Message from Michele Marquet, Acting Head of School
Dear Parents and Carers
At Cranbrook, we recognise that change is a constant for any successful school, and that listening to our community is an important part of informing that change. Over the past 18 months, we have invited frank and open feedback from our students, families and staff in a series of projects with independent research agencies. Because the results of these projects are already having real and lasting impacts within the School, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the key findings they produced.
In the final term of 2023, we surveyed Y5-Y11 students to gain a deeper understanding of the school culture from their perspective. The results described a positive culture (rated as ‘good’ or ‘great’ by 73% of students), with a focus on excellence. In their own words, students described our School as inclusive, welcoming, supporting, fun and diverse.
Having said that, the survey also reminded us that bullying and discrimination are a reality for some of our students, something which continues to be a key focus for our wellbeing and pastoral programmes. Following the survey, we began providing additional professional development for teachers in 2024 that has continued into this year addressing negative student behaviours, as well as working with student leaders to develop student-led wellbeing initiatives. This week, some of our Wellbeing staff have had the opportunity to meet with Dr Abramovich from Melbourne University, as we explore the Click Against Hate digital program that helps build an understanding of harassment, why it is wrong and how to engage positively with peers. This programme targets Y5-Y10, the most common years to see an escalation in student bullying and harassment behaviours.
In the first and second semesters of 2024 we worked with Making Work Absolutely Human (MWAH) to review the staff culture at Cranbrook. This work involved an online qualitative survey open to all staff members, one-on-one interviews and focus groups across our four campuses [and extending to staff members that had left the school].
The review found a strong staff culture, in which passionate educators are inspired to do their best work and strive for continual improvement. Across all parts of the school, there is a powerful focus on our students as individuals, as well as a strong sense of belonging as a School community. The data reflected a generous, caring and inclusive culture that was similarly experienced by staff regardless of their gender or cultural background.
Alongside these findings, the project reinforced that there are areas we must continue to work on as an organisation if we are to establish and maintain Cranbrook as a best-practice employer. Work/life balance continues to be a concern for many across the teaching profession and we strive as a school to identify practical ways to address this. The review showed us that we also have opportunities to improve our internal processes and communication, to ensure consistency in leadership and to empower our staff to do their best work. To continue to attract and retain excellent staff, we need to ensure they enjoy equitable, accessible talent management and professional development.
Finally, in Term 4, we provided Cranbrook families the opportunity to share their feedback through an online survey. Parents were broadly satisfied with their experience of Cranbrook (71% ‘very satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’) with many citing facilities, resources and the quality of staff as key strengths of the School. They felt that the values of the School continue to be important, with a particular focus on integrity and respect. The feedback reflected the many and diverse perspectives of our community. Some families felt the School could benefit from a greater focus on academic excellence, while others believed pastoral care and wellbeing should be given greater attention. Regardless, there was a recognition of the importance of the Cranbrook community, and the benefit that students and families gain from a sense of belonging to that community. Importantly, the results of all three surveys were able to be incorporated into the process the School Council ran for the recruitment of our new Head of School.
All of these findings will continue to play an important role in shaping our initiatives for ongoing organisational change. These initiatives range from embracing greater student voice in shaping our School culture to improving our support for diverse student capabilities in the classroom; from evolving our professional development and staff mentoring programme to revisiting the staffing model for our co-curricular activities. Planning and implementing positive changes will be important in continuing to offer students excellence in educational experiences, as well as maintaining the positive momentum of the School as we look forward to welcoming Stuart Meade next term and Anne Johnstone as the new Head of School for the start of Term 3.
We look forward to a happy final week of Term 1.
Michele Marquet
Acting Head of School
