2017 pelaw main public school annual report · the instructional leader k–2 received...

Pelaw Main Public SchoolAnnual Report

2017

2855

Printed on: 13 April, 2018 of 23 Pelaw Main Public School 2855 (2017)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2017 is provided to the community of Pelaw Main Public School as an account of the school'soperations and achievements throughout the year.

It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities forall students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self–assessment that reflect the impact of keyschool strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equityfunding.

Merilyn Burton

Principal

School contact details

Pelaw Main Public SchoolAbermain StPelaw Main, 2327www.pelawmain-p.schools.nsw.edu.aupelawmain-p.School@det.nsw.edu.au4937 1314

Message from the school community

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers for their support throughout 2017. P&C can'toperate without the hard work of our volunteers.

2017 was another productive year for P&C. We held fundraising events that included: • Annual Golf Day • Bunnings BBQ • Selling Entertainment Books • Mother's Day and Father's Day stalls • Easter/Christmas Raffles

P&C continued our successful fundraising partnership with local businesses IGA, Beyond Bank and Athletes Foot.

The canteen and the uniform shop were again effectively operated and added to our fundraising efforts. Thank you to themany volunteers who work hard to ensure we can provide these services for our school.

The funds raised by P&C activities were used to: • Refurbish the Library • Purchase a defibrillator • $200 for each class • Donate Year 6 shirts and School Leader shirts • Subsidise Life Education visit for all students

P&C also appreciated the hard work of our members during organised working bees.

P&C were involved in discussions with Cessnock Council regarding the parking issues. This continues to be a priority forP&C in 2018.

Mark Hodson

P&C President


School background

School vision statement

Pelaw Main Public School develops and supports safe, respectful, lifelong learners, in an equitable and positiveenvironment. The school community works collaboratively to ensure the well–being of all students.

School context

Pelaw Main Public School is located south of Kurri Kurri. The school has a generational history in developing theeducational needs of families in the local community. In 2017, the school had a student population of 249,with approximately 10% of students identifying as Aboriginal. The school had ten classes and a teaching staff of twenty,catering for children from Kindergarten to Year 6. Boys made up 52% of the student population and the girls 48%.Theschool’s Family Occupational and Education Index was levelled at 143 in 2017. Based on this, the school receivedsignificant funding through the Resource Allocation Model (RAM) for Socio–economic background, Aboriginal equity andlow level adjustments for disability. A number of specialist teachers supported staff and students’ learning. The studentswere also supported by several School Learning Support Officers (SLSOs), who worked with students with specialneeds. The school also had a full–time School Administration Manager and School Administration Officer. The schoolimplemented a range of strategies to maximise success for all students, had a strong focus on Positive Behaviour forLearning, and offered extensive orientation programs to support students and families. Quicksmart, Minilit and Mulitlitalso operated in the school as intervention programs. Current teaching staff have undertaken Professional Learning inFocus on Reading 3–6, L3, 7 Steps to Writing Success, Drumbeat program, Quality Teaching buddy observations, newsyllabus implementation and Targeting Early Numeracy strategies (TEN), with the support of Instructional Leaders in K–2and 3–6. Student academic performance and a strong focus on overall well–being, are seen as vital components of theschool’s future directions.The school is a proud member of the Kurri Kurri Learning Community (KKLC). The schools inthe KKLC work together to promote a comprehensive education from K–12, through a collaboratively developed strategicplan.


Self-assessment and school achievement

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework,school achievements and the next steps to be pursued.

This year, our school undertook self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework. The framework supportspublic schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practiceacross the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

The results of this process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework domain of Learning, Pelaw Main PublicSchool is operating at a Sustaining and Growing level. In the element of Wellbeing an on–balance judgement ofSustaining and Growing is evident by the well developed and evidence based approaches, programs and assessmentprocesses identify, regularly monitor and review individual student learning needs. In the element of Curriculum, teachersdifferentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of students and most students can articulate their learning and understandwhat they need to learn next to enable continuous improvement, demonstrating an on–balance judgement of Sustainingand Growing. Evidence to support an on–balance judgement of Sustaining and Growing in the element of Assessmentincludes teachers routinely using evidence of learning, including a range of formative assessments to inform theirteaching, adapt their practice and meet the learning needs of students, through the development of SMART goals.

The results of this process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework, the school has a Sustaining and Growingapproach to the overall domain of Teaching. In the element of Effective classroom practice, an on–balance judgement ofSustaining and Growing is evident through the Instructional Leadership model, where teachers collaborate to sharecurriculum knowledge, data, feedback and other information about student progress to inform the development ofevidence based programs and lessons, which meets the needs of all students. In the element of Data skills and use,teachers use data effectively to evaluate student understanding of lesson content and there is a coordinated effort by theschool to engage the school community to reflect on student progress, reflective of an on–balance judgement ofSustaining and Growing. Teachers are proficient in their teaching of literacy and numeracy, meeting the needs ofstudents and teachers Professional Development Plans are supported by a coordinated whole school approach todeveloping professional practice, evident of an on–balance judgement of Sustaining and Growing in the element ofProfessional standards.

The results of this process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework domain of Leading, the school is operatingat a Sustaining and Growing level. In the element of Educational leadership, an on–balance judgement of Sustaining andGrowing is reflected by the school regularly soliciting and addressing feedback on school performance from students,staff, parents and the broader school community. The school makes informed choices about administrative practices andsystems in place, based on cost effectiveness, evidence and contextual need, reflecting an on–balance judgement ofSustaining and Growing in the element of Management practices and processes. In the element of School planning,implementation and reporting, an on–balance judgement of Sustaining and Growing is evidenced by the leadership teamactively supporting change that leads to improvement, creating opportunities where feedback about the impact of changecan be shared and monitored.

Our self–assessment process will assist the school to refine our school plan, leading to further improvements in thedelivery of education to our students.

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching–and–learning/school–excellence–and–accountability/sef–evidence–guide


Strategic Direction 1

Fostering a quality teaching and learning environment for 21st Century Learners.

Purpose

To enable students to develop relevant 21st Century learning skills, and prepare staff to have the knowledge andunderstanding required to facilitate the acquisition of these skills, through integrated and engaging curriculum delivery.

Overall summary of progress

In 2017, several key initiatives were implemented across the school to support Strategic Direction 1. A substantiveAssistant Principal (AP) was placed in an off class role to work collaboratively across the 3–6 classrooms in anInstructional Leader role, as well as fulfilling her AP responsibilities. This role also involved collaboratively timetabledprofessional learning across all 3–6 classes. Conferencing time for each teacher was allocated to analyse data and planprograms and interventions, reflecting a sustaining and growing practice within the data skills and use element of theSchool Excellence Framework.

Mathematics Building Blocks professional learning was delivered to all Stage 2 and 3 teachers. Differentiation practicesare clearly evident in all classrooms in mathematics. Engagement and academic results will continue to be monitored.The Instructional Leader K–2 received certification as a Lead Targeting Early Numeracy (TEN) Trainer, training a furthertwo staff members to be TEN Trainers. These new trainers supported the training of a number of teachers, including anewly appointed teacher to the school. The pedagogy of TEN has supported differentiation with numeracy instruction, asteachers use numeracy learning plans ensuring children are working at instructional level and receiving quality Tier 2 and3 interventions as needed.

Future Focused Learning was investigated and STEM activities were incorporated and trialled across the Stage 2 and 3classrooms. Selected staff members attended professional learning around these pedagogies, suggesting and planningways it could be used in our school context. Two Stage 2 classrooms trialled flexible seating options in classrooms,whilst most Stage 2 and 3 classrooms started using Google Classroom and online platforms as part of their dailypractice.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Funds Expended(Resources)

Progress achieved this year

Increased number of students, atend of Kindergarten, reading atlevel 8 or above from 17 studentsin 2014. Yr 1 – 80% above level18. Yr 2 – 80% above level 22.

Interventionist appointedthrough Equity funds 0.6 –$45, 000

Quality Teaching,Successful Students –(QTSS) – 0.441

Low level adjustment forstudents with disabilities –$29, 651

Under the Early Action for Success reform,teachers in K–2 work collaboratively with anInstructional Leader team teaching, monitoring andtracking students in explicit modelled, guided andindependent activities. Students requiringintervention are closely monitored for successand/or supported by an interventionist.

All K–2 staff are now trained and/or are participatingin OPL.

82% of Kindergarten students achieved Level 8or above.

59% of Year 1 students achieved Level 18 orabove.

55% of Year 2 students achieved above Level22.

External target: To reach above50% of students achievingexpected growth from Year 3 toYear 5 in NAPLAN Reading andLanguage Conventions.

AP appointed to off classrole – classroom teacheremployed to cover AP'sclass – RAM Equity – $75,000

53.8% achieved expected growth in Reading.

48.7% achieved expected growth in Grammarand Punctuation.

Seven Steps of Writing Success continued to be amajor focus in Literacy across the school, to






External target: To reach above50% of students achievingexpected growth from Year 3 toYear 5 in NAPLAN Reading andLanguage Conventions.

support student achievement in writing.

External target: To reach above50% of students achievingexpected growth from Year 3 toYear 5 in NAPLAN Numeracy.

TEN Training – course feesand teacher relief – $8, 500

35% achieved expected growth in Numeracy.

Continued implementation of Place Value Ninjas in3–6 classrooms and TEN in K–2 classrooms, led byInstructional Leaders.

Ninja data reflects growth and movement for allstudents. Teacher evaluations indicate that thissupport was essential in shifting students. Studentsurvey indicates Ninjas are engaging and useful.Student growth is evident in Multiplication andDivision in Stage 3 classes, with a target of 70% ofstudents achieving black belt ninja. Studentassessment data indicates that interventionprovided throughout the year enabled students tomeet Smart Goals set by IL and class teacher.Teacher evaluations indicate that conferencing timewas essential in formulating and reviewing SmartGoals.

Quicksmart students showinggrowth of at least 10 scale scorepoints in pre–test to post–testintervention.

Quicksmart subscriptionand resources – Low LevelAdjustment for studentswith disabilities – $5,500.

Quicksmart results – 19 students who were pre andpost tested had an average growth of 9.3 scaledscore points. This measures as an effect size of0.8, with Aboriginal students having 1.0.

Effect size of above 0.8 reflects a substantialimprovement and can be up to 2 years growth.

Effect sizes were measured in each strand pre andpost for speed and accuracy, results are as follows:Addition speed test 1.8, accuracy .08. Subtractionspeed test 1.8, accuracy 1.1. Multiplication speed0.8, accuracy 1.8. Only six students completed thedivision component, with the following results:speed 2.6 and accuracy 2.2.

The three Indigenous student, while starting at alower point, had a higher average gain than theoverall Quicksmart group.

Next Steps

Instructional Leadership will continue to be a major priority in 2017, as identified by staff evaluation and reflection. Theeffectiveness of co–teaching and conference time allows the Literacy and Numeracy needs of the students to be sharedand planned for in a positive professional environment. Weekly conference time continues to enable collaboration andreflections and supports the monitoring and evaluation of the Literacy and Numeracy SMART goals. Regular conferencetime is integral to this professional collaboration and collective ownership of change.

Evidence based quality practice will continue to drive explicit teaching in our classrooms. The Explicit Instructionpedagogy by John Fleming will be used to inform practice and build teacher capacity. This will be led and supported byInstructional Leaders.

Intervention and support will no longer be in the format of withdrawal intervention programs. Intervention and studentsupport will occur in classrooms K–6, supported by Interventionists and the Learning and Support Teacher (LaST),ensuring equity and support to all students across the school. Student's literacy and numeracy needs will inform thesesupport timetables across the school and will be based on need.


Future Focused pedagogies will continue to be investigated and implemented, with the purchase of more laptops andtechnology to enable all students regular access to devices and online platforms to support their learning and skills.



Enhancing School Community engagement and active participation in all school areas, ensuring the well–being ofstudents is at the forefront of our school’s values.

Purpose

To increase school community support for our students through a focus on student equity and well–being; workingtogether to give our students the knowledge, skills and experiences to achieve their personal goals and lead successfullives.


Driving this Strategic Direction are four major whole school projects that have were collaboratively developed and haveevolved to suit the needs of the school context over the life of the three year plan.

Partners in Learning: consisting of 20 sessions across the year and several parent workshops. This involved invitingparents into classrooms to work with their children on activities that were demonstrated and supported by teaching staff.Most activities involved take home packs, that enable parents to support children at home with classroom basedactivities aimed at building fundamental literacy and numeracy skills. Parent Teacher interviews are conducted twice ayear, with an average of 46% of families represented in Semester 2. Parents were also invited to watch Quicksmartlessons and were involved in various transition programs across Kindergarten, Year 2 and 6.

Engagement and Attendance: attendance data was tracked weekly at Executive meetings and whole class attendanceawards were conducted weekly, as well as incentives and rewards at both class and school level for 100% attendance.The class with the best attendance each term received a sausage sizzle with the Principal at the end of each term.Extra–curricular activities were provided to students and included: music, sport, excursions, additional playgroundactivities and school swimming. Student's and the wider school community also enjoyed Mother's Day and Father's DayBreakfasts and Grandparents Day. In November, the school held a community celebration for the Centenary of theMemorial Pillars at the entrance of the school.

Several staff were trained in Kidsmatter, with two staff members training the rest of the staff in Component 1, Building aPositive School Community. The school community was surveyed and information gained used to drive future directionsfor our Kidsmatter journey.

Under the Wellbeing Framework approach, the following was achieved;

Connect – Continued our Drumbeat program with 99% of Year 6 students participating in the program by our trainedcoordinator. Mindfulness was implemented in a Stage 2 classroom to target and support a group of identified students. Aschool Facebook page was established, which has proven to be a highly successful way of connecting with the widerschool community and celebrating the many successes of our students.

Succeed – SMART goals set and implemented in K–2 classrooms, as well as in some settings 3–6. Interventionprograms to support identified students such as Quicksmart, Multilit and Minilit, as well as in class support provided byinterventionists and the LaST. Student goal setting and MGoals were also implemented across the school and revisedand discussed at parent/teacher interviews.

Thrive – Visible learning was more evident in classrooms, with students knowing where they were on continuums andwhat they needed to do in order to progress. This was achieved with 'I Can' statements and Place Value andMultiplication Ninjas. PBL Awards were given out each week, Exemplary Student Fun Day was held at the end of everyterm, as well as Exemplary Student lunch with the Principal at the end of every term. A very successful StudentRepresentative Council (SRC) was established to support student voice and assist with student leadership. Aboriginalstudents used the MGoals online platform for the first time, with students and their families attending a BBQ to set thesegoals. Aboriginal students were engaged and supported through the Aboriginal Education Team (AET) and recognisedthrough the local Kullaburra Awards.





• To maintain 85% of students inthe Green Zone of PBL Data

Playground and ExemplaryStudent Day resources –$1, 000

Across all terms, the average percentage ofstudents in the Green Zone of PBL data was 85%.






• To maintain 85% of students inthe Green Zone of PBL Data PBL release days – $3, 200

Staff implemented revised playground structuresand activities, as well as modifying the playgroundroster to ensure consistency of staff on lunch timeduties.

Games on the Green was introduced, with studentleaders responsible for running these activities onselected days.

• Increased attendanceofparents to Partners in Learningprogram

RAM Equity – $3, 500 Partners in Learning continued throughout the year,with the content of the sessions informed byclassroom based activities, such as Place Valueand Multiplication Ninjas, that could be supported athome with additional strategies that were providedto parents.

63% of those who attended, attended bothsessions.

98% of parents/carers who attended a sessionwould be interested in attending PIL in 2018.

96% of parents/carers stated that the sessionswere ‘verygood’ or ‘excellent’ in supportingtheir child with reading and writing.

• Maintain attendance rate ofbetween 92% and 94%

SAO – $2, 400 Overall attendance was 91.9%.

Term 1 – 92.7%

Term 2 – 90.4%%

Term 3 – 89.3% illness and family holidaysimpacted greatly this term.

Term 4 – 91.3%

• Tell Them from Me studentresponses in positive homeworkbehaviour and interest andmotivation to reflectan increasefrom 2015 results

Teacher relief to administersurveys – $1, 500 – RAMEquity

The TTFM survey indicated that the school meanfor positive homework behaviour was 49%. Thisis a positive increase from 35% in 2016.

The breakdowns, according to school year was asfollows;

Year 6 – 43%

Year 5 – 61%

Year 4 – 43%

Next Steps

Continual monitoring of both attendance and PBL data will ensure our strong and effective systems and processes aredesigned to respond to student needs. Identified students through PBL processes (yellow and red zone) will continue toreceive targeted intervention and support to be successful at school.


Attendance data will continue to be monitored closely, with incentives and rewards reviewed, to ensure they metstudents needs and continue to be enticing. Attendance will be reviewed at weekly Executive meetings and identifiedstudent's at risk of being attendance concerns will be closely monitored. The Learning Support Team (LST) will alsoassist in suggesting strategies to track and encourage students at risk of being attendance concerns.

Kidsmatter will continue to drive our strong wellbeing focus in 2018 and beyond. Staff will begin professional learning inComponent Two: Social and Emotional learning, as well as delivering some of the areas of need identified by thecommunity, such as newsletter items and parent information sessions.

Our Partners in Learning program will continue each Monday morning, as this time continues to be indicated as aneffective time. The content and organisation of these sessions will be designed by individual classroom teachers, with thecoordination supported by a nominated Assistant Principal. The school Facebook page, text messages and Skoolbagalerts will continue to remind parents and carers of these events, as this has been indicated as useful reminders.

The Aboriginal Education Team will continue, with leadership opportunities offered to identified Aboriginal students,including Leadership Days by the local AECG. Greater efforts will be made to try and connect more with our Aboriginalfamilies, encouraging and supporting them to connect with each other.



Consistent, high standard educational practices across the Kurri Kurri Learning Community group of Public Schools.

Purpose

To build stronger relationships as an educational community by leading and inspiring a culture of collaboration, engagedcommunication, empowered leadership and organisational practices.


Aboriginal Education

The Aboriginal Education team, combined NAIDOC events are a wonderful celebration of culture and a great opportunityto showcase and share talents across our Kurri Kurri Learning Community. Feedback from all schools, regarding thelaunch and initial reaction to MGoals was positive but the follow–up in using MGoals, is not as consistent as we’d hopedfor due to a number of issues in schools, including the amount of teacher–time required to monitor/review goals andplans and lack of/or poor quality internet access for some families.

Schools in the Kurri Kurri Learning Community continue to embrace Stronger Smarter and 8 Ways of learning, with allschools now taking responsibility for up–skilling their own new staff members in these methodologies, at the beginning ofeach school year.

Community

The Kurri Kurri Learning Community placed a focus on community engagement in 2017 to assist in establishing apositive culture across schools and community. This goal was initiated with the launch of a community based PositiveBehaviour for Learning initiative at the annual Business Breakfast held in Term 1 at Kurri Kurri High School. MerilynBurton, Principal of Pelaw Main Public School utilised this event to speak to over 90 community members of theimportance of establishing positive relationships between schools and home, and the importance or recognising studentpositive behaviour both inside and outside school. This message of positivity was continued with a combined Kurri KurriLearning Community Positivity Staff Development Day in Term 2. Over 100 staff members attended, listening to a keynote address from the Positivity Institute regarding the importance of positive psychology. KKLC staff were then able toselect from a positive initiative taking place within the KKLC including, restorative justice, learning HUBs and writingstrategies. The KKLC also attempted to include positive news stories from all schools within a newsletter extract toensure the continued celebration of success within and beyond the KKLC.

Aspirations & Engagement

2017 saw the amalgamation of the former KKLC Curriculum and Aspirations committees to form the KKLC Teaching andLearning Team. This team saw the continuation of a number of key initiatives for the Kurri Kurri Learning Community.Quality Teaching Rounds continued with new staff trained in facilitation across the KKLC, and debating programscontinued with a successful debating workshop and gala day. Transition programs continued to ensure smoothtransitions for students moving from Year 6 into Year 7, and the Early Connections team delivered a highly successfulEarly Years Expo and Teddy Bear’s Picnic to support successful transitions from pre–school to Kindergarten.





Average school attendance forAboriginal students above 90% inall settings.

$4, 061 Funds expended across the KKLC have supportedtransitions for Aboriginal students and cultural andacademic programs to engage students.Attendance for Aboriginal students is near or above90% in all settings

Completion rate of HSC, ormovement to successful postschool pathways.

$4, 835 Establishment and implementation of CommunityPBL was a focus towards achievement related tothis measure. Community PBL has extended itsbusiness and community partners in the local area,who are involved in recognising studentsdemonstrating the community PBL expectationsand awarding BASAs. This is being effectively






Completion rate of HSC, ormovement to successful postschool pathways.

implemented within the KKLC.

Evidence of communityengagement with communityservices and agencies and theKKLC group of schools.

$10, 347 The Kurri Kurri Early Connections committeecontinued to operate within theCurriculum/aspirations committee. Work of thiscommittee in combining with early childhoodproviders and community support agencies hasbeen effective in establishing links that supportfamilies with children 0–8 and their engagementwith health services, early education and in makinglinks with their future schools. Attendances at twokey events, the Community Expo and Teddy Bearspicnics have increased, with agencies reportingfollow up in connecting with families.

Kurri Kurri Community Centre and HunterHeadspace utilised spaces at KKHS to supportstudents and families with youth workers andadolescent counsellors.

Partnerships established withcommunity services in motivation,engagement and challengeacross KKLC schools.

Unfortunately due to extensive building renovationsbeing undertaken at Kurri Kurri High School andKurri TAFE wanting to charge our schools anexorbitant rent to hire their facilities, Ed–Fest didnot occur this year. Promotion of studentachievement was celebrated at each individualschool during Education Week.

Cluster data for TTFM identifiesimprovements in motivation,engagement and challengeacross KKLC schools.

Data related to participation inprograms supported transitionpoints from to school leavingcollated.

$5, 100 Transition programs continued to go well withKKHS transition coordinator liaising more with thePrimary Schools for transition programs from Year6–7. There were many opportunities for studentsstarting Kindergarten in 2017 to participate in arange of programs, supported by the EarlyChildhood Network team. The "I am going to" teeshirts were very popular and the students worethem proudly on Kindergarten transition days andthe Teddy Bear Picnic. Careers days ran smoothlyand students were involved across a numberof Primary Schools.

Staff participation in professionallearning and collaborativepractice across the KKLC.

$24, 146 Quality teaching rounds continued to beimplemented across the KKLC in 2017, with anincreased number of facilitators trained. QTRenabled professional interaction and sharing ofpractice for teachers K–12.

The combined Staff Development day in Term 2included presentations on positive psychology, andalso highlighted current practices in KKLC schoolsincluding restorative justice, learning Hubs andwriting strategies. Positive psychology will be amajor focus for professional learning andcollaborative practice for the KKLC in 2018.






Staff participation in professionallearning and collaborativepractice across the KKLC.

Additional combined PL for the KKLC includedprograms related to Aboriginal education anddebating.

Next Steps

Aboriginal Education

Individual schools will continue to monitor and encourage school attendance for Indigenous students, utilisingschool–based reward systems as required to improve student attendance rates. Continue implementation of 8 Ways ofAboriginal learning, with teacher professional learning, and school–based decision making regarding the prioritising oftwo symbols per term to be reviewed and incorporated into lesson programming, continuing to embed 8 Ways pedagogyinto teaching programs and practices across the Kurri Kurri Learning Community. Connecting to Country will be offeredto all of the teaching staff in the Cessnock, Kurri Learning Communities with 4 sessions available in 2018. Ongoingcommitment to cultural events across the Kurri Kurri Learning Community, with students from each school within ourlearning community participating and performing in a Drumbeat group, and a series of Art workshops to create anAboriginal–themed mural for display in one of our schools. Ongoing support of the Stanford Merthyr Boy’s Dance Groupperformances and participation in Traditional Games, by all students throughout NAIDOC Week. All schools to useMGoals to update, review and create Personalised Learning Plans for Indigenous students throughout 2017.

Community

Positive Psychology will be a continued focus for 2018, with the community based PBL initiative being taken over within anew KKLC Team.

KKLC Teaching & Learning Team

Collaborative work around consistent teacher judgement in writing was a goal of the team that unfortunately was notrealised in 2017. With the introduction of National Literacy Progressions in 2018, this remains an ongoing goal for theteam.


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

English language proficiency $616 Identified student received intensiveintervention with the support of in classinterventionist in Literacy and Numeracy.

Low level adjustment for disability Low Level adjustment fordisability – $29, 651

As part of the Nationally Consistent Collectionof Data on school students with disability(NCCD), the LaST was released for a day towork with classroom teachers to collectevidence.

LaST and SLSO intervention provided toidentified students. K–6 database used toidentify students most at need.

Intervention programs – Quicksmart, Multilitand Minilit were delivered with timetables inplace for SLSO's and an additional LaST 0.4.

Integration Funding Support review meetingswere held twice a year, led by the LaST, withall relevant stakeholders present.

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

Quality Teaching,Successful Studentsallocation 0.441

Executive staff were given additional releasefrom face to face time to assist with theiradditional duties across the school andlearning community.

In Semester 2, Assistant Principal's werereleased for a day a week to assist withschool evaluation and planning activities andmonitoring of school strategic directions.

Socio–economic background Socio–economicbackground

– $267, 123

Instructional Leadership model andconference time with supervisors to analysedata and plan programs; reflecting aSustaining and Growing practice within thedata skills and use element of the SEF.

Collaboration between K–2 and 3–6 IL's insupporting cohesive professional learningK–6 and the implementation of TEN, L3,Place Value and Multiplication and DivisionMaths Ninjas, 7 Steps of Writing Success andMaths Building Blocks.

20 sessions of Partners in Learning wereconducted across the school K–6, as well asPlaygroup running twice a week across twoterms, supporting and engaging families andtransitioning students.

48% of families were represented atparent/teacher interviews in Semester 2, aswell as a record 55 parent responses to theTell Them From Me Parent Survey.

99% of Year 6 students participated in theDrumbeat program, with feedback indicatingthis is still a highly engaging and successfulprogram for student wellbeing andengagement.

An Assistant Principal was released fromclass to work in an Instructional Leader role3–6, with an interventionist also employed 3


Socio–economic background Socio–economicbackground

– $267, 123

days a week to support and provideintervention to students 3–6.

An interventionist was also employed 3 daysper week to provide tiered intervention tostudents in K–2 classrooms, under theguidance of the IL and class teachers.

Student Learning Support Officers (SLSOs)were also employed to support and provideintervention programs such as Multilit, Minilitand Quicksmart for identified students.

Support for beginning teachers $3, 200 – L3 training – 2release days per term toattend training

$1, 200 – Conference fees

Additional RFF – teacherrelease – 1hr per week

GTIL – $17, 413

Two staff members have successfully fulfilledgoals from their Performance andDevelopment Plans and have undertakenprofessional learning to build capacity andenhance student learning outcomes. Otherstaff have supported these teachers in mentorroles and provided guidance and assistancein order to prepare evidence and accreditationreports.

Aboriginal background loading Aboriginal Backgroundloading

– $21, 026 – Teacherrelease, interventionist 0.2,resources, AET release,Deadly Cooking release.

The Aboriginal Education Team (AET) wascontinued, as well as students attendingLeadership Days through the AECG.

Deadly Cooking was conducted again,proving very engaging and successful.

All Aboriginal students set and reviewed goalsusing the online MGoals platform.

Average Aboriginal student attendancewas 97% in 2017.

– 5 students had 100% attendance

– 4 students had 99% attendance

Early Action for Success Salaries for interventionistand teacher relief andclassroom resources

– $30, 297

The Instructional Leader (IL) continues to leadK–6 and K–3 staff meetings with a focus onevidence–based research and inquiry intobest practice. The IL attends weeklyExecutive meetings to have input into Literacyand numeracy decisions and processes,which facilitates a smooth delivery of the rolestatement resulting in optimum results forstudents.

K–2 teachers continue to be able to attendOPL in L3 and Targeting Early Numeracy(TEN) to support the delivery of qualitydifferentiated, personalised learning to theirstudents. The IL has worked with the L3Trainer to support the teacher in trainingthrough coaching and modelling of L3practices in the classroom.

On the Literacy Continuum for Reading, theresults were as follows: • Kindergarten – 82% at Cluster 4 or above


Early Action for Success Salaries for interventionistand teacher relief andclassroom resources

– $30, 297

• Year 1 – 61% at Cluster 6 or above • Year 2 – 55% at Cluster 8 or above • Year 3 – 72% at Cluster 9 or aboveIn Numeracy, building a deep understandingof number sense, demonstrating efficient,flexible skills and strategies in place value,understanding and working mathematically inreal life situations are all instructional targets. The pedagogy of TEN has supporteddifferentiation with numeracy instruction, asteachers use numeracy learning plansensuring children are working at instructionallevel and receiving quality Tier 1 and Tier 2instruction. Five weekly blocks of Tier 3intervention has been provided to a very smallgroup of students in K–3. Pre and post testinghas ensured careful monitoring.

Conference time allows the literacy andnumeracy needs of the students to be sharedand planned for in a positive professionalenvironment. The Data Protocol is embeddednow in K–2 as part of conference time and isthe platform for composing Specific,Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Timeframed (SMART) goals.

A revised Assessment Schedule has beencomposed and implemented. All K–3 teacherscontinue to carefully monitor student progressand record this on PLAN. The School Planand Milestones will continue to be informedby the outcomes of PLAN data.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2014 2015 2016 2017

Boys 126 125 132 130

Girls 106 102 115 119

Enrolments remained steady, with a large contingent ofKindergarten and Year 3 students (transitioning fromStanford Merthyr Infants School) consistent with thenumber of students leaving for high school.

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2014 2015 2016 2017

K 94.6 94.3 93.4 94.4

1 93.8 94.8 93.7 93.5

2 91.5 95.4 92.2 93.4

3 93.8 92.8 93.6 92.4

4 91.8 93.2 91.8 91.8

5 87.3 89.8 92.6 91.4

6 91.6 84.9 90.6 87.5

All Years 92.3 92.4 92.5 91.9

State DoE

Year 2014 2015 2016 2017

K 95.2 94.4 94.4 94.4

1 94.7 93.8 93.9 93.8

2 94.9 94 94.1 94

3 95 94.1 94.2 94.1

4 94.9 94 93.9 93.9

5 94.8 94 93.9 93.8

6 94.2 93.5 93.4 93.3

All Years 94.8 94 94 93.9

Management of non-attendance

The school continued to monitor and rewardattendance on a weekly, termly, and annual basis.Each term the class with the best attendance wasrewarded to a sausage sizzle lunch with the Principal.

Attendance rates are closely monitored each week,with phone calls home made by class teachers andletters for unexplained letters sent home each week.

In Term 3, the average attendance rate dropped to89.3%, due to a significant portion of studentscontracting illnesses that kept them away from schoolfor consecutive days. Also in Term 3, many familieswith multiple siblings, went on extended holidays duringthe school term, impacting on the overall attendancerate.

Class sizes

Class Total

KH 18

K/1W 21

1/2C 23

2G 28

3K 28

3/4R 27

3/4M 29

4/5K 30

5/6P 30

5/6L 30

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Deputy Principal(s) 0

Assistant Principal(s) 2

Head Teacher(s) 0

Classroom Teacher(s) 9.31

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0

Learning & Support Teacher(s) 0.9

Teacher Librarian 0.6

Teacher of ESL 0

School Counsellor 1

School Administration & SupportStaff

2.42

Other Positions 0

*Full Time Equivalent

On staff member identifies as Aboriginal background.

One Assistant Principal works in an off class capacity,across the school leading student welfare initiatives andleading professional learning.


An Instructional Leader works 4 days a week with staffand students K–3, from additional Early Action forSuccess funding.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirementsfor teaching in NSW public schools.

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 100

Postgraduate degree 0

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Two permanent staff members worked with theirsupervisors towards completing the requirements forProficiency level accreditation through NSW EducationStandards Authority (NESA).

All staff developed a Performance and DevelopmentPlan (PDP), identifying specific goals, both personallyand through the School Plan's strategic directions.

All staff participated in 7 Steps to Writing Successprofessional learning. Timetabled professional learningof the new Geography syllabus and classroomobservations were a major focus, with staff completingonline modules based on their PDPs.

Staff also participating in the Maths Building Blocksprofessional learning. Two staff members trained asTargeted Early Number (TEN) trainers, which involvedtraining staff at other schools. Our Instructional Leaderalso completed TEN Lead Trainer professionallearning.

Two staff members also achieved their L3 Stage 1accreditation, which was supported by the InstructionalLeader.

Financial information (for schoolsusing both OASIS and SAP/SALM)

Financial information

The three financial summary tables cover 13 months(from 1 December 2016 to 31 December 2017).

The financial summary consists of school incomebroken down by funding source and is derived from theschool Annual Financial Statement.

Receipts $

Balance brought forward 374,786

Global funds 111,961

Tied funds 247,112

School & community sources 38,352

Interest 3,848

Trust receipts 16,867

Canteen 0

Total Receipts 418,139

Payments

Teaching & learning

Key Learning Areas 4,442

Excursions 3,481

Extracurricular dissections 12,737

Library 2,650

Training & Development 400

Tied Funds Payments 347,629

Short Term Relief 25,924

Administration & Office 41,193

Canteen Payments 0

Utilities 22,478

Maintenance 3,810

Trust Payments 12,638

Capital Programs 0

Total Payments 477,383

Balance carried forward 315,543

Figures presented in this report may be subject torounding so may not reconcile exactly with the bottomline totals, which are calculated without any rounding.

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from 1 January 2017 to 31December 2017.


2017 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 0

Revenue 668,666

Appropriation 636,176

Sale of Goods and Services 0

Grants and Contributions 32,256

Gain and Loss 0

Other Revenue 0

Investment Income 235

Expenses -332,702

Recurrent Expenses -332,702

Employee Related -225,548

Operating Expenses -107,154

Capital Expenses 0

Employee Related 0

Operating Expenses 0

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

335,964

Balance Carried Forward 335,964

The Opening balance for the 2017 school financial yearis displayed in the OASIS table as Balance broughtforward. The financial summary table for the yearended 31 December 2017 shows the Opening balanceas $0.00 because the Opening balance for the 2017school financial year is reported in the OASIS table (asBalance brought forward).

The amount displayed in the Appropriation category ofthe financial summary table is drawn from the Balancecarried forward shown in the OASIS table and includesany financial transactions in SAP the school hasundertaken since migration from OASIS to SAP/SALM.For this reason the amount shown for Appropriation willnot equal the OASIS Balance carried forward amount.

Financial summary equity funding

The equity funding data is the main component of the'Appropriation' section of the financial summary above.

2017 Actual ($)

Base Total 1,754,884

Base Per Capita 37,748

Base Location 0

Other Base 1,717,136

Equity Total 440,305

Equity Aboriginal 21,026

Equity Socio economic 297,596

Equity Language 616

Equity Disability 121,067

Targeted Total 85,660

Other Total 246,277

Grand Total 2,527,126

Figures presented in this report may be subject torounding so may not reconcile exactly with the bottomline totals, which are calculated without any rounding.

A full copy of the school’s financial statement is tabledat the annual general meetings of the parent and/orcommunity groups. Further details concerning thestatement can be obtained by contacting the school.


School performance

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results acrossthe Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy andnumeracy assessments are reported on a scale fromBand 1 to Band 10. The achievement scalerepresents increasing levels of skillsand understandings demonstrated in theseassessments.

In 2017, Year 3 was a very large cohort compared toprevious years. The largest percentage of studentsachieved Band 4 in Reading, Band 5 for Writing, Band5 for Spelling and Band 5 for Grammar andPunctuation.

In Year 5, the largest percentage achieved Band 5 inReading, Band 5 in Writing, Band 6 in Spelling andBand 5 in Grammar and Punctuation.

A focus will continue on trying to increase the numberof students in the top two skill bands in all areas in bothYear 3 and Year 5. Writing will also continue to be afocus, with Instructional Leaders supporting classroomteachers in this area.


In Year 3 Numeracy, the largest percentage of studentsachieved Band 4 for Numeracy and Band 5 for Year 5.

A focus will continue on trying to increase the numberof students in the top two skill bands in all areas in bothYear 3 and Year 5 and at least 90% of studentsachieving at or above national minimum standards inNAPLAN numeracy.

Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

A record 55 parents completed the Tell Them From Me


parent survey on the online platform. In Two–wayCommunication with Parents, our school performedabove the NSW Government School norm in allareas. In the area of 'Parents Feel Welcome', ourschool mean was 7.9, compared to the NSW Govt.norm of 7.4 (out of 10). The highest scoring area was 'Ifeel welcome when I visit the school' – 8.5 and thelowest scoring area was, 'parent activities arescheduled at times when I can attend' – 6.6. As a futuredirection, in 2018 we will explore different options whenscheduling activities to try and address this. Anotherarea of development is, 'reports on my child's progressare written in terms I understand'. We will explore this in2018 to ensure we work towards improving thissatisfaction.

Other strengths and positive feedback from this surveyincluded: • I can easily speak with my child's teachers – 8.3 • The school's administrative staff are helpful when

I have a question or problem – 8.3 • My child is encouraged to do his or her best work

– 8.1 • My child is clear about the rules for school

behaviour – 8.7 • My child feels safe going to and from school – 8.1

Points of interest from the survey included: • The school helps prevent bullying – 7.1 compared

to 7.4 NSW Govt. norm. Steps will be taken in2018 to investigate how this can be improved.

• 53 % of parents indicated that they attendedmeetings or social functions at the school morethan three times, with only 8% not attending any.

This year we had 112 students from Year 4–6 completethe Tell Them From Me Survey for students, which wasagain, the highest number of students to ever completethe survey at any one time. This was conducted inTerm 3 and the information obtained used to helpinform school priorities and directions for the new threeyear school plan.

Points of interest from the survey included: • 73% of students felt accepted and valued by their

peers and by others at their school, compared to81% of NSW Govt. norm.

• 84% of students indicated that they had friends atschool they trust and who encourage them tomake positive choices, compared to 85% NSWGovt. norm.

• 91% of students said they tried hard to succeed intheir learning, which was slightly above the NSWGovt. norm of 88%.

• 87% of students stated that they do not get introuble at school for disruptive or inappropriatebehaviour, which is also reflective of our schoolPBL data of 85% of students in the green zone.

• 35% of girls and 31% of boys surveyed indicatedthat they are victims of bullying, which was amean of 32%, compared to 36% of the NSWGovt. norm.

• In terms of a Positive learning climate, the NSWGovt. norm was 7.2 and the school mean was6.8. This was around students understandingthere are clear rules and expectations forclassroom behaviour. This result is in direct

comparison with other results and will requirefurther investigation and monitoring in 2018.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

All staff received training and support to implement theonline platform, MGoals for students and parents.Aboriginal families were invited to a BBQ after school,where they met with their teachers andparent/caregivers to set academic, cultural and socialgoals using the MGoals interface. This platform can beaccessed by students and families at home and as theymove into high school.

The Aboriginal Education Team (AET) continued tomeet regularly, with a committee of students elected tooversee cultural acknowledgement within the school.The leadership team of the AET attended Leadershipdays through the local AECG.

The school would also like to acknowledge the work ofa parent, Daryl Smith, who worked with some of ourAboriginal students to design and make a tiled mosaicfor the playground.

All Aboriginal students from Years 4–6 participated inthe Deadly Cooking program, supported by a teacherand a parent. Feedback indicated that this was a highlyenjoyable and engaging activity, promoting healthyeating habits.

Once again, the school hosted NAIDOC Daycelebrations, with staff and students from MulbringPublic School and Stanford Merthyr Infants Schooljoining in the activities. Students from Kurri Kurri HighSchool delivered some traditional Aboriginal Gamesand the Boys Dance Group from Stanford Merthyrperformed for us. Two students were trained andparticipated in the KKLC Aboriginal Drumbeat group,who performed at the various schools in the KKLC aspart of the NAIDOC Week activities.

Staff identified the need for more professional learningaround the 8 Ways of Aboriginal Learning through theKurri Kurri Learning Community, however, this wasunable to be delivered. Future directions will includesending interested staff to Connecting toCountry professional learning and sharing thisknowledge and resource with staff.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

One teacher completed professional learning to be theAnti–racism contact officer (ARCO) and any issues of aracial nature were referred to them and handledaccording to relevant policies.

A Multicultural day has been scheduled for 2018,making it a bigger event bi–annually. Cultural diversitywas addressed through curriculum content andacknowledged through Harmony Day activities.


2017 pelaw main public school annual report · the instructional leader k–2 received...

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