Life Skills GO and Aligning to the NSW School Excellence Framework

By Rydr Tracy

Published 25 September 2024 19.19 PM

When I was in every position in a school, my biggest enemy was time. I had three lists I carried with me, the things I had to do today, the things I needed to do by the end of the week and the things I wanted to do. Unfortunately, by the time I finished the things I had to do today, it was already tomorrow, and my list had filled back up. I am fortunate now to be in a position where I can focus on some of the things I always wanted to do, specifically, think deeply about whole school processes for that support the wellbeing of all students.

On the back of last weeks blog, “What does excelling in wellbeing look like?”, I have been asked to more explicitly unpack how Life Skills GO supports schools align with version 3 of the NSW School Excellence Framework.  

SEF version 2 and SEF version 3 have the same statement of excellence for the element Wellbeing, “In schools that excel, there is a strategic and planned approach to develop whole school wellbeing processes that support the wellbeing of all students so they can connect, succeed, thrive and learn”. They also have the same elements; Caring for students, A planned approach to inclusion and wellbeing, Individual learning needs, Behaviour. The major differences come in the definition of excelling in each of these themes.  

 

A quick summary: 

Theme 

SEF version 2 (Excelling) 

SEF Version 3 (Excelling) 

Caring for students 

The school is organised so that all students have regular opportunities to meet with an identified staff member who can provide advice, support and assistance to help students fulfil their potential. 

Staff are equipped and supported with the knowledge and skills to understand the diverse wellbeing needs of students. Embedded processes are in place to ensure that all students feel empowered and can access staff members for guidance, support and assistance. 

A planned approach to inclusion and wellbeing 

The school has implemented evidence based change to whole school practices, resulting in measurable improvements in wellbeing and engagement to support learning 

There is an embedded school-wide and data-informed approach to support student and staff wellbeing. Student voice and agency is used to inform and refine practices and processes which are responsive and proactive in meeting emerging needs. 

 

Individual learning needs 

There is school-wide, collective responsibility for student learning and success, which is shared by parents and students. Planning for learning is informed by sound holistic information about each student’s wellbeing and learning needs in consultation with parents/carers. 

A school-wide, collective responsibility for student learning and success is shared among students, parents/carers, and staff. Planning for learning is informed by robust and holistic information about students’ wellbeing and learning needs, developed in consultation with parents/carers where appropriate. 

 

Behaviour 

Positive, respectful relationships are evident and widespread among students and staff and promote student wellbeing to ensure optimum conditions for student learning across the whole school. 

Positive and respectful relationships are evident throughout the school community, promoting student wellbeing and creating an optimal environment for learning across the school. As a result, maximised learning time is a focus in every classroom. 

 

 

So, the question asked was, How does Life Skills GO help a school align with SEF version 3. The following table provides a very high-level snapshot: 

Theme 

How does Life Skills GO help: 

Caring for students 

Students are empowered through regular check-ins and the introduction of student journals 

Staff are equipped with knowledge of student wellbeing needs and curriculum aligned resources to support them at their point of need based on real time insights. 

Daily insights, weekly reporting and executive dashboards provide the resources required for embedding whole school processes.  

A planned approach to inclusion and wellbeing 

Integration with School Bytes and Sentral allows for a school wide data informed approach to wellbeing, including the triangulation of attendance, behaviour, student emotions and readiness to learn 

Analysis of school wide patterns and trends ensuring that insights are surfaced daily, weekly and periodically 

Student emotions are lead indicators of behaviour incidents and absenteeism, schools using Life Skills GO can be proactive in wellbeing intervention rather than responsive 

Individual learning needs 

Integration with School Bytes and Sentral allows for easy data collection and low touch, high yield information about individual students in real time 

Life skills GO data can be used to inform robust, holistic information about student learning needs. The Readiness to learn measure for every student, class stage and school enables responsibility for learning to be distributed across all stakeholders. 

Individual learner profiles are provided, in schools that excel these are used to strengthen partnerships with parents/carers in optimising learning 

Behaviour 

Positive and respectful relationships are evidenced by conversations starting with student voice inviting partnerships with school communities. 

Real time data allows for real time problem solving and experimentation to find optimal environments for learning. 

Readiness to learn can be mapped through a school week to ascertain optimum learning time and deliver key learning outcomes at times they are most likely to be successful. 

 

 

Here is an example of a schools evidencing their alignment as ‘Excelling’ against the theme Caring for Students: 

 

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In this blog, I've provided some high-level alignment and responses. For a more in-depth explanation, join us for our upcoming webinar, School Bytes and Life Skills GO are Transforming Schools: Streamlining Wellbeing, Data, and Student Voice – How This Integration Is Doing the Heavy Lifting for SEF 3, where you'll gain insights into aligning school plans with the SEF. We're also excited to announce our FREE upcoming event, the Unlock Whole-School Wellbeing & Data-Driven Success Conference. Attendees will discover practical solutions for streamlining wellbeing data management—covering attendance, behaviour, emotions, and readiness to learn—tailored to enhance the systems and processes of NSW Department of Education schools, and aligned with SEF, school planning, and annual reporting requirements. Contact us at 1300 889 028 or visit www.lifeskillsgroup.com.au for more information. 

 

[ Rydr Tracy is the Head of Education at Life Skills Group and former Director Strategic Priorities at CESE. He is a specialist in evidence-informed practice in educational innovation, with a career focus on strategic change that improves student outcomes. He draws on a rare blend of successful experience in schools, system leadership roles and industry practice – experience that has given him deep understanding of the complexities of the education sector from the classroom to the boardroom and a demonstrated capacity to generate practical recommendations that are grounded in context and evidence. ]

Want to find out how Life Skills GO can help your school understand and achieve your wellbeing goals?

 


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Start collecting valuable, student driven data with Life Skills GOan easy-to-use emotion and wellbeing data collection tool, designed in collaboration with educators, that measures student readiness to learn, and is supported with a comprehensive library of evidence-based and curriculum aligned resources and adaptive lessons to foster wellbeing and social and emotional literacy.

 


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About Life Skills Group

Our mission is to globally empower educators to prioritise, support and measure the development of social, emotional and physical literacy for our next generation of leaders. We provide curriculum-aligned, evidence-based and measurable social, emotional and physical education solutions which enable children to thrive in their academic, personal and professional lives.

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