2026 PARENT REVIEW

What we heard and what happens next

Principal’s Blog | Ross Patterson, Principal 

The 2026 Parent Review gives us a valuable picture of what families value about Scotch Oakburn College and where their experience needs to improve. There is much to celebrate, and there are areas that require our careful attention. 

Over recent weeks, I have found myself reflecting on two very different moments in the College journey. At one end, our Class of 2026 has farewelled the College as confident, connected young adults, ready for what comes next. At the other, I spent time with our Prep students as they explored sunflowers in Science, investigated patterns in Mathematics and ran proudly and confidently for their Houses alongside their Year 5 buddies. 

Those moments are separated by 12 years of schooling. The Parent Review helps us understand more about the experience families have along the way. 

The review at a glance

The 2026 Parent Review was conducted independently by MMG Education. I thank the 418 parents and caregivers who took part, representing a response rate of 53%. 

• 77% rated their child’s education at the College highly. 

• 86% said their expectations of the College had been met or exceeded. 

• MMG’s overall parent satisfaction scores were 74% for Prep to Year 5, 77% for Middle School and 80% for Senior School.

What parents value about Scotch Oakburn

Parents identified the Cultural Program, facilities and resources, reputation and community engagement as particular strengths. The Cultural Program and facilities and resources each recorded 81%, reputation 80% and community engagement 79%. 

In written comments, parents often described the value they place on community and belonging, strong relationships, excellent teachers, breadth of opportunity, and students being known and cared for. Student wellbeing, safety, care and happiness were also prominent themes. 

There are encouraging signs in academic achievement, too. Our Year 1 Phonics Checks, overall NAPLAN outcomes and the Class of 2025 Year 12 results were among our strongest in recent years. The Class of 2025 achieved a median ATAR of 89.95, with almost half of the cohort placed in the top 10% of the State. 

Where we need to improve

The review also makes clear that families’ experiences are not the same across the College. The Prep to Year 5 benchmark result of 74% is lower than the Middle and Senior School results, and we need to pay close attention to what families are telling us about those years. 

Parents asked us to keep strengthening: 

• consistency and personalisation in teaching and learning, including learning support, extension and differentiation 

• student wellbeing and our response to bullying and behavioural concerns, including communication and follow-up 

• communication and reporting, including the volume of messages, navigation of The Dash and clearer information about student progress 

• leadership visibility and connection, particularly in the Junior School 

• opportunities for parents to connect and be involved, especially during the Junior School years 

• understanding of the College’s strategic direction and how SOC2035 connects with students’ everyday experience. 

The Academic Program results reflect this mixed picture. Overall satisfaction with the Academic Program was 78%, rising to 82% in Senior School. At the same time, parents called for more consistency in teaching, stronger personalisation, earlier identification of learning needs, and clearer evidence that each student is appropriately supported and challenged. 

Both things can be true: there is excellent teaching and strong academic achievement across the College, and there are individual experiences and areas of practice that need to become more consistent. 

Listening to concerns about wellbeing

Seventy-nine per cent of parents agreed that the College provides a safe and caring environment. The written feedback also raised concerns about the consistency of our response, follow-up and communication when wellbeing or bullying issues arise. 

Percentages cannot tell the whole story when a child or family has experienced a concern. The quality and timeliness of our response matter, and we need to keep listening to families who feel we have not met the standard they expect. 

Understanding the feedback in context

Some parents raised concerns about staffing support and student–teacher ratios. The latest benchmarking available to the College shows that our teacher-to-student and Learning Assistant-to-student ratios remain more favourable than those of comparable schools, and are broadly in line with the ratios recorded in 2021. 

That college-wide data does not necessarily show how support feels to a particular student in a particular classroom. It is useful context, but it does not dismiss a family’s experience. We have two responsibilities: to deploy our resources where they will have the greatest impact on learning, and to explain more clearly what support is available to students and teachers. 

Survey feedback captures perception, and that perception matters. Where it points to a gap in our practice, we need to act. Where strong work or positive outcomes are not visible to families, we need to communicate more clearly. We should not explain away feedback simply because other evidence tells a different story. 

What we are doing

Our response has already begun. Since receiving the findings, we have: 

• launched Version 2 of the Staff Wellbeing Action Plan Working Party, continuing work to listen to and support staff 

• accepted 23 staff into the 2027 Internal Leadership Development Program 

• begun developing a 2027 Parent Education Series in response to requests for accessible information and support on relevant education, wellbeing and parenting topics 

• started exploring more volunteering and involvement opportunities for Junior School parents 

• renewed our focus on leadership visibility and presence across the College, including everyday conversations at gates, in classrooms and at College activities 

• started developing Elphin and Middle School Handbooks to explain our approaches, opportunities and supports more clearly 

• begun open teaching discussions through the Education and Academic team to share practice and strengthen professional dialogue 

• commenced an internal review of our Behaviour Support Framework, with updates planned ahead of the 2027 school year. 

This is not an exhaustive list, and initiatives alone are not the measure of success. What matters is whether students and families experience meaningful improvement. 

Continuing the journey together

Perhaps the most important message I take from the review is that Scotch Oakburn is a community with very high expectations of itself.

Parents told us that the quality of teaching is the most important factor in their choice of school, followed by student wellbeing, a balanced education, facilities and resources, and the atmosphere of the school. Those priorities reflect what a great school should offer: academic ambition, care, opportunity and a personal connection with each student. 

There is much to celebrate in the 2026 Parent Review, and there are areas where we must do better. The feedback from our Junior School families needs particular attention. We will take it seriously while continuing to recognise the excellent work taking place across the College every day. 

Between a Prep’s first days and a Year 12 student’s final walk through our gates are thousands of lessons, conversations, challenges, friendships, camps, performances, sporting contests, mistakes, successes and acts of kindness. That is the journey we are continually seeking to improve. 

Thank you to every parent and caregiver who took the time to contribute. Your encouragement is valued, your constructive challenge matters, and we need to hear when your experience has not met the standard you rightly expect from Scotch Oakburn. 

Our responsibility is to listen carefully, act thoughtfully and keep working together so every student is known, valued, cared for, challenged and prepared for what comes next.  

Ross Patterson
Principal