2019 Mount Warrigal Public School Annual Report

Mount Warrigal Public School2019 Annual Report

4395

Printed on: 14 June, 2020 of 31 Mount Warrigal Public School 4395 (2019)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2019 is provided to the community of Mount Warrigal 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

Mount Warrigal Public SchoolHogarth AveWarilla, 2528www.mtwarrigal-p.schools.nsw.edu.aumtwarrigal-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au4296 6266


School background

School vision statement

To empower every student to be successful, reflective, future focussed learners through individualised qualityteaching. To work collaboratively as a progressive community to develop inclusive and meaningfulpartnerships where all members feel safe, respected and connected.

School context

Mount Warrigal Public School has been established since 1967 and caters for students from preschool to Year 6. Ourschool currently has 9 mainstream classes, a 2 unit preschool, and 4 support unit classes, comprising of EarlyIntervention Unit, two multi–categorical classes and a class for students with a moderate intellectual disability.

The school is proud of its diversity, including 17% Aboriginal student enrolment and 16% enrolment of students from anon–English speaking backgrounds.

Mount Warrigal Public School works in collaboration with the school community and a dedicated P&C who are committedto working with the school in a variety of ways. A Community Liaison Officer supports the wellbeing and engagement ofour community as well as a number of external agencies and organisation supporting a range of programs includingplaygroup, breakfast club and afterschool learning club.

All students are encouraged to "Aim Higher". Individualised quality teaching is a critical school focus with strong currentpedagogical basis for literacy and numeracy programs, equipping students with the skills to be lifelong learners. We arecurrently part of the K–2 Early Action for Success initiative, focussing on coaching and mentoring to support teacherprofessional learning and growth. This focus is emulated across the school with an instructional leader employed tosupport this. Our school strives to empower assessment capable learners and continue to grow inspired passionateteachers.

At Mount Warrigal Public School we believe in supporting the whole child, catering for the social, emotional andacademic needs of all. Our school has a core focus on student wellbeing and integrating Positive Behaviour for Learningand our school expectation of being a safe, respectful learner. Other key initiatives include Kindness on Purpose andbuilding empathy, protective behaviours and putting student safety as our priority. In addition, students are provided witha range of extra curricular experiences, such as creative and performance arts, sport and student leadership.


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. The Framework is astatement of what is valued as excellence for NSW public schools, both now and into the future. The Frameworksupports public schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high qualitypractice 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.

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

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching–and–learning/school–excellence–and–accountability/school–excellence

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

Elements 2019 School Assessment

LEARNING: Learning Culture Delivering

LEARNING: Wellbeing Sustaining and Growing

LEARNING: Curriculum Sustaining and Growing

LEARNING: Assessment Working towards Delivering

LEARNING: Reporting Sustaining and Growing

LEARNING: Student performance measures Delivering

TEACHING: Effective classroom practice Delivering

TEACHING: Data skills and use Delivering

TEACHING: Professional standards Sustaining and Growing

TEACHING: Learning and development Sustaining and Growing

LEADING: Educational leadership Sustaining and Growing

LEADING: School planning, implementation andreporting

Sustaining and Growing

LEADING: School resources Sustaining and Growing

LEADING: Management practices and processes Excelling


Strategic Direction 1

Successful and thriving individuals

Purpose

An inclusive, safe and nurturing environment ensures each individual to feel they belong, empowering every individual toreach their potential and thrive. Fostering self–worth and self–belief, building empathy, motivation, confidence,resilience and positive, meaningful relationships is critical in developing the whole child.

Improvement Measures

Increase in students displaying school expectations as measured by students with less than 2 negative incidentnotifications (ebs4), including a reduction in classroom incidents.

Increase in percentage of students who have a positive sense of belonging and are interested and motivated in theirlearning, as measured by TTFM data and student focus groups.

Increase in attendance data, in line or above state average.

Overall summary of progress

Strategic Direction 1 targets for successful and thriving individuals, set to be achieved in 2019, were framed under theprocesses of student wellbeing, inclusive, individualised learning and staff wellbeing and support.

The annual milestone for student wellbeing was set outlining that there would be effective PBL classroom systemsembedded across the school to support student wellbeing and engagement in all settings. By the end of 2019, studentswere to be provided with opportunities to develop protective behaviours and social and emotional skills, through a varietyof programs such as Safe 4 Kids and Kindness on Purpose. Trauma informed practice was to guide staff interactionswith students and create opportunities for students to rebuild control and empower self–regulation. We were aiming forwhole school student attendance to be at or above state average.

In 2019, PBL Team Leaders attended professional learning on Coaching and Coach Network Training. PBL teammeetings were held fortnightly and the team presented to school staff FAB workshops focusing on classroom systems.New staff members were inducted into PBL systems, resulting in some joining the team. The PBL team created acombined google drive to allow staff access to electronic copies of all PBL resources.

All parents were once again invited to attend Learning Conversations with classroom teachers. Teachers andparents/carers collaborated to design Individualised/Personalised Learning Pathways documents to plan for studentlearning. These completed documents were communicated to relevant parties and used as a benchmark for goal basedimprovement. Formal reviews were held in mid–term 1 and once again in term 3, to ensure early intervention and timelyupdates to existing plans.

Induction processes were implemented to ensure that new and casual staff, including contract workers and volunteers,were inducted into the school and aware of all systems and support processes. Induction checklists were signed andregistered for staff. The induction process included sighting mandatory training certificates, documents, WHS, wholeschool organisation, PBL and timetabling.

Kindness on Purpose (KOP) remained an integrated theme through PBL, and 'Book of the Term' choices were selectedin–line with themes of empathy and kindness. Whole staff professional learning was completed mid–term 4, with a viewto planning for the second year of program intervention and support. KOP training with staff will be completed in 2020.

Six staff members formed a Berry Street team and attended Berry Street Behaviour Model professional learning. Theteam will go on to develop all Mount Warrigal staff in strategies and processes to support the management of complexbehaviours and trauma informed practice in 2020.

The Wellbeing Framework documentation process was completed. The following procedures were developed orupdated: Approaching the school; reporting to parents; anti–bullying; uniform; attendance; student voice and leadership;Aboriginal education; discipline; out of home care; learning support; learning support team; nutrition; drug education; sunsafety; road safety; health care plans; child protection; working with children checks; safe and ethical use of ICT. Staffand community consultation occurred and whole school professional learning for staff was implemented. Our schoolcommunity can now access these procedure documents, via the school website.

Attendance data is reviewed at each Learning Support Team meeting. The Home School Liaison officer is in regular


consultation with school to monitor students at risk. Staff are aware of their legal obligations regarding studentattendance and make contact with parents if students are absent for more than two days. Teachers began using theLAMP template to monitor attendance. Attendance Improvement Plan meetings were completed, with stage supervisorsand parents of students at risk. A small number of students were referred to the Home School Liaison Program tosupport improved attendance. A focus on state legislation and the consistent communication of attendance requirementsthrough social school platforms and newsletters continued throughout the year. The overall average attendance for 2019remained quite stable. The school experienced an outbreak of Whooping cough and Influenza, which impacted onattendance rates. We anticipated that without these health issues we would have seen an increase in attendance dataoverall. Attendance awards were not supported by parents or staff and therefore were not provided and will not beprovided in the future.

At Mount Warrigal Public School we are sustaining and growing in the SEF domain of Learning–Wellbeing. Every studentidentifies staff who care about them and who can advise and assist them at school. The school collects data andfeedback for a collective approach to wellbeing and engagement to improve learning. The needs of all students areaddressed in programs and expectations of behaviour are collaboratively developed to ensure effective, consistent andsupportive learning conditions across the school.

The annual milestone for inclusive and individualised learning was set outlining that we would ensure that all studentneeds are meaningfully met through learning support in partnership with families and services. Collaborative planning,revising and refining of Individualised Education Pathways would continually support students.

Fortnightly Learning Support Team meetings were held, with a high number of staff consistently attending. Staffcollaboratively planned support strategies for students at risk, or those needing individualised support. Parents/carers ofstudents with an Individual Learning Plan were consulted through personalised meetings to plan individual learninggoals. School Learning Support Officers (SLSOs) were purposefully utilised to ensure that students on individual fundingwere supported within the classroom and playground. The school ensured SLSOs were also utilised to provide studentsneeding individualised instruction (without funding) with support, through school RAM equity funding.

All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students had Personalised Learning Plan (PLP) goals created throughconsultation and collaboration with parents/carers and this process was integrated into the Learning Conversations forTerm 1, for the first time. A BBQ was provided to indigenous community to engage families in the collaborative planning.Conversations and connections were established to provide a strong learning community for students. PLP documentswere completed at this time. Student PLP goals and cultural goals made with the Aboriginal Education Worker wereconsidered by the Aboriginal Education Team when creating the 2019 Aboriginal Education Plan. As such, manyopportunities were investigated, created and delivered to support children in attaining their goals throughout the year.Initiatives to support student interests included dance groups, a didgeridoo program, acting out local dream time storieswith Elders, excursions to local significant Aboriginal areas, weapon talks and a variety of art opportunities. During Term1 stage teams met with Aboriginal educators to collaboratively ensure Aboriginal perspectives were embeddedthroughout teaching and learning programs. This experience enabled staff to further consolidate their knowledge of localcustoms, histories and significant areas. As a result of this and ongoing professional learning, staff are continuallyrefining their practice in order to incorporate learning styles and culture significant to Aboriginal people. Data on theinclusion of these perspectives in teacher programs was collected and reported. This data was later collected once againto assess progress. Surveys indicated significant growth in students' knowing their PLP goals and in recognising thatAboriginal perspectives are increasingly being represented through teaching and learning experiences across the school.Throughout 2018 and 2019 staff have collected photos and videos of various Aboriginal Education Initiatives includingNAIDOC celebrations, Reconciliation Assembly, performances, Elder visits and excursions. The media has beenforwarded to the company Filmpond who created our first film to authentically share our personal journey towardsreconciliation. The film was shown to our community at the school presentation day.

Learning Conversation meetings were held in term 1 to develop ILP and/or learning goals and student needs withparents/carers and outside agencies (OoHC, NDIS). Community feedback was positive and led to further engagement.Learning Conversation Reviews were then held again in term 3 and were well attended by families and support staff.Individual goals were reviewed and new goals developed. Students participated in Learning Conversations and studentvoice was utilised to support learning directions.

The Learning and Support Teacher (LaST) was utilised in stage 1 and stage 2 classes, focusing on supporting studentsto progress moving results from middle bands to the top bands in Naplan Mathematics. The focus was on fundamentalskills in Quantifying Number, Additive Strategies, Patterns and Algebra and Multiplicative strategies.

Two staff members attended the professional learning 'Ignite the Spark, Fuel the Fire' at the UNSW. This developed staffknowledge on Gifted and Talented student instruction and differentiated learning practices. This information waspresented back to staff to develop an understanding of the educational needs of Gifted and Talented students and howbest to challenge and extend them in their learning program. LaST was utilised with specific students to extend theirlearning in Mathematics focusing on Quantifying Number, Additive strategies, place value and Multiplicative strategies.Specific students were integrated into challenging English sessions and also design, inquiry and mathematics in action.

At Mount Warrigal Public School we are Sustaining and Growing in the area of Inclusive and Individual Learning. Student


needs are explicitly addressed in teaching and learning programs and expected student progression in knowledge,understanding and skill is communicated. Teachers directly and regularly engage with parents to improve theirunderstanding of how their child is learning, and their learning outcomes. Reporting to parents has been enhanced inresponse to feedback received. Various assessments are utilised to measure progress. Evidence based teachingpractices provide a high expectation framework. Differentiation happens for students with identified needs and parentsare advised about the adjustments made.

The annual milestone for staff wellbeing and support for 2019 was set outlining that there would be a focus on positiverelationships and culture, collaborative and shared planning and an enhancement of work/life balance. Professionallearning opportunities were to be linked to the whole school plan and individual Performance and Development Plangoals of all staff. This focus was planned to positively contribute to growth in personal, professional and schoolcommunity wellbeing.

A staff wellbeing survey was distributed at the end of Term 1, 2019. 14 staff members responded and the data gatheredwas used to develop whole school wellbeing opportunities such as staff meetings and whole staff collaborativeexperiences. Positive recognition of performance and support continued to be recorded on our 'Staff Shout Out Wall'. Awhole staff meeting was held focusing on a variety of personal wellbeing strategies and how to access personalisedsupport where required. Staff completed a personal wellbeing audit and engaged in positive interactions and strategieswith colleagues. They attended a number of breakfasts and lunches together to create a positive, supportive workenvironment. The wellbeing team designed and implemented staff school activities to support R U OK? Day, and heldstaff raffles, with proceeds going to a mental health support organisation. Whole school events such as social games andcompetitions were organised and implemented to raise staff morale and to offer an enjoyable team building experience.The idea of creating teacher wellbeing and check in buddies was discussed at the most recent staff wellbeing meetingand this has been identified as a priority for the future.

Collaborative planning has occurred across all stages and key learning areas. Stage meetings, dedicated planning timesand whole school meetings have enabled teachers to engage in professional dialogue, program sharing and consultativeand collective planning for student wellbeing and learning. Programming is shared among staff on Google Drive, allowingfor immediate access to relevant documents. This has enhanced staff work/ life balance by improving time management.

Induction processes were implemented to ensure that new and casual staff were welcomed into the school and aware ofall systems and support processes. Induction checklists were signed and registered. This process included citingmandatory training certificates, WHS, whole school PBL and timetabling.

SLSO staff attend fortnightly meetings to discuss staff and student wellbeing, professional learning needs and futureopportunities for development. The majority of SLSO staff consistently attend these meetings and were able to reachPersonalised Development Plan goals as a result.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Process 1: Student Wellbeing

Embed systems and trauma informed practices that support positive behaviour for learning, the buildingof empathy and positive relationships where students are safe and supported. • PBL, Safe4Kids, Kindness on Purpose • Trauma informed practices & Got It • Positive attendance practices

Evaluation Funds Expended(Resources)

– PBL– 2019 showed a greater than 30% increase in the SET results from2017. 100% of staff and students interviewed could name the three schoolexpectations. 93% of students had received a Positive PAW in that term, and66% of them could verbalise reasons they could receive a PAW. Wholeschool major behaviour incidents showed a significant decrease, with themajority of behaviour incidents occurring in the classroom. In response to thisour whole school focus moved from Universal Systems to ClassroomSystems.

– Our school wide matrix of expectations ensures consistent language andexpectations are used by students and staff. The expectations are phrasedpositively, to pre–correct and praise positive behavior. New and casual staffare supported to implement PBL Universal and Classroom systems throughan induction process to ensure consistent language and systems are used.'Triple PAWS' are provided to casual staff to support our students inmaintaining expected behaviours with other teachers.

Funding Sources: • Staff professional learning, includingBasic Intensive Training, Berry StreetModel, brain and Behaviour.($15500.00) • Wellbeing initiatives, includingKindness on Purpose, Safe4Kids &PBL ($6000.00)



– Kindness on Purpose has remained solidly within our school culture, withbook of the terms being selected to compliment this language and message.This will continue into 2020, with the founder of KOP already booked toattend Kindergartens first day of school for 2020, to have morning tea withour new parents and families.

– Safe4Kids has been taught by all staff members and in all classes schoolwide, which has promoted a common language in relation to child protectionconcerns. Students are able to identify their safety team of 5 trusted adultsand name the warning signs that can occur in their body and mind whenpresented with an unsafe situation. This training will be re–presented to staffin 2020 to ensure that new staff members are competent in teaching this unitof work, and the Safe4Kids unit will be re–taught to all students in the 2020school year.

– 6 staff members from across the school attended Basic Intensive Trainingin Choice Theory, Reality Therapy and Lead Management in Term 4 of 2019.This training is based around internal psychology and working with students,staff and the community to find the reason behind the behaviour, and assistin helping the individual to formulate a plan for success. After this training, 8out of 12 on class teachers at Mount Warrigal Public School are qualified inBasic Intensive Training, which is contributing to a common language withinthe school and a consistent way of managing behaviours.

– While attendance is continuously monitored and has had varying levels ofconsistency throughout the year, some consistent practices are now beingimplemented to strive towards state average attendance. Staff are beingasked to report attendance concerns to their supervisor, to be raisedfortnightly at LST meetings. Staff are being provided with LAMP sheets tomonitor attendance as soon as consistent lateness or absences begin tooccur. Training has been planned for the 2020 school year to bring all schoolbased staff up to date with attendance policies and requirements forstudents.

Process 2: Inclusive and Individualised Learning

Refine effective learning and support systems to ensure all individuals thrive, while providingopportunities to develop the whole child. • LST processes, IEPs, G&T, etc. • PLPs, Junior AECG, student 'Meeting Place', Aboriginal Perspectives • Student led learning/Student voice • Holistic opportunities such as performing arts, sport


– Fortnightly Learning Support Team meetings were held, with a high numberof staff consistently attending.

– Personalised meetings to plan individual learning goals were help withparents of students who required ILPs.

– School Learning Support Officers (SLSOs) were purposefully utilised toensure that students with specific needs were supported within the classroomand playground.

– All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students had PersonalisedLearning Plan (PLP) goals created through consultation and collaborationwith parents/carers and this process was integrated into the LearningConversations for Term 1.

– During Term 1 stage teams met with Aboriginal Educators to collaborativelyensure Aboriginal perspectives were embedded throughout teaching andlearning programs. This experience enabled staff to further consolidate their

Funding Sources: • Additional SLSO support($128000.00) • Staff release ($3000.00) • Staff professional learning($2000.00)



knowledge of local customs, histories and significant areas. As a result of thisand ongoing professional learning, staff are continually refining their practicein order to incorporate learning styles and culture significant to Aboriginalpeople.

– Learning Conversation meetings were held in Term 1 to develop ILP and/orlearning goals and student needs with parents/carers and outside agencies(OoHC, NDIS).

– The Learning and Support Teacher (LaST) was utilised in Stage 1 andStage 2 classes, focusing on supporting students to progress moving resultsfrom middle bands to the top bands in NAPLAN Numeracy. The focus was onfundamental skills in Quantifying Number, Additive Strategies, Patterns andAlgebra and Multiplicative strategies.

– Two staff members attended the professional learning 'Ignite the Spark,Fuel the Fire' at the UNSW. This developed staff knowledge on Gifted andTalented student instruction and differentiated learning practices. Thisinformation was presented back to staff to develop an understanding of theeducational needs of Gifted and Talented students and how best to challengeand extend them in their learning program.

– This year our school choir participated in SIMF at the University ofWollongong. This provided opportunities for students to not only develop theirmusical knowledge and singing abilities, but also to build confidence inperforming on stage and working in a team to perform three songs.

Process 3: Staff Wellbeing and Support

Build on school practices that support staff wellbeing, resilience and performance & development. • Professional learning • Staff induction and support practices • Collaborative practices systems


– A staff wellbeing survey was distributed at the end of Term 1, 2019. 14 staffmembers responded and the data gathered was used to develop wholeschool wellbeing opportunities such as staff meetings and whole staffcollaborative experiences.

– A whole staff meeting was held focusing on a variety of personal wellbeingstrategies and how to access personalised support where required. Staffcompleted a personal wellbeing audit and engaged in positive interactionsand strategies with colleagues. They attended a number of breakfasts andlunches together to create a positive, supportive work environment.

– The wellbeing team designed and implemented staff school activities tosupport R U OK? Day, and held staff raffles, with proceeds going to a mentalhealth support organisation.

– Moving forward, the idea of creating teacher wellbeing and check inbuddies has been discussed this has been identified as a priority for thefuture.

– Collaborative planning has occurred across all stages and key learningareas. Stage meetings, dedicated planning times and whole school meetingshave enabled teachers to engage in professional dialogue, program sharingand consultative and collective planning for student wellbeing and learning.Programming is shared amongst staff on Google Drive, allowing forimmediate access to relevant documents. This has enhanced staff work/ lifebalance by improving time management.

– Induction processes were implemented to ensure that new and casual staff

Funding Sources: • Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS) ($53000.00) • Staff professional learning andcollaboration days ($23000.00)



were welcomed into the school and aware of all systems and supportprocesses. Induction checklists were signed and registered. This processincluded citing mandatory training certificates, WHS, whole school PBL andtimetabling.

– SLSO staff attend fortnightly meetings to discuss staff and studentwellbeing, professional learning needs and future opportunities fordevelopment. The majority of SLSO staff consistently attend these meetingsand were able to reach Personalised Development Plan goals as a result.

Next Steps

We will continue to work towards excelling with a strategic and planned approach to develop whole school processesthat support the wellbeing of all students so they can connect, succeed, thrive and learn.

All classrooms and learning environments in the school will be utilising a well managed, consistent approach tobehaviour. This approach will encompass our whole school PBL expectations as well as strategies from Kindness onPurpose, the Berry Street Model and Basic Intensive Training. Teachers will model and share their flexible repertoire ofstrategies to promote student engagement and all students taking responsibility for their learning

We will work towards excelling in an integrated approach to quality teaching, curriculum planning and delivery, andassessment, promoting learning excellence and responsiveness in meeting the needs of all students. We will continue towork towards excelling in reporting, to ensure clear, timely and accurate information supports further progress andachievement for student learning across the curriculum.

Mount Warrigal Public School will continue to maintain a focus on staff wellbeing and will utilise professional learning tosupport identified goals. 86% of staff believe that there are positive practices in place to support their wellbeing and theattainment of individual professional and personal learning goals. We will continue to work towards collaborative planningand programming, refining access to shared opportunities.

We will work to reach 73% of students attending school at a rate of 90% or higher. Attendance data will be regularlyanalysed and used to inform planning of whole school and personalised attendance approaches which will see animprovement in regular attendance rates for all students including those students at risk.



Collaborative and connected community

Purpose

A connected community, across and beyond the school, working in partnership ensures our school is student focussed, alearning hub for all and a source of pride. Effective school practices and relationship are imperative to foster collaborationas a way to work towards individual and school improvement, ensuring all have a voice and are working towards ourschool vision.


Improved community satisfaction and engagement, as indicated by TTFM data and focus group data.

Increase in meaningful partnerships as measured by parent involvement and successful case management.


Strategic Direction 2 targets for a collaborative and connected community, set to be achieved in 2019, were framedunder the processes of Community Partnerships, Staff Collaboration, Networking and Positive and SustainedTransitions.

The annual milestone for community partnerships outlined that by the end of 2019, we would have continued to build awelcoming culture of inclusion and belonging that reflects the diversity within our school. Families and communitymembers would be active and equal participants, sharing their interests, skills and experience, contributing to the life ofour school.

Staff assessed parent engagement at excelling and will continue to directly and regularly engage with parents to improveunderstanding of student learning and strengthen student outcomes. Reporting to parents will be enhanced in responseto feedback received.

Learning Conversations were implemented twice throughout the year, in each semester. These meetings, as part of theassessment and reporting process, placed the emphasis on education and allowed students to own their learning inevidence based discussions with their teachers and carers. Personalised learning pathways were devised and updatedwith families at these meetings.

Organised programs facilitated by our Community Liaison Officer have offered parents and carers a vast range ofopportunities, connecting them to one another and our school. Social and learning opportunities for parents wereincluded.

Our staff Facebook team continued to support school communication and promotion through this forum. Facebookprovided a platform to share and strengthen the school culture through regular updates that facilitate the sharing ofinformation, school promotion and the celebration of successes. Additionally, updates and reminders are communicatedto staff and families through the use of Skoolbag app. Staff continued to use Dojo and Seesaw as a tool to share studentlearning with parents/carers, strengthening partnerships. These platforms support communication and school data whichindicated a high percentage of parents selected text and app based programs as their most useful form ofcommunication.

Mount Warrigal Public School supports the entire school community to create positive environments for students, staffand families by providing, in response to the NSW government School Community Charter, guidelines for approachingthe school respectfully to best support effective collaboration and understanding. These guidelines sit under the umbrellaof the school based community engagement procedure that will be further developed in 2020. An approaching our schooldocument was developed in 2019 to support productive and effective communication between staff, students andfamilies.

Our school P&C worked together with staff to contribute to the installation of additional air conditioning in classrooms. Allnew procedures and adaptions to school programs were informally shared and immediate feedback on initiatives wassought, utilising the P&C committee and members as an evaluative focus group. Community events were planned incollaboration with the P&C and staff. The colour run took place, once again, bringing the community together incelebration. The P&C expressed interest in supporting a 2019 Christmas concert. Staff recognised the community desireand made the decision to postpone the CAPA Showcase to engage in this community event. Much fun was had by all,


with the P&C raising valuable funds to further support our students.

The school choir collaborated with other local schools to participate in an annual festival. The festival was well attendedby staff, families and community members. Additionally, the choir performed at the school based Christmas Concert. Thechoir is looking to expand opportunities to perform in 2020.

The Learning Support Team (LST) process, related support documents and guidelines for personalised education planswere launched in 2018 and in 2019, we see all executive, teachers and support staff following the Learning SupportTeam process and reflecting on individual progress at meetings to improve programs and interventions for students withsignificant need, including high potential students. Teachers now identify disability, learning support and extensionrequirements as a result of the Learning Support model and work collaboratively with families and services to supportstudents.

The ANCHOR project continued supporting referred families in partnership with the Community of Schools. MountWarrigal Public School is a participating member of the ANCHOR project, working with principals and executive from theLake Learning Community, along with counsellors and Educational Services to support families. The program and itsinterventions throughout 2019 ensured families have achieved positive outcomes, driving student success at school.

The annual milestone for Staff Collaboration and Networking outlined that by the end of 2019, the school would furtherestablish school practices to support collaboration, including programming, use of data, sharing of practice, within ourschool, CoS and wider community.

We excel in providing professional learning aligned with the school plan and its impact is evaluated against studentresults and quality of teaching. There are explicit systems for collaboration and feedback to sustain quality practice. Weare delivering in data skills and use and will be working towards excelling by regularly using data school–wide to identifystudent achievement and progress, this will help us reflect on teacher effectiveness and provide a pathway for futureschool directions.

In 2019, Spirals of Inquiry was a targeted inquiry focus for staff at MWPS. We began engaging in an initial informationsession in late 2018 and observed the approach in two schools. After collecting data, analysing research and seeing themethod in action, senior executive engaged in the inquiry process, prior to leading all staff, to provide a more valuableand contextually based view of the process and its possible benefits. The inquiry was based around exploring whetherour students had a sense of belonging at school. This spiral of inquiry process was then trialed in stage–based teams,investigating various points of need.

K–2 data talks resumed in 2019. Teachers and SLSO' met with the Instructional Leader to analyse student assessmentdata and plan intervention support. Each session began with a reflection on how successful the strategies were onimpacting student performance, followed by planning for the following 5 weekly cycle.

Lake Leaders Network (LLN) was established at Mount Warrigal Public School in 2019, to offer staff collaboration andnetworking opportunities for our teachers/leaders and colleagues within the Lake Illawarra North and South networks.The vision for LLN was for it to be a professional development opportunity, highly recommended by our DirectorEducational Leadership for all aspiring, relieving and substantive primary school executive. The purpose of the initiativewas to build colleague's capacity as leaders, provide mentorship and connection and to utilise network expertise todeliver differentiated professional learning opportunities. LLN provided opportunities to share the stories of inspirationaland motivational speakers, delivered wellbeing and work/life balance education and engaged leaders in planning anddesigning of programs in a safe and supportive environment.

The annual milestone for Positive and Sustained Transitions outlined that by the end of 2019, Transition Guidelineswould be developed to support staff to implement the processes for successful transitions across the school.

In the domain transitions and continuity, we are delivering by providing active planning for Kindergarten and Year 6–7.These transition activities are clearly communicated to the community. We are working to excel in school culture,focused on learning and building educational aspiration and ongoing performance improvement throughout the schoolcommunity.

P–K transition included strengthening our connection with local preschools by establishing onsite visits for thesestudents. Preschool students were immersed in activities to support the academic and emotional wellbeing prior to formalcommencement of school in 2020. Transition opportunities included several parent information sessions during whichtheir preschool aged child participated in organised social, physical and academic activities.

Throughout the year, Stage 2 students were invited to attend various lessons at the high school as part of their earlyintervention transition program to attract students to their local high school.

In Term 4, 2019 Year 6 students engaged in the inaugural extended High school transition program at Lake IllawarraHigh School. They joined Warilla North Public School students in the process. Mount Warrigal Public School staffdesigned a pre–transition program collaboratively planning with colleagues from all three schools, our school chaplain


and internal staff. This program prepared students for the two and a half week transition period at the high school. Thestudents participated in high school life and project based inquiry. In 2020 a total of five schools will participate in thisworthwhile transition to Year 7 program.

The State Early Learning Team worked in collaboration with our pre–school staff and principal to assess and rate, forquality assurance and regulatory compliance, across seven areas identified to drive improvement in the provision qualityoutcomes for pre–school students. The team supported in the development of the QIP (Quality improvement plan)refining improvements in each area and developing a statement of philosophy of service. The overall assessmentinvolved officers reviewing service information, reviewing the QIP and visiting the premises to assess and rate theservice.


Process 1: Community Partnerships

Enhance and develop community partnerships that are learning focussed. Improve communication,parent engagement and strengthened partnerships between outside agencies. • Learning conversations, PATCH • ATSI 'Meeting Place', AEW, AECG< NAIDOC • Facebook, website and Skoolbag • Collaborative agency approach, e.g ANCHEOR


– In the TTFM survey data, 91% of parents and carers indicated that sincethe beginning of the school year, they have talked with a teacher about theirchild's learning or behaviour more than two times and 60% reported that thishad occurred more than three times.

– The TTFM data also indicated that 83% of parents reported attendingmeetings with the teacher more than two times and 40% reported attendingmore than three times.

– 17% of parents surveyed in the TTFM data, indicated that they were amember of a school committee such as P&C, meeting place and parentgroups.

– 80% of parents and carers indicated that the school reports were useful.Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback from students, staff andcommunity about Learning Conversations, with 96% of parents who attendedstating they were aware of their child's next steps in learning, we ran theprocess each semester.

– 75% of parents and carers indicated in the TTFM survey that they hadfound formal interviews useful and 85% found informal meetings useful.

– The Community Liaison Officer programs included anxiety workshops runby a clinical psychologist, sustainability programs, compositing/planting andcooking. The CLO supported future connections and built strong scaffolds forpartnerships, establishing new connections with community members duringthe Kindergarten Orientation process.

– 72% of Parents and carers reported school communication platforms suchas; Facebook, Skoolbag, Dojo and phone were useful forms ofcommunication.

– As a result of Learning Support processes, of the 81 students recorded(38% of total population) on the MWPS National Consistent Collection ofData for disability (NCCD) 26% are in a support setting, 40% of mainstreamstudents listed now have a diagnosis and 19% now receive integrationfunding. These models of support and intervention have allowed our studentsthe ability to connect, succeed and thrive in an orderly, supported and safelearning environment.

– Although not all families referred to this service accept the support orremain in the program, ANCHOR has successfully supported approximately

Purchase of new reporting system

Funding Sources: • Community liaison officer &initiatives ($37000.00)



25% of formal or informal interventions we have referred.

Process 2: Staff Collaboration and Networking

Establish school practices to support collaboration, including programming, use of data, sharing ofpractice, within our school, CoS and wider. • Observation and feedback–TLC/pods • Data talks • CoS professional learning project – literacy and Aboriginal perspectives


On the completion of one whole staff cycle of Spirals of Inquiry, 42% of stafffelt there was some impact and further feedback indicated staff preferred ourprevious professional development models. We investigated through surveys,and on reflection, recreated stage–based pod development and qualityteaching rounds as a focus model for 2020.

K–2 data conversations and cycle planning and programming will move to aK–6 focus in 2020 with targeted employment of specific curriculum SLSOstaff to support individualised programs. We believe this will continue toimprove overall student results in literacy and numeracy.

Lake Leaders Network– 40–100 colleagues have attended this network forleadership development once each term. It has been a great success withstaff commenting favourably on the value of the networking andpresentations. The driving committee is working to continue LLN once eachterm in 2020. 86% of MWPS participants in LLN rated it as being of value andimpact, 79% rated LLN with high to extremely high impact on developmentand capacity building.

QTSS allocation utilised to supportstaff professional model, mentoring,coaching and observations.

Process 3: Positive and Sustained Transitions

Plan for and support key transition periods between school grades (–P, P–K, 2–3 & 5–7) byimplementing school wide measures. • Early Learning team support • Community of schools • Middle Schools Project


P–K– State Early Learning Assessment and Rating of our pre–schoolresulted in six out of seven possible areas rated at exceeding and an overallpre–school rating of exceeding.

P–K transition included 27 students who participated in a variety of schoolintroductory activities. The Teddy Bear's Picnic was attended by 85% of 2020Kinder students with their parents in attendance. 90% of parents attendedeach of the school information sessions. Eleven students transitioned fromthe Mount Warrigal Public School Preschool into Kindergarten 2020. Parentalarrangements altered the anticipated enrolment slightly, differing by onestudent.

Stage 2 students enjoyed early transition opportunities at the high school andwill continue to participate in these opportunities in 2020.

Families of Year 6 students reported that their children settled into highschool quickly as a result of the extended transition period provided.Community of school connections and collaborative programming wasstrengthened as a result. Three more schools will participate in the transitionprogram in 2020.

Whole school transition guide to be developed and finalised in 2020.

Funding Sources: • Socio–economic background($4500.00)


Next Steps

We are currently sustaining and growing in reporting and are working towards excelling. The school will build acentralised system for analysing and reporting data on student and school performance, including academic growth,non–academic and cross–curriculum data. We will work to use data to inform collective decisions about student learning,aligned with improvement measures in the school plan.

The new assessment and reporting procedure document will be reviewed and updated, with accompanying LearningConversation guidelines, following feedback provided at the end of semester 1 2020.

Support Reviews are to be held prior to learning conversations, in early term 1, to ensure that early information can beutilised for application processes and immediate supports and interventions are applied as early as possible in the schoolyear. All PLP's, ILP's will be uploaded to Synergy along with behaviour plans and risk assessments, updated at leastonce a term..

Individualised goals, plans and program sharing procedures will occur at the conclusion of2020, to provide 2021 staff with valuable and essential information to plan forfuture learning environments and programs.

We will work in partnership to ensure our community identify our school for evidence–based approaches, assessmentpractices, individualised plans, and programs to cater for the range of individual student learning needs. They will reportan improved understanding of their child's achievement of individualised learning goals, due to feedback andcommunication from key staff. The school will be recognised as responsive by the community because it promotes aculture of high expectations, and effectively caters for the range of equity issues in our school.

We will focus on staff collaboration and networking and plan to engage in innovative practices to refine and scalesuccess, facilitating internal professional learning with colleagues. This system will promote professional dialogue acrossa number of forums including; stage based inquiry learning to increase student engagement, bi–termly numeracy andcomprehension data talks, comprehension professional learning pods and demonstration/feedback sessions. We willevaluate and track whole school data and professional learning activities to identify and systematically promote andimplement the most effective strategies to improve teaching and learning.

To support a more consistent intervention structure in 2020 we are hoping to employ a full time SLSO interventionistalong with an intervention teacher for 3 days per week. These specialist staff will work with targeted students in responseto ongoing formative assessment across all classes, K–6. Additionally, Instructional Leaders will lead the whole staff tostrengthen their knowledge and practice in delivering quality reading instruction. Ongoing, whole school data analysis inthis focus area will direct professional learning to continually cater for the needs of Mount Warrigal students and staff.

We will develop a Transition Guideline procedureoutlining various processes and practices across the school and betweeneducational settings P–7. We will analyse information to inform and supportstudents' successful transitions and seek to collaborate with parents ofstudents whose continuity of learning is at risk.



Leading learning and high expectations

Purpose

Staff that are inspired, passionate and reflective engage in rich professional learning, driven by current research andpedagogy. Therefore staff are equipped to provide engaging, quality, future focussed teaching and learning programswhere students learn to think critically and broadly and develop the skills to contribute positively to our world.


Increase the number of students (including Aboriginal students) achieving in the top 2 bands in literacy and numeracy.

Increase in students as assessment capable learners, with more students be able to articulate what they arelearning and how they will know they are successful, as measured by survey of focus group.

Increase in students in K–6 meeting minimum bench marks as measure by the literacy and numeracy progressions.

To increase the percentage of students achieving minimum growth from Years 3–5 in NAPLAN (comparative data of 3year average).


The Strategic Direction 3 targets set to be achieved in 2019 for leading learning and high expectations were framedunder the processes of quality teaching and leadership, future–focused learning, and assessment capable learners.

Within the quality teaching and leadership process, the annual milestones aimed to further consolidate teachers'knowledge and practice in using formative assessment including increased use of learning intentions and successcriteria across the school. Additionally, by the end of the year teachers were to have received professional learning in thecreation of quality Science and Technology summative assessments along with passionately and reflectively engaging ina Spirals of Inquiry focused on student learning.

Throughout 2019 formative assessment remained a key professional learning focus, supporting teachers to furtherdevelop their capacity in collecting and analysing student data regularly in order to inform the direction of targeted andexplicit teaching. Additionally, professional learning was delivered to all new Mount Warrigal staff ensuring key formativeassessment strategies (presented throughout 2018) were being implemented school–wide. This consistent,whole–school approach supported teachers to maintain high expectations for students through the increasing use oflearning intentions and success criteria in lesson delivery. As a result, survey data indicates students are progressivelymore aware of what they need to know, understand, or be able to do as a result of learning and can increasinglyarticulate what criteria need to be met to achieve success.

An assistant principal and aspiring leader worked collaboratively with a local curriculum advisor to lead staff professionallearning on the creation of quality lesson progressions and summative assessments for Science and Technology.Teachers engaged deeply with the new Science Syllabus and generated hands–on teaching and learning activities tosupport students in meeting learning outcomes in an engaging, challenging and thought–provoking way.

Throughout the year stage teachers met fortnightly to reflectively engage in Spirals of Inquiry, progressing through thespiral process of scanning, focusing, developing a hunch, engaging in new learning, taking action and checking. Insemester one the spiral focus was numeracy and in semester two, spirals were literacy–focused. During the scanningphase, teachers looked deeply into 'what's going on for learners' in their classrooms. This required teachers to collectevidence to ascertain whether the students were engaged, challenged and being successful in their learning. During thefocusing phase, teachers collaboratively explored where their energies should be spent to make the most difference. The'developing a hunch' phase required teachers to reflect on their own practice to detect how their own actions werecontributing to the situation. New learning enabled teachers to delve into current research and formulate a plan of actionfor classroom implementation. After implementing new strategies teachers reflected on whether the changes weremaking a significant difference to student learning and made further adjustments as required. This regular stage timeprovided valuable collaboration time to deeply discuss the learning progress of all Mount Warrigal students.

One executive demonstrated quality teaching and leadership attributes through the submission of her lead accreditationapplication, requiring her to meet the 37 teaching standards at lead–level across the 3 teaching domains: ProfessionalKnowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement. Undertaking this process enabled her to lead qualityprofessional learning to staff both within the school and network of schools, thus deepening collegial knowledge and bestpractice across many of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.


The annual milestones for future–focused learning were set to increase the frequency and quality of play–based/ STEM/inquiry learning opportunities within some trial classrooms ready for wider school implementation in 2020. The NSWDepartment of Education states that "by grounding education in real–world learning opportunities, our students areacquiring the capabilities needed to tackle and solve complex issues in the 21st century" (2019).

Early Learning Stem Australia (ELSA) was a pilot program our preschool was involved in during 2019. Funded by theAustralian Government under the National Innovation Science Agenda (NISA), the ELSA program aimed to developchildren's understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) through the introduction of adigital play–based learning environment using mobile applications (apps) on tablet devices. Additional hands–onmaterials accompanied the apps so children could explore the natural world. STEM examples explored in preschoolduring 2019 included opportunities for students to create a community garden; build structures that were strong and tall,fill different containers with water or sand and draw and build various designs. Implementing STEM practices throughoutthe year required children to tap into their curious, imaginative and creative attributes and facilitated opportunities forchildren to develop strong skills in problem–solving and peer communication that can be used later in life.

In Kindergarten, students participated in play–based learning exposing them to a wider scope of rich and meaningfulvocabulary as well as strengthening their social skills through interacting with peers in a variety of rich play, real–lifeexperiences. Students needed to navigate their environment using negotiation, turn–taking and other problem–solvingstrategies. Additionally, one kindergarten class participated in a pilot program with Catalyst Lab's Edumaps. Through thisopportunity, students explored the features and importance of local places by participating in various activities andlistening to people who utilise these places. Exploration of natural sites supported students to develop theirunderstanding of the significance of ecosystems and the responsibility of people within the local community to ensurethat they are preserved. The development of care plans empowered students to take active steps to achieve this. Amapping component enabled students to link learning to their own experiences. Students have been able to see howsimple apps such as Google Maps and Woolworths World Explorer can be used as a tool for them to explore andpresent information.

Stage 3 students planned and ran a stall at the mini–fete fundraiser. Students worked through a series of lessons withthe goal of making each stall realistic and cost–effective. Planning required students to budget, ensuring each stall raisedas much money as possible. Students were provided a sample budget and were required to fill in the blanks to reflecttheir stalls anticipated costs. They researched the kind of prizes to offer and the overall cost for their stall, presentingtheir ideas to the principal to check that budgeting had been done correctly. Group problem–solving tasks requiredstudents to anticipate potential problems that could arise on the day and how these would be solved. Students had tocollaborate with team members at all stages of the planning as well as develop a roster that ensured all group membershad adequate time to browse the other stalls. Students used persuasive techniques to create posters tying literacy andnumeracy to the task. Students found this rich and investigative learning task highly engaging due to their ownershipover their stalls. This initiative benefited the whole school community and raised very pleasing funds for the school.

The annual milestones for building student capacity as assessment–capable learners were set outlining intendedevidence that would indicate increased use of students using and pursuing their own learning goals through usingself–reflection and peer/ teacher feedback conversations to critique their success and identify their next learning steps.

The successful 3–way learning conversations introduced in 2018 allowed students and teachers to collectively sharestudent progress against personal learning goals with parents/carers. Feedback collected indicated that learningconversations were highly valued by all stakeholders and as such, an additional opportunity saw learning conversationsbeing offered twice in 2019. Implementation of personalised student learning goals in reading, writing and numeracyacross the school enabled conversations to occur that focused on student success, current learning, next steps andareas requiring additional support.

Additionally, the regular collection of formative assessment in line with success criteria and/or personal learning goalshas led to a significant increase in the frequency of student learning being shared with families through online platformssuch as Class Dojo and Seesaw. Embedding success criteria and personal learning goals within regular classroompractice has enhanced directed and explicit feedback to occur as teachers and students make informed judgments aboutthe quality of student learning.

To further consolidate staff knowledge around the effective use of feedback, the executive team engaged in a bookstudy: James Nottingham's 'Challenging Learning Through Feedback'. Assistant principals presented key findings to thewider staff across multiple staff meetings. Teachers were required to implement effective feedback strategies in theirclassrooms and report back on their progress and the subsequent student impact at stage meetings.


Process 1: Quality Teaching and Leadership

Embed instructional leadership, researched informed pedagogy and use of data to form the basis of



Process 1: high quality teaching and learning programs. • Coaching and mentoring • Distributive leadership and development • Curriculum knowledge, progressions and use of data • Accreditation and HALT support • PDP practices • Research and evidence based PL • Embedded Aboriginal perspectives in teaching and learning


– In 2019, all teaching staff began actively engaging in an inquiry process todeeply focus on teaching practice, student learning and current research inorder to drive best teaching practice. Under a mathematics focus, each stagewas given autonomy to follow a spiral direction that became evident whenclosely observing their students learning and behaviours. All stagessuccessfully presented their Spiral of Inquiry journey at 3–hour twilightsession at the end of semester 1 before beginning the process again underan English focus. Although staff reported that some aspects of the processwere valuable, ongoing evaluation identified that this PL process wasn'tenabling the regular in–class observations that staff had found highlyvaluable in previous years. As a result, staff survey data was evaluated withexecutive working towards a new, refined model of PL for 2020.

– Considerable professional learning time was directed in supporting staff todevelop their knowledge of how Aboriginal perspectives could be moreauthentically embedded through teaching and learning programs. Prior tothis, initial program collection indicated Aboriginal perspectives were notbeing represented often or consistently. Close collaboration with AboriginalEducation workers at district office and with our Aboriginal Education Workerat school supported opportunities for co–planning of units of work. As aresult, end of year program analysis showed a significant increase inperspectives being included across teaching and learning programsthroughout the school.

Similarly, teacher program analysis in the use of ongoing formativeassessment to drive teaching and learning also showed a pleasing incline.New teachers to the school were provided with professional learning,including the observation of various staff implementing formative assessmentstrategies (presented in 2018) to ensure a consistent whole–schoolapproach. Following the success of our first 3–way learning conversation in2018, 2019 saw these valuable learning conversations being increased,allowing two opportunities to share student learning goal success withfamilies. The term 1 conversation ensured staff had personalised learninggoals up and running from early term one, supporting a culture of highexpectations and self–efficacy. Although there is evident improvement, wecontinue to work towards all staff using learning intentions, success criteriaand personalised learning goals consistently and purposefully throughout theyear. Student walk and talk data showed an increase in students knowingtheir personal learning goals/ success criteria from baseline data however stillmore work is needed to solidify this across the school.

– It was intended that by the end of 2019 each stage would have developedquality summative assessment opportunities for Science and Technology.Science leaders worked collaboratively with outside educators to develop a3–hour professional learning session to support staff with this focus. Althoughsome stages were successful in developing an inquiry–based teaching andlearning sequence that included quality assessment opportunities,consistency across all stages is being developed.

Funding Sources: • Socio–economic background –instructional leadership initiatives($195000.00) • Staff professional learning($12000.00) • Early Action for Success($130000.00)

Process 2: Future Focussed Learning

Enhance the learning environment, resources and teaching strategies, to allow students to developproblem solving, collaborative, future focussed skills.



Process 2: • STEM focus, including preschool • Innovative learning spaces • Play/discovery based approaches, supporting language, social an academic development


– 2019 saw select classes throughout the school trial STEM and play–basedlearning ready for wider school implementation 2020. In 2019, MWPSPreschool successfully teamed up with the University of Canberra to developchildren's understanding of STEM through the introduction of digitalplay–based learning. Tasks challenged students to problem–solve throughpeer collaboration and negotiation.

– Stage 2 and 3 students engaged in STEM/Inquiry–based learning. This ledto Stage 3 students successfully planning and running a fete stall. Theprocess required them to collaboratively investigate, design, problem solveand create a stall that would be financially viable and profitable. Students andstaff found the process highly engaging and beneficial.

– Early Stage 1 successfully participated in a pilot program with CatalystLab's Edumaps, providing students with opportunities to explore the featuresof local places with a strong emphasis on ecosystems and the responsibilityof people within the local community to ensure that they are preserved.

– It is intended that play–based/ inquiry learning will be implemented on abroader scale in 2020 with all classes seeking opportunities for children tomake sense of their social worlds through deep engagement with people andobjects.

Process 3: Assessment Capable Learners

Ensure students are empowered learners and staff empowered facilitators of learning throughassessment practices. • Visible learning and formative assessment, including TLCs, learning 'Walk & Talk, learningconversations • Growth mindset • Feedback


– As mentioned under the 'quality teaching and leadership' evaluation, afocus on continuing to build students as assessment capable learnersremained a professional learning focus throughout 2019. The executive metwith team members to ascertain evidence of formative assessment (boththrough student data and in lesson reflections) to drive their teaching andlearning programming. To support this, changes were made to the programevaluation template providing opportunities for quality conversations to occurbetween staff and their supervisors in line with this focus area.

– Conversations indicated formative assessment practices are occurringthroughout MWPS classrooms with most teachers using personalisedlearning goals to drive student development. The use of personalised goalswas particularly strong across the school leading into 3–way learningconversations however there seemed to be a drop off in the consistent use ofgoals post conversations and as such will remain an area of focus in 2020.

– Walk and talk data collected in term 4, 2019 indicated students areincreasingly able to articulate what they are learning (learning intention) andwhat they need to do to be successful (success criteria), however, continuedwork needs to be done in supporting students to be able to select the mostappropriate strategy to use to meet their goals. 2017 baseline data indicated61% of students were aware of lesson learning intentions and 0% wereaware of what they needed to do to be successful. 2019 Walk and Talk data



indicated 85% of students could identify what they were specifically learningto do and 69% of students could identify what they had to do to besuccessful.

– The use of effective and timely feedback continues to be developedthroughout the school. The school executive undertook a book study (JamesNottinghams 'Challenging Learning Through Feedback') and presented keyelements to their peers during staff meetings.

Next Steps

Ongoing, research–based quality professional learning opportunities aligned to our school plan will continue to guideteacher professional development in 2020 to ensure lead learning and high expectations remain key improvementdrivers.

Teacher survey reflections indicated that although Spirals of Inquiry were valuable, engaging in the Spiral format did notallow for the regular class peer observations that were highly regarded by staff in 2018. Therefore, moving into 2020, theprofessional learning structure will include a combination of effective, teacher identified professional learning elementsthat significantly impacted teacher practice and student achievement in previous years. Identified elements will includeproviding regular opportunities for stage groups to collaboratively reflect on student data, plan, engage in research andimplement new learning with peer observation and opportunities for feedback embedded regularly throughout each term.To enable this, teachers will continue to receive additional fortnightly release.

2020 leading learning and high expectation identified professional learning focus areas include stage–basedengagement projects and a school–wide reading comprehension focus that will include daily explicit phonemicawareness instruction, systematic phonics and rich vocabulary opportunities in the early years. The school speechpathologist and instructional leaders will support teachers to implement research–based pedagogies through explicitmodelling, team teaching and mentoring opportunities. Rigorous school–wide data collection from both teachers andstudents will guide individualised stage professional learning and by the end of 2020, all teachers will be able toaccurately align student's text level with comprehension ability.

Experienced leaders will provide mentoring and coaching to support their leadership development of relieving andaspiring leaders. All executive staff will engage in ongoing professional learning including a book study to deepenexecutives' collective knowledge of effective leadership practice. The executive will also complete self–reflections ontheir current leadership and undergo mentoring to strengthen identified areas. Aspiring leaders throughout the school willbe encouraged to join network groups such as Joining the Dots, Lake Leaders Network and HALT (Highly Accomplishedand Lead Teachers).

Mentoring will be provided to a staff member who will take on the leadership of the Aboriginal Education Team. Otherteam members will be supported to take on key leadership roles in implementing initiatives from the 2020 AboriginalEducation Plan. Anticipated initiatives include the creation of an outdoor yarning circle next to the Aboriginal Garden andemploying an Aboriginal educator to deliver Dharawal language.

Although evident that personalised learning goals were well implemented and used across classrooms earlier in 2019,end of year student data suggested the frequency of this practice had not been maintained to the same degree oncelearning conversations had passed. This was also evident with the use of learning intentions and success criteria. Thisdata will be used by executive staff to plan how systems can be created to further support teachers in the continuousimplementation of this effective educational practice moving forward into 2020.


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

Aboriginal background loading Funding Sources: • Aboriginal backgroundloading ($88 000.00)

– The Aboriginal Education team continued tomeet regularly, through community meetingscalled the 'Meeting Place', in order tostrengthen relationships between families andthe school, collectively promoting AboriginalEducation for all students.

– The community played a key role in workingalongside the Aboriginal Education team,AEW and Aboriginal representatives fromDistrict Office in order to complete aself–assessment of current and AboriginalEducation Plan, a support document to theMount Warrigal 2018–2020 School Plan.

– The inaugural Lake Illawarra NetworkAboriginal Writer's Festival was held, withrepresentatives from Stage 3 attending withour AEW and teacher. The studentscontributed to workshops that encouragedAboriginal students to pursue personalexcellence; inspiring deep thought andcuriosity around the art of using student voicein creative writing pieces; and contributed tobuilding a love of writing. From the 40students in attendance from our network, 8students were awarded an Emerging WritersAward, with one of our representativerecognised and presented with this award.

– Regular attendance at the local AECGmeetings, including teaching staff,non–teaching staff, executive, AEW andcommunity members, demonstratingsignificant investment in Aboriginal prioritiesand a commitment to working together.

– For the first time, 8 students attended theNSW AECG camps, including the BerrySTEM camp, supported by our AEW andstaff. The students engaged in a range of richcultural experiences, supported by Elders andsupported making greater connections.

– An Aboriginal Education Worker wasemployed full–time and worked with thecommunity, as well as within each classroom.This enabled all students to form connectionsand for all Aboriginal students to be supportedin the achievement of PLP goals.

– All Aboriginal students had a relevant andmeaningful PLP, collaboratively created bythe student, their family, their teacher and theAEW. These goals were proudly displayed inthe Culture Room and drove a number ofschool–based initiatives, to support students'achievement of these cultural goals, such asa boys didgeridoo group, girls dance groupand participation in Men's group.

– The girls dance groups worked togetherwith the local Elders group and students fromLake Illawarra High School to create a uniqueperformance that was showcased at the


Aboriginal background loading Funding Sources: • Aboriginal backgroundloading ($88 000.00)

International Women's Day event held atWollongong Town Hall.

– A number of whole school initiatives forimportant events such as NAIDOC andReconciliation Week. Community member,though the Meeting Place, led the planningand running of our whole NAIDOCcelebration. This included performances,contributions from Elders, and a range ofcultural activities for all students andcommunity. Our school leaders also and Year6 Aboriginal students represented our schoolthe local Shellharbour City Councilreconciliation walk.

– Our teachers participated in a range ofprofessional learning opportunities, includingworking closely with our AEW the Aboriginaland Engagement team from EducationalServices to embed more authentic andmeaningful Aboriginal perspectives in ourteaching and learning programs. The pre–and post–data collected showed a significantincrease in Aboriginal perspectivesembedded across the school. This was alsoconfirmed by student voice through the TellThem From Me survey results.

– Our school planned a whole schoolexcursion to Killalea State Park so allstudents could participate in culturalexperiences on country, led by Elders andlocal community members. Unfortunately, thisexcursion had to be held on school groundsdue to wet weather. All students wereprovided with an opportunity to experiencethis cultural experience and our Aboriginalstudents showed great pride in being able toshare their culture.

– Our AEW led our students to create anartwork that was entered into Sculptures ofthe Sea, a community event held at KillaleaState Park. The students created a sculptureretelling the traditional story of Gang ManGang (Windang Island).

– Our school published our first Film Pond,highlighting the progress our school hasmade in enhancing our school wide practicesand programs to celebrate and educatestudents on our shared Aboriginal histories.This highlighted the importance of ourstudents and community members having avoice in our school direction. This waslaunched at our end of year whole schoolpresentation.

English language proficiency Funding Sources: • English languageproficiency ($11 000.00)

– English language proficiency funding wasutilised to employ SLSO staff to support inliteracy instruction. Staff were trained in earlyliteracy skills and supported by a SpeechTherapist on personalised learning programsfor these students. Opportunities to beinvolved in data discussions and next stepgoal setting was offered to SLSOs. Thisworked to ensure they were collaborating and


English language proficiency Funding Sources: • English languageproficiency ($11 000.00)

providing relevant feedback to driveprogramming, working with staff to improvevocabulary and language proficiency forstudents with non English speakingbackgrounds.

Low level adjustment for disability Funding Sources: • Low level adjustment fordisability ($129 000.00)

– In 2019, a new Learning and SupportTeacher was professionally developed. Thestaff member was mentored in buildingcapacity in learning support, out of homecare, integration funding and access requestfor placement and personalised learningpathways. They focused on intensivenumeracy intervention in stages one and two,demonstrating best practice and trackingalong the numeracy progressions.

–2017 NCCD data indicated that of the 63students identified, 38% students wereworking within our support unit. 63% weremainstream students, and 5% of thesestudents were being supported by additionalfunding and internal and external supports. In2018, of the NCCD students recorded 29% or23 students were being educated within oursupport unit. 53 students were within themainstream school. 15% of these studentswere receiving Integration Funding support.As a result of Learning Support processesdeveloped as part of the 2018–2020 schoolplan, In 2019, 81 students were recorded(38% of total population) on the MWPSNational Consistent Collection of Data fordisability (NCCD) 26% are in a supportsetting, 40% of mainstream students listednow have a diagnosis and 19% now receiveintegration funding. These models of supportand intervention have allowed our studentsthe ability to connect, succeed and thrive inan orderly, supported and safe learningenvironment.

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

Funding Sources: • Quality Teaching,Successful Students(QTSS) ($53 000.00)

– In 2019, QTSS funding was utilised toprovide mentoring, and small group–basedprofessional development opportunities for allstaff. This development consisted offortnightly Spiral of Inquiry sessions withstage–based groups, collaborativelyinvestigating a point of need. Staffcollaboratively developed processes andstrategies to apply to learning programs inliteracy and numeracy. Teachers analyseddata, various research articles, podcasts andpresentations to support their investigationand built a process to apply to improvestudent learning outcomes.

– Survey data indicated, 22% of staff foundthe inquiry of high impact, 43% reported onlysome impact in relation to the process. It wasdecided that as a result, our next steps in2020 would be to go back to a pod basedprofessional learning model, promotingprofessional dialogue across a number offorums including; stage based inquiry learningto increase student engagement, bi–termlynumeracy and comprehension data talks,comprehension professional learning pods


Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

Funding Sources: • Quality Teaching,Successful Students(QTSS) ($53 000.00)

and demonstration/feedback quality teachinground sessions.

Socio–economic background Funding Sources: • Socio–economicbackground ($356 000.00)

Throughout 2019 school priorities drove theuse of the socio–economic backgroundfunding. The identified needs were clearlyarticulated in the school plan and consisted ofsupporting high engagement and enhancingthe learning outcomes for students. A majorfocus for these funds were the additionalstaffing across the school to meet schooldirections and targets.

The additional staffing consisted of :

– Deputy Principal/Instructional Leader 3–6,to provide professional learning and supportin current pedagogy, use of data and supportof wellbeing, trauma and complexity.

– Additional 1 day EAfS Instructional Leader,combined with 4 day Early Action for Successfunded Instructional Leader to create afulltime position. This role, again, providedessential professional learning and supportfor staff in K–2 and has had a direct impact onclassroom practice and pedagogy in literacyand numeracy results.

– Additional funds were used to release staffto participate in professional learning planningdays, data use, etc.

– An additional classroom teacher for anabove establishment class which significantlyreduced the number of students in each classallowing for more individualised learning andsupport.

– Additional School Learning Support Officerswere used to provide support to students withdisabilities, additional needs, complex trauma,Out of Home Care and to support literacy andnumeracy across the school.

– Community Liaison Officer was employed toengage with the community, creating learning,social and school based opportunities toincrease engagement.

Support for beginning teachers Funding Sources: • Support for beginningteachers ($38 000.00)

We had two beginning teachers who weresupported predominately throughProfessional Learning and associatedresources. In addition, each teacher wassupported in the development of PLP goalsand specific professional opportunitiesprovided, related to individual goals. Eachbeginning teacher and their mentor wereprovided additional release, as required, toprovide mentoring and coaching.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2016 2017 2018 2019

Boys 105 125 121 131

Girls 101 98 92 86

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019

K 94.1 93.8 93.4 89.5

1 94.4 95.4 92.3 89.1

2 93.1 93.8 92.8 90

3 90.1 92.8 91.5 90.8

4 91.5 93.2 92.4 87.4

5 90.6 89.5 93.7 90

6 88.8 88.3 90 88.4

All Years 92 92.4 92.3 89.2

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) 5

Classroom Teacher(s) 13.8

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.21

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.9

Teacher Librarian 0.6

School Administration and Support Staff 8.22

*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 433,393

Revenue 4,427,152

Appropriation 4,325,511

Sale of Goods and Services 46,152

Grants and contributions 52,361

Investment income 3,127

Expenses -4,491,938

Employee related -4,052,653

Operating expenses -439,285

Surplus / deficit for the year -64,786

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 774,154

Equity Total 588,698

Equity - Aboriginal 70,138

Equity - Socio-economic 378,425

Equity - Language 11,175

Equity - Disability 128,961

Base Total 1,702,469

Base - Per Capita 58,256

Base - Location 0

Base - Other 1,644,213

Other Total 994,916

Grand Total 4,060,236

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.


Parent/caregiver, student, teacher satisfaction

Throughout the year, the school used the Tell Them From Me Survey, People Matter survey and focus groupdiscussions, from parents, students and teachers, to identify areas of achievement and satisfaction during the 2019school year. The following insights will direct future directions, with a focus on genuine partnerships within the schoolcommunity.

Parent/carer feedback: • Majority of parents feel welcome at school and feel they can easily talk to their child's teacher. It was indicated that

information shared about school events was an area of improvement. • In regards to parents feeling as though they are informed about their child, results indicate that parents are most

satisfied with student progress reports being written in terms that are clearly understood, providing a clearunderstanding of student progress in all subjects. The distribution of parents' average scores indicates a significantvariance, meaning a more individualised approach to communicating with parents a future direction.

• The survey results suggested that an area of strength across the school was that parents strongly support theirchild's learning at home, with this result being well above the NSW Government norm.

• Parents agree that teachers show interest in their child and their child is encouraged to do their best. On average,parents don't feel that teachers expect children to complete their homework on time.

• Parents believe that our school has clear, explicit expectations, which are understood by students, and that theexpectations support learning. Parents report that their child feels safe coming to and from school, however it is feltthat behaviour issues are not dealt with in a timely manner.

• During the parent forums, it was unanimous that parents felt like a valued member of our community. There is acommon belief from parents that the community and staff are working together to support students.

• Specific positive feedback was given in regards to staff approach–ability and willingness to support individuals andlisten to concerns. Additional staff, such as the Community Liaison Officer and Aboriginal Education Officer arewell regarded, as is the additional support provided to students through individualised programs and support.

Student feedback: • 78% of students have a positive sense of belonging and feel they are accepted by their peers and others. This has

increased by 16% from the previous year. It is also noted that the variance between genders has narrowed, ascompared to last year.

• There has been a significant increase in the percentage of students participating in sports, which is now above thestate average.

• 90% of students value schooling outcomes and believe that school has a strong bearing on their future lives. Thisis a 6% increase from last year.

• The percentage of students who believe they are interested and motivated has increased since 2019, however thisis well below the NSW Government norm and will remain a focus for the coming year.

• When students were asked if they feel challenged in their English and mathematics classes and feel confident oftheir skills in these subjects, 40% of students in the school had scores that placed them in the desirable quadrantwith high skills and high challenge. This is below the NSW Govt norm.

• 79% of Aboriginal students feel good about their culture when at school, supported by teachers who have a goodunderstanding of their culture.

• Majority of students feel they have someone at school who consistently encourages them and that can turn to foradvice. Students feel teachers are responsive to their needs and encourage independence.

Staff feedback: • Of the 8 drivers of student learning, leadership was identified as our greatest strength from staff and was well

above the NSW Government norm. Staff believe that school leaders help to create a safe and orderly learningenvironment and have helped them to improve their teaching, while guiding their monitoring of student progress. Itis also noted that leaders have supported staff during stressful times.

• Collaboration was also identified as a strength, with staff utilising collaborative practices to discuss the learningneeds of their students and strategies to increase student engagement. This was concurrent with data collected inthe People Matters Survey.

• Staff believe they strongly advocate for inclusion within our school, particularly supporting the participation andlearning of students with additional needs or disabilities. An inclusive school rated above the NSW Governmentnorm.

• Staff rated themselves as achieving at or above the NSW Government norm in all 4 dimensions of classroom andschool practices; setting challenging and visible learning goals for students; effective planned learning experiencesfor all students; provide quality and timely feedback; and provide high support for students to overcome learningobstacles to learning.

• 100% of staff indicated that they clearly understand what is expected of them to do a good job, with a significantincrease in communication a major contributor.


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 Mount Warrigal Public School Annual Report

Documents

Transcript of 2019 Mount Warrigal Public School Annual Report