2019 victoria avenue public school annual report · • festival of innovative ideas • end of...

Victoria Avenue Public School2019 Annual Report

4655

Printed on: 1 June, 2020 of 20 Victoria Avenue Public School 4655 (2019)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2019 is provided to the community of Victoria Avenue 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

Victoria Avenue Public School64-66 Victoria AvenueCONCORD WEST, 2138www.victoriaav-p.schools.nsw.edu.auvictoriaav-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au02 9743 1352

Message from the principal

Victoria Avenue Public School opened in 2015 and is located on Victoria Avenue, Concord West. We acknowledge thatwe play and learn on the lands of the Wangal people of the Eora nation and the Barramattagal people of the Darugnation and pay our respects to elders past and present. We are situated adjacent to Sydney Olympic Park which includesthe Badu mangroves, the Narrawang Wetlands and the Homebush Bay Shipwrecks.

As the acting principal of Victoria Avenue Public School I am proud of what we have achieved in our five years ofoperation. Our school motto 'Include, Inspire, Innovate' encompasses everything we do. Our students are passionateabout learning, strive to shape their creative and critical ideas into meaningful innovations. Our students celebratedifference and diversity and confidently share their own unique voice with the community. We have a strong sense ofcommunity where all students are known, valued and cared for.

We aim to provide every student with the tools they need to collaborate, to succeed and to lead.

At VAPS we have big ideas and we bring them to life. We innovate.

At VAPS we include and we are included. We belong.

At VAPS we are inspired and we inspire others. We lead.

The school has a growing enrolment of 266 students which formed 10 mainstream and 5 inclusive classes in 2019. Theteaching, administration and support staff are highly professional, talented and committed to providing quality educationalprograms which meet the needs and develop the talents of each individual child. All staff members are active in pursuingprofessional development.

Victoria Avenue Public School prides itself as a place where staff, parents and students share a common goal ofproviding an inclusive learning environment where learners are inspired and learning is innovative. It is our view that ashared commitment and a genuine partnership between school and home will enhance the learning opportunities for ourstudents. As a community we work together to optimise the potential of each child as they grow to become lifelonglearners. Victoria Avenue Public School prides itself on the friendly, family atmosphere that has developed within ourwonderfully supportive school community. I would like to thank our Parents and Citizens Association and the widercommunity for their continued commitment to our students, staff and school programs. In 2019, our P&C Associationcontinued to work tirelessly to raise funds through a number of initiatives.

I certify that the information provided in this report is the result of a rigorous school self–assessment and review processundertaken with staff, parents and students and provides a balanced and genuine account of the school's achievementsand areas for development.

Danielle Coonan

Acting Principal


Message from the school community

The P&C and wider school community are integral to helping improve the education experience of all students at VAPSand play such an important and interlocked role. As the President of the Victoria Avenue Public School P&C Associationfor 3 years now, it always gives me great pleasure to see all those in the community that are invested in the students'education, at a school that is helping shape children into the best they can be.

Whether it's helping in a classroom or at an event, doing a canteen shift or guiding a walking school bus home, cooking aschool BBQ or a Bunnings BBQ, these things and many more always serve to remind me that everyone can play animportant part in the school community.

A year of fun and achievements

2019 was a busy year for the Victoria Avenue Public School P&C. The group helped to support a number of eventsthroughout the year including the;

• Term 1 welcome morning tea • School fun run • School disco • Festival of Innovative Ideas • End of year celebration event • Charity pizza and ice–cream day • Finger bun day • Bunnings BBQ for books • End of year student presentation day and awards • School Disco and Father's Day raffles

There were some great wins by the P&C and school community throughout 2019. The P&C, were the successfulrecipients of a number of funding grants that will go towards enhancing the school environment.

• $75,000 from the NSW Government – Funding contribution towards the new community playground. • $1,000 from Woolworths – Funding contribution towards additional school garden planter boxes. • $1,000 from Sydney Water – Funding contribution towards sensory gardens to form a part of the new community

playground.

Extra–Curricular Activities (ECA)

Extra–curricular activities (ECA) were introduced as a trial initiative in Term 1, 2019. Programs were chosen from theresults of a survey of the school parent community in late 2018. Initially, five programs were introduced over two daysbefore and after school; these were:

• Chess program (Tuesday before school), run by Sydney Academy of Chess. • Bricks 4 Kidz (Tuesday after school) – a Lego–based, themed STEM program. • Kids Up Front (Tuesday after school) – a drama program teaching expression, communication, confidence and

acting skills. • Art Sparks (Thursday after school) – a creative art program using a weekly theme to explore different art mediums,

developed and run by a VAPS parent with extensive teaching experience. • Coding 4 Fun (Thursday after school) – a program that teaches Coding to students using Scratch.

There was a very enthusiastic uptake of the programs by parents and students, resulting in extra sessions being addedto some programs in Term 2. All programs continued to run through the remainder of 2019. A follow up survey was putout to parents in Term 3, 2019 to look at options for future programs, as well as seek feedback on existing serviceprovision within the programs. An expansion of programs to include sporting activities and an additional day is proposedfor 2020.

Throughout this process, ongoing consultation with both the School Executive and the after school care provider, CubbyHouse was undertaken. This was to ensure that the implementation of programs was effective, as well as to ensure thatCubby House were still able to maintain their operations whilst ECA programs were running.

Walking School Bus

In 2019 the Liberty Grove Walking School Bus service continued providing student drop offs and an extremely valuableservice to the school community. The service is entirely dependent on parent & carer volunteers that contributed manyvolunteer hours to keep the bus running during the year. The P&C continues to fund and hold accredited child first aidtraining to all volunteers.


A very big thank you to all of the Liberty Grove walking school bus volunteers and coordinators. The amazing feedbackthe P&C receives about the walking school bus service speaks volume to how lucky we are to have such a greatcommunity service as part of our school community. The P&C continue to work with the school to add other schoolroutes as well and will continue to do so in 2020.

School Canteen

The canteen continued to operate throughout 2019 thanks to the time donated by VAPS parents & carers. The P&Cwould like to acknowledge all of the canteen volunteers who helped in some way during the year.

2019 saw the purchase of additional commercial equipment for the canteen. This further enhances the facility that beganwith just a pie warmer and a single fridge only a few years ago. The P&C will continue to invest in the canteen as theschool and its enrolments continue to grow. The canteen continues to be a key contributor to the funds raised by theP&C, and that is reinvested back into school enrichment programs for all students at VAPS.

As the school populations builds the P&C will continue to work towards be able to contract out all canteen operations andopen up the canteen for the entire school week.

Did you know?

If each parent and carer volunteered for just one canteen shift a year we would have to turn many of you away!

Parents and families play an important role in supporting their child's education. Research has shown that when schoolsand families work together, children do better, stay in school longer, are more engaged with their schoolwork, go toschool more regularly, behave better, and have better social skills. Parent engagement also results in longer termeconomic, social and emotional benefits.

Good food for thought.

School Uniform Shop

Some of you may not know that back in 2016, the P&C took over all ownership and running of the uniform shop from theNSW Department of Education and all uniform stock held at the time. In 2019 we continued to meet our obligation to payback the $80,000 of stock at that time of transfer. Our payment at the end of 2019 will bring the balance down to$20,000. The P&C continue to work towards having the remaining balance closed by the end of the 2020 school year.

School uniforms continue to be sold at very close to cost price and second–hand uniforms at heavily discounted priceswhen stock permits. A very big thank you to our wonderful group of volunteers and co–ordinators that keep the shoprunning every year.

Looking ahead

The P&C are very passionate about looking to the future and long–term benefits to the school community. In 2019 theP&C moved a step closer to having final plans approved for the additional solar power system to be installed in 2020.This is to be fully financed through a successful P&C grant application of $20,000, matched by a further $20,000 from theNSW Department of Education and will put at least $6,000 a year back in the school's pockets and directly benefit allVAPS students.

In 2020 the P&C will continue to focus and look towards the future and how we can help to support opportunities that notonly improve school infrastructure but benefit all VAPS students well into the future as well.

Thank you

The 'VAPS' P&C Association has again continued to play an integral role in the life of this growing school & community. Iwould like to personally thank and acknowledge the support of the entire P&C committee and all the staff, parents andcarers who gave up their time to help support all of our activities.

Volunteer availability is forever challenging and definitely an area where we trully appreciate the communities supportwith. Volunteers will always be the magic ingredient of the school community and without them the P&C simply doesn'texist. To everyone that donated their time, THANK YOU!

The P&C would also like to acknowledge the integral role that many of our local community organisations andbusinesses play in supporting the supporting the school community. Their continued sponsorship and support of many ofour activities is so incredibly important and appreciated. The P&C will continue to find new ways to partner together tobuild strong and long–lasting relationships that benefit our local businesses and the VAPS community.


In closing off, the P&C would once again like to extend a very big thanks to everyone that supported us throughout 2019.The P&C committee look forward to another successful year in 2020.

Anthony Middleton

President Victoria Avenue Public School P&C Association

Message from the students

This school has done wonderful things that I am proud to be a part of and I am more than happy to be the school theschool leader in 2020. Firstly, I would love to share a few things we did. The PSSA Netball team made it to Grand Finalsand it was so much fun. Stage 3 did some fundraising like selling gelato and a bike raffle for the RFS. We also donatedsome clothes to Stewart House and we had special guests come to our school during the Film Festival and Festival ofInnovative Ideas.

I also achieved some special things myself like the Spelling Bee, Choir at the Opera house, PSSA Netball and the listgoes on. I am happy to reflect on 2019 and I am going to put my full efforts into more wonderful achievements as schoolleader in 2020. Rishika

I am very proud of what Victoria Avenue Public School achieved in 2019. We managed to fundraise and earn a lot ofmoney from big events. Events such as the Festival of Innovative Ideas, selling gelato as part of our science unit andwhole school discos. The Festival of Innovative ideas is where all the students attended very fun workshops that havedifferent activities such as VR, Lego workshops, Minecraft, coding and much more. Our Gelato fundraiser raised over$800 to help the RFS (Rural Fire service) with the bushfires. Stage 3 made ice cream to serve to the other students whileother Stage 3 students helped prepare toppings and ice cream for us to serve to our fellow students. We also didfundraising for Stewart House. Some students went to compete with different schools for in the Premier's Spelling Beewhich I think all the participants would be proud of. Raksha was the NSW runner–up. Moreover, we also completedNAPLAN and ICAS tests at school. Those are many of the things that Victoria Avenue Public School has achieved andthat we can be proud of. Joshua


School background

School vision statement

Victoria Avenue Public School is about preparing our community of learners for their futures. We are creating studentswho are passionate about learning, who strive to shape their critical and creative ideas into meaningful innovations. Weaim to provide every student with the tools they need to collaborate, to succeed and to lead.

At VAPS we have big ideas and we bring them to life.

We innovate.

At VAPS we include and we are included.

We belong.

At VAPS we are inspired and we inspire others.

We lead.

School context

Victoria Avenue Public School is situated within a unique community facility, the Victoria Avenue Community Precinct.This precinct includes a Child Care Centre, an Early Childhood Health Centre, an Out of School Hours Care Centre andVictoria Avenue Public School. Victoria Avenue Community Precinct is situated adjacent to Sydney Olympic Park whichincludes Bicentennial Park. Bicentennial Park is used by teachers and students as an extension of the learningenvironment of the school.

Victoria Avenue Public School is a relatively new school which opened in January 2015 in a fast growing area in theInner West of Sydney.

We have 273 students and cater for a diverse community. It represents over 48 different cultural and linguistic groupsincluding 16% Mandarin, 10% Cantonese, 10% Korean, 9% Hindi, 5% Guajrati, 4% Arabic and 4% Italian speakingfamilies. The majority of families come from mid to high socio–economic environments and many parents have highlevels of educational attainment. Parents have high expectations and are very involved and supportive of the school.

The school motto is 'Include, Inspire, Innovate' which encapsulates the school's ethos of including all students andfamilies in school programs, inspiring the school community to strive for excellence in education and aspire towardsfuture focused education for all students.

The teaching staff is a mix of early career and experienced teachers. The teaching entitlement is met by 20.425 full andpart time teachers and a School Administrative and Support Staff entitlement of 7.522. The school executive currentlyconsists of the Principal, four Assistant Principals and a School Administrative Manager.

The school is part of the Majors Bay Community of Schools which includes Burwood Public School, Concord PublicSchool, Concord West Public School, Newington Public School and Strathfield North Public School.


Self-assessment and school achievement

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 and participated in an externalvalidation. The Framework is a statement of what is valued as excellence for NSW public schools, both now and into thefuture. The Framework supports public schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a cleardescription of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

Each year, we assess our practice against the Framework to inform our school plan and annual report. Every five years,our school undergoes an external validation process.

During the external validation process, an independent panel consisting of a Principal School Leadership and a peerprincipal considered our evidence and assessment of our school's progress against the School Excellence Framework.

Our self–assessment and the external validation process will assist the school to refine our school plan, leading to furtherimprovements in the delivery 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/school–excellence

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

Elements 2019 School Assessment

LEARNING: Learning Culture Sustaining and Growing

LEARNING: Wellbeing Sustaining and Growing

LEARNING: Curriculum Sustaining and Growing

LEARNING: Assessment Sustaining and Growing

LEARNING: Reporting Sustaining and Growing

LEARNING: Student performance measures Delivering

TEACHING: Effective classroom practice Sustaining and Growing

TEACHING: Data skills and use Sustaining and Growing

TEACHING: Professional standards Sustaining and Growing

TEACHING: Learning and development Sustaining and Growing

LEADING: Educational leadership Delivering

LEADING: School planning, implementation andreporting

Delivering

LEADING: School resources Sustaining and Growing

LEADING: Management practices and processes Sustaining and Growing

In 2019 our school participated in external validation to collect a body of evidence to evaluate our impact across threedomains of Learning, Teaching and Leading and to plan for school improvement.

Seven evidence sets were developed and the school validation team (the principal, two assistant principals, two relievingassistant principals and a classroom teacher) presented our evidence to the External Validation Panel to support thisprocess. During the regular Parents and Citizens Association meetings the principal updated parents and carers aboutthe External Validation process and our progress.

Within their evidence sets, teams analysed evidence and made on–balance judgements against the School ExcellenceFramework. These judgements were further discussed at whole staff meetings. The External Validation team used thesejudgements to support the completion of the School Excellence Framework self–assessment 2019.

The validation process provided an opportunity for school staff to evaluate, analyse and understand the impact of ourteaching and learning programs. Further, it enabled us to reflect on future directions for continuous school improvement,


whilst maintaining our high expectations, to ensure our students achieve and thrive as 21st Century, lifelong learners.

Learning

The results of this process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework domain of Learning:

Victoria Avenue Public School is committed to providing quality learning experiences that cater for the diverse needs ofour students. Providing an inclusive learning environment is a high priority and innovative learning is highly supported bystaff, students and the school community.

Through the self–assessment process, we identified particular strengths in the elements of learning culture, wellbeingand curriculum, with a range of evidence to draw upon. Further analysis was required in the area of student performancemeasures, due to the short history and specific nature of our school setting.

Prior to the validation process, the school leadership team had identified assessment as an area for development. Ourrigorous examination of evidence during the External Validation process highlighted more progress than expected.However, a need for a systematic and clear approach to documenting and evaluating whole–school assessmentpractices was evident.

Teaching

The results of this process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework domain of Teaching:

Our analysis of evidence supported our judgement regarding the provision of quality teaching programs and innovativeclassroom practice. Teams identified the school's strength in making adjustments in order to support students' learningacross the school. Teachers are very committed to inspiring students, staff and our school community towards beinglife–long learners.

Through the self–assessment process, we identified particular strengths in the elements of effective classroom practiceand learning and development, with a range of evidence to draw upon.

Analysis highlighted some inconsistencies in how we approach data skills and data use, particularly in the themes of dataplanning. A need for a more regular and school–wide use of data is required to drive school improvement.

The systems and practices which have been developed for supporting teachers with induction and accreditationprocesses will continue to be reviewed in line with feedback from teachers.

Leading

The results of this process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework domain of Leading:

The leadership team has a shared vision and a culture of high expectation in teaching and learning which is modelled,reinforced and shared with the wider school community.

Through the self–assessment process, we identified particular strengths in the elements of educational leadership andmanagement practices and processes with a range of evidence to draw upon. In particular the analysis of ourmanagement practices and processes strongly indicated a high commitment to community engagement.

The leadership team has grown and evolved since the school opened and is now at a point where it can consolidate andwork towards sustained and measureable whole school improvement practices.

Analysis highlighted some inconsistencies in the school resources element with a particular focus on the need for furtherdevelopment and refinement of financial management.


Strategic Direction 1

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Purpose

To establish a culture of wellbeing in our diverse community. Connectedness, belonging and positive respectfulrelationships provide optimal conditions for learning.

Improvement Measures

The school collects and analyses data to refine a whole school approach to wellbeing.

There is evidence of improved social skills and emotional intelligence in students.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Process 1: Implement a whole school student wellbeing approach in which students can connect, succeed andthrive at each stage of their schooling.

Evaluation Funds Expended(Resources)

School signage was updated and displayed around the school. PositiveBehaviour for Learning (PBL) matrices and expectations were explicitlytaught. All students had access to these matrices in all settings. A ParentCafe on Positive Behaviour for Learning was delivered to build collectiveknowledge and understanding around supporting student wellbeing. PBLdata was collected and analysed monthly to create PBL lessons whichtargeted area of concern and to derive a school value every fortnight. The'Wheels on Wednesday' program was implemented and refined utilising data.PBL data indicated an increase in student and staff understanding of schoolvalues and expectations.

Funding Sources: • ($2852.00)

Process 2: UDL and EAL/D practices implemented effectively and meaningfully in all classrooms.


EAL/D School Evaluation Framework identified two main areas forimprovement: Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting and Data InformedEffective Classroom Practice. Professional learning provided to Early StageOne and Stage One teachers around oral language, vocabulary andgrammar. All staff successfully completed the Using the EAL/D LearningProgression course. All teachers are able to identify students' languagelearning needs across the 4 modes of the progression and report on these toparents.

Funding Sources: • English language proficiency($5000.00)



Innovative Pedagogy

Purpose

To spark curiosity that empowers students to learn on their own, to wonder, to explore and to become leaders (Couros,2015). To equip all teachers to identify, understand and implement the most effective evidence based and explicitteaching methods. To inspire teachers and students to collaborate with others from around the world to develop solutionsfor problems.


Formative assessment measures inform teaching and learning to ensure all students are provided with individualisedlearning programs.

Multi–age learning labs established across Stages 1–3 with strong evidence of improved student outcomes andengagement.

Evidence based explicit teaching of literacy and numeracy in flexible learning spaces and flexible student groupings.


Process 1: Establish multi stage learning labs in flexible learning spaces.


Through a collaboration with Catalyst Lab there was change to programmingacross the school to develop authentic, engaging units of work around acentral wicked problem. Staff created engaging units of work that wererelevant to the students and addressed the outcomes for that term. The resultwas that 100% of teachers developed units of work that integrated a breadthof key learning areas and included general capabilities and cross curriculumpriorities. Catalyst Lab supported teachers to design and collect assessmentdata and student work samples and examples of programs will be showcasedon the Department of Education's Edumap platform to share with otherschools. Flexible learning spaces were designed by teachers using futurefocused learning principals and installed in common areas.

Catalyst lab provided staff and teacherrelease days. The school used flexibletimetabling to release teachers tocollaboratively plan.

Process 2: Literacy and numeracy/evidence based explicit teaching.


Professional learning was delivered to all staff on the analysis of data andexplicit teaching strategies for literacy and numeracy. All staff engaged inprofessional learning on PLAN2 to assess and track student progress usingthe Literacy and Numeracy Progressions. Stage 2 and Stage 3 trialed the useof PAT assessments from ACER in Reading and Numeracy. Early Stage 1and Stage 1 trialed the use of EasyCBM to assess early reading skills. Inresponse to the findings from external validation in 2020 the school willundertake learning in a Teaching Sprints focus based on Spirals of Inquiry.Teaching Sprints, while a schoolwide goal will function at a stage level withleaders working closely with their teaching teams to interpret the data anduse this information to inform teaching practice. Each stage will designlearning sprints each term by selecting a teaching and learning focus and agroup of students who will be the target of the sprint.



Inspired community

Purpose

Leading through inclusive and innovative practices and using this to awaken passion and inspiration in others.


Parents and families are valued and active members of the school community.

Established and sustainable relationships with industry experts contribute to teaching and learning in the school.


Process 1: Parents and families are actively engaged in school life.


The parent community were responsible for the effective provision of theuniform shop, canteen and providing community events and fundraisersthroughout the year. There were around 50 visits by parents to volunteer inclassrooms to support the learning of students. Parent representation wasestablished on the PBL team to ensure community consultation andinvolvement in the making of decisions around student wellbeing. Parentswere surveyed on areas of interest and, in response, staff designedinformation sessions on topics such as literacy, numeracy, positive behaviorfor learning that were delivered during six parent cafes throughout the year

Process 2: The school utilises the expertise of industry professionals to improve the educational outcomes of allstudents.


Industry experts were invited to facilitate inspiring workshops at the Festivalof Innovative ideas for students. All classes developed at least onepartnership with community members to enhance their classroom programsin areas such as sustainability or creative arts. In our final year of ourCreative Leadership in Learning partnership with the Sydney Opera Housetwo classes worked with artist Sarah–Vyne Vassallo to devise a performancepresented at the Opera House as part of Amplified Festival. Our CreativeLeaders worked closely with the Opera House to embed the CreativityFramework into class programs. As a result all class teachers embeddedfuture focused learning through creativity, critical thinking, collaboration andsustainability into teaching and learning programs. Student innovations wereshowcased at our Festival of Innovative Ideas.

$31800


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

English language proficiency Funding Sources: • English languageproficiency ($185 371.00)

The allocation of 1.4 EAL/D teachers wasused to support students and their teachers toensure an ongoing EAL/D support program. Afurther 0.2 EAL/D teacher time was enabledthrough flexible EAL/D funding.

Low level adjustment for disability Funding Sources: • Low level adjustment fordisability ($78 772.00)

Learning and Support teacher allocation wasused to support and partially fund a positionof Inclusion Facilitator in the school. Flexiblefunding was used to fund extra SchoolLearning Support Officer time to supportstudent learning.

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

Funding Sources: • Quality Teaching,Successful Students(QTSS) ($57 947.00)

The QTSS allocation was used to supportextra relief from face to face teaching forAssistant Principals to support instructionalleadership. In addition it released teachers forpeer observations; visits to otherclassrooms/schools in line with PDP goals;and mentoring for accreditation.

Support for beginning teachers Funding Sources: • Support for beginningteachers ($65 058.00)

Beginning teachers were supported byindividualised programs of support.Professional development needs wereidentified, planned and funded. Beginningteachers were provided with ongoing supportand monitoring for accreditation bysupervisors. Performance and DevelopmentPlan (PDP) goals were set in line with thestandards and monitored in consultation withsupervisors.

Targeted student support forrefugees and new arrivals

Funding Sources: • Targeted student supportfor refugees and newarrivals ($31 145.00)

Funding was used to support students from arefugee background with a bilingual supportofficer 0.2, excursions, incursions, uniformsand for teacher professional learning. Thefunding also supported new arrivals withtargeted intensive small group learning,teacher professional learning and bilingualsupport. A EAL/D teacher was employed 0.2to support our new arrival and refugeestudents.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2016 2017 2018 2019

Boys 90 140 150 151

Girls 87 96 109 119

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019

K 95.2 95 96.3 96.9

1 93.2 93.7 95.5 93.2

2 92.3 93.7 95.2 93.9

3 95.7 91.7 94.4 93.8

4 91 87.6 97.3 94.2

5 93.8 95.1 94.8 92.7

6 90.7 93.7 91.8 91.1

All Years 93.8 93.7 95.3 94.1

State DoE

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019

K 94.4 94.4 93.8 93.1

1 93.9 93.8 93.4 92.7

2 94.1 94 93.5 93

3 94.2 94.1 93.6 93

4 93.9 93.9 93.4 92.9

5 93.9 93.8 93.2 92.8

6 93.4 93.3 92.5 92.1

All Years 94 93.9 93.4 92.8

Management of non-attendance

Attendance at school has a big impact on longer term outcomes for children and young people. When a child is not atschool they miss important opportunities to learn, build friendships and develop their skills through play. Regularattendance at school is a shared responsibility between schools and parents. By working together we can have a positiveeffect on supporting our children and young people to regularly attend school.

Our teachers promote and monitor regular attendance at school and all our schools have effective measures in place torecord attendance and follow up student absences promptly. They are guided by the School Attendance policy whichdetails the management of non–attendance.


Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal(s) 1

Assistant Principal(s) 4

Classroom Teacher(s) 12.93

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.5

Teacher Librarian 0.6

Teacher ESL 1.4

School Administration and Support Staff 7.52

*Full Time Equivalent

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce composition

The Department actively supports the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employeesthrough the use of identified positions, scholarship opportunities to become a teacher and by providing a culturally safeworkplace. As of 2019, 3.9% of the Department's workforce identify as Aboriginal people.

Workforce ATSI

Staff type Benchmark1 2019 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander representation2

School Support 3.30% 7.20%

Teachers 3.30% 2.90%

Note 1 – The NSW Public Sector Aboriginal Employment Strategy 2014–17 introduced an aspirational target of 1.8% by 2021 for each of the sector'ssalary bands. If the aspirational target of 1.8% is achieved in salary bands not currently at or above 1.8%, the cumulative representation of Aboriginalemployees in the sector is expected to reach 3.3%.

Note 2 – Representation of diversity groups are calculated as the estimated number of staff in each group divided by the total number of staff. Thesestatistics have been weighted to estimate the representation of diversity groups in the workforce, where diversity survey response rates were less than100 per cent. The total number of staff is based on a headcount of permanent and temporary employees.

Teacher qualifications

All casual, temporary and permanent teachers in NSW public schools must hold a NSW Department of Educationapproval to teach. Teachers with approval to teach must be accredited with the NSW Education Standards Authority, andhold a recognised teaching degree. All NSW teachers must hold a valid NSW Working With Children Check clearance.

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Professional learning is core to enabling staff to improve their practice.

Professional learning includes five student–free School Development Days and induction programs for staff new to ourschool and/or system. These days are used to improve the capacity of teaching and non–teaching staff in line withschool and departmental priorities.


Financial information

Financial summary

The information provided in the financial summary includes reporting from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019. ThePrincipal is responsible for the financial management of the school and ensuring all school funds are managed in linewith Department policy requirements.

2019 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 188,859

Revenue 4,057,975

Appropriation 3,713,052

Grants and contributions 342,110

Investment income 2,514

Other revenue 300

Expenses -4,018,392

Employee related -3,674,866

Operating expenses -343,526

Surplus / deficit for the year 39,583

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


Financial summary - Equity loadings

The equity loading data is the main component of the 'Appropriation' line item of the financial summary above.

2019 Approved SBA ($)

Targeted Total 1,040,428

Equity Total 270,372

Equity - Aboriginal 1,530

Equity - Socio-economic 4,700

Equity - Language 185,371

Equity - Disability 78,772

Base Total 1,977,931

Base - Per Capita 67,430

Base - Location 0

Base - Other 1,910,501

Other Total 153,042

Grand Total 3,441,773

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


School performance - NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracy assessments arereported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10. The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills andunderstandings demonstrated in these assessments.

From 2018 to 2021 NAPLAN is moving from a paper test to an online test. Individual schools are transitioning to theonline test, with some schools participating in NAPLAN on paper and others online. Results for both online and paperformats are reported on the same NAPLAN assessment scale. Any comparison of NAPLAN results – such ascomparisons to previous NAPLAN results or to results for students who did the assessment in a different format – shouldbe treated with care.

NAPLAN Online

The My School website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and numeracy testing. Go tomyschool.edu.au to access the school data. As schools transition to NAPLAN online, the band distribution of results isnot directly comparable to band averages from previous years. While the 10 band distribution available to schools whocompleted NAPLAN online is a more accurate reflection of student performance, caution should be taken whenconsidering results relative to what was formerly a six band distribution. As the full transition of NAPLAN onlinecontinues, the most appropriate way to communicate results for NAPLAN online is by scaled scores and scaled growth.This is the reporting format agreed by state and territory education ministers, and is reflected on the myschool website.

Literacy

The school opened in 2015 and since that time, the cohort of students, particularly in Year 5, has been low in numbers.This impacts on the validity of the Literacy data for such a small and complex cohort and the data needs to be read withcaution.

Numeracy

The school opened in 2015 and since that time, the cohort of students, particularly in Year 5, has been low in numbers.This impacts on the validity of the Numeracy data for such a small and complex cohort and the data needs to be readwith caution.

Data analysis, including external and internal assessments, is used by staff and the executive to inform individualisedlearning and continuous school improvement measures. External assessments include NAPLAN, ProgressiveAchievement Tests (PAT) from ACER, International Competition and Assessment for Schools (ICAS) from UNSW,Curriculum Based Measurement from the University of Oregon. School–based assessments include, but are not limitedto, used of the National Literacy and Numeracy Progressions, moderation of student work samples, formativeassessments, co–designed assessment rubrics and consistent teacher judgement. The schools involvement in theExternal Validation process in 2019 has informed a sharpened focus on effective strategies for the collection andanalysis of whole school data.


Parent/caregiver, student, teacher satisfaction

Parents and Carers

Aspects of parent/caregiver, student and teacher satisfaction have been surveyed through the Tell Them From Mesurveys. The Partners in Learning Parent Survey is based on a comprehensive questionnaire covering several aspectsof parents' perceptions of their children's experiences at home and school. It is based primarily on Joyce Epstein'sframework for fostering positive relations between the school and the community. Successful schools foster greatercommunication with parents, encourage parental involvement in their child's schoolwork, and enlist parents to volunteerat the school and participate in school governance. The survey also provides feedback to schools about the extent towhich parents feel the school supports learning and positive behaviour, and promotes a safe and inclusive environment.

The survey includes seven separate measures, which were scored on a ten–point scale. The scores for the Likert–formatquestions (i.e. strongly agree to strongly disagree) have been converted to a 10–point scale, then averaged and reportedby question and by topic. A score of 0 indicates strong disagreement; 10 indicates strong agreement; 5 is a neutralposition (neither agree nor disagree). This report provides results based on data from 53 parents in this school whoparticipated in the survey in October 2019. The school mean was above the NSW Government School Norm in two ofthe seven measures:

* Parents Support Learning at Home – School mean 6.6 /NSW Government School Norm 6.3; and

* Inclusive School – School mean 7.2 /NSW Government School Norm 6.7.

The school mean was below the NSW Government School Norm in the following measures:

* Parents Feel Welcome – School mean 6.9 /NSW Government School Norm 7.4;

* Parents Are Informed – School mean 6.0 /NSW Government School Norm 6.6;

* School Supports Learning – School mean 6.3 /NSW Government School Norm 7.3;

* School Supports Positive Behaviour – School mean 7.2 /NSW Government School Norm 7.7.

* Safety at School – School mean 7.1 /NSW Government School Norm 7.4;

Each of the above measures will be analysed in detail so that staff can work towards implementing strategies forimprovement in specific criteria.

Teachers

The Focus on Learning Survey is a self–evaluation tool for teachers and schools which is based on two complementaryresearch paradigms.

One is 'effective schools' research which has identified the most important correlates of student outcomes. The questionsin the survey are grouped to assess eight of the most important Drivers of Student Learning. The research on classroomand school effectiveness has consistently shown these factors to be strong correlates of student achievement.

This report provides results based on data from 21 teachers who participated in the survey in October 2019.

The school mean was below or equal to the NSW Government School Norm in the eight drivers of student learning:

* Leadership – School mean 7.0 /NSW Government School Norm 7.1;

* Collaboration – School mean 7.5 /NSW Government School Norm 7.8;

* Learning Culture – School mean 7.4 /NSW Government School Norm 8.0;

* Data Informs Practice – School mean 6.8 /NSW Government School Norm 7.8;

* Teaching Strategies – School mean 7.3 /NSW Government School Norm 7.9;

* Technology – School mean 6.5 /NSW Government School Norm 6.7;

* Inclusive School – School mean 8.0 /NSW Government School Norm 8.2;

* Parent Involvement – School mean 6.8 /NSW Government School Norm 6.8;


The second paradigm, related to Dimensions of Classroom and School Practices, is based on the learning modelfollowed by the Outward Bound program. The Outward Bound model is described in John Hattie's book, Visible Learning(Routledge, 2008),which builds upon Carl Bereiter's model of learning and the taxonomy for learning, teaching andassessment set out by Lorin Anderson, David Krathwohl and Benjamin Bloom. Teachers were surveyed on fourdimensions of classroom and school practices.

* Challenging and Visible Goals – School mean 7.0 /NSW Government School Norm 7.5;

* Planned Learning Opportunities – School mean 7.5 /NSW Government School Norm 7.6;

* Quality Feedback – School mean 6.7 /NSW Government School Norm 7.3;

* Overcoming Obstacles to Learning – School mean 7.5 /NSW Government School Norm 7.7

Professional learning in explicit teaching, data collection and conducting literacy and numeracy instruction are plannedfor all teaching staff to in order to develop these areas.

Students

56 students in Years 4–6 completed the Tell Them From Me survey which included nine measures of student outcomesand school climate.

The school mean was above the NSW Government School Norm in three of the nine measures:

* Student participation in school sports – School mean 87% /NSW Government School Norm 83%;

* Student participation in extracurricular activities – School mean 64% /NSW Government School Norm 55%;

* Students with positive behaviour at school – School mean 87% /NSW Government School Norm 83%;

The school mean was below the NSW Government School Norm in the following measures and will analysed to drivefuture improvement:

* Students with a positive sense of belonging – School mean 68% /NSW Government School Norm 81%;

* Students with positive relationships – School mean 80% /NSW Government School Norm 85%;

* Students who value schooling outcomes – School mean 93% /NSW Government School Norm 96%;

* Students with positive homework behaviours – School mean 38% /NSW Government School Norm 63%;

* Students who are interested and motivated – School mean 74% /NSW Government School Norm 78%;

* Students try hard to succeed in their learning –School mean 82% /NSW Government School Norm 88%.


Policy requirements

Aboriginal Education Policy

The responsibility for enacting the Aboriginal Education Policy rests with all Departmental staff. The policy shouldunderpin and inform planning, teaching practice and approaches to educational leadership in all educational settings.

Evidence of effective implementation of the policy included: • Establishing, building and strengthening relationships with the Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group,

Aboriginal people and communities. • Providing, in partnership with Aboriginal people and communities, education which promotes quality teaching, is

engaging, and is culturally appropriate and relevant. • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will match or better the outcomes of the broader student population. • Implementation of Personalised Learning Pathways for all Aboriginal students in a school culture of high

expectations.

Anti-Racism Policy

All teachers are responsible for supporting students to develop an understanding of racism and discrimination and theimpact these may have on individuals and the broader community. Principals are responsible for examining schoolpractices and procedures to ensure they are consistent with the policy. All schools have an Anti–Racism Contact Officerwho is trained to respond to concerns in relation to racism.

Multicultural Education Policy

Teachers address the specific learning and wellbeing needs of students from culturally diverse backgrounds throughtheir teaching and learning programs. Principals are responsible for ensuring that school policies, programs andpractices respond to the cultural, linguistic and religious diversity of the school community, and provide opportunities thatenable all students to achieve equitable education and social outcomes.


2019 victoria avenue public school annual report · • festival of innovative ideas • end of...

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