2018 drummoyne public school annual report · page 2 of 23 drummoyne public school 1774 (2018)...

Drummoyne Public SchoolAnnual Report

2018

1774

Printed on: 11 June, 2019 of 23 Drummoyne Public School 1774 (2018)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2018 is provided to the community of Drummoyne 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.

School contact details

Drummoyne Public SchoolRawson AveDrummoyne, 2047www.drummoyne-p.schools.nsw.edu.audrummoyne-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au9181 2636

Message from the Principal

It is my pleasure to present the 2018 Annual Report for Drummoyne Public School.

The report presents an overview of the school and provides parents and the wider community with information about theschool's educational performance, self–assessment, development and future goals. Our progress and achievements arereported against the first year of implementing the 2018 – 2020 School Plan based on our purposeful strategic directionsin student learning, innovative teaching and a resilient community.

The projects under each strategic direction were prioritised at 'awareness raising', 'maintenance', or 'change agenda'levels and supported accordingly. This year our staff teams have begun the task of implementing various aspects of theprojects to ensure that our vision 'to inspire students to engage with a complex world as creative, resilient andresponsible citizens' is achieved.

To reflect on the achievements of the school is an important process and has highlighted the strong, collaborative effortsand professional commitment of our leadership team, teachers and staff that have enabled our students to experiencewonderful success in their learning and considerable enjoyment in their lives.

Some of the achievements of the first year of implementing the 2018 – 2020 School Plan included: • Differentiating teaching and learning based on refining student data • Implementing the Seven Steps to Writing Success program • Implementing the Language, Learning and Literacy (L3) program in Kindergarten • Renewing our focus on High Potential and Gifted students • Engaging literacy and numeracy consultants Stephen Graham and Carol Spencer to provide teacher professional

learning and parent workshops • Implementating the new Science and Technology curriculum • Building the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) of our students • Hosting community events including the Biennial Artist Trail

The school has been well supported by our committed Parents and Citizens Association and a generous parentcommunity who have worked closely with the school to enrich school programs.

Throughout the year, I have enjoyed seeing the growth and achievements of our students that has enhanced thestanding of Drummoyne Public School as a school of excellence in the wider community.

Brian J Dill

PRINCIPAL


Message from the school community

This year has been full of wonderful activities organised and supported by the Drummoyne school community. On behalfof the P&C, I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered their time to attend meetings, lead a sub–committee,help organise an event or contribute in their own special way.

An amount of over $160,000 has been donated to the school this year to continue to enhance our school and support ourchildren's learning and development. This included the first phase of the playground upgrade along South Street andfunding for the Learning and Support Teacher Enrichment program.

I would like to express appreciation to the executive and staff of the school for the tireless efforts from each and everyone. This commitment does not go unnoticed and contributed greatly to the strong partnership that we enjoy between theschool and the parent community.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank my fellow executive. Your contribution to help manage the affairs of the P&C andensure continued good governance is much appreciated.

Dr Tanveer Ahmed

P&C President

Message from the students

Our student leaders on the Student Representative Council (SRC) were responsible and hard working members of theschool community throughout 2019. They gave up their lunch play once a week to ensure that the 'student voice' washeard and made a positive change. This year the SRC were organised into project teams setting goals, organisingfundraising and supporting school events like the P&C spring fete.

The SRC led initiatives that supported students' health and wellbeing including Walk Safely to School Day, Nude FoodThursdays and anti–bullying survey. The fundraising team hosted a drawing competition to raise funds for the GreatBarrier Reef, ran a book swap to support Indigenous Literacy in NSW and organised gifts for Basket Buddies forAustralian families in need during the Christmas period.

The community involvement team organised a Friends of Farmers Day raising $1200, an AFL skills day through theSwans Fit Program and represented classes with wreath laying at the school's ANZAC assembly. The sustainability teamworked hard to reduce the school's impact on the environment supporting the Waste World Cup, Clean Up Australia Dayand reducing power usage through turning off school lights when not in use. In addition, the playground team surveyedstudent needs, organised rosters and playground equipment so students could enjoy their lunch and recess playeveryday.

Thank you to Ms Price and Ms Clarke for strengthening the 'student voice' and giving the SRC opportunity to make adifference at our school.

2019 Student Representative Council


School background

School vision statement

Our vision is to inspire students to engage with a complex world as creative, resilient and responsible citizens.

This will be achieved through: • empowering our students with high quality differentiated teaching of literacy and numeracy that is based on sound

evidence and informed by data and underpinned by high expectations; • building the capacity of our teachers to effectively meet the needs of all students through innovative and

future–focused teaching; and • developing a resilient and engaged community that values and promotes strong partnerships within and beyond

the school.

School context

Drummoyne Public School is a dynamic kindergarten to year 6 inner west primary school which plays a vital role inshaping the lives and learning of our students. Our school shares this responsibility with devoted parents, carers and theDrummoyne community. Together we provide outstanding public education committed to developing future–focusedlearners through employing evidence based practices.

The school has an enrolment of 645 students including 49 percent from language backgrounds other than English. Thereare 44 languages or cultural groups identified. To enhance the learning and wellbeing of all students, three core values ofresilience, respect, and responsibility (3R's) are embedded across the school through the Positive Behaviour forLearning (PBL) process and rewards system.

Our students showcase their talents through extra–curricular programs including choirs, bands, strings, music, dance,chess, debating and representative sport. The community languages of Greek and Italian further enrich the curriculum.

Our school enjoys a cohesive mix of experienced and early career teachers who work collaboratively in grade and stageteams to implement high quality contemporary teaching practice. This is achieved through a carefully planned andresourced professional learning program based on school and system priorities, student performance data and staffidentified need.

Our parents are valued partners and are actively involved in the life of the school with high expectations of teaching andlearning and high aspirations for their children. The P & C and parent community work in strong partnership with theschool fulfilling governance roles and providing excellent leadership of the community and financial support for theschool. The NSW School Family Occupation and Employment Index (FOEI) for 2018 was a value of 1, compared withthe NSW average of 100, reflecting high parent education levels, occupation and income levels.


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.

In relation to learning, we believe that the explicit teaching of literacy and numeracy skills together with the opportunityfor students to engage in purposeful inquiry learning is fundamental to their development as life–long learners. Webelieve all students can learn through sustaining high expectations. To achieve this, we have implemented a number ofkey strategies in the domain of learning.

Firstly, differentiated teaching to meet the needs of individual students has continued to be a school–wide focus. Thisis achieved through the early identification of students requiring learning adjustments and the consistent tracking ofstudent achievement on the literacy and numeracy continuums. Learning adjustments and personalised learning andsupport plans (PLaSP's) have been developed for identified students in partnership with parents and external specialistsincluding a school–funded speech pathologist and an occupational therapist. Our learning support team (LST) providedpersonalised support to many students to enable greater access to a differentiated curriculum. Student Learning SupportOfficers (SLSO's) assisted students in both classroom and playground domains including the facilitation of lunchtimeclubs, fine motor groups and a cooking class to support their social skills development.

Formative assessment has been embedded into classroom practice with a focus on the use of learning intentions anddifferentiated success criteria. This has enabled students to take responsibility for their learning. There has been a realcommitment within the school community that all students make strong learning progress and the use of transparentcriteria for student assessment has enabled students to reflect on and assess their learning and that of their peers.

The learning and wellbeing of students has been enhanced through the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)processes embedded in both school and classroom settings. Teachers and students have worked together to promotethe behavioural expectations that reflect our school values of respect, responsibility and resilience. This planned andevidence based approach to wellbeing has been effective in involving students, staff and the parent community insustaining a supportive learning environment. Student reward systems have been aligned to PBL processes and lessonstailored to target new and emerging behaviour trends based on class, playground and school data.

In addition, the school provided a range of extra–curricular programs including choirs, bands, strings, music, dance,chess, tournament of the minds, debating, public speaking and representative sport that supported student developmentand a growth mindset. External providers employed for dance, gymnastics, music and athletics ensured explicit teachingof these subjects was delivered using a variety of interactive and engaging resources. Throughout the year, theseopportunities were central to the culture of the school.

In the domain of teaching, student growth and achievement data were used to inform lesson planning. Teachersregularly checked that students understood the feedback provided and the expectations for how to improve were clearand attainable for all students.

Our teachers utilised professional learning opportunities to improve their knowledge of explicit and inquiry basedteaching practices through QTSS funding. Regular review and revision of teaching programs and lesson sequences ingrade groupings ensured that the content taught was based on the curriculum and engaged students in their learning.Teachers participated in 'Learning Sprints' based on Simon Breakspear's professional learning model to plan, teach andevaluate explicit teaching practices with identified students in planned, collaborative meeting times.

The leadership team supported staff to reflect on student growth and achievement data to inform key decisions onresourcing and implementing new programs or initiatives. This included continuing the Language, Learning and Literacy(L3) program, early intervention through Minilit and utilising the expertise of external mathematics consultant CarolSpencer focusing on number and place value.

Regular review of our student assessment data enabled teachers to compare results from external assessments (e.g.NAPLAN, ICAS, PAT) with internal measures to build consistent and comparable judgement of student learning. Trendsin data were shared with teachers to align class programs, celebrate growth and target areas of concern.

Our teachers utilised the Australian Professional Standards to refine their professional development needs and furtherimprove their teaching. Professional Development Plans (PDP's) for all staff identified specific areas for development andthe school facilitated professional learning to meet the needs of staff. In addition, the school monitored the accreditationstatus of all staff and supported the pursuit of higher levels of accreditation namely Highly Accomplished and Lead levels.


Teachers were supported to implement innovative or evidence based, future–focused practices such asinquiry–based learning (IBL) to continually improve their classroom practice. The leadership team identified expertisewithin our staff and drew on this to further develop our professional learning community through initiatives such asdifferentiated staff workshops to share expertise in digital literacy platforms and inquiry based units of learning.

In the domain of leading, the leadership team prioritised leadership building, high expectations and authenticrelationships. We believe that sustaining high expectations is challenging and can only be sustained when relationshipsbetween students, staff and parents are authentic, supportive and respectful.

Continuing to provide an extended leadership team supported positional executive and aspiring leaders to receivementoring from experienced executive whilst undertaking new roles to develop their leadership capabilities. Anexpression of interest (EOI) process was implemented to canvass interest from all executive and staff for mentoringroles, curriculum leadership, leadership of project teams and relieving in formal executive roles.

Participation in the 'Lead for Success' leadership initiative for the second year with a network of schools from theUltimo Directorate offered positional executive and aspiring leaders formal mentoring to develop leadership skills throughplanning, implementing and evaluating a project across a number of schools. In addition to Principal support, anexperienced leadership consultant was employed to mentor participants and supported their professional growth and thedevelopment and presentation of projects. Deputy Principals mentored each group as they undertook their projects.

The Student Representative Council (SRC) provided a strong voice for the student body and built student capacity forleadership through biannual councils. Many important events were organised by the SRC this year including a strongenvironmental awareness through 'Nude Food' and waste reduction initiatives.

Our inclusive Year 6 Leadership Program commenced which enabled each member of the 2018 cohort to learn skills inleading and collaborating with all members of our community. Students chose roles where they demonstratedresponsibility, service and perseverance in serving others in small and greater ways. Some of the areas included holdingplayground activity groups at lunch, raising and lowering the school flag, taking the microphone each day to the teacheron lines duty and assisting with the hall set up each Tuesday for assemblies.

The school was well organised with students, staff and parents supported through the systems, structures and processesin place. In addition, the school's physical resources were strategically used to support teaching and learning. Theschool's financial resources were well maintained through sound strategic management and regular finance meetings.The daily functioning of the school was supported through LMBR student finance, student wellbeing and attendancemonitoring.

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

Empowered and Successful Learners

Purpose

To develop empowered and successful learners through differentiated teaching of literacy and numeracy that is evidencebased and data informed, underpinned by high expectations and effective feedback.

Overall summary of progress

Literacy Learning

All teachers participated in professional learning to support students to develop their literacy skills, particularly insentence structure and punctuation. The implementation of a whole school approach to supporting students to developliteracy skills was further refined through explicit teaching strategies including implementing Language, Learning andLiteracy (L3) in Kindergarten and 7 Steps to Writing for Success in primary classes.

This involved classroom teachers collecting writing samples and in year groups using rubrics and consistent teacherjudgment to make comparisons to allocate A to E grades for reporting purposes.

The Principal and the leaders of the literacy and numeracy project teams attended a one day introduction to the NationalLiteracy and Numeracy Learning Progressions and PLAN 2 and a follow–up whole day session. As a result, the literacyleader and an Instructional Leader, Literacy and Numeracy Trainer provided professional learning to the whole staff onthe National Literacy Learning Progression.

In addition, all team leaders participated in 'Learning Sprints' professional learning in order to guide their teams tounderstand the National Literacy Learning Progression by identifying 3 'target' students who were the focus whenplanning differentiated literacy sessions.

Numeracy Learning

Analysis of 2018 SMART data guided school planning and resource allocation in numeracy. In addition, whole schoolstandardised tests including Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) and the Waddington Diagnostic Test informed schooldecisions. Analysis of the data was used to inform teaching and learning and drive differentiated teaching and learningprograms. The mathematics scope and sequence was updated to align with inquiry learning opportunities in science,history and geography.

All teachers participated in professional learning to support students to develop their numeracy skills, focusing on placevalue. Working with external mathematics consultant, Carol Spencer from 'A Learning Place A Teaching Place', teachersdeveloped their understanding of how to explicitly teach and deliver differentiated learning in numeracy throughdemonstration lessons, professional learning meetings, and small group discussions.

In addition, teachers engaged in reflection and discussions in grade and stage meetings to analyse student worksamples and progress in numeracy. Through their participation in collaborative practices such as 'Learning Sprints', staffidentified 3–4 'target' students that would be carefully considered when planning differentiated lessons in mathematics.All teachers tracked student progress and growth in place value on the numeracy continuum and included the use ofdifferentiation strategies in mathematics as a whole school goal for their Professional Development Plans (PDP's).

Evidence and Impact

Leaders collated whole school data (NAPLAN, PAT / Waddington & class / grade based assessments) and conducted ananalysis to determine needs for teacher professional learning in particular focusing on writing and mathematics. Staffused a school bank of assessments collected at end of the year for class formations and start of year groupings. Asummative assessment schedule was established and updated each term.

Several executive staff received training in understanding the new Learning Progressions and PLAN 2 software. Inaddition, all kindergarten staff were involved in professional learning in the new Kindergarten Best Start Assessment andsoftware using PLAN 2 to enhance teaching and learning.

Simon Breakspear's 'Learning Sprints' model was utilised to provide teachers with tools and protocols to analyse studentdata and reflect on their teaching practice. Professional learning was undertaken to train the leadership team to lead theirgrades in this process.


Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Funds Expended(Resources)

Progress achieved this year

Increased proportion of studentsachieving at or greater thanexpected growth in literacy andnumeracy.

$31,000 resources inclsubscriptions for ReadingEggs, 7 Steps Writing,Soundwaves, SchoolMagazine

$1000 relief for training onthe Literacy and NumeracyProgressions

2018 Growth from Year 3 – Year 5 At or aboveexpected growth : 54%

2017 growth Year 3 to 5 was 49%

Increased proportion of studentsin the top two NAPLAN bands forreading, writing and numeracy.

$5180 for mathematicsconsultant Carol Spencer &$5000 for casual relief

2018 NAPLAN results indicated an increasedproportion of students in the top two NAPLANbands for numeracy.

Increased proportion of teacherswho are confident indifferentiating the teaching ofliteracy and numeracy skills tomeet the full range of studentneed in their classes.

$2000 for casual relief toattend Visible Learningconference. $1700 forACER PAT onlineassessments

All staff felt they had improved their skills indifferentiated teaching, particularly in writing andplace value. The number of students receivinglearning adjustments and individualised programsto facilitate this is 18%.

Next Steps

In Literacy in 2019, we will focus on text structure, sentence structure and punctuation in writing. All classroom teacherswill collect writing samples in stage based teams, participate in consistent teacher judgment activities using the NationalLiteracy Learning Progressions to make informed judgements about 'where students are at and where they are going.' Inaddition, this will support making clear 'A to E' judgements in semester 1 and 2 for reporting purposes.

Engagement of Stephen Graham, an external literacy consultant will provide professional learning and demonstrationlessons which will focus on the text structure of literary and persuasive texts. We plan to develop a K–6 scope andsequence of the language structures and features of literary, persuasive and informative texts. In addition, we plan toeffectively track identified students on PLAN 2 in aspects of writing in literacy and place value in numeracy.

In 2019, we will maintain our focus on differentiation and student growth in numeracy through continued professionallearning sessions, collegial discussions, planning and implementing learning sprints in specific areas of numeracy asevident in data. We will continue our engagement with mathematics consultant Carol Spencer to work with new staffmembers on developing a pedagogy of explicit teaching and differentiated learning experiences for students.

An assessment schedule will be established in a school Google Doc to regularly input grade assessments every 5 weeksfor an accurate overview of assessment across the school. We will support students to have ownership of their ownlearning (Learning Portfolios–Seesaw) to track their progress over time linked to their learning goals. In addition, we willestablish an 'Impact Wall' for each grade to share evidence of student progress and work samples with each other duringLearning Sprints teacher collaboration sessions. In 2019, we will survey staff regarding the implementation of formativeassessment with a focus on learning intentions and success criteria and effective feedback practices and use the resultsto refine our implementation and guide professional learning.



Innovative & Future–Focused Teaching

Purpose

To build the capacity of teachers to effectively meet the needs of all learners through innovative and future–focussedteaching, evident when learners have the skills, strategies and perspectives to adapt in a rapidly changing world.


Integrated Technology

All teachers participated in professional learning on the new NSW Science and Technology Syllabus with a particulargoal to create a whole school scope and sequence of learning. In addition, teachers began to identify areas where thenew digital technologies strand can be integrated into current units of learning, while maintaining a focus on workingscientifically and design and production. A scope and sequence has been developed to assist in the explicit teaching oftechnological capabilities across the curriculum.

Future Focused Teaching

Future–focused pedagogy including Inquiry Based Learning (IBL), Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics(STEM) and Self Organised Learning Environments (SOLE) has been introduced through targeted professional learningopportunities. Teachers have enhanced their delivery of the curriculum through various future–focused teachingpractices and created real world learning experiences for students. Staff from across the school attended professionallearning with external consultant Kath Murdoch to develop their understanding of inquiry learning practices. They wereable to share their learning with the school through differentiated professional learning sessions held each term.

Enrichment

The Enrichment project team developed and implemented identification checklists for high potential and gifted studentsfor each stage, a student underachiever checklist and a parent checklist including an invitation to share information tobuild a specific student profile for their child. Each of these were shared with the staff at the Term 2 Staff DevelopmentDay. In addition, the Learning Support Team (LST) supported this initiative at a grade level. As a result, there has beenan increase in the number of student referrals to the LST for review with specialist staff identifying and developingtargeted lessons to support underachievement.





Increased proportion of studentsconfident in utilising a variety oftechnologies to support theirengagement in learning.

$24,595 for new ipads /laptops / and desktopcomputers

Increased use of technology across KLA's throughpurchasing of new ICT devices.

Increased proportion of studentsdemonstrating the skills andlanguage of inquiry throughactive engagement in thelearning process.

$7000 casual relief and$2800 for costs to attendInquiry Based Learningconference with KathMurdoch.

Increased proportion of staff have received trainingin inquiry learning strategies. Students havedemonstrated an increase in utilising inquiry skillsthrough the use of STEM units, i–time and ThinkingKeys.

Increased proportion of gifted,high potential, andunderachieving students areidentified and challenged,demonstrating greaterengagement in their learning.

$1000 to host CESE GiftedEducation PL pilot

Teachers have demonstrated differentiated learningactivities and targeted their teaching to achievegreater student engagement. Identificationchecklists for High Potential learners wereemployed to personalise and cater for identifiedstudents.

Increased proportion of teachersemploying innovative,future–focused teaching practicesin the delivery of the curriculum.

No costs involved.

School–based PL–differentiated sessions

Teachers have received professional learning in thenew Science and Technology curriculum with afocus on integrating the design and productioncycle.


Next Steps

In 2019, we will continue to provide professional learning to build teacher capacity in the area of digital technologies andevaluate how and where this strand is integrated into the new school scope and sequence.

We plan to create a whole school 'language of inquiry learning' and incorporate inquiry techniques into science units. Inaddition, we will continue to support staff to gain a deeper understanding of inquiry learning through participation inprofessional learning with Kath Murdoch and incorporate greater use of library resources to facilitate inquiry learning.

We will also continue to employ specialist speech and occupational therapists to screen, identify and provide small groupintervention to students. In addition, teachers will be supported to become confident in identifying and accommodatinghigh potential and gifted learners in all areas of the curriculum, using school developed checklists. In 2019, we will buildthe capacity of the leadership and Learning Support Teams to complete the process for Access Requests.



Resilient and Engaged Community

Purpose

To develop a resilient and engaged community that values and promotes strong partnerships within and beyond theschool so that students become confident, respectful and responsible citizens.


Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

A school–wide focus on the implementation of the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) process has supported theachievement of strategic direction 3. A coordinated and consistent approach to the explicit teaching of appropriatestudent behaviours relevant to various school settings has been established. As a result, there have been observablechanges in student behaviour and more positive and respectful relationships evident across the school community.

Regular meetings held by the PBL project team have ensured that staff were regularly informed of data–driven focusareas and the consequences for student behaviour. A token system has been used to reward appropriate studentbehaviours. The tokens have been collected against sports house groups with the winning house receiving a rewardevery 5 weeks.

Our teachers continued to utilise the ebs4 student tracking software to record and respond to student behaviour.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

To support the wellbeing of students, staff and parents, SEL education has been implemented to develop a growthmindset and resilience. A range of school–based data has been collected and evaluated to guide the selection of anappropriate SEL program that will complement our existing PBL processes.

Regular meetings held by the SEL project team ensured that information collected was valid and research into existingSEL programs would support the specific needs of the school community. A shortlist of SEL programs was developedbased on this data.

Resilient and Engaged Community

To build a resilient and engaged community, opportunities were provided for parents and friends of the school to partnerwith us as volunteers. Online training in helping with reading and mathematics in classrooms was provided. In addition,parent workshops on 'helping your child with mathematics' were presented by external maths consultant Carol Spencer.

To support the engagement of families, effective communication strategies were employed by the school including the'Skoolbag' app communication tool and information provided through weekly newsletter articles by Michael Grose(Parenting Ideas) and regular SEL presentations in student assemblies.





PBL implementation target of90% measured throughBenchmarks of Quality (BoQ)Coach scoring guide,School–wide Evaluation Tool(SET), Tiered Fidelity Inventory(TFI) and Self–AssessmentSurvey (SAS).

$5500 for PBL course costsand casual relief to supporttraining and schoolplanning.

PBL processes have been consolidated.

TFI indicated a 76% rating (target 80% to progressto Tier 2)

Student surveys were carried out to strengthen'student voice' in the school.

Established a social andemotional learning (SEL) processacross the school community.

No costs incurred Positive feedback from the school community on aSEL program being implemented. A review of SELprograms was carried out.

Increased proportion of students, $2700 to engage Teacher Survey of students by PBL consultants indicated






staff and parents demonstrating agrowth mindset.

Wellbeing consultantDaniela Falecki to presentTPL for staff.

that most students could identify the school's corevalues.

Increased proportion of parentsparticipating in training, studentlearning and school activities.

$650 subscription for parentonline training

A large proportion of parents accessed volunteertraining, information in the newsletter (350 hits perweek) and participated in school communityactivities.

Next Steps

In 2019, we will refine our reward and consequence processes for PBL to ensure consistent expectations betweenteachers, executive and the parent community.

We will also select and implement a SEL program providing resources and teacher professional learning throughout theyear.

In addition, we will monitor student behaviour and resilience through the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) and school–basedsurveys.


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

Aboriginal background loading $1433 course costs andteacher relief to developPLP's and attend TPL

All Indigenous students (less than 1% ofenrolment) have Personalised LearningPathways developed in partnership withparents to engage the students in discussingtheir academic goals and aspirations takinginto account the student's spiritual, emotional,social and physical health and wellbeing.

English language proficiency $160,405 funds used forstaff salaries

The English language proficiency flexiblefunding was used to employ an additionalEAL/D teacher two days per week. Theteachers supported the EAL/D programthrough collaboratively planning teachingstrategies to support student progressthrough the EAL/D learning progressions.This initiative improved student learningoutcomes and teaching practice.

Low level adjustment for disability $101,342 funds used forstaff salaries

Learning support was provided for studentswith additional educational needs through lowlevel adjustment for disability funding. Thisincluded:

1. Learning and Support Teacher (LaST)funding

2. Learning and Support Flexible funding. Inaddition, the school received targetedintegration funding ($168,578).

The funding sources were used to:

–employ a LaST three days per week toprovide learning support for identifiedstudents

–employ Student Learning Support Officers(SLSO's) to provide in–class and playgroundsupport, cooking and fine motor groups

–support teachers to develop personalisedlearning and support plans (PLaSPs) andlearning adjustments (LAs) and utilise theSignposting tool (PLASST)

–hold annual review meetings with parents

–implement Minilit and Multilit programs foridentified students to improve literacy skills

–supported staff to attend TPL courses onbehaviour management, autism and networkmeetings

–employ a specialist speech pathologist andoccupational therapist for early interventionand in–class support for teachers.

This resulted in an improvement in studentlearning outcomes, an increase in studentparticipation and access to the curriculum forstudents with additional learning needs.

The Learning Support Team played a pivotalrole in co–ordinating disability funding.


Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

$120,875 funds used forstaff salaries

The Quality Teaching, Successful Students(QTSS) initiative provided an additionalstaffing resource to improve the quality ofteaching at the school.

This initiative by the Department of Educationwas delivered to ensure that all primarystudents benefit from high quality teachingand learning practices that better meet the fullrange of student needs.

In 2018, the allocation was used to developcollaborative practices in the school bysupporting teachers to develop, implementand review PDP's. The Learning Sprintsmodel was implemented utilising this funding,allowing grade teachers regular, planned timeto work collaboratively to plan, teach andassess literacy and numeracy lessons,improving their teacher expertise across theyear.

Socio–economic background $4353 funds used forexcursion costs

Socio–economic background fundingprovided a small proportion of students withgreater access to the curriculum.

Supplementation was provided to families tosupport participation in school programs andexcursions. This support enabled students tohave equal opportunities and facilitated apositive and inclusive school culture.

Support for beginning teachers $4,164 funds used for staffsalaries to provide RFF fora beginning teacher and APmentor

Under the Great Teaching, Inspired Learning(GTIL) initiative, funding was provided forpermanent beginning teachers in the first twoyears of their teaching. Funding forTemporary teachers in their first year wasrolled out. Funding:

–assisted with the new teacher's induction

–provided additional release from face to faceteaching

–allowed participation in TPL

–supported teacher accreditation at the levelof Proficient Teacher

–facilitated mentoring from executive andexperienced teachers

–enabled new teachers to observe lessons,team teach, compile evidences foraccreditation, and engage in structuredfeedback discussions.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2015 2016 2017 2018

Boys 348 347 330 307

Girls 347 355 355 338

Given the size of the school site, the school wasrezoned in 2016 by the Department of Education toreduce student enrolments. In addition, limited 'out ofarea' student enrolments have not been accepted overthe past three years.

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

K 96.4 95.7 96 96.2

1 95.8 96.2 94.5 95.7

2 95.7 95.8 95.4 96.1

3 95.8 96.2 95.8 95.8

4 95.3 96.3 95.3 96.1

5 96 96.7 95.5 95.8

6 95.4 95 94.7 95.8

All Years 95.8 96 95.3 95.9

State DoE

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

K 94.4 94.4 94.4 93.8

1 93.8 93.9 93.8 93.4

2 94 94.1 94 93.5

3 94.1 94.2 94.1 93.6

4 94 93.9 93.9 93.4

5 94 93.9 93.8 93.2

6 93.5 93.4 93.3 92.5

All Years 94 94 93.9 93.4

Management of non-attendance

Student attendance was monitored by class teachers,executive and the Home School Liaison Officer.Parents provided notes explaining student absences.Contact was made with families when there was apattern of poor attendance of three or moreunexplained absences. Staff refined roll markingprocedures and monitored student absenteeismclosely. The Home School Liaison Officer assisted the

executive to inform the community of attendanceexpectations through information included in weeklynewsletters and parent forums.

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal(s) 1

Deputy Principal(s) 1

Assistant Principal(s) 4

Classroom Teacher(s) 24.4

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.53

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.6

Teacher Librarian 1.2

Teacher ESL 1.2

School Administration and SupportStaff

4.06

Other Positions 2

*Full Time Equivalent

The Australian Educational Regulation, 2014 requiresschools to report on the Aboriginal composition of theirworkforce. Drummoyne Public School has no knownIndigenous members of staff.

The teacher allocation for Reading Recovery was usedto employ specialist Learning and Support Teachers toimplement the Mini–lit Literacy program for earlychildhood students.

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 25


Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Teaching staff were committed to their activeparticipation in high quality professional learning.School based and external professional learningopportunities were linked to our strategic directions andcommon areas of staff need. Student Learning andSupport Staff (SLSO's) and administrative staffparticipated in professional learning activities to supportthem to effectively meet the demands of their roles andresponsibilities. All SLSO's and admin staff developedand implemented Professional Development Plans(PDP's).

In 2018 professional learning included the followinginitiatives. • Completion of the training of kindergarten and

specialist staff in Language, Learning andLiteracy (L3) to provide targeted reading andwriting for kindergarten students. The programcomplemented the daily literacy activities forstudents. Teachers of L3 completed professionallearning throughout the year including workshops,demonstration lessons, supervised practice andin–class support.

• All teachers engaged in literacy learning with afocus on improvement in writing throughdemonstration lessons and professional learningwith literary specialist, Stephen Graham. Thefocus of learning was centred on the teaching ofwriting across K–6 classes.

• Our school focus on Inquiry–Based Learning withinternational educator Kath Murdoch continuedwith a further eight staff attending a conference toimprove their understanding of contemporarypedagogy. Teachers embedded inquiry learningthroughout the year, focusing on integratingteaching and learning across several key learningareas.

• Mandatory training including e–Emergency Care,2018 Child Protection Update and Code ofConduct was provided for staff. All teaching staffdeveloped and implemented ProfessionalDevelopment Plans (PDP's).

• Through collaborative development of units oflearning, staff continued the implementation ofnew science and history syllabuses.

• Teachers attended a number of external coursesincluding in areas such as literacy, numeracy,technology, student engagement, music, sport,road safety and visual arts.

• The leadership team participated in professionallearning on Learning Sprints with Dr SimonBreakspear. They were able to share theirlearning with grade teams and lead severalexplicit teaching cycles (Learning Sprints) duringthe year to strengthen student performance aswell as improve teacher expertise.

• Mathematics was another focus area forprofessional learning across the school.Mathematics consultant Carol Spencer wasemployed to deliver professional learningthroughout the year. Demonstration lessons andgrade planning in teams were supported with anemphasis on place value in mathematics.

Teachers worked collaboratively to assess, planand teach based on student needs, utilisingQTSS funding.


Financial information

Financial summary

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from 1 January 2018 to 31December 2018.

2018 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 727,170

Revenue 5,814,976

Appropriation 5,214,927

Sale of Goods and Services 10,381

Grants and Contributions 579,420

Gain and Loss 0

Other Revenue 100

Investment Income 10,148

Expenses -5,897,509

Recurrent Expenses -5,897,509

Employee Related -5,023,145

Operating Expenses -874,364

Capital Expenses 0

Employee Related 0

Operating Expenses 0

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

-82,533

Balance Carried Forward 644,637

The Principal is responsible for the financialmanagement of the school to meet policy requirements.The School Administration Manager under theguidance of the Principal, performs the day to daymanagement of the school's finance.

School project teams have been established under theschool's strategic directions to develop strategies andimplement these within their budgets.

Funds carried forward will be used to pay outstandingaccounts including the cost of casual teacher relief andstaff salaries. The funds carried forward included aP&C donation of $122,040 received in December forthe 2018 Learning and Support Teacher Enrichmentprogram.

Savings will be expended in 2019 on teacher salaries toreduce class sizes and on specialist programs, schoolresources and capital projects including phase 2 of theplayground upgrade.

In 2018, the P&C endorsed a donation of $60 fromparents for the Learning Enrichment, Technology andInnovation fund. The funds were used by the school to

purchase reading resources ($2500), scienceresources ($2000), library furniture ($8000) and aclassroom projector and interactive whiteboard($10,500).

The financial table below represents equity fundingused primarily for staff salaries to address Aboriginal,socio–economic, language and disability needs ofstudents in the school.

Financial summary equity funding

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

2018 Actual ($)

Base Total 4,292,124

Base Per Capita 132,458

Base Location 0

Other Base 4,159,666

Equity Total 267,534

Equity Aboriginal 1,433

Equity Socio economic 4,353

Equity Language 160,405

Equity Disability 101,342

Targeted Total 168,578

Other Total 389,264

Grand Total 5,117,499

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 and numeracyassessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 toBand 10. The achievement scale represents increasinglevels of skills and understandings demonstrated inthese assessments.

From 2018 to 2020 NAPLAN is moving from a papertest to an online test. Individual schools are migrating tothe online test, with some schools attempting NAPLANon paper and others online.

Results for both online and paper formats are reportedon the same NAPLAN assessment scale. Anycomparison of NAPLAN results – such as comparisonsto previous NAPLAN results or to results for studentswho did the assessment in a different format – shouldtake into consideration the different test formats andare discouraged during these transition years.

Students completed NAPLAN in a paper format thisyear but will move to the online version in 2019, withthe exception of Year 3 Writing.

YEAR 3 LITERACY

For Year 3 the bands range from Band 1 (lowest) toBand 6 (highest). In 2018, 81 Year 3 students sat forthe National Assessment Test in Literacy. Our resultswere above the state average in reading, writing,spelling and grammar and punctuation.

* 82.7% of students in Year 3 achieved in the top twobands for reading compared to 51.7% for the state

* 81.5% of students in Year 3 achieved in the top twobands for writing compared to 45.1% for the state

* 76.5% of students in Year 3 achieved in the top twobands for spelling compared to 50.2% for the state

* 75.3% of students in Year 3 achieved in the top twobands for grammar / punctuation compared to 48.1%for the state.

YEAR 5 LITERACY

For Year 5 the bands range from Band 3 (lowest) toBand 8 (highest). In 2018, 86 Year 5 students sat forthe National Assessment Test in Literacy. Our resultswere above the state average in reading, writing,spelling and grammar and punctuation.

* 66.3% of students in Year 5 achieved in the top twobands for reading compared to 36.3% for the state

* 21.8% of students in Year 5 achieved in the top twobands for writing compared to 14.9% for the state

* 58.1% of students in Year 5 achieved in the top twobands for spelling compared to 35.8% for the state

* 57% of students in Year 5 achieved in the top twobands for grammar / punctuation compared to 34.8%for the state.


YEAR 3 NUMERACY

For Year 3, the bands range from Band 1 (lowest) toBand 6 (highest).

In 2018, 80 Year 3 students sat for the NationalAssessment Test in Numeracy. Our results were abovethe state average in numeracy in all areas.

*75% of students in Year 3 achieved in the top twobands for numeracy compared to 40.9% for the state.

YEAR 5 NUMERACY

For Year 5, the bands range from Band 3 (lowest) toBand 8 (highest).

In 2018, 87 Year 5 students sat for the NationalAssessment Test in Numeracy. Our results were abovethe state average in numeracy in all areas.

*42.5% of students in Year 5 achieved in the top twobands for numeracy compared to 30.2% for the state.


The My School website provides detailed informationand data for national literacy and numeracy testing. Goto http://www.myschool.edu.au to access the schooldata.

In 2018, in accordance with the Premier's Priorities:Improving education results and State Priorities: Betterservices – Improving Aboriginal education outcomes forstudents in the top two NAPLAN bands in reading andnumeracy. This data is outlined in the literacy andnumeracy reports above.

Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

In 2018 the school sought the opinions of parents,students and teachers about the school using the TellThem From Me surveys. The responses from bothsurveys are presented below.

The large majority of parents felt welcomed when theyvisited the school and could speak easily with theirchild's teacher in both formal and informal settings.Some 20% of parents were actively involved at schoolcommittee level. In addition, many parents,grandparents and members of the community regularlycontributed their time in a volunteer capacity. Mostparents indicated that they had high expectations fortheir children and supported student learning at home.

Over 90% of students reported having highexpectations for success and indicated that they weresupported by their teachers at school. Most studentsfelt they tried hard to achieve school outcomes and hadpositive relationships with their peers.

Staff valued the students' enthusiasm for learning andthe ongoing support of the parent community. Staff alsofelt supported by the leadership team and enjoyedcollaborating with colleagues to improve their teaching.High expectations were held for student success andregular communication with parents was supported toimprove student learning outcomes.


Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

In 2018, our school implemented aspects of theAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education ActionPlan. Aboriginal Education was integrated into thecurriculum as we supported the need for all students tobe educated about Aboriginal Australia. This wasachieved through cross curriculum priorities in all keylearning areas to support students to engage inAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories andcultures.

In keeping with the Aboriginal Education Action Plan,Personal Learning Pathways for our Aboriginal studentswere developed and implemented.

Achievements of our Aboriginal students in literacy andnumeracy were closely aligned to the state averageand attendance rates were consistent with the highstandards of the school. This was a reflection of thecommitment of our Aboriginal parents to the school andactive collaboration with families.

As a result, we have strengthened our partnership withour Aboriginal families and sustained a positive andinclusive school culture.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

Our school has a student population of 49% fromlanguage backgrounds other than English. This year wecelebrated this diversity with a Multicultural Day hostedby our Community Language teachers. With Greek andItalian languages being taught from Years 1–6, othercultures were included in the celebration to promoteinclusivity. In teaching and learning, we ensured allprograms were inclusive and were sensitive to theneeds of all students.

In relation to student need, there were 27 'Beginning'English students, 56 'Emerging' English students, 92'Developing' English students and 19 'Consolidating'English students, requiring EAL/D support. Our EAL/Dteachers provided individual, small group and wholeclass support across all stages. Intensive support wasprovided for Beginning English learners.

Students in Years 3–6 participated in the MulticulturalPerspectives Public Speaking Competition, whichaimed to heighten awareness of multicultural issuesand promote democratic values in the context of thefamily and the wider community. All students weregiven an opportunity to explore topics related to culturaldiversity and voice their opinion on issues of concern tothem. Candidates were nominated from each class toenter the school competition where they delivered aprepared and an impromptu speech.

Anti–racism played an important part in our studentbehaviour system. As a Positive Behaviour for Learning(PBL) school, students were taught the core values ofrespect, responsibility and resilience. These valueswere embedded across the school, both in the

classroom and playground, as well as encouraged tobe referenced within the home. In addition, the schoolhad a trained Anti–Racism Contact Officer (ARCO) whoacted as the contact point for students, staff, parentsand the community in relation to racism.

Other school programs

Our Performing Arts

In 2018, we were proud to host our biennial Artist Trail.Artworks were created throughout the school and ondisplay during Education Week. The theme for theexhibition was STEAM (Science, Technology,Engineering, Art and Mathematics), which each classinterpreted in a unique way. Students worked hardcollecting materials and creating beautiful artworks thatwere displayed both inside and outside the school.

Early Stage One students chose artworks titled: Suns,Wacky Weather, Balance: in and around us and Silver,Sparkly Wind. Investigations in science contributed tothe sculptures and paintings as students learnt aboutthe weather and explored wind, rain and the sun. Clay,foil, paint and wire were some of the materials used.

The students worked hard to learn about weatherpatterns and also responded to literary texts whendevising the topic for their artworks. Students, teachersand parents worked together to help create thestunning results.

The Early Stage One students demonstrated a sense ofpride and satisfaction at achieving their goal andworking together to contribute to a fantastic art trail.

Stage One students delved into the STEAM theme toproduce a wide range of interesting artworks andinnovative installations. Their artworks were titled: Art inMotion, Forest of Light, Shapes of Colour, WoollyKandinsky, Spring Sound Garden, Concentric Circles,The Famous Cow Parade, Magical Musical Marimbaand Mathematical String Art.

Science lessons in motion and gravity createdexperimental pendulum paintings, while the VividSydney light festival gave inspiration to our own lightinstallation with students investigating different opaqueand translucent materials to pass light through.Mexican artists with a focus on textiles encouragedstudents to investigate the colour spectrum and scale torepresent a giant thread installation. Colour and shapewere used to create a French knitting wall hanging thatalso benefitted students' fine motor skills. Soundscapesthrough the media of GarageBand on ipads were usedas ambient music in an installation of Spring inspiredpaper, bamboo, string and ink. Students also learnt toweave using colourful threads creating concentriccircles. Cows were the focus of a paper mache parade,inspired by Bill Dobell. Students enjoyed makingmodels with distinctive markings to display. An outdoorxylophone (marimba) was created and studentsenjoyed investigating the variety of sounds and levelsof pitch created. A mathematical focus using string artenabled students to display their creativity withmathematical patterns.


This commitment, dedication and hard work bystudents and their teachers was showcased to theschool community during the Art Trail.

Stage Two students were inspired by Antonio Gaudiwith works titled: The Broken Tooth, Gaudi GardenLizards, Recycled Gaudi architecture and FantasyBuilding Designs, and Dare to be Challenged. A focuson the environment was also displayed through: Waveof Change, Erosion, Mobile Mania and Shadows ofOnce Was.

Students researched Gaudi artworks and usedmediums such as model magic, clay, mosaics,cellophane and drawings. These bright and colourfulartworks brought the school corridors to life.Environmental problems were highlighted as studentsdiscussed pollution, erosion and commercial fishingand the role they play in sea life devastation. Classsculptures were a representation of students' thoughtsto save the planet.

Stage Two teachers were very impressed with the effortand enthusiasm students displayed when investigatingand creating their artworks. Cooperative teamwork anda STEAM focus was evident in the finalrepresentations.

Stage Three students were inspired across the KLA'sto incorporate both scientific, mathematical andhistorical themes when creating their artworks. Titles oftheir artworks were: Vicious Volcanoes, Get insideNed's Head, Migration, Steampunk Fashion Parade, IsArt Maths or is it Art? and Slow Fashion.

A science unit on earthquakes and how they changethe Earth were the catalyst for interactive volcanodisplays. Ned Kelly came to life in the school foyer withan interaction oral soundtrack to accompany a life sizemodel and artworks depicting his story. Migration ofbirds was explored in geography lessons and actualsize wire models were created and displayed in ourplayground trees. Fashion also took centre–stage asstudents took a step back in time to the Victorian eraand compiled unique looks to model. Sustainableclothing was also on show using plaster of paris toresemble the Australian way of drying clothes on theclothesline. Transparent maths structures completedthe display as students asked observers to view theirartworks from different perspectives and decide is itmaths or is it art?

The range of works and perspectives showcased boththe talent and varied interests of the Stage Threestudents.

Students who participated in our EAL/D and finemotor programs also contributed to the Art Trail withthe construction of a robot with accompanying oraldescription and a fine motor display. Studentsshowcased exemplary cutting, threading, beading,weaving and colouring skills.

Parents, caregivers and community members wereinvited to attend our Art Trail and explored the schoolclassrooms, corridors and grounds to experience it

first–hand. They were delighted and inspired by thestudents' efforts!

Other performing arts activities during the year wereevident through our external providers, DanceFeverMultiSports and Jellybeans Music. Studentsparticipated in weekly lessons in music, athletics, danceand gymnastics. Each term parents were invited to seestudents involved in the lessons to showcase their newlearning. We also participated in the DanceFeverMultisport Interschool Dance Challenge at Homebush.Students represented Drummoyne Public Schoolexceptionally well and thoroughly enjoyed the eveningperformance.

Students also participated in our school band andstrings programs provided through Directions in Music.Students were able to showcase their increasing skilldevelopment through concerts across the year and forspecial school events such as the annual school fete.

Our three school choirs (Senior, Junior and Stage One)supported ample opportunities for students to performat a variety of school functions such as the fete,concerts, Education Week, weekly assemblies and alsothrough involvement in the Primary Proms, SalvationArmy and Opera House performances.


2018 drummoyne public school annual report · page 2 of 23 drummoyne public school 1774 (2018)...

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