Strategic Plan Overview

VRQA Compliance Requirements

Evidence of a strategic plan

The school must have a strategic plan and it is the governing body’s responsibility to plan the school’s strategic direction. The purpose of strategic planning is to set out the school’s direction and priorities. The plan will take a broad high-level perspective, considering the entire enterprise over an extended time span, normally of at least 3 years.  

VRQA Boarding Compliance Requirements

Applying the VRQA minimum standards and maintaining documentary evidence

Schools must apply the VRQA minimum standards, above, to the provision of school boarding premises at school boarding premises during the period in which these premises are operational; that is, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This includes maintaining documentary evidence (policies, processes, procedures) of the school’s compliance with the VRQA minimum standards and the VRQA minimum boarding standards. 

Note that, if the registered school’s legal entity is the same as that for the registered school boarding premises, the school does not need to maintain two separate sets of documents to comply with both standards; except where:

• There are boarding compliance requirements in addition to those set out in the VRQA minimum standards

Note: Any additional boarding compliance requirements are set out below.

• the school chooses to create separate policies, processes and procedures for the purposes of, for example, operational clarity. 

Boarding strategic plan

The school boarding premises must have a strategic plan and it is the governing body’s responsibility to plan the strategic direction of boarding.

The purpose of strategic plan is to set out the direction and priorities of boarding. The plan will take a broad high-level perspective, considering the entire enterprise over an extended time span, normally of at least 3 years.

If the school and the boarding premises share a legal entity, the strategic plan must cover the governance and operation of boarding.

Best Practice

Creating the strategic plan

When creating a strategic plan, the focus of this work should be on the planning, as much as it is on creating the strategic plan itself.

A strategic plan can be described as:

• being derived from principles and organisational values
• high-level, holistic and forward-looking
• using the language of questions rather than answers
• being different from, but leading to, an action plan and measurable outcomes.

The extended thinking required for effective strategic planning requires a considerable time investment and should involve members of the governing body, the principal and the senior executive team.

Effective strategic planning also benefits from collaborative work with wider groups of staff.

Key elements of the strategic plan should include:

a statement of the school’s philosophy, mission and values

• an analysis and statement of priorities
• goals and objectives and how those are measured
• ways in which the strategic direction is implemented, normally through an annual implementation plan
• a financial and resourcing plan to support the implementation of the strategic plan
• ways in which the plan will be monitored
• information about how, and how often, the plan will be reviewed.

Communicating the strategic plan

The school should communicate the strategic plan within the school community, as well as externally to a wider public audience, typically on the school website. 

The school should also communicate its progress in achieving the plan’s goals and objectives. This is normally part of the annual report to the school community.

Legislation and External Links

Acts and regulations

School governance: Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 (Vic) sch 4 cl 15(1)
School boarding governance: Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017 (Vic) sch 4A cl7

Communicating the strategic plan

Governance: ISV, Across the Board (web pages)
VRQA guidelines to the minimum standards:

• All schools: ‘Guidelines to the Minimum Standards and Requirements for School Registration’, Minimum standards and requirements for school registration.
• Boarding premises: ‘Guidelines to the Minimum Standards and Requirements for School Boarding Premises Registration’, Standards and guidelines for school boarding premises.