Annual Implementation Plan (AIP)

Stage 3: Develop and plan

In the develop and plan stage, schools articulate the Actions that they will take during the year to progress their Key Improvement Strategies (KIS). They identify the intended Outcomes of each Action for leaders, teachers, and students, and identify which evidence will be collected as Success Indicators to assess if the Outcomes have been achieved. Schools capture the step-by-step approach they will take to complete their Actions and reach their Outcomes through their Activities.

Plan for implementation

1. Develop Actions

Actions are high-level areas of focus across the year that support the implementation of a KIS. Depending on the complexity of the KIS there may be variation in the number of Actions per KIS.

When developing Actions, schools must consider:

• that only 2 to 4 Actions should be developed per KIS, per year
• the steps or processes required to implement a KIS, and how these can be sequenced or prioritised
• the Actions that have the greatest potential impact on student outcomes
• the changes in knowledge, skills and behaviours that should be seen in relation to students, teachers and leaders
• any organisational or structural changes that might be required
• the resourcing required to support the Actions.

Developing Actions – worked example

Example KIS:

Develop and embed a whole-school approach to improving student attendance

Example Actions:

• Develop a school attendance policy that involves staff, students and families
• Develop a tiered approach to attendance support and interventions
• Establish a whole school action plan of roles and responsibilities related to attendance that involves all staff

2. Develop Outcomes

Outcomes identify the expected changes in knowledge, skills and behaviours that will be observed if the Actions have been successfully implemented. Outcomes should be considered from the perspectives of students, teachers and leaders. Typically, schools will articulate at least 2 outcomes from each of these perspectives in their AIP.

When developing Outcomes, schools should consider:

• what is expected to be seen, felt or heard following the implementation of an action
• what knowledge, skills or behaviours are expected to change
• whether the focus of the Action is leaders, teachers or students.

Developing Outcomes – worked example

Example Action:

Develop and implement a peer coaching model to support consistent implementation of the school pedagogical model

Example Outcomes:

• Leaders will: use multiple sources of evidence to track peer coaching and implementation of the pedagogical model including barriers and enablers; invite teachers to observe their classes; develop their own peer coaching skills
• Teachers will: understand the structure of the pedagogical model; establish/improve peer coaching; skills; use the pedagogical model regularly to plan and deliver lessons
• Students will: be able to articulate the ‘usual’ structure of lessons

3. Identify Success Indicators

Success Indicators support schools to measure whether the Outcomes have been achieved. Different evidence will be required depending on what the Outcome is, and whether the Outcome is displayed by a student, teacher or leader. Typically, schools will identify 5 to 6 possible Success Indicators in their AIP.

The information captured through Success Indicators should support schools in their monitoring efforts. By collecting and reflecting on this evidence schools will also be able to track progress towards their 12-month targets. Schools should consider the time at which different Success Indicators will be available to ensure that they will be able track their progress across the year, and can identify this through including ‘early’ and ‘late’ indicators in their planning.

Success Indicators might include relevant data sources such as:

• Student Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) factors or Victorian Curriculum judgements
• local sources of evidence such as formative assessments or surveys
• artefacts such as notes from meetings, lesson plans, observation notes, notes from peer coaching or learning walks.

Developing Success Indicators – worked example

Example Outcomes:

• Leaders will: use multiple sources of evidence to track peer coaching and implementation of the pedagogical model including barriers and enablers; invite teachers to observe their classes; develop their own peer coaching skills
• Teachers will: understand the structure of the pedagogical model; establish/improve peer coaching; skills; use the pedagogical model regularly to plan and deliver lessons
• Students will: be able to articulate the ‘usual’ structure of lessons

Example Success Indicators:

• Leaders:
  • Artefacts and evidence: notes from leadership team meetings, staff meeting minutes; lesson plans, observation notes, peer coaching notes, staff surveys
  • Data sources: SSS factor ‘instructional leadership’
• Teachers:
  • Artefacts and evidence: lesson plans, peer coaching notes, observations notes, staff surveys
  • Data sources: AtoSS factor ‘effective teaching time’
• Students:
  • Artefacts and evidence: notes from conversations with students and classroom observations, student surveys
  • Data sources: school-run student survey

The development of the Actions and Outcomes, and Success Indicators should be a collaborative activity led by the SIT. Schools could engage with their community by:

• dividing staff into table groups and allocating each group one of the KIS selected for focus. Using the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes continua of practice (the continua), professional practice notes or other departmental resources, develop a list of possible Actions, Outcomes and Success Indicators
• dividing staff into groups representing students, teachers and leaders and asking them to consider how implementation of the Actions would be expected to change their knowledge, skills or behaviours.

4. Identify Activities

Schools capture the steps necessary to complete Actions and reach their Outcomes in their Activities. Activities are the most granular level of detail in the AIP. For each Activity, schools identify planned timing and document responsibility, as well as identifying if the Activity is a Professional Learning Priority or will use available funding.

Example Activities:

• Schedule professional learning on Respectful Relationships
• Launch Professional Learning Community (PLC) processes
• Recruit Learning Specialist: Inclusion
• Plan and implement careers showcase
• Schedule and conduct learning walks
• Schedule youth mental health first aid training
• Purchase equipment and adaptive technology to support teaching and learning of students with disabilities
• Review and update Individual Education Plans (IEPs)

Schools can refer to How to integrate DET initiatives into the AIP – worked example KIS and Actions (PPTX) (staff login required) on the Resources page for additional worked examples of KIS, Actions, Outcomes and Activities.

5. Complete the Funding Planner

The Funding Planner supports schools to plan their expenditure of Equity funding, Disability Inclusion Tier 2 funding, and their Schools Mental Health Fund allocation in support of their AIP Activities.

The Funding Planner enables schools to easily plan expenditure for each funding stream by consolidating this information into the one place.

Equity funding

Equity funding enables schools to prioritise support for their most disadvantaged students.

For further information on Equity funding, schools can refer to the Equity funding and intervention guide (DOCX) (staff login required) and Breaking the Link: Guide to closing the gap in schools (DOCX) (staff login required).

Disability Inclusion Tier 2 funding

Disability Inclusion Tier 2 funding provides funding to schools to strengthen school-wide capacity and capability to provide inclusive education environments and adjustments for students with disability. The AIP Funding Planner functionality for Disability Inclusion Tier 2 funding is only available to schools who will have started to receive their funding before the end of the next calendar year.

For further information on Disability Inclusion Tier 2 Funding, refer to the following Policy and Advisory (PAL) topics:

• Disability Inclusion Funding and Support model
• Requirements for reporting of Tier 2 expenditure

The Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu

The Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu provides additional funding and guidance to give schools confidence and make informed choices on how to spend their funding on programs and interventions that will meet their student health and wellbeing needs. The AIP Funding Planner allows schools to identify which Menu items they plan to implement using their Schools Mental Health Fund allocation or another funding source.

For detailed information on the Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu, refer to the Department’s policy on Mental Health Fund and Menu.

To complete the Funding Planner:

• tick the appropriate funding stream box if Activities in the Actions, Outcomes and Activities tab will be using Equity funding, Disability Inclusion Tier 2 funding, or the Schools Mental Health Fund items. The funding planner tab will then automatically pre-populate with the Activities that were selected
• in the funding planner tab, enter the total values of Equity funding, Disability Inclusion Tier 2 funding, and the Schools Mental Health Fund items that the school is expected to receive in their School Resource Package in the summary of funding table
• allocate the funding source for each Activity across the funding streams using the planning tool – where relevant, select the appropriate category and subcategory against which the funds will be spent
• schools can identify any additional activities that will utilise funding that do not fit under the planned AIP Activities in the additional spend section of the planner.

Further information on completing the Funding Planner is available on the Resources tab.

Requirements for reporting Disability Inclusion Tier 2 funded and Schools Mental Health Fund expenditure in CASES21 are additional to the Funding Planner and remain unchanged.

6. Complete the Professional Learning Plan

The Professional Learning Plan (PLP) is used by the school to identify professional learning priorities for the school. This supports school leaders to strategically plan for staff professional learning and development across the year.

To complete the PLP, the SIT:

• tag professional learning and development priorities by using the PLP priority toggle when planning Activities in SPOT, which automatically populates the PLP
• select up to 3 Key Professional Learning Strategies that will be adopted to promote collaborative and inquiry-based processes
• nominate organisational structures that will be used to support professional learning, including student-free days
• indicate whether the training will occur internally or at an external venue.

The expertise the school intends to access is also identified in the PLP, which may include:

• support provided through the Differentiated Support for Schools Initiative, including Teaching Partners, Leadership Partners and School Improvement Partnerships
• other Department initiatives such as Learning Specialists or the Professional Learning Community (PLC) Initiative
• courses and training opportunities available through the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership.

7. Endorsement and communication of the next AIP

Once complete, the principal submits the AIP to their senior education improvement leader (SEIL) for feedback and endorsement using the review and endorse tab on SPOT. SEILs can then provide feedback on each area of the AIP. The next AIP must be submitted by the end of Term 4.

Once endorsed by the SEIL, the AIP is presented to the school council for endorsement by the end of March. Following these endorsements, the AIP should be communicated to the school community.

Schools may choose to communicate their AIP via information sessions, the school newsletter, school website updates, or any other platform the school uses to provide information to its community.