2015 annual report to the school community maiden gully ...the school continued its development of...

Maiden Gully Primary School

2015 Annual Report to the School Community


School Number: 1592

John Brownstein

Name of School Principal:

David Richmond

Name of School Council President:

Date of Endorsement:

All Victorian government school teachers meet the registration requirements of the Victorian Institute of Teaching (www.vit.vic.edu.au).

This school meets prescribed minimum standards for registration as regulated by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) in accordance with the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, inclusive of those schools granted an exemption by the VRQA under the 'Student enrolment numbers' and/or 'Curriculum framework for schools - languages program' minimum standards until 31 December 2015.

http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/


About Our School

School Context

Maiden Gully Primary School is located seven kilometers west of the City of Bendigo in a delightful rural fringe environment. Maiden Gully is an identifiable community within a ‘growth corridor’. The school has a current enrolment of 586 students (April 2016). There are 38 teachers (including the Principal and Assistant Principal) and nine Educational Support staff. Student learning data shows that the school is performing above State average in Numeracy and Writing and on State average for Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation and Reading (2015 Year Three and Five NAPLAN results). The school Annual Implementation Plan articulated student learning goals for 2015. They were focused on supporting teacher practice to improve learning outcomes. The whole school focus on Literacy and Numeracy was supported by a Peer Coaching model, critical friends and the operation of professional learning teams. This sustained staff in embedding an explicit teaching model in Numeracy, staff approaches to guided reading, spelling, oral language and writing. These refined practices continued to drive the school's improvement in Literacy and Numeracy. Data tracking of student performance was refined with the use of the Student Mapping Tool. Student attendance continued to be a focus throughout the year, even though our attendance figures are better than the State average. We aimed to reduce unexplained absences and ensure children arrive on time. The school community continued its program of improving the school grounds and outdoor facilities for students. This included new areas of artificial turf laid down in the Foundation and Middle School areas of the yard, the provision of a new sandpit in the Junior Playground and the addition of new play equipment. The support of our Parents and Friends Committee and the school community through the schools voluntary levy has been crucial in completing these projects. The School commitment towards a mobile technology educational approach has been embedded with all students in Years Three to Six engaged in a 1:1 netbook program endeavoring to deliver continuous (anytime anywhere) educational opportunities for our students with increasing access to digital content and collaboration. The School continued its development of the Global project called New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NDPL) which will support the use of digital mediums to help support children with deeper learning experiences. Teaching teams have embedded Deeper Learning into the curriculum unit planning and design to enhance student engagement. Links with our Sister school (Xingwan) in China continue to connect our children to the wider world as we host students from Suzhou and each year we select student delegates to visit our Sister school in China. Our School Values of; Respect, Responsibility, Team Work and Community, form the basis for how we interact with and support each other to ensure we achieve enhanced social and academic outcomes for our children.

Achievement

2015 NAPLAN results show our School to be performing above well above State average in Numeracy and Writing, and on State average for Reading, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. This level of achievement is on par with like schools. We are striving to maintain our results in Numeracy and Writing, and bring our results in the other measures above state averages.

Key strategies to support academic improvement have included:

Peer Coaching Lyn Watts- Spelling and Grammar: Curriculum day, Investigating spelling programs and strategies for

implementation Implementation of High Reliability Literacy Teaching Practices (HRLTP) Use of an Explicit Teaching Model for Numeracy

Improved use of data and assessment programs such as Fountas and Pinnell understandings linked with HRLTP Netbooks and iPads in classrooms and the Computer Pod Literacy Support- Arrow Program


Speech support -SPAIDES program Prep Parent Information evening to help support early reading at home. Specialist Maths and Science Teaching project. This has involved three teachers to provide specialist coaching

and curriculum support for the enhancement of Numeracy across the School. The continuation of collegiate planning teams across all areas of the school.

The continued introduction of investigations and moderated rich assessment tasks that enable differentiation. Development of a sustainable whole school assessment schedule The inclusion of ICT in each unit of study in a Whole School Common Planner The use of ICT for Collaboration & Communication through online learning as part of our Deeper Learning

approach. Increased use of and connection to global communities and networks to support teaching and learning. eSmart Continue School 1 to 1 Netbook Program for Years 3 to 6 students – Year F-2 netbook lab and additional

netbooks for small group work in classrooms.

Review and Implement Digital Infrastructure Plan to support digital technology use Continued promotion and Home-School communication through the School website supported by social media

and the QKR App

While the School has achieved a solid performance overall there is still room to improve. The 2015 Staff Survey rated the school in the first quartile for Instructional Leadership, Academic Emphasis and Collective Focus on Student Learning. It seems there is an opportunity to provide a higher level of ‘academic press’ across the school. We look forward to improving staff recognition and of higher student performance, raising student expectations and seeing more student achieve high learning growth.

Engagement

The School has contintued to build staff capacity in the use of digital technologies, programs and pedagogy to engage and motivate motivate learners. Teaching teams have designed units of work that incoroprate NPDL strategies. Weekly student awards based on the School Values have been given out at assemblies with a focus on Resilience during the year. Explicit lessons on resilience have been delivered by classroom teachers. Student Social and Emotional Learning has been enhanced throught he use of various strategies such as circle time and restorative practices . The enhancement of the school grounds has continued through the development of an Outdoor Learning Environment. The Physical Environment Committee of School Council has raised funds for artificial turf, a new sand pit and many improvements to our vegetable garden centre to provide attractive outdoor learning spaces. The Ian Baker fitness track, that follows the perimiter of the school grounds, was completed following a generous grant and in kind support from Telstra. Leadership opportunities for students have been provided for Senior students in roles such as School Captains, House Captains, Student Government and Peer Mediators. The 2015 Parent Opinion Survey shows we are performing at or above state averages for all measures of student behaviour and student engagement with a steady or improving trend over the last three years. Parents General Satisfaction with the School was rated above State average. Parents rated Classroom Management in the fourth quartile but Behaviour Management in the second quartile. This indicates a need to review our student behavior management policy and procedures. Great student attendance has been celebrated in our weekly assemblies through the use of our ‘attendance puppets’ given to winning classes and the awarding of certificates to students showing outstanding attendance over a term. Students participated enthusiastically in a range of whole school events such as; school concerts, the School Fair, Cross Country Race and the Easter Hat Parade. These events were strongly supported by the school community.


The number of student absences in 2015 (14.24 days per student) was than in 2014 (11.40), but was better than State average (14.63). It should be noted that there was a very high rate of student illness in Term Three with a significant number of students diagnosed with whooping cough and influenza B. The number of days absent per student due to illness/medical reasons rose from 4.59 in 2014 to 7.19 in 2015. An average of three days absence per student remained unexplained. The annual Student Attitudes to School Survey (SATSS) results for 2015 showed that for Student Relationships (Classroom Behaviour, Connectedness to Peers and Student Safety) our School performed above State averages with all these measures in the third quartile. Students rated School Connectedness, Stimulating Learning, Teacher Effectiveness and Teacher Empathy all in third quartile and Learning Confidence and Student Motivation in the second quartile (below State average).

Wellbeing

2015 SATSS results showed measures of student wellbeing above State averages.

The School has employed a Student Wellbeing Officer for two days per week. Access Ministries was contracted to supply our Chaplain, which was funded through the Federal Government’s Chaplaincy Program. A change to Government policy meant we could no longer employ a welfare officer that was not a chaplain and that person lost their position in the School.

Regional school support services (speech therapist, psychologist and social worker) were accessed to support a number of students. Student support groups were established to support students with special needs and identified as being at significantly below expected academic standards. Individua Learning and Improvement Plans were implemented for these students. Staff continued the explicit teaching of our School Values using shared strategies and a common language across the school. The use of Circle Time was reviewed through staff learning sessions and the School’s anti-bullying strategy was embedded. This included the teaching of strategies such as; How to Name It, Role of Bystander and Three Parts To Sorry All classrooms were provided with Circle Time resources and Positive Behaviour & Emotional Intelligence Cards. Values and strategies were promoted through assemblies, the School Newsletter and parent forums. Students participated in a School designed student safety survey and the School’s Wellbeing Committee further developed strategies after analysing the survey results. Senior School students continued to be a part of the Prep Buddies Program, providing pastoral and academic support in Prep classes. They were also rostered on as Peer Mediators to assist with solving student issues in the yard during lunch and recess times. Transition efforts over the year included kindergarten visits, orientation days, information nights and student visits to local secondary schools. The school developed a stronger working relationship with Crusoe College over the year. The School maintained its eSmart accreditation through the teaching of smart, safe and responsible use of digital technologies. Other student wellbeing initiatives included:

Walk, Ride or Scoot to School Week activities

A House Points system to reward appropriate student behaviours.

A School Breakfast Program each Tuesday morning.

Planning curriculum units to include activities designed to strengthen students’ Inter-personal Development and Personal Learning skills.

Productivity


Maiden Gully Primary School continued to allocate resources to build staff capacity to enhance student learning outcomes. Analyses of school data was used to identify and be responsive to student needs. We continued to align our resources to achieve the targets set in the Strategic Plan and Annual Implementation Plan. Strategies to support improvement have been:

Enhancement of internal and external learning spaces.

Numerous grant applications and a sponsorship program are used to improve outdoor learning spaces.

Chinese language offered to Years 4-6 as opt in and all Year Prep-3 student having weekly lessons.

Staff Learning and Professional Learning Team meetings scheduled regularly and published to all staff.

The engagement and wellbeing strategies supported by staff and School Council Committee teams as well as specific programs.

Over the year savings were identified to employ a Literacy Intervention Teacher (0.6FTE) on a sustainable basis and to complete the roll out of projectors or large TV screens to all classrooms. The State Government was lobbied to provide funding for a school re-build. This culminated in a visit to the School by the Minister for Education and our local State MP.

For more detailed information regarding our school please visit our website at http://www


Performance Summary

The Government School Performance Summary provides an overview of how this school is contributing to the objectives of the Education State and how it compares to other Victorian government schools.

All schools work in partnership with their school community to improve outcomes for children and young people. Sharing this information with parents and the wider school community will help to deliver community engagement in student learning in the school, which is a state-wide priority of the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes.

School Profile

Enrolment Profile A total of 529 students were enrolled at this school in 2015, 277 female and 252 male. There were 0% of EAL (English as an Additional Language) students and 1% ATSI (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) students.

Overall Socio-Economic Profile Based on the school's Student Family Occupation index which takes into account parents' occupations.

Parent Satisfaction Summary Average level of parent satisfaction with the school, as derived from the annual Parent Opinion survey. The score is reported on a scale of 1 to 7, where 7 is the highest possible score.

School Staff Survey Measures the percent endorsement by staff on school climate derived from the annual School Staff survey. The percent endorsement indicates the percent of positive responses (agree or strongly agree) on school climate from staff at the school. Data are suppressed for schools with fewer than three respondents to the survey for confidentiality reasons.


Performance Summary

Achievement

Student Outcomes

School Comparison

Teacher Assessments from the Australian Curriculum/Victorian Essential Learning Standards (AusVELS) Percentage of students in Years Prep to 6 with a grade of C or above in:

English

Mathematics The grades are the same as those used in your child's end of year report. A 'C' rating means that a student is at the standard expected at the time of reporting.

Towards Foundation Level AusVELS is not used for the School Comparison.

Towards Foundation Level AusVELS Learning gain of students, relative to expectation in a year, for all students working within Towards Foundation Level AusVELS (AusVELS A to D).

Data will not be displayed where less than 10 student assessments were provided.


Performance Summary

Achievement

Student Outcomes

School Comparison

NAPLAN Year 3 The percentage of students in the top 3 bands of testing in NAPLAN at Year 3. Year 3 assessments are reported on a scale from Bands 1 - 6.

NAPLAN Year 5 The percentage of students in the top 3 bands of testing in NAPLAN at Year 5. Year 5 assessments are reported on a scale from Bands 3 - 8.


Performance Summary

Achievement

Student Outcomes

School Comparison

NAPLAN Learning Gain does not require a School Comparison.

NAPLAN Learning Gain Year 3 - Year 5 Learning gain of students from Year 3 to Year 5 in the following domains; Reading, Numeracy, Writing, Spelling and Grammar and Punctuation. NAPLAN learning gain is determined by comparing a student's current year result to the results of all ‘similar’ Victorian students (i.e. students in all sectors in the same year level who had the same score two years prior). If the current year result is in the top 25%, their gain level is categorised as ‘High’, middle 50%, is ‘Medium’ and bottom 25%, is ‘Low’.


Performance Summary

Engagement

Student Outcomes

School Comparison

Prep Yr1 Yr2 Yr3 Yr4 Yr5 Yr6

94 % 94 % 93 % 94 % 92 % 92 % 91 %

Average Number of Student Absence Days Average days absent per full time equivalent (FTE) student per year. Common reasons for non-attendance include illness and extended family holidays. Absence from school can impact on students’ learning. A school comparison rating of ‘lower’ indicates that the absence rate in this school is greater than what we would estimate, given the background characteristics of their students. Average 2015 attendance rate by year level:


Performance Summary

Wellbeing

Student Outcomes

School Comparison

Students Attitudes to School - Connectedness to School Measures the Connectedness to School factor derived from the Attitudes to School survey completed annually by Victorian government school students in Years 5 to 12. The school's average score is reported here on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest possible score.

Students Attitudes to School - Student Perceptions of Safety Measures the Student Perceptions of Safety factor derived from the Attitudes to School survey completed annually by

Victorian government school students in Years 5 to 12. The school's average score is reported here on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest possible score.


How to read the Performance Summary

What are student outcomes?

Student outcomes show the achievements of students in this school in English and Mathematics. They also show results in national literacy and numeracy tests and, for secondary colleges, the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) examinations. They provide important information about student attendance and engagement at school.

For secondary colleges, the Performance Summary also provides information about how many students at this school go on to further studies or full-time work after leaving school.

You can see these results for the latest year, as well as the average of the last four years (where available).

The Performance Summary also allows you to compare student outcomes for students at this school with the outcomes of students in all other Victorian government schools.

What is a School Comparison?

The School comparison is a way of comparing school performance that takes into account the different student intake characteristics of each school.

A School comparison takes into account the school’s academic intake, the socio-economic background of students, the number of Aboriginal students, the number of non-English speaking and refugee students, the number of students with a disability, and the size and location of the school.

The School comparison measures show that most schools are doing well and are achieving results that are ‘similar’ to what we would estimate given the background characteristics of their students. Some schools are doing exceptionally well with the students they have, and have ‘higher’ performance. Some schools have ‘lower’ performance after taking into account their students’ characteristics – these schools will receive targeted support to ensure that there is improvement.

Looking at both the student outcomes and school comparisons provides important information about what a school is doing well and the areas that require further improvement.

More information on school comparison performance measures can be found at: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/manage ment/pages/performreports.aspx

What is the meaning of ‘Data not available’?

For some schools, there are too few students to provide data. For other schools, there are no students at some levels, so school comparisons are not possible. Newly opened schools have only the latest year of data and no averages from previous years. The Department also recognises the unique circumstances of Specialist, Select Entry, English Language and Community Schools where school comparisons are not appropriate.

What is this school doing to improve?

All schools have a plan to improve outcomes for their students. The ‘About Our School’ statement provides a summary of this school’s improvement plan.

Additionally, NAPLAN learning gain charts are provided for each of the NAPLAN domains. These compare a student's current year NAPLAN result to the results of all ‘similar’ Victorian students (i.e. students in all sectors in the same year level who had the same NAPLAN score two years prior).

If the current year result is in the top 25% their gain level is categorised as ‘High’, the middle 50% is categorised as ‘Medium’ and the bottom 25% is categorised as ‘Low’.

Results for students working within Towards Foundation Level AusVELS (AusVELS A-D) show the percentages of these students making progress below, at and above the expectations of their schools.

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/management/pages/performreports.aspxhttp://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/management/pages/performreports.aspx


Financial Performance and Position

Financial Performance - Operating Statement Summary for the year ending 31 December, 2015

Financial Position as at 31 December, 2015

Revenue

Actual

Funds Available Actual

High Yield Investment Account $14,992

Official Account $27,092

Total Funds Available $42,084

Student Resource Package

$3,487,144

Government Provided DET Grants $347,303

Government Grants Commonwealth $3,597

Revenue Other $70,487

Locally Raised Funds $605,524

Total Operating Revenue

$4,514,056

Expenditure

Financial Commitments

Operating Reserve $21,798

Asset/Equipment Replacement < 12 months $5,000

Revenue Receipted in Advance $1,604

School Based Programs $13,682

Total Financial Commitments $42,084

Student Resource Package

$3,495,415

Books & Publications $8,337

Communication Costs $8,583

Consumables $59,961

Miscellaneous Expense $201,175

Professional Development $18,691

Property and Equipment Services $278,469

Salaries & Allowances $272,166

Trading & Fundraising $138,489

Travel & Subsistence $3,376

Utilities $35,788

Total Operating Expenditure

$4,520,450

Net Operating Surplus/-Deficit

($6,394)

Asset Acquisitions

$0

Student Resource Package Expenditure figures are as of 21 March 2016 and are subject to change during the reconciliation process. Misc Expenses may include bank charges, health and personal development, administration charges, camp/excursion costs and taxation charges. Salaries and Allowances refers to school-level payroll.

All funds received from the Department, or raised by the school, have been expended, or committed to subsequent years, to support the achievement of educational outcomes and other operational needs of the school, consistent with Department policies, School Council approvals and the intent/purposes for which funding was provided or raised.

Financial performance and position commentary

[Insert financial commentary here]

2015 annual report to the school community maiden gully ...the school continued its development of...

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