st francis of assisi primary school, glendenning · st francis of assisi primary school,...

23
St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning 1 Stone Street, Glendenning 2761 Principal: Mrs Jenny Bellenger Phone: 9832 3062 Fax: 9832 3065 Email: [email protected] http://www.stfrancisglendenning.catholic.edu.au

Upload: dodiep

Post on 10-Jun-2018

222 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

St Francis of Assisi Primary School,Glendenning1 Stone Street, Glendenning 2761Principal: Mrs Jenny BellengerPhone: 9832 3062 Fax: 9832 3065Email: [email protected]://www.stfrancisglendenning.catholic.edu.au

Page 2: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Introduction

About the Annual School ReportSt Francis of Assisi Primary School is registered by the New South Wales Education StandardsAuthority, NESA, as a member of the Catholic system of schools in the Diocese of Parramatta.

The Annual School Report provides parents and the wider school community with fair, accurateand objective information about various aspects of school performance and development. TheReport describes achievement of school development priorities in 2017 and gives informationabout the 2018 priorities.

This Report is a legislative requirement under the Schools Assistance Act, 2008 and the EducationAmendment Act 2004.

The information in this Report is complemented by the school website where other schoolpublications and newsletters can be viewed or obtained from the school.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 1

Page 3: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Key Messages

PrincipalSt Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning, is a wonderful learning community and we areproud to present to you the 2017 Annual School Report.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School is an energetic school in which all members of our communityseek to nurture an atmosphere of faith, hope and love. Teaching and learning at St Francis ofAssisi Primary School builds on the rich foundations of Catholic traditions and values. We seek topromote an environment in which children feel safe and happy as they make friends withchildren from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds.

The school has continued to provide quality education to all students in 2017 and boasts anexceptionally committed and dedicated teaching staff who all create a learning environment thatis conducive to students achieving their best across all Key Learning Areas.

Throughout 2017 St Francis of Assisi Primary School has continued to enjoy positive relationshipwith the parish of Good Shepherd Plumpton. The school is strongly supported by our parishpriest and has enjoyed many opportunities to celebrate as a Catholic worshipping community.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School is currently in a very strong position to be able to continue ona journey of improvement in order to ensure that all children have the opportunity to succeedacross the spiritual, academic, social and emotional areas of learning.

Our school motto is Strength and Gentleness.

ParentParent involvement at St Francis of Assisi Primary School is welcome and invited.

Parents have had the opportunity to become involved in supportive roles such as social andfundraising committees. A parent group was established in the first year the school commenced.It is known as The Parent Group and has aligned its constitution to the format outlined by theBishop of Parramatta.

Parents are involved as supervisors on school excursions; as helpers at sporting carnivals; assupports in library stock takes and book covering; and in several other ways as required.

During 2017 parents were able to assist with the purchase of library furniture. This was madepossible by running fundraising events such as Mothers Day and Fathers Day stalls, Easter andChristmas raffles.

Parents were also invited to attend three learning forums in terms 1, 2 and 3. These forums wereon Technology, Wellbeing and Oral Literacy. During these sessions parents were able to discussand raise issues related to their child. Parents received advice and practical ideas to use athome.

Members of the parent group were kept informed of school policy, procedures and upcomingevents through the newsletter and 'Skool Bag App'. Whenever possible, the parents were activelyinvolved in special events such as Book Week, Catholic Schools Week and special liturgies. Theseactivities strengthened the sense of community and partnership with the school.

The parent group will continue to grow and make positive contributions to the school for thebetterment of, not just our children, but importantly, for our parents as well. Our association hasa stable platform, good systems and plans in place to continue our good work in supporting ourschool together.

StudentAt St Francis of Assisi Primary School we have been very fortunate to have outstanding learningfacilities. The classrooms are all air conditioned with recently purchased furniture and plenty ofroom to complete our learning tasks. The school hall is used for our whole-school masses andother special liturgies, as well as whole-school assemblies and as a flexible learning area.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 2

Page 4: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

The children were all treated fairly in the playground as well as in class. Teachers gave all thechildren support, guidance and quality education.

We had extra activities at playtime such as games in the library and hall, soccer andbasketball. These activities encouraged children to cooperate and make choices.

We had a chance to use technology such as laptops, MacBooks, Chromebooks, interactivewhiteboards, iPads, as well as each learning space having access to Apple TVs. These were usedfor podcasts, research, blogs, and movies across Kindergarten to Year 6.

We have a vegetable garden to promote environmental sustainability, in the Franciscantradition. This year we had the opportunity to be part of a state government initiative whichprovided over 4000 plants for the students and teachers to plant and to learn about theimportance of caring for our environment.

As school student leaders we have learnt how to be confident in ourselves and have learnt howto grow as leaders. The children enjoyed being at St Francis of Assisi Primary School.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 3

Page 5: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Who we are

History of the schoolSt Francis of Assisi Primary School is situated in Glendenning in Western Sydney. It is one of twoCatholic primary schools in the parish of the Good Shepherd, Plumpton. The school was initiallyopened adjacent to Good Shepherd Primary School, Hyatts Road, Plumpton in 1991. During thefirst two years, lessons were conducted in demountable classrooms, while the building tookplace on the Glendenning site. In February 1993, the children began school at Stone Street,Glendenning. In 2010 the school opened a new hall that is used for assemblies and celebrations,and before and after school care.

The founding principal worked closely with the parents of the new school as they planned thegarden environment in which our attractive buildings sit. Together they chose the motto,Strength and Gentleness, which described the hopes of the community and is the legacy of StFrancis of Assisi.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016. Former principals, staffand students were invited to the festivities which included a mass.

Location/drawing areaThe appearance of St Francis of Assisi Primary School attracts comment, as it is built in anattractive garden environment. The main physical features of the school are the timber buildingsfor each grade group from Kindergarten to Year 4. Rather than pointed gables, the roof shape isrounded which gives a sense of harmony.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School is the second Catholic school in the Good Shepherd parish,Plumpton. It draws its students from Glendenning, Dean Park, Colebee, Stonecutters Ridge,Oakhurst, Hassell Grove, Bidwell and Shalvey. The school is four kilometres from the parishchurch. The priests regularly visit our school and we utilise the school hall for school liturgies.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 4

Page 6: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Workforce Composition

Category Numberof Staff

Number of teachers who hold teaching qualification from a higher educationinstitution within Australia or as recognised within the National Office of OverseasSkills Recognition (AEI-NOOSR) guidelines

27

Number of teachers who have a bachelor degree from a higher education institutionwithin Australia or within AEI-NOOSR guidelines but lacking formal teacherqualifications

0

Number of teachers accreditated to teach Religious Education 21

Number of teachers currently undertaking accreditation to teach Religious Education 6

Number of non-teaching staff (includes teachers' aides) 12

Percentage of teachers who are indigenous 0

The average teacher attendance for 2017 96

Percentage of 2017 teaching staff who were retained from 2016 81

Catholic Identity and Religious Education

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 5

Page 7: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Catholic Identity and Religious Education

Prayer, Liturgical Life and Faith ExperiencesPrayer is important at St Francis of Assisi Primary School.

Our school community used the prayer of St Francis to focus on the qualities that St Francispossessed. This prayer helped to remind all in the school community how they could live theirlives. A copy of the prayer can be found on our website atwww.stfrancisglendenning.catholic.edu.au.

As well as whole-school celebrations such as the beginning and end of the school year wecelebrated Catholic Schools Week and the feast of St Francis of Assisi. Mass or Reconciliation wascelebrated every fortnight by a different Year group. As a Catholic school, we were able to offerall students and their families the opportunity to celebrate feast days of the church and toparticipate in prayer throughout the seasons of the church (Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost,Advent and Christmas). Parents were always welcome to attend.

We have a beautiful sacred space in our hall where the children, together with teachers,prepared meaningful liturgies and masses as a school faith community. These includedfortnightly grade masses, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Grandparents Day liturgies, Graduationliturgy and regular whole-school Eucharistic celebrations.

Social JusticeOur school maintained a commitment to reach out to others by sharing the gospel message. Webuilt the capacity of our students to see beyond themselves and reach out to those in needthrough the support of many different charities throughout the year. Each Year group basedtheir Religious Education mission unit around a different Catholic charity to learn about how thestudents could support those in need. As part of their learning, the students held fundraisingevents, with Caritas, St Vincent de Paul, and Mary MacKillop International East Timor, and theJesuit Refugee Services, the grateful recipients of the students’ fundraising efforts.

An example of the type of support St Vincent De Paul and those in need received was a foodcollection by Year 3. Year 5 opened a cafe to sell breakfast, morning tea and lunch to studentsand teachers. All money raised went to fund the MacKillop international library bus in EastTimor. Years 2 and 6 collected food and toiletries for the Jesuit Refugee Services.

Students also collected money for project compassion during the season of Lent.

During 2017, the school purchased food from 'Foodbank'. From these purchases hampers werecreated and distributed twice a term to the needy in our community.

School home and parish partnershipsOur school continued to work closely with the other Catholic schools in our parish. The principalsfrom the schools in the parish met regularly to support the families in the parish. Our Catholicidentity was further evident in the ways we linked with the parish of Good Shepherd, Plumpton.The principal was a member of the parish council and presented reports which showed how ourschool is part of the new evangelising mission of our diocese. St Francis of Assisi Church hosted aSunday Parish Mass to establish the parish and school partnership further .

At St Francis of Assisi Primary School, the newsletter was an important feature of the community.The principal used the newsletter to write to parents and link a topic of special interest to ourCatholic faith. Sharing stories of faith and hope through the newsletter was a way that ourschool was able to reach out to all in our community and encourage parents, students and staffto work together to reveal aspects of God's wisdom and love for the world.

Parents were always welcome to volunteer to work with the teachers in a variety of ways. Themost supported parent volunteer programs were sporting events and attending excursions.

The staff were very appreciative of the work that volunteer parents did for the school.

Religious Education

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 6

Page 8: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

At St Francis of Assisi Primary School we followed the Parramatta Diocesan Religious Education(RE) syllabus, Sharing Our Story. Teachers used this document to write quality units of work thathad Scripture and theology embedded in them to reflect our Catholic traditions.

During 2017, special importance was given to the selection and teaching of Scripture. Greaterrigour was applied to explore Scripture at a deep level.

Year 4 and Year 6 students participated in the Religious Literacy Assessment (RLA).

Professional Learning of staff in Religious EducationDuring 2017, teachers worked with the Religious Education coordinator (REC) to program qualityReligious Education units. These units explored Scripture at the three levels of understanding:literal, allegorical and moral.

A staff meeting was held each term, where all staff worked together to develop and deepentheir use of Scripture.

In November, all staff participated in a staff spirituality day which explored the charisms of StMary of the Cross MacKillop and St Francis of Assisi. The day began with a visit to the MaryMacKillop Museum. This was followed by comparing the two saints and investigating theimplications for the school community in following in the footsteps of Mary of the CrossMacKillop and St Francis to witness gospel values.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 7

Page 9: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Learning and Teaching

National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)Students in Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9 across Australia participated in National AssessmentProgram – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in May 2017. The purpose of this test is to provideinformation to parents and teachers about the achievements of students in aspects of Literacyand Numeracy. The test provides a measure of the student’s performance against establishedstandards and against other students in Australia. Each year the results are analysed by theschool to inform teaching and learning with a view to improving student performance.

The Commonwealth Government sets minimum acceptable standards for literacy, numeracy,reading, writing, grammar, punctuation and spelling at particular ages. These are referred to asnational minimum standards. Student performance in NAPLAN in our school is compared tothese standards. The percentages of students achieving at or above these national minimumstandards, and the percentages of students in the top three bands are reported in the tablebelow.

NAPLAN RESULTS 2017

% of students at or abovenational minimum

standard

% of students in top threebands

School Australia School Australia

Year3

Grammar and Punctuation 84 94 72 75

Literacy 94 95 73 73

Reading 93 95 70 74

Writing 98 96 68 74

Spelling 98 94 70 69

Numeracy 93 96 63 67

NAPLAN RESULTS 2017

% of students at or abovenational minimum

standard

% of students in top threebands

School Australia School Australia

Year5

Grammar and Punctuation 96 92 49 59

Literacy 96 93 56 57

Reading 98 94 58 63

Writing 98 92 42 48

Spelling 98 94 69 63

Numeracy 98 95 53 58

In Literacy, most Year 5 students at St Francis of Assisi Primary School were at, or above, nationalminimum standards in all strands. Our particular areas of strength was writing and spelling. Ourcontinued challenge is to help students gain inferential meaning when reading.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 8

Page 10: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

The numeracy results showed that Year 5 students were at or above, national minimumstandards. Our challenge is to move our top students into higher bands.

School curriculumDuring 2017 the school's major goal was to improve oral literacy. This was then embedded intothe numeracy goal and formation goal with students explaining how they solved problems andwhat was the message of Scripture.

To enhance the classroom learning of the children, other special learning experiences wereorganised to give the children opportunities to apply what they had learnt. These included:

Voice of Youth and inter-school debating competitions for Year 6 allowed the children toexperience public speaking as part of the speaking and listening strand of our Englishprogram. During 2017, this was extended to a school wide initiative to enable all studentsto experience public speaking.Excursions to Golden Ridge Farm, Rouse Hill House and farm, Brewongle EducationCentre, Muru Mittigar, Wedderburn Camp, Penrith Observatory and Fairfield CityMuseum enhanced the development of various topics over the respective grades.Sports carnivals added the practical application of the Personal Development, Health andPhysical Education (PDHPE) key learning area.'Clean up Australia' activities raised a social conscience and care for our playground.The Captivate Band program provided students with the opportunity to perform at NagleCollege as part of a combined school band. A two week intensive swimming program was held from Kindergarten to Year 6 (K-6).A Gymnastics program was run in term 3.

Technology use in the school included laptops, iPads, digital cameras and interactivewhiteboards. Apple TVs and screens have been installed in classrooms for each grade. Theseprovided a variety of learning experiences for all students and incorporated Information andCommunication Technologies (ICT) across all areas of the curriculum.

Initiatives to promote respect and responsibilityAt St Francis of Assisi Primary School, we believe that the goodness in our relationships with eachother is the first sign that we are part of the body of Christ. The class teachers each spoke withthe children about the ways to show respect for one another when they talked about our respectawards that articulated our school rules:

respect selfrespect others respect the environment

The principal regularly encouraged the parents and teachers to work together to model respectand responsibility for the children. The student leaders, each fortnight, prepared and ledassemblies for the whole-school community. At the assembly the respect awards were awarded.Each recipient was then invited to a morning tea with the principal.

Professional LearningAt the start of 2017 an instructional leader was appointed on staff. This position entailedobservation and feedback of teaching practice, analysis of data and building the capacity ofteachers from Kindergarten to Year 2.

In addition, teacher educators from Catholic Education Diocese, Parramatta, visited classroomsfor observations during literacy lessons. This was followed up with feedback to teachers toenhance teaching and learning.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 9

Page 11: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Professional learning undertaken by staff in 2017 included:staff spirituality day exploring the charisms of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and StFrancis of Assisiattendance at the Franciscan Conferenceassessing students' multiplicative thinking using a teacher constructed interviewassessing students' numeracy using the Mathematics Assessment Interview (MAI) understanding growth points to track student progress in Mathematicscontinued training for three teachers as Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU)specialist teachers including the middle yearsFocus 160 workshops in the area of oral languageproject based learning for Stage 3 and Stage 2 teacherscontinued training of two reading recovery teachersstaff development day on oral language

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 10

Page 12: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

School Improvement

Annual school prioritiesPriority 1 To improve all students' oral language skills and word knowledge to

demonstrate their understanding of Scripture

Reason for priority 1 There was a whole-school focus in 2017 on developing the students'oral language. Years 4 and 6 Religious Literacy Assessment dataindicated the need to continue the focus on Scripture with an emphasison God and Jesus. This goal was a domain specific sub-goal of ouroverarching goal to develop oral language.

Steps taken to achievepriority 1

Teachers used a variety of oral language strategies to unpack thedomain specific language (focusing on Scripture God and Jesus)including:

Scripture word wallsexploring scripture kitsdrama literacy techniquesvisual literacy

Students learnt how to understand, interpret and respond to Scripturepassages at three different levels: literal, spiritual and application.

Students made a personal response to the Scripture passage andplanned ways to apply the message to their own lives

Status of priority 1 Achieved

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 11

Page 13: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Priority 2 That all students oral language skills and word knowledge wouldincrease and student growth would be measured against the NSWEnglish Syllabus

Reason for priority 2 Analysis of student assessment results, class programs and schoolprocesses indicated a need to address language development as afoundation for all learning at school. NAPLAN, Progressive AchievementTests in Reading (PAT-R) and Early Years Assessment (EYA) dataindicated poor growth with more students in lower bands thanpredicted.

Steps taken to achievepriority 2

We:modelled, unpacked and practised effective use of oral languagein both formal and informal situationsconsciously built and extended vocabulary in the literacy blockthrough the use of purposeful activities that build oral languageskillssupported students to reflect on, and assess, their ownlanguage development against success criteria

Students used language scaffolds and key strategies taught duringformal and informal planned discourse in order to make them part ofeveryday repertoire.

Status of priority 2 Ongoing

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 12

Page 14: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Priority 3 That all students' ability to choose and apply problem solving skills andcommunicate their mathematical thinking would increase

Reason for priority 3 NAPLAN data indicated a high percentage of incorrect responses in theareas of visualisation, interpreting questions, language and multi-stepproblems. School assessment data validated these observations. Thegoal was a domain specific sub-goal of our overarching goal to developoral language.

Steps taken to achievepriority 3

These included:modelling appropriate language and visual representation ofmathematical concepts during reflectionunpacking problem solving skills during reflectioncreating and using co-constructed maths walls, anchor charts,mathematical word wallscreating rich multi-strand tasks and using Newman’s Prompts toidentify challengesstudents working collaboratively to problem solve and sharetheir understanding using appropriate languagestudents using relevant and appropriate mathematical language

Status of priority 3 Ongoing

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 13

Page 15: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Projected school prioritiesPriority 1 To develop a deep knowledge of the lives of St Francis of Assisi and St

Mary of the Cross and how they lived out Gospel values

Reason for Priority 1 We wanted to use the lives of St Francis of Assisi and St Mary of theCross as examples for the St Francis of Assisi community to developfaith and love for God.

Steps to be taken toachieve Priority 1

These will include:exploring the lives and teachings of St Francis of Assisi and StMary of the Crossembedding the teachings of the two saints into REprograms through the third sense of Scripturebasing staff prayer on the sayings of St Francis of Assisi and StMary of the Crossthe REC working with teachers to ensure that RE program has StFrancis of Assisi and St Mary of the Cross included in the thirdsense of Scripturepurchasing resources for teachers to use with their students

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 14

Page 16: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Priority 2 To develop deep high order thinking and deeper comprehension whenreading and that student growth will be measured against Pat-R,learning progressions and EYA assessments

Reason for Priority 2 Analysis of student assessment results, class programs and schoolprocesses indicate a need to address language development as afoundation for all learning at school. NAPLAN, PAT-R and EYA dataindicate poor growth with more students in lower bands thanpredicted. Observation of students oral language proficiencies acrossthe school indicate a weakness in this area evident in dailyinteractions.

Steps to be taken toachieve Priority 2

These will include: professional learning focus on building teacher knowledge ofthe principles of oral language as a tool to developcomprehensionuse of websites and professional readingsengaging in observation and collaboration with peers toexamine best practice and structures use of clearly defined learning intentions for inferentialcomprehensiondefining and using the strategies of predicting, questioning,making connections, visualising, inferring, summarising andsynthesising

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 15

Page 17: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Priority 3 To meet the differentiated needs of all students in place value, bydeveloping a system of tracking and analysing data and measuringstudent growth against the growth points

Reason for Priority 3 Mathematics Assessment Interview (MAI) data indicated a largepercentage of students, in particular those in Stage 2, were vulnerablein place value. Developing a school wide tracking system will deepenteachers’ use, knowledge of and confidence in using, the growth pointframework in Mathematics programming. Teachers will target specificlearning experiences for students to transition them through thegrowth points.

Steps to be taken toachieve Priority 3

We will:create and use a whole-school system to track students growthin place value during term 1create relevant and usable learning intentions and successcriteria which will become working documents that students canuseencourage teachers to participate in learning walks, casemanagement meetings and team meetings that focus on dataanalysis

Community Satisfaction

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 16

Page 18: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Community Satisfaction

Parent satisfactionDuring 2017, the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta engaged Insight SRC to conduct theQuality Catholic Schooling (QCS) survey to provide feedback from parents, students and staffabout our school.

The QCS data was collected and showed a slight improvement in the area of student behaviour.Parents also reported that there was strong student motivation resulting in high studentengagement.

Another positive result from the survey was that parents felt that there was a strong partnershipwith the parish and school.

Student satisfactionThe QCS data showed that students were highly motivated and found their learning to bestimulating and purposeful. The survey also showed that students had a good relationship withteachers and were connected to the school.

There was also an improvement in the area of student behaviour resulting inincreased emotional wellbeing.

Teacher satisfactionThe QCS data showed that the staff at St Francis of Assisi Primary School enjoyed workingtogether as a team and saw the importance of producing engaging practice for their students.

It also showed that teachers saw an improvement in the area of student behaviour. Thisimprovement was reflected in the staff perception of a positive Catholic culture. Teachers werealso shown to be respectful towards the students in their care.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 17

Page 19: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Student Profile

Enrolment PolicySt Francis of Assisi Primary School follows the Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP)Enrolment Policy and Procedures. This document can be obtained from the school office or can beaccessed on the CEDP website http://www.parra.catholic.edu.au/policy-central

Current and previous years' student enrolmentYear Boys Girls Total

2015 178 167 345

2016 185 187 372

2017 177 205 382

During 2017, we had several families move out of the area for employment reasons. Some ofthese families moved interstate. The school has maintained enrolments during 2017.There are new homes being built in the area, which may impact on our school in the next fewyears with increased enrolments.

Student attendance ratesThe table below shows the percentage of student attendance by Year level and school average.

Kindergarten 70

Year 1 67

Year 2 84

Year 3 84

Year 4 83

Year 5 81

Year 6 80

School Average 78

Characteristics of the student bodyThe table below shows the number of students in each of the categories listed.

Language background other than English (LBOTE) 293

Students with disablities (SWD) 24

Indigenous 8

Managing Student Non-attendanceRegular attendance at school is essential if students are to maximise their potential. Schools inpartnership with parents and guardians, are responsible for promoting the regular attendance ofstudents. The compulsory schooling age is 6-17. Parents and guardians are legally responsible forthe regular attendance of their children, explaining the absences of their children in writingwithin several days to the school, and taking measures to resolve attendance issues involvingSt Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 18

Page 20: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

within several days to the school, and taking measures to resolve attendance issues involvingtheir children. School staff as part of their duty of care, monitor part or whole day absences.

They maintain accurate records of students' attendance, follow up unexplained absencesthrough written and verbal communication, implement programs and practices to addressattendance issues when they arise, and provide clear information to students and parentsregarding attendance requirements and the consequences of unsatisfactory attendance. Theprincipal or their delegate, may grant permission for late arrival or early departure from school,leave or exemption from attendance only in individual cases, on written request from parentsand guardians.

The principal/delegate will undertake all reasonable measures to contact parents promptly if anunexplained absence occurs. If truancy is suspected, the principal will contact theparents/guardians to ascertain the reason for the absence. If a satisfactory response is notreceived, the matter will be referred to the relevant staff at the Catholic Education Office,Diocese of Parramatta who will follow up unexplained absences as per legislative requirements.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 19

Page 21: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Student wellbeing

Student welfare, discipline and anti-bullying policies and pastoral careAt St Francis of Assisi Primary School, we rewarded good behaviour in different ways. Apart frompersonal praise and positive reinforcement in our relationships, we also used Certificate ofAchievement Awards as a sign that children were achieving their goals. Students could alsoreceive a Respect Award for following school rules and showing respect to self, others and theenvironment.

Our policy, Against Bullying and in Support of the Person Hurt, outlined the strategies thatstudents, teachers and parents should use to make sure bullying behaviour was not a feature ofour school.

Teachers, students and parents all know how the procedures are structured and what to expectfor both positive and negative behaviours. This consistency in approach has added a sense offairness to the policies.

The full text of student management, welfare and discipline policies can be obtained from theschool office or on the school's website: www.stfrancisglendenning.catholic.edu.au.

There was no change in 2017 to this policy.

Complaints and grievances policyThe school has formal written protocols in place to address complaints and grievances. Theseprotocols are in line with the Catholic Education, Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP), ComplaintHandling policy. A copy of the school policy is available from the school office or is available onthe CEDP website http://www.parra.catholic.edu.au/policy-central.

There was no change in 2017 to this policy.

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 20

Page 22: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

Section Eleven: Financial Statement

Income Expenditure

Commonwealth (63.3%)Capital (0%)State (22.1%)Fees (13.9%)Other (0.7%)

Capital (2.6%)Salary (74.7%)Non-Salary (22.8%)

RECURRENT and CAPITAL INCOME

Commonwealth Recurrent Grants1 $3,338,145

Government Capital Grants 2 $0

State Recurrent Grants 3 $1,164,977

Fees and Private Income 4 $732,584

Other Capital Income 5 $38,281

Total Income $5,273,987

RECURRENT and CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

Capital Expenditure 6 $128,913

Salaries and Related Expenses 7 $3,746,708

Non-Salary Expenses 8 $1,141,586

Total Expenditure $5,017,207

1. Commonwealth relates to Commonwealth Recurrent Grants including per capita fundingand special purpose grants.

2. Capital relates to Government Capital Grants.3. State relates to State Recurrent Grants including per capita funding, interest subsidy and

special purpose grants.4. Fees relates to diocesan and school based fees, excursions and other private income from

parents.5. Other refers to Other Capital Income including drawdowns from the Diocesan School

Building Fund to fund Capital Expenditure.6. Capital refers to Capital Expenditure including School Buildings, Furniture and Equipment.7. Salaries refers to the total of all Salaries, allowances and related expenses such as

superannuation, workers compensation and leave.8. Non-Salary refers to all other Non-Salary Recurrent Expenses.

13.9%

22.1%

63.3%

■■■■■

22.8%

74.7%

■■■

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 21

Page 23: St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning · St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning is a wonderful learning ... Our school community uses the prayer of St Francis

St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Glendenning Page 22