2015 annual report - st. francis xavier primary school 2015... · contemporary learning community...

2015 Annual Report to the School Community

St Francis Xavier, Corio REGISTERED SCHOOL NUMBER: 1288

St Francis Xavier, Corio

2015 ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY 1

Contents

Contact Details ........................................................................................................................................... 2

Minimum Standards Attestation ............................................................................................................... 2

Our School Vision ...................................................................................................................................... 3

School Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 4

Principal’s Report ...................................................................................................................................... 5

Parish Priest’s Report ............................................................................................................................... 6

School Education Board Report ............................................................................................................... 7

Education in Faith ...................................................................................................................................... 8

Learning & Teaching ................................................................................................................................. 9

Student Wellbeing .................................................................................................................................... 10

Leadership & Management ..................................................................................................................... 11

School Community .................................................................................................................................. 12

Financial Performance ............................................................................................................................ 13

Future Directions ..................................................................................................................................... 14

VRQA Compliance Data .......................................................................................................................... 15



Contact Details

ADDRESS 143 Bacchus Marsh Road Corio VIC 3214

PRINCIPAL Mr Wayne Richard

PARISH PRIEST Fr Manoj Kannamthadathil

SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR Mrs Lee Langston

TELEPHONE (03) 5275 1974

EMAIL [email protected]

WEBSITE www.sfxcorio.catholic.edu.au

Minimum Standards Attestation

I, Wayne Richard, attest that St Francis Xavier School is compliant with:

• AlloftherequirementsfortheminimumstandardsandotherrequirementsfortheregistrationofschoolsasspecifiedintheEducationandTrainingReformAct2006(Vic)andtheEducationandTrainingReformRegulations2007(Vic),exceptwheretheschoolhasbeengrantedanexemptionfromanyoftheserequirementsbytheVRQA

• AustralianGovernmentaccountabilityrequirementsrelatedtothe2015 school year under the Australian Education Act 2013 (Cth) and the Australian Education Regulations 2013 (Cth)

17 May 2016



Our School Vision At St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish Primary school we embrace the courage and compassion of our patron saint, Saint Francis Xavier.

We seek to create a culture that values strong relationships between students, family and community based on respect, communication and forgiveness.

Our staff use rich engaging learning experiences to nurture students in a contemporary learning community as they aspire to individual greatness.

Contemporary approaches to learning



School Overview

St. Francis Xavier School is a Catholic primary school in Corio, a northern suburb of Geelong. Our school is one of two Catholic Primary Schools within the St Francis Xavier Parish of Corio/Lara. We have a current enrolment of 190 students. We have ten multi-age classroom groupings in three contemporary open plan learning spaces. Our school offers specialist learning in Indonesian Language (Years 3-6), Visual Arts (P-6), Physical Education (P-6), and an Instrumental Music program (P-6). Additionally we have an Environmental Science Kitchen and Garden program targeting students in years 3-6.

St. Francis Xavier School, by nature of its community profile, deals with a wide range of student, family and social issues. Restoring and building wellbeing is a constant process; maintaining wellbeing is a key part of our mission. At any point in time we will have a range of preventative, early and critical interventions taking place. All children participate in the classroom Circletme strategy. We also have available the Seasons Loss and Grief program, School Chaplaincy Pastoral Care program and in partnership with Catholic Care, a Psychology Counselling service.

We have a predominantly Catholic enrolment with a range of other diverse religions represented. Our student population is drawn from a wide range of multicultural backgrounds, providing us with a rich experience of culture and tradition. We have students from families with Aboriginal, Vietnamese, Philippine, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Indian, Liberian, Karine and Sudanese backgrounds.

Our school has high expectations of all students. We want all students to experience success in their learning. We support students in aspiring to ‘individual greatness’ (St Francis Xavier School Vision Statement). Maintaining a safe, harmonious place for our staff, students and families to learn and play together is a priority. Maintaining student and staff wellbeing is a key part of our Mission.

We recognise the importance of family partnerships. We have continued to work closely with other school leaders, teachers and families in implementing a range of strategies aimed at further engaging parents in their children’s learning.

Staff of St. Francis Xavier highly value, and have a shared commitment to the general care of our students. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is regarded as an essential component to the education of the whole child. We work in partnership with numerous community organisations including Ardoch, Bethany, Catholic Care and the Bluearth Foundation. Our staff are proactive in the area of wellbeing, approaching social learning through Restorative philosophies.

We have strong links with our Parish and are supported by Parish Priest Father Manoj Kannamthadathil; his contribution to regular class masses, whole school celebrations and presence within our school is valued. We work closely with the Parish in providing our Sacrament program.



Principal’s Report

At St Francis Xavier we have continued to work hard to build and maintain the reputation of our school. Our school is highly regarded within the Corio community and the broader education community. The charism of our school is centered around mission, we share in the Church’s Catholic mission of service to our community. We have a rich history of service to our community, one which we are very proud of.

In 2015 we continued our commitment to providing students with a high quality education and working in close partnership with families. The foundation on which these partnerships are built are in the relationships we have. Parents are viewed in our school as key partners in learning, which has clearly contributed to improved learning outcomes for our students. The most important factor is that families are able to engage in their child’s learning. Parents engage in learning by participating in professional development alongside teachers, attending learning expos, community conversations, volunteering as classroom helpers and in learning walks. We have engaged some families through our Breakfast Program and many families in our faith formation and sacramental programs. Other families engage through involvement in our Education Board or Parent Fundraising Committee.

We have continued to build the capacity of our teaching staff. We have a learning community that acknowledges and caters for diverse, individual educational needs. Improving teaching practice and student learning has been best served by a collaborative team approach and included key elements of collegial coaching, action research, participation in professional learning and formal study.

Wayne Richard

Music Education



Parish Priest’s Report

In our Corio-Lara Parish we have two primary schools, St Francis Xavier, Corio and St Anthony’s, Lara. In our school at St Francis Xavier we are fortunate to have modern buildings and excellent facilities. Most importantly however, we have energetic and committed teachers who care deeply for the children they teach.

When families enrol in our school, they also become part of our Parish faith community. We welcome all families to become active members of our Parish and school communities. As our children grow in faith, we support families in providing experiences of prayer, reflection, sacrament and celebration.

Fr. Manoj Kannamthadathil

Contemporary approaches to Religious Education



School Education Board Report

In 2015 our Education Board continued to evolve and work effectively. Our Education Board consists of our Parish Priest, school Principal, Deputy Principal, a staff representative, chairperson, secretary and other parent representatives. This body considers and advises school leaders in various school matters. Issues considered by the Board in 2015 included school capital infrastructure, learning and teaching approaches in our school, family partnerships, the wellbeing of students in our school, planning matters pertaining to future staffing and school organisation. Our Education Board has continued to work in a productive and cohesive manner.

Teachers and parents learning side by side



Education in Faith

Goals To deepen the school community’s faith journey within the Catholic tradition.

Intended Outcomes That student engagement in Religious Education will improve.

That parents will feel more connected to their children’s faith journey.

Achievements Education in Faith continues to be central to the school’s identity and vision. Added stimulus

has been given to this endeavour by the appointment of new leaders in the past twelve months;

in particular a new vision statement has been formulated and articulated in that period and staff

feedback indicates that it has focused attention on the core values and purposes of the school.

The school has sought to deepen the school’s faith journey within the Catholic tradition through

links with the parish especially in terms of prayer, sacramental and liturgical celebrations. The

school has a highly visible and active symbolic culture that is based on prayer, sacramental and

liturgical practices as well as the use of symbols and icons.

VALUE ADDED

The ECSIP report identifies many strong indications of the presence of a strong and appropriate sense

of Catholic identity within the St. Francis Xavier school community. In particular the report identified:

• That the majority of respondents favour a Post Critical Believing Style i.e. a cognitive style that is a

significant building block for the school’s Catholic identity.

• That the majority of adults and a significant proportion of students support the process of re-

contextualisation which involves the Catholic faith being re-interpreted and understood in the midst

of a quickly changing and pluralistic world.

• That the preferred pedagogical style is Dialogical which is characterised by high levels of Christian

solidarity and identity.

• That the school is experienced as a place where people can grow closer to God through prayer.

• That all respondents are positive towards having more features of Catholic school identity such as

social justice projects and opportunities for ecological awareness.



Learning & Teaching

Goals To improve performance in Literacy and Numeracy and to improve student engagement.

Intended Outcomes That student performance in Literacy and Numeracy improve.

That levels of student engagement and literacy will improve.

Achievements We have worked very hard over the past few years on building teacher capacity through quality professional development and we believe that this has directly contributed to our growth in Literacy results. As a result of the implementation of two robust intervention programs related to literacy and numeracy our NAPLAN data continues to improve. We value team planning where teachers work in collaboration to personalise the learning for all students supported by members of leadership. The effective use of ongoing data and assessment has been a focus in trying to improve student learning at our school. A number of intervention programs have been implemented and they have contributed to our school’s growth in meeting our targets.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES Targets were based on NAPLAN data in order to measure student performance in Literacy and Numeracy. Our target of achieving matched cohort progress of 80+ national score points between Year 3 and 5 were clearly achieved in the areas of Reading, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation and Numeracy. However, we didn’t quite reach our target of 80+ in the area of Writing with our school matched cohort growth of 68 points. It should be noted, however, that this was well above the state matched cohort growth that was only 52 points. Our target of achieving NAPLAN scores, at a minimum, equivalent to that of like schools indicated that there has been growth in all areas except in Year 5 Numeracy. Our goal of improving student performance in Literacy and Numeracy has clearly been achieved. According to Insight SRC data, our goal of improving student engagement is inconclusive with student motivation and stimulated learning data fluctuating. Student engagement will continue to be a priority for our school in coming years.



Student Wellbeing

Goals To continue to provide a safe environment for students to learn and to enhance their wellbeing.

Intended Outcomes That students are empowered to engage as responsible, resilient members of the school community.

Achievements We focus on the values that children need to develop in order to be responsible and resilient members of the community. We have continued to provide extensive professional learning opportunities for staff in Restorative Practices and Social Emotional Learning (SEL). The Restorative approach emphasises relationship building and restorative conversations and it aims to improve student behaviour, confront bullying issues and build positive relationships. The transformation with students and staff has been significant. Our students have shown a real improvement in their ability to manage conflict and to self-regulate their behaviour

NON-ATTENDANCE In our school we manage non-attendance firstly by building close family partnerships and promoting the importance of school attendance. If there is a non-attendance issue, we call families and follow up with a letter and interview with the principal if required.

VALUE ADDED

Positive initiatives and partnerships have been implemented, including Bluearth, Bravehearts, Breakfast Club, Circle Time, Solving the Jigsaw, the Traffic Light strategy, Volunteers in school program, Dance project, Boys Rock program, the Garden program, Active After School program, Life Education, Felicity Project and Integration programs. We feel that these programs and initiatives have directly impacted on the improvement in student wellbeing at our school by developing the social and emotional skills required for everyday life.

STUDENT SATISFACTION

Student data from Insight SRC indicates that students feel safer in the classroom in 2015 (73) compared to 2013 (68). Students also believe that classroom behaviour is better managed; there has been improvement according to Insight SRC data. In 2015 the score was 46, whereas in 2013 it was 33.



Leadership & Management

Goals To continue to strengthen staff climate.

Intended Outcomes That staff climate is improved: a balance is achieved between the four pillars of school climate: empathy, clarity, engagement and learning.

Achievements Teaching teams are now scheduled to plan as a team each week and teach closely together in the open plan setting. School leaders join teaching teams in planning to provide expertise and guidance. In regard to performance management, teaching staff have quarterly review meetings with the Principal in addition to annual review meetings. Teachers set goals and actions aimed at refining their teaching practice. These goals relate to a school based Quality Teaching Statement and/or the AITSL (Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership) standards. Feedback is provided through this process in a more ongoing way. School leaders have worked closely with experts in growing and developing their leadership capabilities.

EXPENDITURE AND TEACHER PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DESCRIPTION OF PL UNDERTAKEN IN 2015

Leadership training (Catholic Education Office Melbourne - CEOM); Leadership mentoring (CEOM); Social & Emotional Learning (CEOM); Number Intervention (CEOM); CEOM Networks – Literacy, Numeracy, Religious Education & Student Wellbeing; Contemporary Approaches to Primary Science - (CEOM); Differentiation for Gifted Students (CEOM); Cued Articulation and Phonological Awareness (CEOM); Partnerships for Learning – Parents as Partners (CEOM).

NUMBER OF TEACHERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN PL 21 AVERAGE EXPENDITURE PER TEACHER FOR PL $2,690

TEACHER SATISFACTION According to our 2014 survey data we have had significant improvement in a wide range of teacher satisfaction indicators including Supportive Leadership – 74 in 2011 to 85 in 2015 and Ownership, also 74 – 81. Staff have worked through a collaborative process to develop role descriptions for teachers, integration aids and school leaders. There was also improvement in each of: Individual Morale improved from 75 in 2014 to 79 in 2015, Role clarity continued to improve 75 – 77, School Distress also improved significantly 69 – 74, and Empowerment improved 70 – 74.



School Community

Goals To enhance the school community’s connectedness.

Intended Outcomes That the partnership of the school and the community continue to improve.

Achievements We have provided professional learning for both staff and parents to learn alongside each other and have learning conversations about family school partnerships and numeracy. We have provided opportunities for parents to learn more about classroom practices through Learning Walks, Learning Expos and Home Learning Practices. Another strength has been the introduction of Community Classrooms which has provided capacity building professional learning for staff to deepen their understanding of engaging parents in learning. Family contact logs have been implemented which provide teachers with a tool to track communication with parents, information and follow-up. Our school’s involvement in the Junior Transition Leaders program has helped with building connections between kinder and school for smoother transition to Prep. The Learning Together sessions were developed to help improve parent understanding of classroom learning and build their capacity to support learning at home. This program later developed into Learning Walks, Three Way Chats and positive notes home have been successful in building relationships and self- esteem for children, teachers and parents. The change in Inquiry units has lead to higher engagement of students and parents in learning. Our weekly newsletter, parent calendar and the School App help keep families informed and prepared for upcoming events.

PARENT SATISFACTION

The Insight SRC Survey Data regarding Parent Partnerships has demonstrated an actual score in 2014 of 78 and in 2015, a score of 80. Though there have been small gains in this data, this score puts the school in the high performance range. Additionally, anecdotal records and attendances at professional learning, social events, sacramental programs, learning expos and assemblies indicate a high level of community connectedness to school.



Financial Performance

REPORTING FRAMEWORK MODIFIED CASH $

Recurrent income Tuition

School fees $62,237

Other fee income $35,775

Private income $80,133

State government recurrent grants $639,292

Australian government recurrent grants $2,064,363

Total recurrent income $2,881,800

Recurrent Expenditure Tuition

Salaries; allowances and related expenses $2,031,341

Non salary expenses $647,572

Total recurrent expenditure $2,678,913

Capital income and expenditure Tuition

Government capital grants $0

Capital fees and levies $120,103

Other capital income $17,000

Total capital income $137,103

Total capital expenditure $190,374

Loans (includes refundable enrolment deposits and recurrent, capital and bridging loans) $50,625

Total opening balance $1,487,113

Total closing balance $1,630,595

Note that the information provided above does not include the following items: System levies charged to individual schools, intra-systemic transfers and diocesan supplementary capital fund (SCF) supported borrowings for primary schools. The information provided is not comparable with other educational sectors. This VRQA template is not comparable to the ACARA school-level income reporting requirements which are to be reported on the MySchool website. ACARA school level reporting requirements will require system level income from Government grants and some private income to be allocated by school. This will be a small adjustment in relation to the total level of school resources. At this stage, recurrent income from Government sources, school generated income and capital expenditure are to be reported by schools. Additionally when assessing the private income of the school include both recurrent and capital school fees.



Future Directions

In recent years, St Francis Xavier Primary school has seen many changes including a change in leadership and many new members of staff. Our teachers work in collaboration in an open plan contemporary learning environment to personalise the learning for all of our students. There has been a great focus on building teacher capacity through quality and ongoing professional development and we believe that this has directly contributed to an improvement in student learning and teaching practices. As a school we focus on developing our students’ social and emotional skills through Restorative Practices, the Circle Time strategy and Mindfulness. We value strong relationships between students, family and community based on respect, communication, forgiveness and learning.

Future improvement will focus on the way we continue to use assessment data to identify individual student needs and determine future learning and teaching. We will further develop a whole school based assessment schedule that will allow consistency in this area throughout the school. We will continue to refine our current practice of supported teacher planning; working in teams supported by members of leadership including intervention trained teachers and other ‘expert’ consultants. We will continue to support students at risk with various intervention programs, including Numeracy and Literacy, as well as provide support for our gifted students.

We will have a new capital building project. We will completely refurbish our central courtyard space and improvement of our central multipurpose learning space. The works will improve these spaces in line with our other contemporary learning spaces. We will create a modern passive play and community gathering space in the courtyard.

Proposed future courtyard space – James Deans & Associates



VRQA Compliance Data

E1288 St Francis Xavier School, Corio

PROPORTION OF STUDENTS MEETING THE MININUM STANDARDS

NAPLAN TESTS 2013

%

2014

%

2013–2014 Changes

%

2015

%

2014–2015 Changes

%

YR 03 Reading 96.0 88.9 -7.1 100.0 11.1

YR 03 Writing 100.0 97.2 -2.8 100.0 2.8

YR 03 Spelling 95.8 91.7 -4.1 100.0 8.3

YR 03 Grammar & Punctuation 95.8 97.2 1.4 100.0 2.8

YR 03 Numeracy 95.7 97.1 1.4 95.2 -1.9

YR 05 Reading 100.0 96.7 -3.3 96.4 -0.3

YR 05 Writing 92.0 96.7 4.7 96.4 -0.3

YR 05 Spelling 92.3 96.7 4.4 96.4 -0.3

YR 05 Grammar & Punctuation 92.3 96.7 4.4 85.7 -11.0

YR 05 Numeracy 81.5 90.0 8.5 88.9 -1.1



AVERAGE STUDENT ATTENDANCE RATE BY YEAR LEVEL %

Y01 94.35

Y02 92.13

Y03 94.13

Y04 91.01

Y05 95.27

Y06 91.94

Overall average attendance 93.14

TEACHING STAFF ATTENDANCE RATE

Teaching Staff Attendance Rate 95.47%

STAFF RETENTION RATE



Staff Retention Rate 84.21%

TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS

Doctorate 0.00%

Masters 8.33%

Graduate 16.67%

Certificate Graduate 8.33%

Degree Bachelor 100.00%

Diploma Advanced 25.00%

No Qualifications Listed 0.00%

STAFF COMPOSITION

Principal Class 2

Teaching Staff (Head Count)

22

FTE Teaching Staff

16.100

Non-Teaching Staff (Head Count)

14

FTE Non-Teaching Staff

10.762

Indigenous Teaching Staff

0

2015 annual report - st. francis xavier primary school 2015... · contemporary learning community...

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