- Support leadership teams to lead teacher understanding of the changes in the new syllabus (see the department’s syllabus-specific Professional learning – Curriculum K–12 and NESA Online Learning).
- Work in partnership with middle leaders and leadership teams to support teachers to understand the evidence underpinning the new syllabus (see NSW Curriculum).
- Work in partnership with school leaders to build teacher capability of the literacy and numeracy demands of the syllabus (see Literacy and numeracy professional learning).
- Collaborate with other school leaders and schools through local networks (see Curriculum Reform Communities).
Curriculum implementation journey – deputy principal
Guidance for deputy principals implementing a new syllabus. Suggested activities, reflective questions, and useful resources can be used flexibly across a range of schools for each phase of curriculum implementation.
Deputy principals should work in partnership with school leaders, middle leaders and leadership teams in their school. Middle leaders could include head teachers, assistant principals, assistant principal, curriculum and instruction (AP, C&I), inclusion and wellbeing leaders, aspiring leaders, highly accomplished teachers and lead teachers.
Download the curriculum implementation journey – deputy principal (PDF 929 KB) graphic.
Engage
In the engage phase, deputy principals:
lead and support middle leaders and leadership teams to explore aspects of the new syllabus
identify and plan for changes required for effective curriculum implementation.
Suggested activities
Explore
Identify and plan
- Work in partnership with leadership teams to effectively identify and meet the diverse learning needs of all students (see Curriculum planning K–12 professional learning and Universal design for learning).
- This includes students with disability, high potential and gifted students, Aboriginal students and students who are learning English as an additional language or dialect.
- Work collaboratively with leadership teams to develop processes for the collection and analysis of student achievement data to identify teacher and students’ needs (see Data analysis resources – guiding advice)
- Lead the use of the School planning for curriculum implementation and School Excellence in Action resources to align school excellence plan initiatives.
- Support leadership teams and teachers to evaluate, select, adapt and create resources for teaching and learning (see Planning programming and assessing K–12).
- Work collaboratively with leadership teams to lead year or stage-based programming including the development of scope and sequences and assessment plans.
- Support leadership teams to identify and plan for assessment (see Effective assessment practice and NESA assessment advice).
- Use Transition from primary to high school advice to facilitate effective transition processes and strenthen continuity of learning practices.
- To what extent do middle leaders, leadership teams and teachers have a deep understanding of the syllabus and the evidence underpinning the new syllabus?
- What resources are needed to support middle leaders and leadership teams to meet curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting requirements?
- How will I work in partnership with middle leaders and leadership teams to build the expertise and capability of teachers to implement the new syllabus?
- To what extent does the implementation plan allocate time for evaluation and reflection of identified changes?
Enact
In the enact phase, deputy principals:
lead and support middle leaders and leadership teams to teach, assess and report using the new syllabus
evaluate to refine practices and systems.
Suggested activities
Teach
Work with school leadership teams to access and lead professional learning with staff and other school leaders through local networks to enhance teaching and learning (see Professional learning – curriculum K–12).
- Support middle leaders, leadership teams and teachers to collaboratively plan and optimise learning for all students (see Curriculum planning for every student – advice).
- Work with school leaders and teachers to deepen staff understanding of explicit teaching as a recognised part of professional practice (see Explicit teaching).
Ensure processes and structures are in place to support school leadership teams to collaboratively plan and evaluate teaching and learning (see Planning programming and assessing K–6 and 7–12).
Create opportunities for explaining the curriculum to parents, carers and the community through authentic community engagement in line with agreed school processes.
Assess and report
Work in partnership with middle leaders, leadership teams and teachers to plan assessments aligned to the new syllabus outcomes (see NESA Assessment and Reporting and Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12 policy).
Support middle leaders to refine processes for assessing and reporting on student progress with the new syllabus (see reporting to parents).
Review systems for analysing internal and external student data to gain insights on student progress (see Data analysis resources – guiding advice).
Evaluate
- Work in partnership with middle leaders, school leadership teams and teachers to evaluate school processes and structures to ensure effective teaching strategies are used to improve student learning (see How to use data for effective evaluation).
- Collect and evaluate evidence aligned to initiatives in the School Excellence Plan (see Evaluating curriculum implementation).
- Work with the leadership team to evaluate school processes and structures to ensure they support new syllabus implementation.
- How are middle leaders, leadership teams and teachers planning effective learning experiences for the full range of students?
- To what extent are parents and the school community aware of the changes to the curriculum?
- How effective are the processes in place to support changes to assessing and reporting?
- How will I lead and support staff to plan effective learning experiences for the full range of students?
Embed
In the embed phase, deputy principals work collaboratively with middle leaders and leadership teams to strengthen and scale to ensure sustainable practices and systems.
Suggested activities
Strengthen
- Work with leadership teams and teachers to create a culture of evidence-based reflective teaching and learning for ongoing improvement.
- Ensure systems are in place to support middle leaders, leadership teams and teachers to continually reflect on teaching standards and practices.
- Sustain a culture that supports meaningful collaboration, observations, co-teaching and planning, reviewing evidence and reflecting on practice (see Deputy Principals (staff only)).
Scale
- Work with leadership teams to evaluate and scale processes and structures for whole school monitoring of planning and programming, assessing and reporting.
- Collaboratively review implementation data and work with school leadership to make changes to the School Excellence Plan (see Evaluation resource hub).
- Work with leadership teams to refine whole school approach for identifying effective curriculum implementation practice for future syllabuses.
What has been the impact of curriculum change on student learning?
In what ways are middle leaders and teachers supported to reflect on their teaching practice?
What are the enablers and barriers for future curriculum implementation?
