SOC2035 – 12 Month update

SOC2035 – 12 Months into an aspirational 15-year Strategic Vision

In January 2021, after community consultation, research and ‘outside the square’ thinking, Scotch Oakburn College launched SOC2035, the College’s ambitious 15-year Strategic Vision. Throughout the 18-month creation process of SOC2035, the College Executive and Board of Directors were determined that this vision for the College’s future would provide on-going direction for the allocation of resources and never sit idle on a shelf, gathering dust. To ensure that occurs, the Board of Directors receives quarterly updates on the progress of the current projects, each aligned to one or more of the four Strands of SOC2035: Learning; Wellbeing; Community; Capacity.

As the Vision was developing, various opportunities arose for Executive and staff to become involved in future-focused projects that aligned with SOC2035. Consequently, the various projects currently in action each have their own timeframe and are at various stages of completion. However, some, such as our College-wide Wellbeing program, may never be ‘finished’ as the needs of our students will constantly change in response to the effects of the many personal and societal influences on their lives, some of which are beyond our control.

Each of the projects and programs identified below are allocated to a particular Strand; however, the four Strands of SOC2035 are inextricably linked and so many of the projects and programs that are currently being actioned will have elements that fit across more than one Strand. This is most obvious in the Learning and Wellbeing Strands, which is not surprising given the College’s commitment to providing a holistic education, catering for the social, emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual development of our young people, each element having an impact on the other four.

The following outlines the SOC2035 Strand projects that staff are invested in to meet the aspirational vision of SOC2035.

LEARNING

■ Learner Attributes: 10 transferable character traits or skills that enable students to maximise their learning.
■ Learner Profile: a holistic representation of the knowledge, skills, attributes and values that each learner has developed and brings to their current and future workplace, institution and communities.
■ Student Agency: the evolution of programs such as STEAM in Year 10, EY8, and Passion Projects, where students engage in areas of interest that they are passionate about to meet pre-determined learning outcomes.
■ Performing Arts: the commencement of the 5-year Performing Arts Masterplan providing more opportunities for our students, staff and the community to be engaged. The initial stage
was the opening of the redeveloped Performing Arts Centre and s.p.a.c.e. Gallery.
■ Data-informed Teaching and Learning: teachers using a ‘dashboard’ of specific student data to better inform their teaching in order to maximise the progression of each student’s learning.
■ Learning EDGE: the review and evolution of the existing staff professional development program, Learning EDGE, to ensure continual professional growth.
■ Professional Learning Teams: all teachers will be allocated time to meet as a member of a Professional Learning Team to share pedagogy and strategies to improve student learning outcomes. Collectively, our PLTs will strengthen the College as a Professional Learning Community.

WELLBEING

■ Whole of College Wellbeing Program: the integration of an age and stage appropriate program, using in-house developed and externally sourced resources that connect wellbeing with topics being covered in the curriculum, Assemblies and Chapel.
■ Penquite Pastoral Structure: the review and implementation of a Pastoral staffing structure that better meets the needs of our students and provides the opportunity for staff to genuinely fill the role of a mentor for students.
■ Staff Wellbeing: A volunteer staff group, representing all areas of the College, are creating a diverse Wellbeing Program for their colleagues and identifying changes in current practices to alleviate unnecessary pressures and improve general wellbeing.
■ Co-curricular Program: a review of the co-curricular program to recognise the diversity of co-curricular pursuits and their role in the holistic development of students.

COMMUNITY

■ Community Hub: the continuation of regular, and the addition of new events and opportunities, strengthening the concept of Scotch Oakburn as a ‘Community Hub’.
■ Fundraising: in May the College community successfully raised $500,000 to support the Community Service Scholarship which launches for four new Year 11 students in 2022.
■ Community/Parent Education: provision of parent/community seminars and programs to support the knowledge of student developmental and social issues faced by our young people, and how best to address these in a positive and proactive manner.
■ SchoolTV: the launch of SchoolTV as an online information and strategy resource for parents, staff and students to help our young people through the myriad topics and issues they face in their lives.
■ Mentoring: the creation of a bank of community members who will voluntarily act as mentors for our students as they graduate and search out their career pathway(s).

CAPACITY

■ Childsafe Organisation: further emphasising the College’s commitment to the safety and wellbeing of our students, we are working with the Australian Childhood Foundation to achieve formal accreditation as a Childsafe Organisation.
■ Staffing: to lead the social, emotional and spiritual development of our students, the appointment of a Social Emotional Learning Coordinator at Elphin, a Counsellor in the Middle School and a College Chaplain.
■ Staff Structure: review and possible restructure of the existing staff roles and responsibilities to ensure the College’s capacity to meet the strategic goals of SOC2035.
■ Leadership Development: the introduction of two leadership development programs, one for aspiring leaders and one for existing leaders, to increase the professional growth of staff and leadership capacity of the College overall.
■ Facility Masterplan: commence the delivery of the College’s Facility Masterplan with the design and construction of the Inquiry and Environmental Centre at the Elphin Campus and the completion of the Northern Precinct at the Penquite Campus.

As society changes so do certain aspects of the role education plays in readying our students for their future.
SOC2035 is intentionally future-focused whilst remaining agile enough to flex and adapt to the needs of our
students, ensuring they can confidently step beyond our gates, both now and in the years ahead.