2016 Ashbury Public School Annual Report - Amazon S3€¦ · Thank you to our fantastic team of...

Ashbury Public SchoolAnnual Report

2016

1064

Printed on: 9 May, 2017 of 19 Ashbury Public School 1064 (2016)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2016 is provided to the community of Ashbury 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 toprovide high quality educational opportunities for all students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings fromself–assessment that reflect the impact of key school strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students fromthe expenditure of resources, including equity funding.

School contact details

Ashbury Public SchoolTrevenar StAshbury, 2193www.ashbury-p.schools.nsw.edu.auashbury-p.School@det.nsw.edu.au9798 4509


Message from the Principal

The students at Ashbury Public School benefit substantially from the hard work of so many people and I would like tothank all members of our school community for the tireless work that you do to provide such a vast range of educationalopportunities for our children.

To our highly dedicated staff, thank you for your commitment to our students, for making so many extra curricularactivities possible and for always being willing to reflect on and develop your professional practice. Thank you for sharingyour individual skills and talents with our students, helping them to build a firm foundation for lifelong learning. Thank youto our fantastic team of School Administrative and Support Staff who have worked tirelessly to support our students andstaff, particularly in the transition to the Learning Management and Business Reforms (LMBR) package in 2016.

Thank you to all of the parents and carers who give so much time to support our students and teachers. A specialmention goes to the members of our hard working Parents and Citizens Association who coordinate a wonderful range ofcommunity events and provide the school with significant funding for resources. The P&C's band, community garden anduniform shop sub committees also offer so much to our community and students.

Most importantly, thank you to our students who make everybody's hard work so worthwhile. Thank you for yourenthusiastic involvement in everything that is on offer. Thank you for being so inclusive and welcoming of all and formaking Ashbury Public School such a great place for us all.

2016 was a successful year for Ashbury Public School as is evidenced by the strong achievements of our students in theacademic, artistic and sporting domains. In NAPLAN, our Year 3 and Year 5 students achieved above the minimumstandards set for students across the country. The growth for students between Years 3 and 5 was significant, with ourschool achieving just under the 80th percentile of schools. Between years 5 and 7, the growth for students attendingGovernment High Schools was outstanding, with Ashbury's results placed above the 95th percentile of schools.

In the performing arts, all four of our bands achieved gold awards at the UNSW band festival, our choirs performed at theSydney Opera House, Town Hall and in the Schools Spectacular at the Sydney Superdome. Ten of our studentstravelled to China to perform as members of the Expanding Horizons Concert Tour.

On the sporting field, our students represented our school proudly in all zone carnivals, five of our PSSA teams wererunners up in their competition and our Senior Touch Footballers remained undefeated all year to win the zone PSSAtitle. Congratulations to all of our sporting representatives who have learned new skills, worked effectively as teammembers and have been committed to continual improvement by training each week.

In 2016 I was appointed to the Principal position at the start of Term 3 and I would like to acknowledge and thank MrsSally D'Arrigo for her outstanding leadership and hard work as relieving Principal in 2015 and the first half of 2016.

I certify that the information in this report is the result of a rigorous school self–evaluation process and is a balancedaccount of the school's achievements and areas for development.

Ben Heinecke

Principal


School background

School vision statement

Our vision is to empower students to be confident, creative, resilient, responsible and respectful life–long learnersengaged in a curriculum where they are challenged and supported by motivated, capable teachers in order to makeactive contributions to the local and global community.

School context

Ashbury Public School is a community–based medium sized school located amongst gum trees in the quiet residentialsuburb of Ashbury, NSW. Students are organised into 15 classes from Kindergarten to Year 6 and come from diversesocio–economic and cultural backgrounds. Student population is currently 379 students, representing 30 nationalities.The school’s population is 48.1 % NESB with 2% Aboriginal students.

“Education forms the Mind” is the school motto and as such the school provides an environment in which all students canaccess quality educational programs. Values are embedded in the school culture through student empowerment,delivered through programs like Peer Support, Peer Mediation, Student Representative Council and leadershipopportunities.

All students are encouraged and given opportunities to reach their full potential and develop their self–confidence andvalues both in the classroom and through extensive extra–curricular programs. Our school consistently celebratesstudent achievements in academics, the performing arts and sport, often attracting widespread recognition from thecommunity and beyond. The school also has a large before and after–school care program based on site, that supportsand works closely with the school to meet the needs of the students.

The school has a dedicated staff committed to their own on–going learning. They continue to develop a close collegialand professional working relationship with a Community of Schools. The school is also very well supported by an activeP&C and parent community who contribute significant amounts of time and funds and promote a sense of community.


Self-assessment and school achievement

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

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.

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:

http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about–the–department/our–reforms/school–excellence–framework

Excellence in Learning

Teachers continued to develop the Positive Behaviour for Learning program by designing and teaching series of lessonswhich supplemented our peer support program and explicitly taught expected behaviours in the full range ofenvironments across the school. The staff have redesigned student progress reports to give parents a clearunderstanding of what their child has achieved and areas for future development.

The school has a high functioning learning and support team who work together to ensure that all students achieve thebest possible learning outcomes. Learning plans have been collaboratively developed for students with specific learningneeds and teachers receive support to meet individual student needs.

Overall we have assessed the school to be sustaining and growing across the areas of learning culture, wellbeing,curriculum and learning as well as student performance measures. We are delivering in the area of assessment andreporting.

Excellence in Teaching

In the domain of teaching, collaborative practices within stage teams have ensured consistency in the planning anddelivery of curriculum and it has also allowed optimum support to be provided to beginning teachers. Teachers engagedin peer observations to jointly reflect on and evaluate their practice. They participated in a range of professional learninginitiatives including presenting and participating in workshops across the Canterbury Network of schools in the teachingpractices network.

In the School Excellence Framework we have assessed the school to be delivering in effective classroom practice andlearning and development. We are sustaining and growing in data skills and use, collaborative practice and theprofessional standards.

Excellence in Leading

In 2016 a distributive leadership model supported the effective implementation of the school plan and a range ofopportunities allowed leadership skills to be developed by both staff and students. The school actively seeks feedbackfrom students, parents and the community on school performance and throughout 2016 we have established andmaintained partnerships with businesses and community organisations including local high schools, universities,Atlassian and the Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL.

Overall we have assessed the school to be delivering in the domain of school planning, implementation and reportingand sustaining and growing in leadership, school resources, as well as management practices and processes.

Our self–assessment process will assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School Plan, leading to furtherimprovements in the delivery of education to our students.


Strategic Direction 1

Teacher Development

Purpose

To provide inspired learning for students that is based on quality educational delivery, consistent high standards andshared professional learning practices in a supported collaborative environment.

Overall summary of progress

Teachers engaged in professional learning on the new History, Geography and Science syllabus documents. Through anacademic partnership with the Australian Catholic University, they deepened their knowledge of inquiry based learning.Teachers also developed their understanding of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and accreditationrequirements.

Teachers participated in cooperative planning, lesson observations and shared analyses of assessment data to supportthe development of new practices and quality teaching and learning programs. Through lesson observations, theycompleted a Quality Teaching in Mathematics project.

All teaching staff completed Performance and Development Plans (PDPs). They participated in training on the Nationaldisability framework, as well as on the new Learning Management Business Reform (LMBR) systems in preparation fortheir use in 2017.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year Funds Expended(Resources)

Improved NAPLANperformance with higherpercentage of studentsexperiencing expected or bettergrowth.

In student growth across NAPLAN tests from Years5–7, Ashbury Public School ranked above the 95thpercentile of schools in NSW, achieving avalue–added score of 57.6.

From Years 3–5 the school ranked just under the80th percentile, achieving a value–added score of89.2

An increased number of teachersaccredited by the Board ofStudies and Teacher EducationStandards (BOSTES) atProficient and higher levels.Succession planning is in place.

Three teachers at Ashbury Public School weremaintaining their accreditation in 2016 and therewas one beginning teacher being supportedthrough the accreditation process.

All staff participated in professional learning onrequirements in preparation for maintainingproficient teacher accreditation in 2018.

Beginning Teacher funding:$7044

Staff Professional learning:$19 502

Documentation of teacherunderstanding and support of theannual performance anddevelopment cycle.

All teaching staff completed the annualperformance and development cycle. Staffproduced their own professional learning plans andreceived feedback and mentoring as a part ofongoing professional growth.

Evidence of aligned professionalgoals, the annual performanceand development cycle, andselected Teaching Standards

Through the annual performance and developmentcycle, staff professional learning goals are alignedwith the Australian Professional Standards forTeachers.

Teaching and learning issupported by an efficient andeffective budgeting process,aligned to the school vision anddirections.

With the transition to LMBR systems in 2016 and anaccrual based accounting system schooladministrative and support staff received 15 days ofprofessional learning on the new systems. Theexecutive staff also received training in the newsystems and they ran sessions for the teachingstaff. A smooth transition to LMBR took place.


Next Steps

• Build the culture of growth and learning through teacher professional learning in personalised learning, studentengagement, growth mindsets and visible thinking routines.

• Establish a system of standardised assessments in Years 3–6 to inform teaching practices and track studentachievement across grades and continue to utilise the literacy and numeracy continua in Years K–6.

• Contribute to the Inner West Learning Alliance through continuing participation in the Teaching Practices Network. • Establish a uniform approach to the teaching of spelling through collaborative planning practices and teacher

professional learning. • Implement the LMBR student administration systems, access and provide staff training where required. • Support beginning teachers to meet accreditation requirements and build teacher understanding of the Australian

standards and maintenance of accreditation.



Student Engagement

Purpose

To nurture students to become autonomous, engaged and successful learners who strive to maximise their potential inan environment where every student’s social and emotional wellbeing is at the centre of school processes.


The implementation of Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) continued in 2016 with the development of a series oflessons to teach behaviour expectations across different environments within the school. PBL has been implemented tosupport current student wellbeing programs including Peer Support, Peer Mediation and Restorative Practice.

Student wellbeing underpins all of the work at Ashbury Public School and the Learning and Support Team play anintegral role in ensuring that student learning needs are met. Staff consult with the Learning and Support Team to planand differentiate teaching and learning programs to cater for all students, from those that need extension to those thatneed extra support in order to meet their potential.

Students are given access to technology as part of daily class instruction and funds were used to purchase updatedlaptop computers to expand the number of devices available to students.




The whole school community hasa clear understanding of theschool rules, expectations andpositive behaviour for learningsystem.

PBL Lessons developed and delivered to studentsto explicitly teach expected behaviours in the rangeof environments across the school.

Both the student welfare and the anti bullyingpolicies were reviewed by the school council.

All students demonstrateresilience and positive behaviourtechniques in the classroom andplayground (data indicatesdecrease in negative behaviourfrom baseline)

Baseline data was collected on student disciplineand incidents which required parents to becontacted. Throughout the year there was areduction in the number of negative behaviourincidents that were referred to parents.

There is consistency in our PBLexpectations across the school

PBL lessons are taught in peer support groupswhich are comprised of students from a mixture ofages from K–6.

Target behaviours are explicitly taught in series ofplanned lessons across the school.

All students use devices safelyand ethically to engage inlearning in a meaningful andrelevant way.

Cyber safety lessons were taught during library timefor all students in Years 3 to 6, topics includedengaging with social media safely, cyber safety,plagiarism and copyright laws.

No student internet accounts were locked due toinappropriate use.

Wireless network capacity was expanded andnotebook computers were purchased for studentand class use.

Computers and notebooks:$6409 plus eT4L rolloutallocation given by theDepartment.

Wireless access points:$1469

15 x hovercams: $4575


Next Steps

• Design and install Positive Behaviour for Learning signage to display the school's expectations in all environmentsacross the school. Launch the PBL program, expectations and Platybury mascot in a community event.

• Review student welfare and discipline policy to include elements of the PBL program. • Trial the use of Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education in Stage 3 classes. • Purchase small sets of iPads for class use to expand the possibilities for students to demonstrate their learning. • Complete the front playground renewal. • Trial and purchase new furniture to develop flexible learning spaces throughout the school.



Locally, Globally

Purpose

To develop students for the future as active and informed local and global citizens by equipping them with a strong senseof community and the skills to be confident, critical and creative individuals in the 21st century.


We continued to develop relationships within our local community including being involved in local high school activitiesand events as well as participating in the Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Sub Branch Centenary of the First World Warcommemoration and research project.

Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia is taught as a cross curriculum priority at Ashbury Public School. In 2016,students in Year 3 took place in the India Calling program and partnered with a Hindi school in Sydney to study thevarious cultures and religions found in India as well as the geographical features. The program culminated in thestudents attending the Diwali celebrations in Martin Place and performing cultural dances. Students in Year 4participated in the Calling Nepal program where they too learned about the geography, cultures and religions of Nepal.They partnered with the 108 Lives Project to learn about the impact that Australian foreign aid is having in theregion. Students in Years 5 and 6 studied China and some students and a teacher took the opportunity to tour China asmembers of the Arts Unit's Expanding Horizons China Tour. The students performed in music and dance ensemblesacross China while taking some time out to see the sights.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures is another cross curriculum priority which is taught across allgrades and subject areas from Kindergarten to Year 6. Our Aboriginal students in Stage 3 participated in the Yarn Uppublic speaking program and a number of whole school workshops and events helped to educate all students about ourAboriginal cultures and heritage.

In environmental education, all classes participated in Kitchen Garden Workshops with a qualified chef using producefrom our community garden. Our committed team of student Environmental Officers ensure that our worm farms arefunctioning and they help out around the gardens whenever possible.




A school environment that isconnected to local and globalorganisations.

India Calling in Year 3, Calling Nepal in Year 4 andExpanding Horizons China in Years 5 and 6 gavestudents opportunities to learn about these cultures.

All classes participated in Kitchen GardenWorkshops in the community garden.

India Calling: $707

Evidence of cross curriculumpriorities in teaching and learningprograms.

Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia,Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories andCultures and Sustainability taught across all gradesand all learning areas at both a class, stage andwhole school level.

100% of staff providingopportunities for students to thinkcreatively, work collaboratively,problem solve and communicate.

As evidenced in teaching and learning programs.

Staff professional learning partnership with theAustralian Catholic University on inquiry basedlearning.

Teaching and learning issupported by an efficient andeffective budgeting process,aligned to the school vision anddirection.

School administrative and support staff received 15days of professional learning on the new systems.The executive staff also received training and theyran sessions for the teaching staff. A smoothtransition to LMBR took place.


Next Steps

• Expand the role of the Environmental Officers by introducing recycling bins in the playground and having theenvironmental officers take on an educational role with regard to recycling and waste management throughout theschool.

• Explore opportunities for language classes at Ashbury Public School. • Build relationships with local public high schools to expand opportunities for students in Science, Technology,

Engineering and Maths (STEM).


Key Initiatives Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Aboriginal background loading All students had a Personal LearningPathway developed in consultation withparents and are involved in extracurricularactivities and programs. Support forAboriginal students to access excursions andextracurricular programs and activities as wellas whole school Aboriginal culturalexperiences including Koomurri groupincursion.

$5020

English language proficiency Provided additional EAL/D teacher time tosupport students in the classroom andengage in team teaching to implementeffective EAL/D teaching strategies.

0.6 Full Time Equivalent(FTE) EAL/D Teacher.

$19 853 – additional EAL/Dteacher, one day per week.

Low level adjustment for disability Assessed needs of students through theLearning and Support Team and provided aSupport Teacher Learning Assistance andSchool Learning and Support Officers to workwith students in the classroom. Completedindividual education plans and learningadjustments for students with special needs.

0.8 FTE Learning andSupport Teacher

0.2 FTE additional Learningand Support Teacher

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

Provided time for teachers to workcollaboratively, jointly planning and observinglessons. This funding helped to establishmentoring practices under the Performanceand Development Framework to provideconstructive feedback to teachers on lessondelivery, programming, assessment andclassroom management.

0.14 FTE in Semester 1

0.28 FTE in Semester 2

Socio–economic background Supported the inclusion of students from lowsocio–economic backgrounds by fundingexcursions and extracurricular activities.

$2824

Support for beginning teachers Provided additional time and support forbeginning teachers to completeresponsibilities such as assessing studentlearning, planning, programming and reportwriting.

Provided quality mentoring and supervision tosupport beginning teachers as well asopportunities to observe expert teachers andattend additional professional learning..

$6570


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2013 2014 2015 2016

Boys 185 197 188 190

Girls 182 182 186 191

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

K 97 96.1 95.7 96.4

1 94.7 95.7 94.6 96.3

2 95.2 95 94.6 94.1

3 95.8 94.5 94.1 96.2

4 94.2 95.3 95 94.9

5 94.8 93.9 95.3 95.3

6 96.9 92.8 93.4 95.5

All Years 95.5 94.8 94.7 95.5

State DoE

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

K 95 95.2 94.4 94.4

1 94.5 94.7 93.8 93.9

2 94.7 94.9 94 94.1

3 94.8 95 94.1 94.2

4 94.7 94.9 94 93.9

5 94.5 94.8 94 93.9

6 94.1 94.2 93.5 93.4

All Years 94.7 94.8 94 94

Management of non-attendance

As per Department policy, student attendance atAshbury Public School is monitored. Parents arerequired to explain the absences of their children fromschool promptly and within 7 days of the first day of anyperiod of absence. In conjunction with the Principal, theHome School Liaison Officer supports the school bymonitoring student attendance and developing andimplementing strategies to support students withidentified attendance issues.

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Assistant Principal(s) 3

Classroom Teacher(s) 13.23

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.42

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.8

Teacher Librarian 0.8

Teacher of ESL 0.6

School Administration & SupportStaff

2.87

Other Positions 0.14

*Full Time Equivalent

The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requiresschools to report on the Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander composition of their workforce. In 2016, nomembers of the workforce identified as being Aboriginalor Torres Strait Islander.

Teacher qualifications

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

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 80

Postgraduate degree 20

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Professional learning is prioritised as an integral part ofthe school's operations. Staff professional learning isplanned to contribute to the professional growth of allstaff members and the improvement of studentoutcomes.

Priorities in professional learning centred around schoolplan targets. Teachers participated in mentoring,observation and feedback of colleagues' practice. Theybuilt their understanding of inquiry learning embeddedwithin new syllabus documents including history,geography and science. Teachers extended theirknowledge of the Australian Professional Standards forTeachers and future requirements for accreditation.They also participated in orientations to the LearningManagement and Business Reform (LMBR) packages


of software. Priorities for School Administration andSupport Staff centred around the implementation of theLMBR systems and their implementation.

One teacher is working towards accreditation atproficient level through BOSTES and two teachers aremaintaining their accreditation.

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

Financial information

The three financial summary tables cover 13 months(from 1 December 2015 to 31 December 2016).

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

As the school transitioned to the new LearningManagement and Business Reform systems in 2016,the school's finances are summarised in two separatetables. The first is a summary of finance from theOASIS system which was in place until 17 October2016. The second table is a summary of finance fromthe SAP system which was implemented from 17October 2016 and onwards.

Income $

Balance brought forward 449 553.86

Global funds 250 193.74

Tied funds 155 018.47

School & community sources 222 731.66

Interest 8 942.11

Trust receipts 36 147.50

Canteen 0.00

Total income 1 122 587.34

Expenditure

Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 63 902.14

Excursions 9 045.78

Extracurricular dissections 117 284.61

Library 1 610.23

Training & development 728.70

Tied funds 134 064.17

Short term relief 65 857.80

Administration & office 56 083.06

School-operated canteen 0.00

Utilities 32 408.15

Maintenance 34 279.69

Trust accounts 48 762.82

Capital programs 23 577.00

Total expenditure 587 604.15

Balance carried forward 534 983.19


The information provided in the following financialsummary includes reporting from 17 October 2016 to31 December 2016.

2016 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 0.00

Revenue 743 093.36

(2a) Appropriation 546 654.60

(2b) Sale of Goods andServices

2 445.94

(2c) Grants and Contributions 193 347.01

(2e) Gain and Loss 0.00

(2f) Other Revenue 0.00

(2d) Investment Income 645.81

Expenses -241 619.26

Recurrent Expenses -241 619.26

(3a) Employee Related -102 502.49

(3b) Operating Expenses -139 116.77

Capital Expenses 0.00

(3c) Employee Related 0.00

(3d) Operating Expenses 0.00

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

501 474.10

Balance Carried Forward 501 474.10

There is no opening balance recorded in the SAPfinance table. The opening balance for the school forthis reporting period is recorded as the BalanceBrought Forward in the OASIS table.

The OASIS Balance carried forward amount (ie, fundson date of migration) is included in the (2a)Appropriation amount in the SAP table.

Any differences between the OASIS Balance carriedforward and (2a) Appropriation amount is the result ofother accounts and transactions being included in the(2a) Appropriation amount.

The discrepancy between the balance carried forward($534 983.19) from the OASIS finance system tablewith the appropriation ($546 654.60) in the above tableis the total of the Library DGR fund, $11 671.41 whichis not listed in the SAP Finance table as it is a separateaccount.

Large funds have been carried forward as provision foradditional assets including the school front playgroundupgrade and payment for the primary toilets upgrade in2016.

The following equity funding summary is inclusive ofstaff salaries listed as a component of the other basefunding.

Financial summary equity funding

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

2016 Actual ($)

Base Total 2 381 499.70

Base Per Capita 19 971.49

Base Location 0.00

Other Base 2 361 528.21

Equity Total 202 162.53

Equity Aboriginal 2 807.00

Equity Socio economic 8 774.09

Equity Language 83 995.74

Equity Disability 106 585.70

Targeted Total 50 570.00

Other Total 63 800.69

Grand Total 2 698 032.93

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


School performance

NAPLAN

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

The following tables provide a snapshot of our students'performance in NAPLAN in 2016.


The My School website provides detailedinformation and data for national literacy and numeracytesting. Click on the link http://www.myschool.edu.auand insert Ashbury Public School in the Find a schoolbox and select GO to access the school data.


Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

In 2016 the school sought the opinions of students,parents and teachers through the Tell Them From Mesuite of surveys. 157 students in Years 4–6 participatedin 2 student surveys in 2016. The surveys measured 20research based indicators of school and classroomeffectiveness.

Student responses indicated that they • have a high sense of belonging and positive

relationships at school • exhibit positive behaviours and try hard to

succeed in their learning • have a high rate of participation in extra curricula

activities and school sports.71 parents participated in the Partners in LearningParent Survey which measures seven aspects ofparents' perceptions of their children's experiences athome and school.

Parent responses indicated that: • they feel welcome when they visit the school and

that school staff are approachable and helpful • they believe that the school is a safe school that

supports positive student behaviour • the school supports student learning and that

teachers show interest in their child's learning andencourage them to work hard.

All teachers participated in the Focus on LearningTeacher Survey. Teacher responses indicated that • there is a positive learning culture characterised

by high expectations and the communication ofclear learning and behaviour expectations

• they use a range of teaching strategies and givefeedback to support students to reach their goals

• they collaborate with their colleagues to increasestudent engagement and address studentlearning difficulties.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Ashbury Public School acknowledges the importance ofdeveloping all students' understanding of our Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. This isembedded as a cross curriculum priority in teachingand learning programs across all grades. At all schoolassemblies and functions we pay respect to Aboriginalculture and heritage by commencing with theacknowledgement of country.

The school has an active Aboriginal EducationCommittee which consists of parents, teachers, theAboriginal Education Consultant, Aboriginal CommunityLiaison Officer and the Principal. Together theyorganised several cultural experiences for studentsincluding the NAIDOC Week assembly. An incursion bythe Koomurri group gave all students the opportunity tolearn traditional songs and dances, explore traditionaltools, weapons and artifacts as well as create a whole

school mural. Students from Kindergarten to Year 2also benefited from a workshop presented by MrGunther, a grandparent at the school.

Ashbury Public School is committed to improving theeducational outcomes and wellbeing of Aboriginalstudents. Teachers consult with Aboriginal studentsand their parents to develop personal learningpathways. Two Aboriginal students in Year 6participated in Yarn Up, a public speaking program thatculminated in their presentation of speeches in theNSW Legislative Assembly.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

Ashbury Public School values the diverse culturalbackgrounds of the families in the school andcommunity.

Just over 48% of the students attending Ashbury PublicSchool come from a language background other thanEnglish. To assist students to meet the demands of theEnglish language, identified students participate in ourEnglish as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D)Program. Our EAL/D teacher supports studentslearning English in the classroom and collaborates withclassroom teachers to plan, assess and teach toeffectively meet the needs of students learning Englishas an additional language.

Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia is a crosscurriculum priority and as such teaching and learningprograms from Kindergarten to Year 6 incorporateopportunities for the students to learn about andappreciate the cultures of Asia. Students in Year 3participated in the India Calling program, partneringwith a Hindi school to learn about the geography,cultures and religions of India. The Year 4 studentsstudied Nepal with Calling Nepal in a similar program. All students in Years 3 to 6 participated in theMulticultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competitionwhich gave them the opportunity to research, exploreand speak about multicultural issues in our society.Harmony Day was celebrated through a whole schoolassembly and special activities in classrooms.

The school has a trained Anti–Racism Contact Officer(ARCO). The ARCO is the person who deals withcomplaints from individuals or groups regarding racismthat has been experienced or observed within theschool.


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