Data Collection and Surveys

Policy

This policy explains Department data collection from schools to meet reporting and other obligations. This policy also explains requirements for schools to participate in specific surveys.

Summary

• Schools must update student and school data in CASES21 or other Department platforms as required by the Department.
• Data is extracted from CASES21 as required by the Department for reporting purposes.
• Schools must participate in the Department’s annual student, parent/caregiver/guardian and staff opinion surveys to generate data for School Performance Reporting and standardised reporting to the school community.
• Schools with children in Prep are expected to participate in the Australian Early Development Census in 2021.
• Schools are notified through the School Update when they are required to submit data and complete surveys.

Details

Overview

The Department requests schools to provide school-level data annually or from time to time:

• to provide program implementation or evaluation information
• for system reporting.

Due dates, login details and instructions for completing data collections including surveys are provided through the School Update.

Key data extractions, data collections and surveys are listed below. The Department may initiate additional collections or surveys from time to time.

Data extracted by the Department from CASES21

The Department extracts data from CASES21 for:

Student attendance and absences

• For data entry requirements refer to Attendance Guidelines Chapter 5 Requirements for Attendance.
• If using third party software for attendance, data must be imported to CASES21 at least monthly.

Teacher judgement of student achievement

For due dates and instructions refer to Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to Year 10.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) – students with a disability

Must be entered by the first Friday in August. For detailed guidance on the NCCD process refer to Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability.

Year 9 to 12 exit destinations data

Must be uploaded by the end of the second week in March.

Data collections completed by schools

Principal Survey

• Conducted each term
• Covers 15 to 20 topical areas spread across the year on aspects of program implementation or monitoring
• Differentiation based on school-type
• Replaces the previous Supplementary Census

Australian Early Development Census

• Schools to complete between 3 May 2021 and 30 July 2021 (view AEDC calendar)
• Completed by classroom teachers for each child in Prep, and the child does not need to be present
• Takes approximately 13 minutes per child (20 minutes of CRT reimbursement is provided)

Surveys undertaken in schools

Participation in annual student, parent/caregiver/guardian and staff opinion surveys helps schools and the Department plan, monitor and evaluate school improvement initiatives. The surveys are aligned with the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes and reflect current research and evidence about what matters most to improve student outcomes.

The Department may change these surveys or introduce new surveys for all schools, or a subset of schools, to further enhance system or school reporting.

Information for schools about each survey relevant for the current year is provided in the Guidance tab.

The Department provides a standard survey instrument for schools (with differentiation for various participant characteristics), provides access to a secure online survey platform and reports survey results to schools.

Student Attitudes to School Survey

• Conducted annually in Term 2
• All students in Years 4 to 12 are invited to participate.
• Differentiated versions of the survey provided for year level groups and for students with cognitive impairment
• Schools facilitate collection with students during school time
• Survey provider contacts all schools late in Term 1 with information and instructions for facilitating the survey with students

Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey

• Conducted annually in Term 3
• Schools invite a random sample of parents/caregivers/guardians to complete the survey
• Some differentiation based on school type
• Survey provider contacts all schools late in Term 2 with information and instructions for distributing the survey to parents
• Schools distribute the survey link to parents

School Staff Survey

• Conducted annually in Term 3
• All staff, teaching and non-teaching are invited to participate. Individual staff participation is voluntary
• Survey is differentiated based on role classification (principal, teacher, education support) and whether staff spend time in the classroom.
• Survey provider contacts principals in Term 2 with information and instructions about customising the survey for staff in their school
• Survey provider contacts staff directly to provide a link to complete the survey

Related policies

• Annual Report to the School Community
• Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability
• Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to Year 10
• School Performance Reporting and Data
• Student Enrolment Census

Guidance

Dates that surveys will be available each year are published in the Key dates for schools calendar (staff login required).

This guidance contains the following chapters:

• Attitudes to School Survey
• Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey

Guidance for how to complete the Australian Early Development Census in 2021 is provided by the national data collection agency, Social Research Centre. Schools receive physical information packs and emails to support participation.

Attitudes to School Survey

For 2023, the Attitudes to School Survey will be offered to students to complete online from 1 May to 9 June 2023.

ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has been contracted by the department to administer the online collection of the Attitudes to School Survey. ORIMA Research will contact schools with instructions on administering the survey. They will also provide support for schools throughout the survey period via a telephone helpline and email support.

All schools are expected to participate in the 2023 Attitudes to School Survey, providing the opportunity for students from Year 4 to Year 12 to complete the survey.

Survey administration

• Schools will be emailed a link to the secure survey portal from ORIMA Research ahead of the survey collection period.
• The link will provide access to a secure administration site for each school on the survey portal and will include resources schools need to participate in the survey including template communications to parents and students.
• To participate, schools will nominate an administrator to interact with the survey portal on behalf of the school.
• The administrator's role is to download the student log-in details for the school from the portal.
• Administrators will be supported by ORIMA Research through a telephone and email helpline, as well as detailed step by step guides.

Survey preparation

• A unique survey log-in will be generated for each student at the school for Years 4 to 12.
• The school survey administrator will download the student log-in list from the secure portal and provide teachers with the log-in details for their students and the link to the secure portal.
• Schools schedule survey sessions for all students to complete the survey in class time during the survey collection period.

Survey completion at schools — on-site learning

• The supervising teacher will provide the class with the survey link.
• The supervising teacher will give each participating student their survey log-in.
• Students log-in to the secure site and complete the survey online.

School results

Schools will access their 2023 survey results from the secure survey portal following the end of the survey collection period.

School support

ORIMA Research will provide support for schools throughout the survey period through a telephone helpline and an email support option. Details will be provided to schools when they are invited to the survey.

Schools are also encouraged to use their health and wellbeing coordinators to provide support to students, if needed. For advice and support for student health and wellbeing, please contact your regional office.

Communication to parents and students

Principals must ensure that the school community are notified about the survey prior to commencement and that participation is voluntary.

Sample text for parent and/or the school newsletter and an information letter for parents will be provided in the survey administration portal.

The survey questions and framework for 2023 will be available from the start of Term 2, to distribute to parents and caregivers to facilitate the consent process.

Get advice

If you have queries please email: school.surveys@education.vic.gov.au

Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey

ORIMA Research Pty Ltd has been contracted by the department to administer the online collection of the Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey in 2022 from 15 August to 16 September.

Participation in the Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey Schools will use the same secure survey portal from ORIMA Research as for Attitudes to School Survey. ORIMA Research will email login details again to all schools ahead of the survey collection period.

Survey administration

• The survey administrator downloads the school’s survey link and PIN from ORIMA Research portal page and distributes to parents/caregivers/guardians.
• Parents log-in to the secure site from any compatible device and complete the survey online.
• The online survey is available in English, Arabic, Mandarin, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Vietnamese, Japanese, Greek, Turkish, Somali and Punjabi. Parents select their preferred language when they commence the survey.
• Additional survey language guides available in Albanian, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese, Dari, Dinka, Filipino, Greek, Gujarati, Indonesian, Japanese, Karen, Khmer, Korean, Macedonian, Malayalam, Pashto, Persian, Russian, Samoan, Serbian, Sinhalese, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Telugu or Urdu via ORIMA Research portal page.

Survey preparation

• Schools can invite all parents to complete the survey via a generic survey link. The school survey link is available in the survey portal.
• Schools advise parents of the upcoming survey via school bulletin or newsletter.
• A random sample of parents in the school or unique survey links or both can be generated if a school prefers. Instructions to generate a random sample and unique survey links are provided on the ORIMA Survey portal.
• Schools requiring language guides in additional languages should request them by email: school.surveys@education.vic.gov.au

School results

Schools will access their 2022 survey results from the secure survey portal following the end of the survey collection period.

School support

ORIMA Research will provide support for schools throughout the survey period through a telephone helpline and an email support option. Details will be provided to schools ahead of the survey collection period.

Get advice

If you have queries, please email: school.surveys@education.vic.gov.au

Resources

School-based surveys

Accessing school-based surveys

Login details will be emailed to each school for access to the ORIMA survey administration portal.

What are the questions in the surveys?

The following documents list all the questions asked in the surveys and are updated ahead of the collection each year:

• Attitudes to School Survey framework (DOCX)
• Attitudes to School Survey framework (PDF)
• Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey framework (DOCX)
• Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey framework (PDF)
• School Staff Survey framework (DOCX)
• School Staff Survey framework (PDF)
• About You Survey framework (DOCX) – health and wellbeing survey offered to secondary students in 2018 and 2019
• About You Survey framework (PDF)

Interpreting results of school-based surveys

Results Support for Schools (DOCX) (staff login required) – provides guidance to understand the results of the Attitudes to School Survey and Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey at an individual school level. This also includes practical approaches to support the school improvement cycle across the survey domains.

Australian Early Development Census

Data from previous years, including case studies and data visualisations at a local level, can be found on the Victorian AEDC website.

Schools will receive a School Report following the data collection.

For further enquiries, contact Cathie Nolan, AEDC Victorian Coordinator, via:

• phone: 03 9651 3539
• email: Catherine.Nolan@education.vic.gov.au

How can I see my school’s results?

• Principals – login to Panorama
• Other school staff – speak to your school principal