Geelong Grammar (Toorak Campus) caters for children from 3 years of age in the Early Learning Centre (ELC) and Prep to Year 6 students in the Primary School. 

We recently launched our Strategic Vision and Improvement Agenda (2016-2021) and this unique publication is the result of an extensive eight month collaborative process involving students, staff, parents and the wider community. 

The process commenced when I met with staff members to learn more about our history, culture and current status. 

The formal consultation process took place with teachers completing a self-assessment using The National Schools Improvement Tool. 

Our key strengths and areas for improvement emerged from this task and we cross-referenced our thinking by reviewing our Evaluation Report from the International Baccalaureate (IB). 

This external report provided us with broad information in relation to the PYP Standards and Practices. It identified areas for which we were commended and provided recommendations in other areas. The Toorak Campus Leadership Team looked at patterns and trends in student data over the last three years. 

Lastly all members of the school community including teachers, students and parents were surveyed and the results from these surveys provided valuable and insightful feedback that helped inform and mature our vision and agenda.

"Geelong Grammar (Toorak Campus) is on a wonderful journey to help every child develop their ‘Wings to Fly’."

We listened to key stakeholders, gathered feedback and sought different perspectives. We reflected on the current status, researched and investigated best practice and imagined and visualised what might be possible. Then, as a united staff, we brought all the ‘pieces’ together to form our collaborative and inspirational vision and agenda for the next generation of Toorak students.

This collaborative process reassured our community that we had listened to their feedback and it in turn provided our community with great confidence and inspired us all to work together to achieve great things. 

What essentially underpins this strategic vision and agenda is our strong belief that every child has unique ‘wings’, and that through an exceptional education these wings will grow, allowing each child to ‘soar’ in their own individual way for the rest of their lives.

Our highest priority is to strengthen the rich and diverse experiences a student is offered at Toorak Campus. We strive for a higher standard and more consistent process in the delivery of great teaching, and through these improvements ensure we continue to focus on the whole child, preparing them for the future and instilling in them a love of learning to last a life time.

I think it is crucial for schools to articulate their shared educational philosophy and pedagogical approach. It provides everyone with a great sense of confidence, transparency and belonging.

We are extremely proud of the collaborative and empowering process we undertook and we feel it has had a significant impact on the quality of teaching and learning throughout the school. Our experience and learning is now helping other schools take on a similar process.