Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0)

Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (2015 to 2021)

A key Education State reform initiative, the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO) was introduced in 2015 for all Victorian government schools to focus schools’ improvement efforts on improvement priorities shown to have the greatest impact on student outcomes.

Guidance and resources for the original FISO (2015 to 2021) will continue to be available in this chapter for reference to upcoming scheduled school reviews. As newly developed guidance and resources are published and updated on the PAL, older resources will be retired (end of Term 1, 2022).

FISO (2015 to 2021) original implementation guides

The 6 FISO Implementation Guides help schools use the FISO Improvement Cycle to translate their improvement strategies into the everyday work of staff:

• Building Communities (PDF)
• Building Communities (DOCX)
• Building Practice Excellence (PDF)
• Building Practice Excellence (DOCX)
• Curriculum Planning and Assessment (PDF)
• Curriculum Planning and Assessment (DOCX)
• Empowering Students and Building School Pride (PDF)
• Empowering Students and Building School Pride (DOCX)
• Health and Wellbeing (PDF)
• Health and Wellbeing (DOCX)
• Setting Expectations and Promoting Inclusion (PDF)
• Setting Expectations and Promoting Inclusion (DOCX)

2021 advice to schools on how to use the guides (PPTX) (staff login required)

Implementation toolkit

The guides contain suggested actions at different stages of the improvement cycle. The following templates are available to download separately to support schools to undertake these actions with their staff:

• Assessing readiness (evaluate and diagnose)
  • Building Communities
  • Building practice excellence
  • Curriculum planning and assessment
  • Empowering students and building school pride
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Setting expectations and promoting inclusion
• Making sense of data and evidence (evaluate and diagnose)
• Identifying where efforts will be prioritised (prioritise and set goals)
• Creating a theory of action (develop and plan)
• Mapping possible actions (develop and plan)
• Identifying how actions will be monitored (implement and monitor)

The Strategic Enablers for Implementation Guide

Achieving school improvement goals will depend on effective implementation, which requires several enablers working together to mitigate challenges and support continuous learning. This new guide outlines 4 key enablers that cut across and support improvement strategies and actions.

The guide supports schools to reflect on and strengthen the 4 key enablers. They build off the Essential Elements, which are pre-conditions to implementation, and should be in place as foundations for school improvement.

The 4 strategic enablers are:

1. Self-evaluation capability throughout a school
2. Real-time data for monitoring implementation
3. Leadership capability for school improvement
4. Robust implementation structures

Each of these may already be an effective enabler in your school. One or more may warrant more attention to maximise success.

• FISO Strategic Enablers for Implementation Guide (PDF)
• FISO Strategic Enablers for Implementation Guide (DOCX)

Building leadership capabilities

Leadership forms the basis for school improvement and is a vital enabler of successful implementation to drive enhanced student outcomes.

Co-written with the Bastow Institute for Educational Leadership, the Building Leadership Capabilities Guide (PDF) helps schools to identify and strengthen leadership capabilities to improve student outcomes.

This guide can support schools to use the improvement cycle to implement improvement initiatives, for example as part of the school review process, for annual planning and monitoring or as part of professional learning communities/teams (PLCs/PLTs) inquiry cycles.