Principal's Message
For each of the past four years the College has conducted an annual Family Experience Survey as a way for parents to provide direct feedback to the school leadership on their experience engaging with the College. Initially this feedback was important in the development of the College’s 2021-23 Strategic Plan and, since then, the feedback continues to be vital in letting us know what we are doing well and where we can improve.
Some examples of where input from parents has led to a positive change across the College include:
- Reviewing our approach to teaching and learning, which resulted in the discontinuation of our affiliation with the International Baccalaureate
- A review of our Language program which resulted in the introduction of Auslan into the Junior School
- Providing additional resources to our student support services, including a second school psychologist and a school nurse, and
- Improved communication with parents about our learning program and their child’s progress through the introduction of additional parent-teacher conferences, the introduction of a Meet the Teachers evening in the Middle School and posting completed assignments and results online for parents to access.
In November last year, 201 individuals responded to the Family Experience Survey. This is an increase on the 133 responses the previous year. The survey itself is a range of statements about the respondents' experience with the College which they were asked to rate on a 5-point scale:
Strongly Disagree (1), Disagree (2), Neither Agree or Disagree (3), Agree (4) and Strongly Agree (5)
When using a 5-point scale such as this, a mean score above 3.5 can be considered to be a positive result.
The results of the survey, which is conducted by an external organisation, categorises the various questions in eight different dimensions. The results below indicate the overall mean for each of dimensions:
| Item | Topic | Result |
|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Academic Climate
|
3.58
|
|
2
|
Learning Environment
|
3.92
|
|
3
|
School Safety
|
3.86
|
|
4
|
Social Climate
|
3.82
|
|
5
|
School Climate
|
3.76
|
|
6
|
Facilities and Resources
|
4.15
|
|
7
|
Parent Involvement
|
3.68
|
|
8
|
Parent Satisfaction
|
3.68
|
Looking at the responses to individual statements, the five highest scoring were:
| Statement | Score |
|---|---|
|
Helena College has a positive and welcoming atmosphere
|
4.35
|
|
My child feels safe at Helena College
|
4.28
|
|
Helena College's facilities and grounds are clean and well maintained
|
4.21
|
|
Teachers care about their students at Helena College
|
4.20
|
|
My child has close connections with others at Helena College
|
4.17
|
The five lowest scoring statements were:
| Statement | Score |
|---|---|
|
Teachers at Helena College keep me informed about the social and emotional development of my child
|
3.12
|
|
My child's teachers explain how I can assist in my child's learning
|
3.29
|
|
Students at Helena College receive guidance in setting goals for the future
|
3.32
|
|
I receive timely information about my child's progress in addition to formal reports
|
3.35
|
|
The management of student behaviour is consistently enforced across Helena College
|
3.37
|
From an organisational point of view to have no statements across the survey with a mean score below three is a very pleasing result.
Parents were also given the opportunity to provide open-ended comments about what the school does well and where we can improve. The Executive team has read through all of the comments and identified some key trends. Perhaps the most important is that parents are seeking more information about their child and their academic progress and social development at school. As I mentioned previously, we have already implemented a number of strategies to improve communication with parents, including a more transparent approach to assessment and reporting and encouraging teachers to be more proactive in their communication with parents about events happening in their classrooms.
I would like to thank all those that completed the survey last year and hope that many will do so again when the survey comes out later this year. Of course, an annual survey is not the only way in which we can receive feedback. Parents are encouraged, at any time, to contact me or any member of the Executive team, or any other member of staff to share their thoughts.
