A conclusion about your school’s practices based on your evidence and the Statement of Excellence for the relevant SEF element. ‘On-balance judgement’ acknowledges that a school may have evidence against descriptors for some ‘Excelling’ practices and some ‘Sustaining and Growing' practices within one element. An ‘on-balance judgement’ weighs up these different pieces of evidence to make the most accurate assessment of the school’s practices.

Schools make an on-balance judgement as to whether the school is at Delivering, Sustaining & Growing or Excelling. Schools strive to reach Excelling through using the statement of excellence in each SEF area as a guide for future improvement.

In 2019, Dundas Public School had External Validation where we presented our school's on-balance judgements relating to the School Excellence Framework to a NSW DoE panel after a rigorous self-assessment process. The expert panel agreed with our judgements and areas for future development. We are required to complete a SEF self-assessment every year.