Annual Report 2015 - Lobethal Primary School€¦ · classroom, curriculum (master classes, focus...

Lobethal Primary School Annual Report 2015

Annual Report 2015

School Name: Lobethal Primary School School Number: 0227

Principal: Toni Burford Partnership: Torrens Valley

Index of Disadvantage: Category 5

Enrolment: 155 students, Reception to Year 7

Non English Speaking: 7% (Philipino, Vietnamese, Africaan, Croatian)

School Card: 10%

Phone : 8389 6419 Fax : 8389 6448

Email : [email protected]

www.lobethalps.sa.edu.au

LLLooobbbeeettthhhaaalll PPPrrriiimmmaaarrryyy SSSccchhhoooooolll

Responsibility Respect Resilience Independence Excellence

mailto:[email protected]


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APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................................................... II

2015 : A YEAR OF TRANSITION, NEW CONNECTIONS AND CHALLENGING MINDSETS ...................................... 1

1 ABOUT OUR SCHOOL................................................................................................................................ 2

1.1. STUDENT ENROLMENT .................................................................................................................................. 2

2. HIGHLIGHTS OF 2015 ................................................................................................................................ 2

2.1. NEPABUNNA ADNYAMATHANHA YARTA CAMP .................................................................................................. 2

2.2. CONNECTING THE ARTS FOR LEARNERS ............................................................................................................ 3

2.3. LEARNING AND GROWING OUTDOORS ............................................................................................................. 4

2.4. HONOURING BRIONY KLINGBERG .................................................................................................................... 4

3. SITE LEARNING PLAN: OUR PRIORITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT .................................................................... 5

3.1. SITE PRIORITY 1: BUILD POWERFUL LEARNERS .................................................................................................. 5

Priorities in 2015: ............................................................................................................................................ 5

Targets: ........................................................................................................................................................... 5

Outcomes: ....................................................................................................................................................... 5

Proposals for 2016: ......................................................................................................................................... 5

3.2. SITE PRIORITY 2: STRONGER READERS AND WRITERS ........................................................................................... 5

Priorities in 2015: ............................................................................................................................................ 5

Targets: ........................................................................................................................................................... 6

Outcomes: ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

Proposals for 2016: ......................................................................................................................................... 6

3.3. SITE PRIORITY 3: DIFFERENTIATING MATHS CHALLENGES ..................................................................................... 6

Priorities in 2015: ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Targets: ........................................................................................................................................................... 6

Outcomes: ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

Proposals for 2016: ......................................................................................................................................... 7

4. EARLY YEARS LITERACY AND NUMERACY PLAN ........................................................................................ 7

4.1. EARLY YEARS LITERACY REVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 7

5. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT .......................................................................................................................... 9

5.1. PAT TESTING .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Quicksmart 2015 ............................................................................................................................................. 9

Read Up 2015 ................................................................................................................................................. 9

5.2. NAPLAN 2015 ........................................................................................................................................ 10

6. OUR STUDENTS ...................................................................................................................................... 13

6.1. ATTENDANCE ............................................................................................................................................ 13

6.2. DESTINATION ............................................................................................................................................ 14

7. ANTI-BULLYING AND HARASSMENT/BEHAVIOUR .................................................................................. 15

8. WE VALUE YOUR OPINION: PARENT AND STUDENT OPINION SURVEY ................................................... 16

8.1. PARENT OPINION SURVEY ........................................................................................................................... 16

8.2. STUDENT OPINION SURVEY .......................................................................................................................... 18

9. OUR VOLUNTEERS .................................................................................................................................. 20


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9.1. VOLUNTEER TRAINING – RESPONDING TO ABUSE AND NEGLECT. ........................................................................ 20

10. OUR STAFF ......................................................................................................................................... 20

10.1. TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 20

10.2. WORKFORCE COMPOSITION INCLUDING INDIGENOUS STAFF ........................................................................... 21

11. FINANCIAL STATEMENT ...................................................................................................................... 21

11.1. INCOME BY FUNDING SOURCE .................................................................................................................. 21

Appendices

APPENDIX A : GOVERNING COUNCIL REPORT .............................................................................................. A1

APPENDIX B - PRIMARY AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM COORDINATOR REPORT ...............................................B1

APPENDIX C : PAT MATHS AND PAT R RESULTS 2015 ..................................................................................... C1


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2015 : A Year of Transition, New Connections and Challenging Mindsets

2015 was a year of transition as the school year began with the appointment of Ms Toni

Burford as Acting Principal. Lobethal PS offers a rich and diverse programme that connects

students to the outdoors and their community and encourages them to be creative,

independent learners. The staff, students and parents are to be congratulated on the broad

range of core and extra-curricular learning activities that our students are able to participate

in.

The school offers a strong specialist learning programme for students R-7 in Visual Arts, Music

and Drama. Students also had weekly PE lessons with a specialist teacher in Terms 1-3. The

focus on the Arts provides rich opportunities for students to create, perform, dance, sing and

play for others in our school community and beyond. A wide range of extra-curricular

opportunities have been provided including the Music Concert ‘Sea of Flags’; Aboriginal

Cultural studies camp and Expo of learning; Midsummer Night’s Dream performance by Year

6/7 class; and Kidstock a showcase of school bands between our school and two others.

Teachers connected with the Torrens Valley Professional Learning Communities for the first

time in 2015. Options for professional learning with peers from other Hills schools included

Maths with Mike Chartres, Nature Play and Building Learning Power. The PLCs and other

shared learning opportunities provided a strong foundation for teachers’ learning and

change at Lobethal PS. (see Appendix 1: CPAC report)

Our model of student forums and a range of ways in which we include student voice in

classroom, curriculum (master classes, focus groups) and whole school decision making has

been documented and acknowledged as an influential model for other schools. Students

have regular opportunities to influence the decisions that shape learning and school

programs.

Engaging students in ‘hard fun’ that extends their learning has continued to be a feature this

year, following the work in 2014 as a TfEL Pilot school. Teachers and students have continued

to explore the impact of dispositions when teaching and learning Maths. Teachers and the

Year 6/7 students have enrolled in the “How to do Maths” on-line course with Stanford

University. We trialled the course on behalf of the TfEL team. All teachers and students will

complete the course in Term 1 2016. So far, the course has deepened our knowledge of how

mindsets affect our opinions and effort when learning Maths and implications of different

strategies and feedback have on learners. The course is challenging some of the assessment

and grouping strategies teachers currently use and identifying the need for change.

Our facilities continued to improve. During the year we received approval for the removal of

the external cladding that included asbestos. The new cladding and guttering freshened up

the look of the school. New blinds were purchased outside Classes 1,3 & 4. With the support

and money fundraised, the court area outside Classes 5 and 6 was resurfaced and

rejuvenated as a playspace for older students and classes. A very successful working bee in

October helped to complete the campfire area, mulch garden beds and build a retaining

wall alongside the court.


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1 About Our School

Lobethal PS is a small outer metropolitan school situated in the Adelaide Hills township of

Lobethal. Lobethal is located 35 km south east from Adelaide. The school is situated in a very

picturesque area, with an attractive and productive school garden surrounding the

buildings.

1.1. Student Enrolment

The school started 2015 with an enrolment of 155 students in 6 classes, with student numbers

at 147 by the end of the year. Enrolments have increased significantly in the past four years,

as the school is a preferred choice of families attending the Lobethal Community

Kindergarten and the families are moving into the area from the city. With the First Day

initiative, we commenced the school year with 20 Reception students. The student

enrolment is generally stable, with low numbers of students transferring in and out of the

school during the year.

Students who attend Lobethal PS come from within the Lobethal township and outlying

properties, including Mt Torrens, Harrogate and Cudlee Creek. Housing in Lobethal is

affordable for young families and accessible to northern parts of Adelaide for employment.

The township is experiencing a shift to include more people moving from interstate and

Adelaide suburbs. We anticipate enrolments to continue to increase at a steady rate, which

has implications for the capacity of the school to accommodate the increased enrolments.

A number of transient families transferred their children in and out of the school during the

year, which is an issue new to the school. The school continues to support the learning for

students who have English as a second Language or Dialect . Students are supported both

in class and in small groups to develop their reading fluency and comprehension of English

spoken and written language.

2. Highlights of 2015

Staff and students identified a range of learning highlights throughout the year. They include

the following opportunities:

2.1. Nepabunna Adnyamathanha Yarta

Camp

45 students from Years 5-7 participated in a 5 day

camp to Nepabunna Aboriginal Community in

August 2015. 10 adults, including teachers and

parents joined the camp. This was the 4th time the

school had conducted the camp and connected

with the community at Nepabunna since its

inception in 2009. The camp provide authentic

opportunities to visit, experience and learn about

local stories of significance, experience a different

landscape and hear different perspectives from the

Aboriginal elders and custodians of the Adnyamathanha

culture. The camp is a highly valued and respected

component of learning at Lobethal and we always have way

more volunteers put up their hand to come than needed. We

had to conduct a ballot to select parents to come along in

2015 as its popularity has grown.


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All students in Years 4-7 continued their learning at school

in Term 3 by researching topics that they wanted to know

more about, including bush foods and medicines,

Dreaming stories, shelters and changes that occurred for

Adnyamathanha people in their country. Their learning

culminated in an Aboriginal Cultural Studies Expo, for

families to see

student work

showcased

and

participate in cultural activities including a

smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country.

The Expo was a successful event and showcased

a high standard of students’ learning and thinking

for parents. Teachers from other schools within

our Partnership also viewed the Expo, as an

successful example of how involve students in

authentic personal projects.

In Term 3 we made a school wide commitment to the Cross Curriculum Priorities: Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. Each class met and listened to Robin Cole

who shared artefacts and stories of the local Peramangk people. Students learnt more about

Dreaming stories, trading between Aboriginal groups and local flora and fauna that

Aboriginal people used.

2.2. Connecting the Arts for Learners

All R-7 students participated in weekly lessons focused on The Arts.

Specialist teachers taught Music and Visual Arts in Term 1. Steve

Gallagher was appointed in Term 2 to include Drama to the specialist

subjects on offer - Visual Arts, Music and PE. In Music, students made

cultural connections through singing,

movement, creating and playing

musical sequences and playing

different musical instruments. The

learning culminated in the school concert ‘Sea of Flags’ in

September, which celebrated and promoted the theme

of cultural diversity and tolerance.

The Instrumental Music Service moved their base to Lobethal PS

at the start of 2015 to grow their enrolments and provide a more

central base for the students enrolled in the lessons. This was an

exciting new addition to the Arts programme at Lobethal PS and

enabled more students in Years 5-7 to learn an instrument.

Students could choose to learn the clarinet, saxophone,

trumpet, trombone, drums or percussion. Students enjoyed

additional opportunities to learn an instrument with private Music

instructors or with our Band teacher Simon Gould. 45 students in

Years 4-7 formed the school choir who performed regularly at

school assemblies, events and at the annual Hills Music Festival hosted by Springhead

Lutheran School.

The school has fostered a community of learners where creativity and personal satisfaction is

able to flourish. Leaders and teachers' work is guided by the South Australian Teaching for

Effective Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum v 8.0. The current Specialist


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programme provides authentic end points through concerts, exhibitions and group

feedback; connections to Literacy through learning and creating scripts, lyrics and designs;

and meaningful connections with the community. Songs and themes are chosen to link to

ethical understandings and values and promote tolerance and appreciation. For example

the music theme 'Sea of Flags' at the 2015 school concert promoted tolerance of

multicultural Australia, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander histories and culture, challenged

stereotypes and raised awareness.

2.3. Learning and Growing Outdoors

In 2015 every student in Years 1-7 had the opportunity to attend a camp or sleepover. Strong

links were made to outdoor environments including Para Wirra, Lobethal Bushland Park,

Adelaide Zoo and Nepabunna. All students participated in weekly gardening lessons in

Terms 1 and 4 and fortnightly in cooler seasons in Terms 2 and 3. We continue to receive

strong support from volunteers who support the gardening lessons and Monday Munchies

programme, which uses the produce from the garden to create healthy lunch meals for

students and staff each Monday.

2.4. Honouring Briony Klingberg

The school community was saddened by the sudden

passing of one of our students, Briony Klingberg on 18th

January 2015, prior to the new school year starting.

Briony and her family were treasured and respected

members of both the Lobethal Kindergarten and

Lobethal Primary School communities. Staff, students

and parents of both locations came together to

contribute to the planning and hosting of Briony’s

funeral. Students who wanted to be involved, planned

a memorial service at the school, in honour of Briony. We came together to remember Briony

in stories, songs and photos and were moved by the theme of “The memory of you will shine

on” with beautiful lanterns made by each student shining in the dark. The forum group

worked together again to organise a Cupcake Day on Briony’s

birthday September 8th. Money raised from the sale of the

cupcakes was used to purchase a special ‘friendship’ couch for

the library and books with a friendship theme. It was deeply

moving to see how the community came together to support

each other and Briony’s family in their grief and for students to

demonstrate what it means to be considerate and kind in both

thoughts and actions.


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3. Site Learning Plan: Our Priorities for Improvement

“Working together to support and embed growth mindsets for all learners”

3.1. Site Priority 1: Build Powerful Learners

A coherent and consistent whole school approach to co-creating learning with students for

increased challenge and personal satisfaction.

To target intervention for students and develop personalised goals that focus on progress

Priorities in 2015:

Teachers engaged in exploring 21st Century learning as part of a whole school inquiry

linked to student engagement.

Teachers engaged in professional learning, conversations and work that supports

developing each student as a powerful learner.

Teachers identifying and using effective strategies that support students with sensory

needs and ASD.

Staff are recording effective short term goals with and for students.

Targets:

All teachers are able to identify short term primary goals for students with disabilities and

review goals at least once a term.

100% of class teachers participate in the inquiry evolved from their exploratory questions

and share at our site and with the Torrens Valley Partnership

Outcomes:

All teachers did complete an inquiry in to strategies to co-create learning and improve

personal projects. The teaching teams shared with colleagues at a combined staff meeting

in Term 2. Teachers from other schools also came to view the Student Learning Expo

showcasing students’ learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders,

Teachers met with Kathy Kleinschmidt Special Educator to learn more about setting SMART

goals and writing effective goals for students. This work proved to be difficult and teachers

and support staff have requested more time to master this work.

Proposals for 2016:

Class teachers and support staff to complete further workshops with Special Educator

focused on setting realistic short term goals.

Teachers and parents to work together to negotiate learning plans for Students with

Disabilities.

Staff to continue learning together with colleagues in the Torrens Valley Partnership,

maintaining their focus on building powerful learners, building growth mindsets and

designing challenging tasks.

3.2. Site Priority 2: Stronger readers and writers

Priorities in 2015:

Maintain and improve Wave 2 intervention programmes including Read Up & Literacy

Pro.

Regularly monitor student progress and provide feedback in reading using Running

Records.

Matching students to appropriate texts using Literacy Pro for Year 3-7 students.

Develop teacher expertise in teaching writing.


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Targets:

Increased numbers of students in R-2 meeting Standards of Education Achievement

levels by September 2015.

All students Years 3-7 demonstrate at least 12 months expected growth from 2014 to 2015

in PAT Reading scores.

Outcomes:

The ‘Literacy Pro’ programme was used more extensively with students in Years 3-7 in

2015. By the end of the year, 4 students remained at Beginner Reading level. These

students were supported by SSOs in weekly small group sessions.

Reading Recovery levels were used by all teachers R-3 to measure progress. ( see

Running records results page 6 for further information)

All staff implemented strategies and resources from ‘Seven Steps to Writing Success’

workshop.

Proposals for 2016:

Based on our NAPLAN results and numbers of students making low progress with reading

comprehension, it is important that reading and writing continue as a strong priority for

improvement in 2016-2017. Based on strong indicators of success in classes implementing

Speech, Sound, Pics (SSP) programme for phonemic knowledge and the Daily 5, class

teachers will be involved in further learning and sharing to embed effective strategies across

the school.

3.3. Site Priority 3: Differentiating Maths challenges

Priorities in 2015:

Explicit teaching via grouping for purpose in Maths including master classes, focus

groups, intervention, Quickthink Maths).

Teachers using a problem based pedagogy that supports students to use and develop

their skills to problem solve and reason.

Students are given opportunities to rehearse numeracy skills and develop automaticity

through Quickthink Maths, Quicksmart and fluency focused learning sessions.

Three teachers to attend the Torrens Valley Maths workshops with Mike Chartres to

deepen their understanding of Maths teaching and develop their practice.

Targets:

All students in Years 3-7 demonstrate at least 12 months expected growth from 2014 to

2015 in PAT Maths scores. ( see Appendix PAT M results 2015)

90% of students participating in the Quicksmart programme complete the programme

and graduate after 40 weeks or less.

Outcomes:

PAT Maths results indicate that the majority of students are making appropriate progress

in 12 months.

Out of the 16 Quicksmart students in the programme, 7 graduated at the end of 2015.

We did not achieve the desired target of 90%. A significant factor in this low graduation

rate was attributed to lack of school attendance by the students. It must also be

acknowledged that students enrolled in the Quicksmart programme generally have low

Stanine levels.


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Proposals for 2016:

Maths will continue to be a priority in 2016. Our NAPLAN results and PATM results indicate we

have not been consistently meeting the DEDC benchmarks for the past 2 years and we need

to improve the numbers of students making middle to upper levels of progress.

More teachers will be involved in professional learning focused on problem-based instruction

and understanding how to teach for deeper mathematical understanding.

Teachers will complete the course “How to Learn Maths” and all Year 6 and 7 students will

complete the student course in 2016.

4. Early Years Literacy and Numeracy Plan

All additional Early Years and Better Schools funding has been channelled to support our

intervention programmes. Read Up, Quicksmart and our English as a Second Language

support programmes have continued to lead our intervention.

Funding has been used to employ an SSO 2 as an Intervention Officer. Her role is to

coordinate the support programs, in consultation with the Principal. In consultation with the

Principal, a comprehensive process for staff has been outlined to guide families and students

to access intervention or assessment. It includes a pre-referral process, teacher planning

support, access to our internal support structure and referral to external assessment.

This new process supports staff and students to access a range of short term options and

investigate learning needs and strategies prior to moving through to higher level support or

referral.

Early Years class numbers were low ( 20-23) and each class teacher was supported with SSO

time allocated to provide additional Literacy support in the classroom, in addition to time

allocated to run the Read Up programme for 18 students in Years 1-3.

4.1. Early Years Literacy Review

During 2015, DECD released new reading targets aimed at students reading new levels to be

measured each year in September EDSAS data collection period. These new levels were in

draft for most of 2015 and required us to review our reading targets and benchmarks to

identify students to join ‘Read Up’.

Running Records Results September 2015

Year level Previous Target New SEA Rarget

Reception Level 7 or above Level 5 or above

Year 1 Level 16 or above Level 15 or above

Year 2 Level 21 or above Level 21 or above

Graphs showing our results are shown on the following page.


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Year 1 Reading Levels Compared to State

Year 1 Reading Levels Compared to Disadvantage Category

Year 2 Reading Levels Compared to State

Year 2 Reading Levels Compared to Disadvantage Category


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We aimed for the following results in 2015 : 90% of students in R-3 to achieve the targets in

September. Based on the new targets set, our results for 2015 were pleasing but we have

specific work to do for students in Years 2 and 3. We recognise that Read Up is a highly

successful programme that helps students reach appropriate reading levels by the end of

Year 1 and 2, but there is a slowing down of progress for older students.

‘Literacy Pro’ support targeted students who remain at Beginner level in Years 3 and 4 by

providing small group SSO support to read with an adult, answer questions about the text

with support and to comprehend the text at a more sophisticated level. The funding

supported 7 students in 2015.

Better Schools Funding was used in 2015 to supplement funding for class support programs

and to employ an additional SSO with a focus on supporting students with social/ emotional

difficulties and ASD through the implementation of “What’s the Buzz?” sessions with small

groups. This was a new strategy for 2015. We funded the training of two SSOs and purchased

resources used in the programme.

5. Student Achievement

5.1. PAT Testing

During September 2015, all students in Years 3-7 undertook the annual on-line tests including

PAT Maths, PAT Comprehension, PAT Vocabulary and Spelling tests. We moved from paper

testing to on-line computer testing in 2015. Data has been collected and collated for

teachers to determine progress made by individuals. We have been able to compare our

data from 2012 to this year, allowing us to measure annual growth. (see Appendix : PAT M

and PAT R results summary)

Our intervention strategies are highly successful and result in many students either making

significant progress, accessing appropriate support or have led to an undiagnosed issue

being identified for external assessment, leading to ongoing DECD funding.

Our Read Up programme has now been adopted by approximately 12 schools and is having

impact from the southern suburbs of Adelaide through to Port Augusta. This is a fantastic

endorsement of the programme, its integrity and its application to a wide range of students.

Quicksmart 2015

16 students in Years 5-7 participated in the Quicksmart programme in 2015. The programme

aims to develop students’ automaticity when calculating and problem solving using

addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The programme works on redeveloping

neural pathways in the brain. Students are identified based on their PAT Maths Stanine score

obtained in November 2014. Each identified student worked on an intensive 30 minute

programme three times a week, working with a partner on 5 tasks of 5 minutes for 30 weeks.

Results from the SiMERR National Research Centre who oversee the national results, indicate

we have achieved an effect size of 2.13 in 30 weeks (an effect size of 0.8 is considered high

growth in one year)

Read Up 2015

18 Year 1 and 2 students attended Read Up sessions in 2015. Students were identified if they

failed to reach running record benchmarks at the end of 2014. Students attend an intensive

30 minute programme three times a week with a partner. The paired activities include recall

of sight words, reading an text aloud at an easy level then reading a text at instructional

level to gain ‘reading stretch’ and challenge and a word recognition game. Results indicate

the significant benefits for the students who participate, as many achieve appropriate year

level benchmarks at the end of the year and are ‘back in the main game’ with their peers,

reading and comprehending books appropriate to their age level.


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5.2. NAPLAN 2015

Each year in May, our students in Years 3, 5 and 7 sit the National Literacy and Numeracy

tests. Here is a summary our results for 2015:

The Year 5 group showed improved or similar results from 2013 across all areas.

38% of students in Year 5 demonstrated upper band progress in Numeracy (expected

25%) since Year 3.

All year levels improved their previous years’ results in Numeracy. This demonstrates the

consistent focus the school has maintained on problem-based approaches to Numeracy

in the past few years.

Students in Years 5 and 7 achieved improved results in Reading and Writing.

33.3 % of students in Year 7 demonstrated upper band progress in Reading since Year 3

(expected 25%) since Year 5.

Students in Years 3-5 need support to make higher levels of progress in Reading.

Students in Years 5-7 need support to make higher levels of progress in Numeracy and

Reading.

Our Year 3 results in 2015 were lower as we had a higher than usual number of students

withdrawn from testing by parents, which has a negative result on the overall

achievement levels.

Year 3 mean

Year 5 mean

Year 7 mean

Numeracy State mean

382.8

477.7

537.9

Numeracy School score

373

474.1

531.5

Reading State mean

416.0

487.9

541

Reading School score

394

482.2

544.2

Spelling State mean

401.8

498.6

540.8

Spelling School score

379.9

485

526.2

Grammar & Punc State mean

416.3

491.5

534.6

Grammar & Punc School score

407.1

478.9

515.8

Writing State mean

398.9

463.4

509.3

Writing School score

384.3

384.3

499.1

Above the

State mean

Significantly

below


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Year 3 NAPLAN Mean Scores


Growth Years 3-5

NAPLAN School Growth: Year 3-5

Mean Scores by Test Aspect

Year 3

2013 2014 2015

Numeracy 355.4 367.8 373.3

Reading 418.9 396.9 394.4

Writing 407.2 357.6 384.3

Spelling 415.4 392.3 379.9

Grammar 409.6 389.3 407.1

Improved

results


Year 5

2013 2014 2015

Numeracy 477.2 449.4 474.1

Reading 482.8 478.5 482.2

Writing 458.0 431.8 456.5

Spelling 487.0 471.5 485.0

Grammar 446.0 503.1 478.9


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Growth Years 5-7

NAPLAN School Growth: Year 5-7


Year 7

2013 2014 2015

Numeracy 539.2 496.9 531.5

Reading 538.7 528.3 544.2

Writing 524.0 496.4 499.1

Spelling 554.2 513.0 526.2

Grammar 532.2 508.7 515.8

Improved

results


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6. Our Students

6.1. Attendance

Attendance by Year Level

% Attendance

2013 2014 2015

Reception 93.3 93.1 92.2

Year 1 93.7 95.8 91.5

Year 2 96.3 95.1 89.0

Year 3 95.6 95.1 91.3

Year 4 95.2 96.9 92.9

Year 5 95.2 94.2 92.6

Year 6 95.5 95.6 93.2

Year 7 95.0 95.0 91.9

Total All Year Levels 95.0 95.2 91.8

Total ACARA 1 TO 10 95.2 95.5 91.7

The Principal and Counsellor reviewed records of attendance data at end of each term so

attendance concerns could be addressed promptly. Letters were sent home to individual

families from the Principal if it was noted their child had a high level of absenteeism and

parents were asked to meet with the class teacher to determine a plan of action. Each term

the Counsellor gives incentive awards for students achieving 100% attendance. All students

who had unexplained absences were asked for explanations from parents/caregivers.

Teachers have an agreed system of notes to send home and this was used consistently in

2015.

We noted that attendance dipped across the school in all year levels in 2015, due to the

increasing number of families applying for exemptions to take holidays in term time and a

higher than usual number of transient students during 2015 who enrolled at the school but did

not attend regularly. In a small school, this had a significant impact on our attendance data

particularly in Years R, 2 and 3.

In Term 3, we trialled a new text message service for parents called Tiqbiz. The service

enables parents to text information to the school if their child will be absent or late. Initial

feedback was positive and parents who used the service reported the service was easy to

use. Tiqbiz will be fully implemented in 2016 as the key means of communication.

Attendance and engagement will be focus in 2016.


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6.2. Destination

Intended Destination

Leave Reason 2014

School Index DECD

No % % %

Employment 3.5% 2.9%

Interstate/Overseas 1 3.7% 10.5% 9.5%

Other 0.5% 1.4%

Seeking Employment 4.1% 3.8%

Tertiary/TAFE/Training 4.0% 3.6%

Transfer to Non-Govt Schl 4 14.8% 9.8% 9.8%

Transfer to SA Govt Schl 22 81.5% 46.0% 48.8%

Unknown 21.6% 20.3%

Unknown (TG - Not Found) 0.0%

Our destination data indicates the majority of our students transfer for Year 8 or to go to

another primary school chose DECD Government Schools. A small proportion of students

who left during 2015 chose local non-government religious schools.


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7. Anti-Bullying and Harassment/Behaviour

Strong focus on Lobethal’s Code of Conduct and values as well as classes inducted on the

school’s Grievance Procedures with School Counsellor.

Restorative Justice Practices are used and both victim and perpetrators. Students are

counselled and spend time talking about incidents and finding agreed upon resolutions. A

reflection sheet in used for students in Time-Out to reflect, think about and record Green

Thinking (Good Choices) and Red Thinking (Poor Behaviour Choices).

Provision of lunch-time clubs for students needing alternative to yard play, include Pokemon

and Basketball clubs.

Most incidents are managed at classroom level or by teacher on yard duty. Office Time-Outs

are generally only used after Reminders or Buddy Class have been used or for some extreme

cases.

Time-Out Incidents

Time-Outs in Office Area with Principal or Counsellor 64

Internal Suspensions 2

Take Homes 1

Suspensions 0

Exclusions 0

Out of 153 students Total Incidents = 67

Total Students Involved in incidents = 29 Students (18.95 %) Boys = 25(16%) Girls = 4 (2.95%)

Behaviour by Category

Not Following

Protocols/School Code

of Conduct

Repeated In-

appropriate Choices=

Step System

Interfering with Rights

of Students to

Learn/Teacher to

Teach

Threatening Safety/

Well-being of Others

Boys = 10 Boys = 3 Boys= 3 Boys = 44

Girls = 3 Girls = 1 Girls= 2 Girls = 1

Total = 13 Total = 4 Total = 5 Total = 45


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8. We Value Your Opinion: Parent and Student Opinion Survey

Opinion surveys were conducted with parents, students and staff during the final weeks of

Term 4 2015. We received responses from 25 online responses from parents which represents

approx. 25 % of our families. 83 students from years 3-7 participated and 96.5% of our

primary student cohort completed the survey. All staff were asked to complete the survey.

12 responded which represents approx. 90 % of our total staff.

We included the following additional questions in all 3 surveys

What does Lobethal PS do well?

What does Lobethal PS need to keep doing?

What should Lobethal PS stop doing?

What should Lobethal PS start doing?

8.1. Parent Opinion Survey

Responses from families were generally affirming and constructive.


Page 17

Comments included

‘’I have really pleased with the support and open communication regarding my son and his

learning difficulties, as well as the kindness and consideration he is shown by all staff. It is also

nice to hear the feedback about his strengths as well. This is so important for both his moral

and mine.’’

“Lobethal Primary is a family friendly school. It provides children a nurturing, safe environment

making them feel important and special.”

“I think it would be good to more specifically focus on behavioural issues with the kids,

particularly around being kind, not excluding, standing up for others, etc. I know that some of

this is being done but there can be some quite toxic situations with some kids, and a whole of

school approach would be good. The buddy programme that was in place a few years ago

seemed to work really well to make kids feel welcome but also to connect them across the

age groups and demonstrate value for kindness, generosity, caring, etc. I'm sure there are

lots of programs around for this.”


Page 18

Our strengths include

The feedback we provide parents about their child.

Our approachable and supportive staff.

Students enjoy being at school.

Areas for us to develop based on parent opinions include

Improving feedback and communication with families

A more consistent and effective approach to dealing with disruptive student behaviour.

Monitoring and sharing progress of students with their parents.

Limited parking

Inconsistent approaches to homework across classes.

8.2. Student Opinion Survey

The student responses were mixed but mostly positive about their experiences and learning

at Lobethal PS.


Page 19

Comments included:

“More time with older kids”

“Have the yard and classrooms cleaner. Have the right equipment before you start the

topic. If there are opportunities let the student take part in them, be a part of it.”

“Lobethal PS does well in PE, Music, Art and Drama as well as fun activities like Sports Day

and art exhibitions and choir.”

“Lobethal PS does well at giving students some independence.”

“Lobethal PS does well at giving feedback and understanding students.”

Staff and student responses were consistent in a number of aspects.

Our strengths:

Treating students fairly.

Students like attending school at Lobethal PS.

Lobethal PS looks for ways to improve.

Areas for us to develop

Attend to disruptive behaviour more consistently and clearly set expectations.

Value the opinions of students more highly and often.

Share with students the progress they made.


Page 20

The survey responses provide evidence and basis for improvements in key areas across the

school. They include

Student behaviour expectations and positive learning culture.

Communicating with our parents openly.

Assessment and feedback for all learners.

Developing a collaborative culture where staff feel valued and receive useful feedback

about their work. My School website http://www.myschool.edu.au/

9. Our Volunteers

An audit conducted early in 2015 indicated we were following the necessary procedures

and had fully compliant record keeping of volunteers and staff working at Lobethal PS. An

SSO is assigned the role of overseeing and updating records each term. We updated our

sign in sheets and volunteers are now required to sign in at the front office and wear a

badge to clearly identify themselves.

9.1. Volunteer Training – Responding to Abuse and Neglect.

Tracey Constable (School Counsellor) and Toni Burford ran afternoon and evening Volunteer

Workshops on site for 26 of our volunteers covering Responding to Abuse and Neglect

Training, Education and Care: Induction for Volunteers. We also covered Work, Health and

Safety and general information about the Roles and Responsibilities of being a volunteer

here at Lobethal Primary School.

Records and copies of Certificates of the volunteers who have completed the training are

recorded and kept updated, along with Criminal History Checks.

10. Our staff

The leadership team included the Primary School Counsellor 0.2 Tracey Constable who was

appointed from Term 2. The staff team for 2015 included 6 class teachers, 3 specialist NIT

teachers, 5 SSOs in administration and support programs, our Gardening specialist Lucy Cahill

and Groundsperson.

Welcome 2015 The school also welcomed Beck Reeves and Steve Gallagher to the teaching

team.

Thank you to Liz Needle for her contributions to the school as a long term teacher and

supporter of the school. Liz taught PE in Terms 1-3 in 2015 and shared her expertise throughout

the year with staff new to Lobethal PS.

Congratulations to Lizzie Ellis who won a permanent position at our school during 2015, ready

for the 2016 school year.

SSOs We welcomed Amie Teagle back as part of the Student Support Team. Pamela Morley

left to take on a new role as Chaplain at the end of Term 1 2015.

10.1. Teacher Qualifications

http://www.myschool.edu.au/


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All teachers at this school are qualified and registered with the SA Teachers Registration

Board.

Qualification Level Number of

Qualifications

Bachelor Degrees or Diplomas 16

Post Graduate Qualifications 2

Please note: Staff that have more than 1 qualification will be counted more than once in the above qualification table. Therefore the total number of staff by qualification type may be more than the total number of teaching staff.

10.2. Workforce Composition including Indigenous staff

Workforce Composition Teaching Staff Non-Teaching Staff

Indigenous Non Indigenous Indigenous Non Indigenous

Full-time Equivalents 0 8 0 4.36

Persons 0 8 0 7

11. FINANCIAL STATEMENT

11.1. Income by Funding Source

Funding Source Amount

1 Grants: State 1,394,303.28

2 Grants: Commonwealth 2,800.00

3 Parent Contributions 62,732.76

4 Other 27,335.22

Lobethal Primary School Annual Report 2015 – Appendix A

A1

Appendix A : GOVERNING COUNCIL REPORT

Lobethal Primary School Annual Report 2015 – Appendix A

A2

AGM

1st March 2016

LOBEHAL PRIMARY SCHOOL GOVERNING COUNCIL

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT

Welcome everybody & thank you for coming.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Rebecca Harrison & I was

nominated as chairperson of the Lobethal Primary School governing council for

2015. My daughter Nadia is in year 6, I have a son, Caleb who is in year 9 at

Birdwood High & a 4 year old daughter, Keira. Last year was my 6th year on

Governing Council & my second year as Chairperson.

As a full time working parent I have found that Governing Council has given me an

excellent opportunity to become involved with school decisions that have an

impact on my child’s school experiences. In the past 12 months our council has

been involved with the resurfacing of the courts behind classes 5 & 6, supporting the

school in it’s goal to develop a growth mindset with our students and we have seen

and trialed the new parent communication tool, Tiqbiz. Developing the viability and

ongoing succession planning for our OSHC service has also been a major focus for

our council in the past 12 months.

For the past year we have had a fantastic group of parents on our governing

council, your help is much appreciated & I thank you for your commitment. Our

fundraising committee has been working extremely hard with various fundraisers

throughout the year, the bingo night that was held in October was a huge success &

I wish to thank the members of the fundraising committee for their commitment in

raising funds for our school.

Governing council plays an integral role in the Principal recruitment process and last

year saw us appoint Toni Burford as the Lobethal Primary School Principal for a

further 5 years. We wish her well in this position & look forward to the long term

direction that her expertise can bring to the school.

I would like to encourage anybody who thinks they would like to become more

involved with their child’s school to nominate for our governing council. We meet

once a month on the first Tuesday evening of the month unless it is school holidays.

The contribution of your time to our council would be very much appreciated & all

parents & caregivers are welcome to nominate.

Thank you

Rebecca Harrison

Lobethal Primary School Annual Report 2015 – Appendix B

B1

APPENDIX B - Primary Australian Curriculum Coordinator Report

Leonie Feutrill


B2

Coordinator, Primary Australian Curriculum – Report - 2015 – Leonie Feutrill

The Coordinator role

The Coordinator position is part of a deliberate strategy to build broader leadership capacity

for curriculum and pedagogy in primary schools. The Coordinator works collaboratively with

the Primary Australian Curriculum Implementation Officer (PACIO –Carly Feegrade), and

Principals from the Partnership, to ensure the successful implementation of the Australian

Curriculum and the Teaching for Effective Learning framework. The Coordinator also plays a

vital role in working directly with teachers to take the AC and TfEL into the classroom.

A major part of the role is to facilitate teacher professional learning, including the

establishment and maintenance of professional learning communities. It is also to improve

teacher knowledge of and access to key professional resources such as SCOOTLE, ‘Leading

Learning: Making the Australian Curriculum work for us’ and the Aboriginal Cultural Studies

resource.

The following is a snapshot of the activities undertaken in 2015.

Combined Pupil Free Days

Day 1 - 21st Century Teaching and Learning

Feedback from the second combined pupil free day in 2014 indicated strong support for

continuing to engage with 21st Century learning ideas. Consequently, a combined Pupil Free

Day for 12 sites including 4 preschools/kindies in the Partnership was organised for March 6th

in the Exhibition Centre, Birdwood HS. This involved negotiating with Steve Hicks around the

focus for the day - ‘Design thinking and Rapid prototyping to continue our work engaging

21st Century Teaching and Learning’. We continued with the process of working with our

own exploratory questions, as facilitated by Steve. This day also led to 2 further combined

staff meetings, where sites and groups within sites, further developed and shared their work

around their exploratory questions.

Day 2 – Digital Technologies

Canvassing Principals from the Partnership and checking through an AC implementation

audit, it was agreed to have some input around the Digital Technologies subject. We were

able to secure the Digital Team from head office to facilitate the day -Australian Curriculum:

Digital Technologies

This day held on 27th April, included an update on the implementation of the Australian

Curriculum and a key note from the Digital Learning Team.

3 breakout sessions were available, and teachers had the opportunity to choose 2 of these.


B3

Computational thinking for Reception to Year 4

Programming a ‘Choose your own adventure’ story

Exploring the big ideas in Year 5-7 Digital Technologies

More learning around this area is targeted for 2016.

Day 3 -7 Steps to Writing Success

On the recommendation of Lyndsey Martin, who had identified writing as an area for

improvement, we decided to hold a combined PFD on the ‘7 Steps to Writing Success’. This

PD day outlined the 7 strategies that assist students in improving their writing in all text types,

and which are claimed to improve NAPLAN writing scores by 1-2 levels in less than a year.

Funding was sought from the Partnership to support this PD, and 7 of the 8 primary sites

attended the day on Monday 20th July, 2015.

Feedback from this day indicated high levels of engagement with participants reporting they

found it practical, helpful, interesting, informative, interactive, energising, inspiring, relevant,

empowering and useful! There has been much visible evidence of the impact of this day on

classroom practice across the Partnership, and a follow-up Twilight session illustrated some of

the innovative ways teachers are successfully implementing the strategies. The work of the 2

Literacy Coaches at Birdwood has been identified as an integral part of the success of this

program, and is worth exploring further in 2016.

Twilight Sessions

A comprehensive series of Twilight Sessions was delivered over the year with programs

offered for Term 2 (6 sessions), Term 3 (6 sessions) and Term 4 (6 sessions). Presenters were

chosen from a broad range and included teachers with expertise from within our partnership,

and other partnerships, educational consultants, our PACIO and myself.

These sessions involved collaborating with colleagues and others involved in professional

learning regarding the proposed program, and organising session times, dates and the

venue. Afternoon tea, certificates, resources were supplied or shared, and feedback was

gathered and collated and used for future planning.

Attendance at sessions averaged around 15 -20 participants, with around 45 – 50 attending

the sessions with Martin Westwell. All schools and preschools in the Partnership, and many

TRTs were invited. Feedback from sessions indicated participants found them an excellent

opportunity to network and learn with colleagues from across the Partnership.

Topics included learning in the following areas:

Using Digital resources – ‘Making iMovies on iPads’ (2 sessions)

Aboriginal Cultural Studies - Resource, Moodle and ‘Using Aboriginal Dreaming

Stories’

Australian Curriculum: Design and Technology, Economics and Business, and Civics

and Citizenship learning areas


B4

Connected curriculum/Integration – ‘Building Bridges – exploring the Come Out

theme across curriculum’ and ‘History meets Technology’

Executive Functions with Martin Westwell (2 sessions)

Pedagogy and TfEL. – Growth Mindset, ‘Communities of Inquiry’ and ‘Hand, Heart,

Mind Expo’

Literacy – 7 Steps to Writing Success sharing session

Numeracy – Maths games and challenges

Professional Learning Communities

Professional learning communities this year have moved from having a content focus, to

exploring our pedagogical practices, and the impact on student engagement and learning.

This has led to powerful changes in our thinking, and approaches to planning and

implementing programs. This year both Woodside and Lobethal participated in our

Partnership PLCs.

Mike Chartres Maths PLC

After receiving very positive feedback from participants in 2014, we chose to re-apply to be

part of the Mathematician in Action program with Mike Chartres in 2015. We were successful

and so ran this again as a 4th PLC. This gave teachers the opportunity to work collaboratively

for the equivalent of 3 days, within the Partnership with an experienced mathematician to

design learning with the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics. This year we specifically

worked on number, chance, probability, statistics and data. 15 Educators from all year levels

participated and feedback provided in the final session indicated participants were highly

engaged with this learning. They said:

I…’make sure students have challenging tasks which really test mathematical

thinking’

Give ‘multiple entry points with tasks, and a range of activities to develop thinking’

‘trying different ways to explore topics so students engaged’

‘More confidence in using a bigger range of resources and materials’

It has challenged me to broaden my ideas’

‘the power of investigation time with learning’

‘I do a lot more sharing now, especially around strategies and thinking’

‘my teaching is more sequential, hands-on, child directed and I am more confident’

‘the importance of making connections between curriculum areas when teaching

maths’

Negotiations are currently underway exploring possibilities of working with Mike in 2016.

Early years - Play based learning PLC –

It was agreed by the Partnership to fund the participation of our preschool teachers in PLCs

this year. We decided on a Play based learning focus, exploring aspects of Walker Learning

Investigations Nature and Outdoor play, Reggio Emilia and included visits to multiple sites,

including Recreate at Mt Pleasant. 12 Educators participated in this PLC and members

enjoyed the opportunity to get to know each other and sites, the documents used such as


B5

EYLF, RRR and Learning Dispositions resource and to be able to learn together to ensure

continuity of learning from preschool to school.

Building learning Power PLC

20 educators across R-7 joined this PLC to explore building learning power based on the work

of Guy Claxton. Areas explored included the 4 R’s -resilience, reciprocity, reflectiveness,

resourcefulness, growth mindset, the learning pit and productive struggle, the power of yet,

and the Irish Assessment for Learning document. Many ideas were trialled and shared, and

even small changes in practice resulted in positive outcomes for students, which were

highlighted during the sessions.

Project based learning PLC

5 Educators from middle and upper primary chose Project Based Learning as their focus for

2015. With input from Steve Hicks and the Learning Frontiers work, and exploring many other

resources, including those from High tech High, Expeditionary Learning, the Buck Institute and

Innovation Unit, teachers planned and trialled REAL projects with their students around a

variety of topics. These included Cows Create careers, Science as a Human Endeavour focus

on advancements in science, Individual science projects, Sustainability, and Reduce, Reuse,

Recycle. We had the opportunity to view exhibitions of student projects at different sites, as

well as hear about the impact on learner engagement during project work.

A joint celebration for PLCs was organised for Term 4, where each group had the opportunity

to share their learning journey this year. There was an opportunity to discuss possibilities for

2016.

Planning with teachers

Individual or group planning sessions took place at the following sites

Lobethal – all teachers around Aboriginal Cultural Studies

Gumeracha,– early career teacher

Mt Pleasant – 2 teachers

Birdwood – multiple teachers

Planning could incorporate - programming support, documenting planning formats,

mapping curriculum including CCPs and GCs, keeping it simple and manageable,

integrated topics based units, linking assessment with Achievement Standards, and

recording same, sourcing, supplying and sharing resources, use of digital resources Scootle,

ACS Moodle etc.

Scientist in Residence Program – Science as a Human Endeavour Program

This involved several half or full day meetings with three teachers to explore ideas around

planning for Science learning from ‘Science as a Human Endeavour’ starting point.

Jye (Year 5/6) - Physics topic of Light and Chemistry topic of Recycling

Kerry (Year 1/2) – Physics - International Year of Light Unit

De-arne (Year 2/3) – Physics – simple machines incorporating Design and Technology

Improved resource collections


B6

This year I worked with Woodside, Birdwood and Springton on reorganising Science

equipment, and with Gumeracha on Maths equipment. This involved purchasing new

storage boxes and sorting, labelling and auditing equipment. Recommendations were

made around where gaps exist and possible suppliers suggested.

Recommendations for 2015

Planning has commenced around combined Pupil Free Days for next year. Feedback from

PLCs has been positive and has indicated the majority of participants wish to continue

exploration in their current learning area. The PLCs have resulted in the deprivatising and

sharing of practice, with members who inspire and encourage each other’s learning. Twilight

sessions have also been planned for next year, following increased attendance and the

positive response this year.

‘Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the

world….’ Margaret Wheatley

Leonie Feutrill

Coordinator Primary Australian Curriculum/Results Plus

Lobethal Primary School Annual Report 2015 – Appendix C

C1

APPENDIX C : PAT Maths and PAT R results 2015

Lobethal Primary School Annual Report 2015 – Appendix C

C2

PAT Maths Results

PAT-R Comprehension Results

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