Holy Spirit College Bellambi

The School and Context​

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Who - School Holy Spirit College is a large co-educational Catholic high school in the northern suburbs of Wollongong. It has approximately 1,250 students, 108 teaching staff, and 42 support staff. Matt Kent, a science teacher and member of the leadership team, serves as the Academic Care and Enrichment Coordinator. He is committed to using data for continuous improvement. The school's values are Resilience, Integrity, Spirit, and Excellence, with the motto "LIVE BY THE TRUTH".

Why they needed us

Purpose/objective/what did good look like Before 2022, Pivot was an optional survey at the school, which resulted in low and inconsistent use by only 10-15 teachers per year. The data was used at an individual level and was not meaningfully engaged with by leaders due to the small dataset. The school needed a way to move from this "compliance to culture" and embed student voice into its strategy.

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In 2023, the school's enrichment program was nearing its end, and a review was needed, making the collection of evidence from students crucial. A small-scale implementation with 10 teachers and 376 student responses showed the potential of collecting student voice as a group. This experience, combined with the new ongoing cyclic inquiry model for school improvement, highlighted that student voice would be critical. Holy Spirit College's Annual Improvement Plan (AIP) for 2024 focused on staff engaging in reflective inquiry to improve pedagogical practices and promote student engagement for academic and wellbeing growth. The school recognized that Pivot was the tool that could provide the necessary student voice data to measure progress.

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​How we helped: How our tool supported the challenge - what did Pivot do

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Pivot helped Holy Spirit College by providing a structured tool to collect meaningful feedback from students and inform them of their School Improvement Plan (SIP). The school decided to move to whole-staff participation and launched this initiative on the first day of Term 1, 2024. The Pivot survey became a key piece of evidence for staff Professional Development Plans (PDPs), which, for the first time, were aligned to a common, school-wide goal.

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To support the staff, the school provided clear instructions and allocated time for professional development and PDP work during staff meetings and on professional development days. Each staff member was required to survey one class for each faculty they taught in to ensure an even spread of data across all KLAs. The school also refined the survey timing, moving to two cycles per year in Term 1 and Term 3, with dedicated time for discussion and implementation. This process was championed by middle leaders, who were empowered to drive the change and use the data for faculty-level analysis.

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What Pivot achieved: Key success metrics/dials moved/outcomes delivered

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• The implementation of Pivot led to significant cultural and quantitative changes at Holy Spirit College:

• Increased Participation: The number of participating teachers was above 90% in the first round of 2024, a huge leap from the previous optional model. Between 2024 and 2025, the total number of teachers participating increased by 70%.

• Higher Response Rates: The total number of student responses doubled, from 376 in the small-scale 2023 implementation to 2996 in the first cycle of 2024. By 2025, student responses reached 3147.

• Cultural Shift: The school shifted to a culture of reflection and feedback, with staff feeling more confident using feedback. The Pivot survey is no longer seen as just a tool but has become "what we do". The school now views the survey as a "bridge between student experience and teacher growth".

• Empowered Middle Leaders: Middle leaders now use the data to identify strengths and patterns within their faculties, shape meeting agendas, and drive targeted improvements. They were crucial in overcoming initial pushback and championing the change. Staff and middle leaders consistently describe the feedback as "invaluable".

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