Developing and refining outstanding teachers at St Catherine’s School is considered an integral part of our 20:20 Visionary statement and the School’s Strategic Intent. The School is committed to strengthening and enhancing teacher understanding of pedagogy to ensure they are able to deliver exceptional teaching.

The Staff Performance and Development Review was developed specifically for St Catherine’s School Teaching staff and draws heavily on the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Standards for Teachers and is informed by the work of Professor John Hattie at The University of Melbourne. Much of the approach of this review process is focused on a continuation of improving student learning and teaching in every classroom at St Catherine’s School, with the core belief that for a teacher or a student to improve, we need to observe what they do and provide feedback to help them to continue to improve and develop. This approach is also underpinned by a focus on student learning and a belief that this focus will always create meaningful development of our teachers.

Teachers participate in an Annual review process that aims to Appraise, Develop and Refine Teacher Practice. There are a total of nine methods of teacher review that Teaching staff must address over the three year cycle;
• Effective mentoring based on meaningful observation of teaching practice;
• Professional collaboration through peer observation and open dialogue;
• Using feedback from a variety of sources to inform pedagogy;
• Ensuring teachers access beneficial professional learning opportunities.

Over the last three years Teaching staff from ELC to Year 12 have undertaken cross staff learning and Professional Development, set and reviewed their goals relating to performance and development with the Principal and members of the Senior Leadership team. Some examples of Professional engagement and learning, saw teachers participate in a tri-pedagogical round. Three staff from ELC, Junior or Senior School formed a team where they met, set personalised teaching goals and participated in classroom lesson observations. Afterwards they meet to share feedback and practices to improve their teaching and student engagement.

Another example utilised by staff was to demonstrate and develop their skills in teaching with Technology, whereby they had to identify how their teaching is enhanced by the improved use of technology in lessons, student engagement, assessment and feedback.

In 2017, we are entering the next phase of our Performance and Development Review. This will focus on seven professional standards, requiring twelve forms of evidence over the next 3 years.
An example of evidence required in this phase of the Review process will give all Teaching staff the opportunity to undertake online classroom lesson observations. In turn, providing our teachers with invaluable feedback to enhance and maintain exceptional teaching practices. This is just one example of the ongoing investment our teachers are making to maintain their passion, skills and understanding of their roles.

The aim of this rigorous Performance and Review process is to ensure that St Catherine’s School maintains high standards to ensure we are enhancing outstanding and conscientious teachers with outstanding Professional Knowledge, Engagement and Practice.