an existing data set from a schools’ systems and processes like the learning management system, observation notes and protocols, or Individual Education Plans (IEPs).

Additional advice on target setting for schools with 100 enrolments or fewer

Victorian Curriculum Teacher Judgements

The review panel may wish to consider setting benchmarks and targets that are aggregated within a domain, such as aggregating the mean of the 3 modes of English or aggregating the mean of the 3 strands of Mathematics.

VCE Scores

An adjusted VCE Study Score will only be produced if there are more than 5 students enrolled per subject. Where an adjusted VCE Study Score is not produced, the school review panel may wish to consider using the mean of all VCE Study Scores and/or VCE English.

Department of Education perception surveys (AToSS, SSS, POS)

Where there are less than 6 respondents to the Attitudes to School Survey (AToSS), and less than 4 respondents to the School Staff Survey (SSS) or Parent Opinion Survey (POS), data is not supplied to schools. Schools may choose to assess community perceptions through other existing means of feedback such as parent teacher interviews, local surveys and data, feedback received via email/phone/in-person or based on observational data from key staff.

Attendance (average absence rate)

Absence data is scalable – it applies to each student in the same way it applies to smaller or larger groups of students. School review panels for small schools may wish to set targets for the percentage of students with absence rates >20 days and 20 days, or 10 days, depending on the school’s starting point.

Schools who have experienced fluctuations in their attendance data over the past 3 years may choose to set attendance targets that excludes the impact of COVID-19, such as unapproved absences or non-medical absences.

Additional advice on target setting for schools with 30 enrolments or fewer

In addition to the general advice and advice for schools with 100 enrolments or fewer above, the guidance below applies to schools with 30 enrolments or fewer, who may find that their year-level cohorts are too small for the modifications above and require additional differentiation to develop meaningful targets and measure impact.

Take an adjusted approach to target setting using ‘target stems’

The review panel may recommend that schools with 30 enrolments or fewer set ‘target stems’ in their SSP, and ‘complete the stem’ through the 12-month targets in the Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) based on the different cohorts they have each year.

Monitor student achievement and growth against individual goals

The school review panel may wish to develop targets that monitor the growth of students against individual goals, rather than by cohort achievement on standardised measure.

For further advice or support please contact the School Planning and Annual Reporting Unit at Improvement.Support@education.vic.gov.au

9. Advice for specialist and specific purpose school settings

The School Review Unit will match schools to a reviewer with expertise in working with specialist and specific purpose schools and allocate an additional fieldwork day to the review.

Flexibility for these contexts can be offered and agreed in consultation with the principal, reviewer and senior education improvement leader (SEIL). Schools can also contact the School Review Unit with specific requests or to seek personalised advice by emailing SchoolReview@education.vic.gov.au

Schools can seek support from their regional data coach by contacting the Data coach hotline on 03 7022 0366 or School.Performance.Data@education.vic.gov.au

The following areas of compliance have special conditions for specialist and specific purpose schools noted in the PRSE.

Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard

• 1.1.2 requires schools to present a Curriculum Plan (or equivalent documentation) which outlines, at a high level, the teaching and learning program delivering all 8 key learning areas. Specialist and specific purpose schools can indicate N/A if the school does not offer all 8 key learning areas and make a note confirming it is a specialist or specific purpose school
• 1.2 requires schools to provide sample timetables that demonstrate how the 8 key learning areas are delivered. Specialist or specific purpose schools that are not delivering all 8 key learning areas must still provide sample timetables (or other documents) that demonstrate how the school is delivering the relevant key learning areas.

Department policy requirements

Specialist schools are not required to demonstrate that they are delivering Holocaust Education (required by department policy) to students in year levels 9 and/or 10 unless they have students who are working towards achieving Level 9 and 10 of the Victorian Curriculum: History. For example, a specialist school with students in Year 10 who are working towards Level 2 of the Victorian Curriculum: History does not need to demonstrate that they are delivering Holocaust Education. Refer to Holocaust Education – Delivery Requirement PAL topic.

Flexible Learning Options (FLOs)

Schools with FLO settings or programs can:

• describe in the PRSE Other Significant Findings tab how these and related practices and processes have contributed to student learning and wellbeing outcomes
• request an additional fieldwork day for the FLO if needed, particularly where this is offered at a separate location or campus. Requests can be made by the reviewer or SEIL to the School Review Unit by emailing SchoolReview@education.vic.gov.au

For further information on FLOs, refer to the Flexible Learning Options PAL topic.

10. Assessing compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard and department policy requirements

The school’s compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard for school registration and department policy requirements relating to mobile phones and Holocaust education are assessed through the review.

The Operational Policy, School Engagement and Compliance Division (OPSEC) works with schools to assess compliance with the broader Minimum Standards (including the Child Safe Standards) for school registration. OPSEC will contact principals to schedule the Minimum Standards compliance assessment, which usually occurs 1-2 terms before the school review. For more information, refer to Minimum Standards and School Registration.

Assessing compliance against the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard

As part of the pre-review self-evaluation (PRSE), schools self-assess against their compliance with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard in the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT).

When completing the self-assessment, schools are required to upload supporting evidence, and if they are assessing as 'non-compliant', must describe how the school is working towards compliance.

The reviewer will assess compliance by reviewing the evidence uploaded to the PRSE and seeking additional evidence as needed. The reviewer will meet with the principal and SEIL to discuss their findings. This usually occurs following the conclusion of the final school review panel meeting.

The reviewer will submit the compliance assessment report to the department for moderation by OPSEC.

Where following moderation a school is found to be non-compliant with any aspect of the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard, OPSEC will advise the SEIL of the area(s) of non-compliance identified and the actions for the school to take to address those areas. SEILs are responsible for supporting schools to achieve compliance with these requirements and reporting back to OPSEC once compliance is achieved.

Information and resources to support schools to comply with the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard are available on the Curriculum Framework page of the School Policy Templates portal.

For further queries about the Curriculum and Student Learning Minimum Standard requirements, contact OPSEC by emailing School.Compliance@education.vic.gov.au

Assessing compliance against relevant department policy requirements

As part of the PRSE, schools self-assess and report on their compliance with 2 department policy requirements. For further information on these policies, please refer to:

• Mobile Phones – Student Use
• Holocaust Education – Delivery Requirements

The reviewer will confirm that schools have provided evidence of meeting the policy requirements during the school review. The relevant policy areas in the department will follow up as appropriate.

Resources

Principals can contact their senior education improvement leader (SEIL) for support with their school review.

For additional information, please contact the School Review Unit at SchoolReview@education.vic.gov.au

Resources to support the school review process

• FISO 2.0 continua -self-assessment tool (DOCX) (staff login required)
• School review process checklist (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Developing key directions for the next School Strategic Plan (DOCX)
• SPOT troubleshooting guide (DOCX) (staff login required)