At St Philip’s Christian Education, we believe that every student deserves the opportunity to experience a transformative education. This includes both exemplar academic teaching and learning practices as well as the benefit of being afforded a range of wrap-around experiences throughout the schooling journey. At SPCE a journey which is firmly embedded within Christian beliefs, values and practices.
Across Australia, research is showing us that many students are not afforded this opportunity.
‘About one in three primary and secondary students fell short of the proficiency benchmark in reading and numeracy in the 2023 NAPLAN tests. In outer regional and remote schools, nearly half of students did not meet the proficiency benchmark. And about two-thirds of Indigenous students were below the benchmark.’
Gratton Institute report 2024
We firmly believe that to counteract this trend, the remedy lies in forming a multi-school group. As the research shows, what sets multi-school groups (MSGs) apart is the capacity of the Executive Leadership and the wider Central Office Team, to offer guidance and assistance, in contrast to the isolated stance of individual schools. The proven pattern for success is ingrained within the SPCE structure, facilitated by the formal ties between schools and the Central Office. Entities within the SPCE group receive clear direction and significant support, enabling them to implement a unified strategy for operating a successful school.
Figure 1. Grattan Report Why Australia should trial multi-school organisations
Key advantages to a multi-school group
- Good and effective governance and leadership are capable of managing multiple schools.
- Principals benefit as they support each other and collaborate for better outcomes for students and staff.
- Student outcomes can be improved because of the greater pool of expertise and access to resources.
- Opportunities for expansion and innovation are created with the larger scale of operation.
- Economies of scale can realise cost savings.
Central Office Team
Our multi-school group has the benefit of a Central Office which can provide all schools and entities within the group the added advantage of specialist support that otherwise cannot be accessed in a stand-alone school. The Central Office provides professional services including leadership support, educational consultation, professional development, staff collaboration, human resources, finance, building services, risk management, information and communication technology and marketing communications. Economies of scale mean that individual entities benefit from larger scale and higher-level resourcing across many areas than that of a stand-alone school.
Leadership support
Each of our school principals come under the guidance and mentorship of our Executive Principal, regular meetings one-on-one with the EP and together as the Executive Leadership Team of the College, ensures the principals are supported and encouraged in their role as well as being accountable in their operations of the school.
Principals receive support and guidance from the CEO, Deputy CEO and CFO with strategic and financial planning as well as wellbeing and crisis management support. The Principal’s Collegial Support Team allows principals to share resources and coordinate improvement efforts.
The Leadership Pipeline is a bespoke leadership development program designed for SPCE middle leaders which supports them in their career progression and prepares them for a leadership role within the organisation.
Cross-school teams provide broader school improvement
Cross-school teams made up of specialist staff from each entity get together regularly to share best practice and develop shared frameworks and resources. This in turn provides broad benefits for the staff and students in the individual entities. At SPCE, cross-school teams have been established for:
- Teaching and Learning
- Wellbeing
- Strengths
- Academic Standards and Growth
- VET and Partnerships
- Teaching School Coordinators
- Christian Education
- Global Partnerships
Key benefits of school collaboration
There is an increasing body of evidence for the benefits of formal partnership between schools which include:
- Sharing responsibility to meet rising expectations, resulting in better student progress and attainment.
- Shared strategic thinking, planning and expertise for school leaders, board members and teachers to tackle challenges together.
- New and different inter-school solutions to address recruitment and retention challenges as well as to plan succession more effectively.
- Opportunities to fund specialist expertise within a school group and provide richer curricular and extracurricular activities.
- Increased options for shared professional development whether led by staff from one of the partner schools or an outside body.
- New economies of scale and collective purchase made possible within larger groups, helping schools to realise cost savings.
Teacher Training
Training up the next generation of Christian Teachers
The St Philip's Teaching School was formed by St Philip's Christian Education Foundation in 2018, in partnership with Alphacrucis University College, bringing to life the vision to train and equip Christian educators within a school community.
Both school and tertiary provider recognised the need to improve the quality of teacher training by providing principals, exemplar teachers, students and school communities in forming Christian teacher. Founded on the belief that it takes a village to raise a teacher, an apprenticeship model of teacher training was launched. Trainee teachers experience school life from day one of their degrees with the support of dedicated mentor teachers and the Teaching School team.
The St Philip's Teaching School exists to develop exemplar Christian teachers who are classroom-ready and display Jesus in all they do.
At St Philip's Teaching School, we embrace the opportunity to engage with affiliated schools to equip people who love Jesus and have a calling to teach. Our partnerships provide a rich and diverse learning community and prepares teachers for service in Christian Schools across Australia. The vision of the St Philip's Teaching School is to focus on the whole person and to shape exemplar Christian teachers who are classroom-ready and display Jesus in all they do.
Christian education is far more than a Christian way of understanding; it is about the whole of life — a way of living. At the St Philip's Teaching School, we seek to train and inspire young people on their journey of knowing and deepening their faith in Jesus.
Benefits for Teaching Staff
Running a group of schools enables SPCE to offer more opportunities to staff. Staff benefit from a range of hands-on professional development opportunities that a stand-alone school would be hard-pressed to deliver. This includes induction programs, specialist training for middle leaders, and training for non-teaching staff.
Staff across the network are provided professional development opportunities throughout the year. The staff formally met together twice a year for vision casting and professional development. The mid-year conference allows staff to collaborate with their faculty counterparts from across the network to swap best practice and to collaborate on innovative pedagogy and classroom practice.
Teachers attend organisation-wide curriculum excellence master- classes for all subject areas. School office staff can get training on talent acquisition or website design.
MSGs can take advantage of running multiple schools to offer teachers and other professionals (such as IT and facilities staff) career pathways and professional development opportunities that are not possible in stand-alone schools.
Benefits for Students
Students have the opportunity to be involved in many cross-school activities in the areas of sport, performing arts, Christian ministry, service learning, leadership, cross-school competitions and lifestyle and education courses.
Cross-school student initiatives provide students with further opportunities to expand their skills and experience in a community wider than their individual school community and enables students to learn from and draw from staff from other schools within the group who have alternate and unique strengths and teaching styles. This is particularly beneficial for smaller schools within the group. The opportunity to engage in activities within a larger community expands their educational journey within the same ethos and educational environment that the system provides.