Annual Report to the School Community

3. Completing the ‘About our school’ commentary

The ‘About our school’ commentary is prepared in the SPOT (staff login required) by the principal, supported by relevant leadership staff.

The ‘About our school’ commentary gives further context to data contained in the performance summary and contains the following sections, outlined further below:

• School context
• Progress towards strategic goals, student outcomes and student engagement:
  • Learning
  • Wellbeing
  • Engagement
• Other highlights from the school year (optional)
• Financial performance

While the Annual Report is a legislated requirement, it is also a meaningful opportunity for schools to communicate with their community. As such, the ‘About our school’ commentary must:

• be written in a clear and succinct narrative style accessible to a public audience (for example, using plain language, avoiding jargon)
• omit individual staff and contractor names, for privacy reasons
• contain minimal spelling and grammatical errors
• include a school logo.

Each year the department quality assures a random sample of Annual Reports to ensure they include the required elements and meet quality standards. Further guidance on this process can be found in the Quality assurance chapter.

‘School context’ section (approximately 300 words)

This section provides a clear and simple overview of key information about the school, including the following information:

• the school’s vision and values
• school size and structure, including the number of staff
• geographic location
• social and enrolment characteristics
• any other notable features of the school (can be elaborated on in upcoming sections).

‘Progress towards strategic goals, student outcomes, and student engagement’ section (approximately 900 words)

This section presents highlights related to the school’s progress towards the goals, strategies and student outcomes outlined in the School Strategic Plan (SSP) and Annual Implementation Plan (AIP).

This section provides context for the school community to easily interpret the data featured in the performance summary component of the Annual Report. There are subsections for Learning, Wellbeing and Engagement.

To complete the Learning subsection, schools:

• must outline how the school progressed their goals and supported improvement in student learning outcomes
• are encouraged to include 2 to 4 highlights related to learning
• are encouraged to reference learning data from the performance summary (or other sources as appropriate) to illustrate highlights, where appropriate.

To complete the Wellbeing subsection, schools:

• must outline how the school progressed their goals and supported improvement in student wellbeing outcomes
• are encouraged to include 2 to 4 highlights related to wellbeing
• are encouraged to reference wellbeing data from the performance summary (or other sources as appropriate) to illustrate highlights, where appropriate.

To complete the Engagement subsection, schools:

• must include commentary analysing student attendance, as this is required under the VRQA’s Guidelines to the Minimum Standards and requirements for school registration
• are encouraged to outline 2 to 4 highlights related to engagement, which is a key enabler of both student learning and wellbeing, in line with the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) 2.0
• can also reference other activities related to attendance and retention, student voice and agency, or extracurricular activities and events that supported engagement.

Optional ‘Other highlights from the school year’ section (approximately 200 words)

This section is optional, and provides an opportunity for schools to share other highlights from the school year that may not fit in the learning, wellbeing, or engagement sections.

When completing this optional section, schools could consider significant activities or highlights that brought benefits to their school, students, or local community, focusing on those that they are most proud to share with their community.

For example, schools may choose to comment on:

• school camps and excursions
• school productions
• whole school events and celebrations
• sporting achievements
• activities undertaken as part of community partnerships or school grants
• environmental programs.

To maintain student confidentiality do not include the number of students in any category, if less than 5 or the equivalent percentage. If referring to an achievement involving a small number of students use phrases such as ‘a number of students’ or ‘several students’ instead of the exact number.

Note: If schools choose not to complete this optional section, it will not appear on their Annual Report.

‘Financial performance’ section (approximately 150 words)

This section of the ‘About our school’ commentary outlines the school’s financial position at the conclusion of the previous year. It supports the school community to understand the financial data available through the performance summary.

When completing this section, schools must:

• provide an explanation of the school's overall financial position
• identify any extraordinary revenue or expenditure items
• detail any contracts, agreements or arrangements entered into by the school council
• explain the sources of funding the school received, for example, equity funding, special grants or fundraising initiatives, as well as details of any additional state or Australian Government funding the school received beyond the School Resource Package.