Guidance
Integrating senior secondary pathways into School Strategic Plans and Annual Implementation Plans
As part of the school improvement cycle, school leaders may decide to include senior secondary pathways in their School Strategic Plan (SSP) or Annual Implementation Plan (AIP).
To support schools in doing this, the following guidance provides:
- sources of evidence to help review progress and assess student outcomes (for schools participating in a school review or reviewing their annual performance)
- example goals, targets, key improvement strategies (KIS) and AIP actions (for school leaders developing the SSP or AIP).
Examples are aligned with the FISO 2.0 Illustrations of practice and draw on actions and strategies from the VCAA VCE Vocational Major and VPC Implementation Continua of (at the bottom of the webpage) and successful practices shared by schools.
A printable version of the guidance can be found on the Resources tab. Refer to: Support with School Strategic Plans and Annual Implementation Plans (DOCX) (staff login .
This guidance continues with the following chapters:
Sources of evidence for pre-review self-evaluation
The first step of the FISO improvement cycle is to evaluate and diagnose areas for improvement. The following are some useful sources of evidence related to the senior secondary pathways.
Key sources of evidence
Certificate enrolments, completions and achievement
- Enrolments in the VCE, VCE Vocational Major (VM) and Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) (source: Panorama )
- Completions (source: Panorama )
- Median VCE Study Scores (source: Panorama )
- Percentage of Vocational Education and Training (VET) units of competency completed (source: Senior Secondary Completion and Achievement )
Post-school destinations
- Exit destinations from Year 12 (source: Panorama )
Attendance, absences, exemptions, retention, early exit, risk of leaving school early
- Attendance (source: Panorama )
- Absences (source: Panorama )
- Exemptions (source: schools’ own records)
- Retention (source: Panorama )
- Students at risk of early leaving (source: Panorama Home )
- Early exit destinations from Years 9 to 11 (source: Panorama )
- Early exit destinations from Year 12 (source: Panorama )
VET, school-based apprenticeships and traineeships and career education
- VET enrolments (source: Senior Secondary Completion and Achievement , school’s own records or your VASS administrator)
- School-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBATs) commencements (source: school’s Head Start hub or Jobs, Skills and Pathways Manager)
- Student participation in work experience and structured workplace learning (source: school’s Work Based Learning App)
- Career education insights, such as:
- number of students with completed career action
- content of students’ career action plans
- participation in the My Career (Morrisby) online diagnostic and career counselling session (source: school Career Practitioner, My Career Insights School Report)
Other data
- Attitudes to School Survey (AtoSS) factors (particularly Transition to adult life) (source: Panorama )
- Parent/Guardian/Caregiver Opinion Survey factors (for example, positive transitions) (source: Panorama )
- School Staff Survey factors (for example, focus learning on real-life problems, parent and community involvement) (source: Panorama )
When drawing on evidence from Panorama, most reports provide options to view results by various student characteristics, including gender, Aboriginal status, disadvantage status and EAL status.
For an overview of measures and data sources to assist schools when conducting their pre-review self-evaluation, refer to: Understanding secondary outcomes (DOCX) (staff login and for detailed step-by-step guidance about where to find data and example questions to explore, refer to: Step-by-step guide to secondary data (PPTX) (staff login .
Example questions to help make sense of the data
- What are the trends for student outcomes (for example, certificate completions, exemptions, retention and/or exit destinations) for our students enrolled in the VCE, VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) and the Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC)?
- Where are our early exit students going? Where could we adjust our offering to better meet students’ needs?
- What are the trends in our Year 12 students’ post-school destinations, and do we need to adjust our learning programs to better prepare them for these destinations?
- How are exits to unemployment or unknown destinations trending over time?
- How are destinations for exempted students trending over time?
- What are the trends in our priority cohort students’ outcomes (for example, certificate completions, exemptions, retention and/or exit destinations)? Does this indicate we might need to provide more targeted support to any of these students?
- What are our career education insights telling us about which learning programs we need to provide for our students?
Other tools available to support your self-evaluation activities
Schools can also engage students and families/carers in the evaluation process to hear how they experience the school’s vocational and applied learning programs and preparation for post-school life.
Examples for School Strategic Plans and Annual Implementation Plans
In line with FISO 2.0, all schools should develop a learning goal and a wellbeing goal as part of their School Strategic Plan (SSP).
Schools can select or adapt the example SSP goal, targets, key improvement strategies (KIS) and Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) actions and tasks below as appropriate to their context.
Examples for School Strategic Plans
The recommendation is to develop 2 to 4 targets and 2 to 4 key improvement strategies for each goal.
Example 1
Goal: Improve student learning outcomes.
Targets (2 to 4 targets for each goal):
- By 2030, increase completion rates for the VCE (including VCE VM) and VPC from X% to Y%.
- By 2030, increase the percentage of post Year 12 exits into full-time further education, training and/or employment (ideally, the employment includes further training or qualifications) from X% to Y%.
Key improvement strategy (2 to 4 KIS for each goal): Strengthen the implementation of the VCE Vocational Major (VM) and Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) to improve students’ post-school pathways.
Example 2
Goal: Improve student wellbeing outcomes.
Targets (2 to 4 targets for each goal):
- By 2030, increase the retention rate for [X year level] from X% to Y% (Year 7 to 12, or as relevant for your school).
- By 2030, increase the percentage of positive responses to the Attitudes to School Survey factor ‘School Stage Transitions (Year 10 to 12)’ from X% to Y%.
- By 2030, decrease the percentage of student exemptions and/or early exits into post-school destinations of 'unemployment' and 'unknown' from X% to Y%.
Key improvement strategy (2 to 4 KIS for each goal):
- Strengthen the whole-school approach to career education to ensure there is equitable access to guidance and resources that support all students’ post-school opportunities.
- Develop and embed an inclusive school culture to ensure all post-school destinations chosen by students are equally valued.
Examples for Annual Implementation Plans
School leaders can adapt the AIP actions and tasks below as appropriate for their context, with consideration of how these align with the key improvement strategies (KIS) articulated in their SSP. Schools develop one or 2 actions for each KIS selected for focus in that school year, and up to 6 tasks per KIS.
The example actions and tasks below are also available in Example careers and pathways practices for school improvement (DOCX) (staff login for ease of use.
Example 1
SSP goal: To improve student learning outcomes.
Key improvement strategy: Strengthen the implementation of the VCE Vocational Major (VM) and Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) to improve students’ post-school pathways.
Actions (1 to 2 actions for each KIS):
- Improve the quality of the VCE VM and VPC curriculum and consistency of curriculum implementation.
- Develop greater awareness and access to a wider range of vocational learning opportunities for students.
Evidence of change (up to 5 key changes expected to occur across the year if the action is achieved):
- Students report increased awareness and understanding of available work-related learning opportunities as compared to the previous baseline.
- The number of enrolments in VCE, VCE VM, VPC and VET, as well as in school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SBAT) training contracts matches the school’s records of student need and demand (for example, student pathway preferences, subject selections and VET enrolments).
- The number of students completing a work experience or Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) placement matches the school’s records of student need and demand (for example, VET, SBAT and SWL enrolments).
- The number of students identified as being at risk of leaving school early (including those identified through the Panorama ‘staying in education’ dashboard) has decreased from the previous year’s baseline.
- The certificate completion rates for the VCE VM and the VPC have increased from the previous year’s baseline.
Tasks (up to 6 key tasks necessary to complete the action):
- Review student pathway data across Years 7 to 12 (including My Career Insights (Morrisby), subject selections, VET/SBAT participation) to identify trends and inform curriculum planning.
- Review and adjust timetabling to ensure students accessing vocational and work-based learning, such as VET, SBATs and SWL, have appropriate flexibility.
- Coordinate with the VET Cluster to secure student placements, expand certificate options, and schedule regular planning meetings to ensure timely enrolments.
- Engage with the local Head Start hub to maximise SBAT opportunities for students.
Example 2
SSP goal: To improve student wellbeing outcomes.
Key improvement strategy: Strengthen the whole-school approach to career education to ensure there is equitable access to guidance and resources that support all students’ post-school opportunities.
Actions (1 to 2 actions for each KIS):
- Improve awareness of career education and pathways to post-secondary destinations.
- Develop and implement a whole-school plan for career education.
Evidence of change (up to 5 key changes expected to occur across the year if the action is achieved):
- Leadership structures and meeting records demonstrate that appointed career education leaders and Career Practitioners are actively engaged in decision-making, planning, and implementation processes, as shown by their contributions, responsibilities, and follow-up actions.
- Career education activities are scheduled to align with key decision points for students, and resources are centrally located and accessible to staff and students.
- Student feedback and Attitudes to School Survey data show improved confidence and preparedness for post-school pathways, compared to the previous year’s baseline.
- The whole-school career education plan is developed, endorsed by leadership, and communicated to staff, with responsibilities clearly allocated.
- Curriculum documentation reflects updated career education activities embedded across relevant year levels.
Tasks (up to 6 key tasks necessary to complete the action):
- Gather and analyse data from the ‘school stage transitions’ module of the Attitudes to School Survey and use insights to inform targeted communication and support strategies.
- Audit and relocate careers and pathways resources to a central, visible location for students and staff.
- Designate a school leader responsible for career and pathways education and establish regular opportunities for collaboration between leadership, wellbeing, and pathways teams to align strategies and supports.
- Careers and pathways education leaders work with year level leaders to use the Career Education Planning and Improvement Tool to assess current provision and identify areas for improvement for selected benchmarks.
- Review and update the timing and delivery of career education activities within the curriculum, ensuring responsibilities are allocated and adjustments align with student decision points.
Example 3
SSP goal: To improve student wellbeing outcomes.
Key improvement strategy: Develop and embed an inclusive school culture to ensure all post-school destinations chosen by students are equally valued.
Actions (one to two actions for each KIS):
- Develop and implement a communication plan that promotes all senior secondary pathways and post-school destinations equally.
Evidence of change (up to 5 key changes expected to occur across the year if the action is achieved):
- School communication materials and event agendas have been updated to ensure equal promotion and celebration of student achievements across all pathways, verified through audits of newsletters, websites, and information sessions.
- Feedback from students and families indicates improved awareness and perceived value of all pathways, collected through surveys.
- A shared vision for multiple pathways (VCE, VCE VM, VPC) has been documented and communicated to staff, students, and families.
Tasks (up to 6 key tasks necessary to complete the action):
- Review current communication practices about secondary pathways and post-school destinations.
- Develop an approach to collaborate with staff, students and the school community to create a shared vision for multiple pathways, including VCE, VCE VM and VPC.
- Update communication materials so that all pathways are represented equally across school events and communication channels.
- Engage with VET providers, the VET Cluster, employers and Head Start to identify and recognise student achievements in pathways such as VET, SWL and SBATs that often take place off school grounds.
Other measures of progress and impact
These other example measures of progress and impact might be relevant to the tasks that schools choose.
VET
- Increased number of certificates our students have access to from each of the government’s priority industry (source: school’s own records)
- Increased number of certificates our students have access to from other industry areas with local demand or student interest (source: school’s own records)
School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBATs)
- Increased proportion of SBAT students retained in training contracts 12 months post-commencement (source: school’s own records)
- Increased proportion of SBAT students progressing from Year 10 to 11, Year 11 to 12, and Year 12 to successful certificate completion (source: school’s own records)
- Decreased proportion of SBAT students who exit school before completing Year 12 (source: school’s own records)
Career education, Structured Workplace Learning and work experience
- Increased proportion of students who feel prepared for and supported during and after their work experience placement (source: school’s Work Based Learning App)
- Increased proportion of students who agree that a work experience placement helped them understand more about what they want to do when they finish school (source: school’s Work Based Learning App)
Student attitudes to school (Student voice and agency)
- Increased percentage of student positive responses to questions about teacher-student relations (source: Panorama )
Teacher/trainer professional learning
- Increased proportion of staff delivering career education with a Graduate Certificate in Career Education/Career Development (source: school’s own records)
- Increased proportion of relevant school staff (for example, school leaders, VET teachers and trainers, and other relevant staff, such as VET coordinators) who have completed VET delivered to school students professional learning, such as Certificate IV Training and Assessment (source: school’s own records)
- Increased proportion of VET teachers and trainers who have been supported (for example, through time release) to participate and complete professional learning and industry currency activities (source: school’s own records)
Reviewed 01 April 2026