education.vic.gov.au

School operations

Annual Report to the School Community

Policy

This policy sets out the requirement for schools to develop an Annual Report to the School Community (Annual Report).

Summary

  • It is a legislative requirement that all Victorian government schools prepare an Annual Report by 30 April each year, for publication on the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority State Register.
  • The Annual Report must be completed and attested to by the principal and school council president in the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT)External Link , following endorsement by the school council.

Details

The Annual Report provides principals and school councils with an opportunity to share the year’s achievements and progress with the school community. This includes reflecting on the school’s performance and explaining the impact of school improvement efforts on student outcomes.

The preparation and publication of an Annual Report is a legislative and regulatory requirement for all schools under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic)External Link , Ministerial Order 1280External Link and the National Education Agreement 2008External Link . It reflects the Department of Education's commitment to building pride and confidence in our government schools and highlights the importance of transparent communication about school performance with our school communities.

Annual Reports are presented to the school community via a public meeting of the school council, and are published on the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) State RegisterExternal Link .

Preparing the Annual Report

The Annual Report must be completed and attested to by the principal and school council president in the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT)External Link , following endorsement by the school council.

The Annual Report is prepared in 2 parts:

  • a performance summary which details the school’s performance from the past year and trends across a 4-year period. The performance summary is downloadable via the Annual Report module of SPOT
  • the ‘About our school’ commentary which is prepared by the principal and outlines the achievements of the school in the previous year.

The Guidance tab includes advice for completing the Annual Report.

Exemptions from completing an Annual Report

All schools that were operating for the entire 2022 school year are required to complete an Annual Report for 2022.

Schools who commenced operations in 2022 are required to complete an Annual Report if they were operating for the entire school year.

The following schools are not required to prepare a 2022 Annual Report:

  • schools that closed in 2022
  • new schools in 2023, including those formed through a merger or de-merger
  • previous entities that formed part of merged or de-merged schools are considered as closed.

Guidance for non-compliant schools

Principals of schools that are not compliant with the Minimum Standards or Child Safe Standards cannot attest to the Annual Report. If you have been advised that your school is not compliant, or are concerned that this may be the case, please contact the department’s School Compliance Unit for support to become compliant, phone: 03 9084 8788 or email: school.compliance@education.vic.gov.au

Guidance for hub and annexe schools

Schools in hub and annexe arrangements must each have a stand-alone Annual Report, with endorsement by the respective school council and attestation by the school council president. When preparing to complete the Annual Report, principals of annexe schools should contact spot.support@education.vic.gov.au for technical assistance.

Relevant legislation

Department policy on the requirement for schools to develop an Annual Report to the school community

Reviewed 27 February 2023

Policy last updated

27 February 2023

Scope

  • Schools
  • School councils

Contact

Improvement Support Unit Performance Division

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