Academic Report – March 2026
Reports, parent-teacher conferences, and the learning cycle at All Saints Grammar
Allow me to presume that throughout this first Term of the school year, there have been numerous times, maybe daily, when you have asked your child, ‘How are things going at school?” The response is usually familiar: “I’m going OK.” While reassuring, it rarely provides a clear or precise picture of their learning.
For many families, parent-teacher conferences and semester reports become the moment when that sense of “OK” is clarified. At times, they confirm that students are progressing well; at other times, they raise important questions. These responses are natural, and they point to something important, namely that, parent-teacher conferences and school reports matter; but they are only one part of a much broader learning and feedback cycle.
At All Saints Grammar, our Learning and Teaching Framework is grounded in three key, evidence-informed approaches. They are Explicit Instruction, Assessment for Learning (AfL) and Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). Together, these ensure that teaching is purposeful, learning is visible, and feedback is continuous.
At the centre of this work are four key questions that guide all teaching and learning:
- Where is the learner going? (What are the learning intentions and success criteria?)
- Where is the learner now? (What evidence do we have of students’ current understanding?)
- How does the learner get there? (What feedback and teaching will move learning forward?)
- What is the next step? (How does the learner act on feedback to improve?)
These questions are not abstract, they shape what happens in every classroom, every lesson, and every assessment task.
Within the NSW standards-referenced system, guided by the NSW Education Standards Authority, teachers assess student learning against clearly defined outcomes and standards. Throughout the semester, teachers deliberately design tasks, questions, and learning experiences to gather evidence of student progress. This includes classwork, discussions, quizzes, formal assessments, and ongoing observation.
Parent-teacher conferences and semester reports provide a summative snapshot, a consolidated judgement of how well each student has demonstrated their learning against these standards. At All Saints Grammar, this is presented as part of a broader learner profile built from multiple sources of evidence. However, within our framework, it is critical to understand that conferences and reports summarise learning, but they do not, in themselves, improve learning. Improvement comes through the feedback cycle.
Research by John Hattie and Helen Timperley consistently shows that feedback has one of the highest impacts on student achievement, particularly when it is clear, timely, and focused on next steps. In our classrooms, this means that students are regularly receiving feedback that helps them understand what they have achieved, how this compares to the expected standard, what they need to do next to improve.
This is where parent-teacher conferences are essential.
Within our Learning and Teaching Framework, conferences are a key mechanism for strengthening the feedback cycle. They create a shared space where teachers and parents can clarify where the learner is in relation to expected standards, discuss the evidence behind teacher judgements, identify specific strategies to support improvement, and align on clear next steps for the student. In doing so, conferences directly support the third and fourth formative questions: ‘How does the learner get there?’ and ‘What is the next step?’ When students, teachers, and parents are aligned around these questions, learning becomes more focused, intentional, and effective.
Ultimately, the most important part of this process is what happens after the report is read and the conference is held. Learning improves when students engage with feedback and act on it; when they understand their next steps and are supported in taking them.
For this reason, I encourage you to see your child’s report or the conferences with their teachers not as a final statement, but as part of an ongoing learning conversation. Through engagement with reports, participation in parent-teacher conferences, and continued dialogue at home, we can work together to ensure that every student continues to grow, improve, and succeed.
Mr Jaime Rodriguez
Deputy Head of School
