Annual School Report - Home - Elands Public School · Web view2010 Annual School Report Elands Public School NSW Public Schools – Leading the way Our school at a glance Students

NSW Department of Education & Training 1824

2010 Annual School ReportElands Public School

NSW Public Schools – Leading the way

Our school at a glance

StudentsThe enrolment of our school at the end of 2010 was 19 students 7 boys and 12 girls. There were two class groups for the morning and middle sessions. The second class group was supplemented by Priority Schools Program (PSP).

StaffIn 2010 we had a full time teaching principal. Additional casual staff were employed for the intensive numeracy and literacy program for targeted students.

All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.

Significant programs and initiativesDuring 2010 the school was included in Priority Schools Program (PSP) and Low SES National Partnership Program.

Messages

Principal’s messageThe school is isolated by a gravel road that links the village with Wingham. The community is diverse with a mixture of farming families and people engaging in alternate lifestyles. There is a culture of strong community involvement with the school a focal point within the community. The school is a one teacher PP6. Whilst the overall population of Elands remains reasonably constant, the demographics are changing; students are aging and passing through primary onto high school with very few younger families replacing them. Data indicates that student numbers at Elands will level out in a couple of years at around ten students.

I certify that the information in this report is the result of a rigorous school self-evaluation process and is a balanced and genuine account of the school’s achievements and areas for development.

Kay Crossman

P & C and/or School Council message

The Elands Public School P&C Association continues to provide a forum for parents and community members to have input into the school. Of the previous years executive members, both Ian Barker and Kerri Hames served as Treasurer and Secretary respectively for the first term of the school year. Robert Butler continued as President during the year.

The P&C acted as a venue for discussion of various school issues such as school start times, sports activities, and excursion planning.

The school canteen continued to operate very successfully during 2010.

The P & C had some input during the year into the construction phase of the new classroom under the Federal Government's BER program.

A new executive for 2011 was elected towards the end of the year, comprising Sandra Kwa as President, Jane Watson as Secretary and Marie Lowe as Treasurer.

Robert ButlerPresident (2010)Elands Public School P&C

Student representative’s message

2010 was a busy year with many excursions, performances, gala days and other different activities and changes within the school.

We participated in the Myuna Bay senior camp with Bobin senior students. We were accompanied by a Bobin and Elands teacher and there was also a teacher aide. Some of the high lights were the giant swing, kayaking, BMX bike riding and archery.

Rugby, hockey, cricket and soccer gala days, these days were enjoyed by all students and many new skills were learnt.

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Life skills with Bobin, was fun and we had many activities to choose from. We made chapatti, did art and craft and were shown how to make sausages.

Life Skills with Bobin PS

Science excursion to Crowdy Head was fantastic K/1/2/3 all enjoyed that fun filled day. Some of the activities were sport games, writing, and whale watching and mixing with other people we have never met. The view of the beach was fantastic.

The building of the new classroom has become a big part of the school this year. Finally, it’s nearly complete.

Swimming in term 4 has been excellent for the students who are less confident in water and has also been good for the students that are confident swimming because they have been able to improve their skills.

An interactive smart board was purchased for the senior classroom. It has become a handy and helpful learning source for all subjects. Since we have had the smart board the senior students have excelled in all areas.

We continued with a stage 3 classroom and the stage 3 students have yet again improved dramatically well.

A guest speaker visited the senior class to talk about refugees, we students learnt lots of new things about refugees and it helped us construct our persuasion text.

Some of the productions we saw were Blue Back (some Elands students participated in), Wombat Stew and Erth dinosaur petting zoo.

Neisha Lowe Year 6 and Jai Harrison Year 6

School context

Student informationIt is a requirement that the reporting of information for all students must be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

In 2009 Elands Public School began with an enrolment of 16 students. Five students enrolled during the year with two leaving. Six year six students will finish this year and one kindergarten student will be arriving in 2011.

Student enrolment profile

Student Enrolment

2006

2007 2008 2009 2010

Male 12 6 5 6 7Female 11 6 5 6 12

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Student attendance profile

The attendance rate at Elands Public School falls below state average. Due to the isolation our families usually take an entire day during the week to access regular family matters such as shopping, medical appointments, and other services.

Year 2007 2008 2009 2010School K 94.7 91.5 1 na 93.6 2 92.1 83.8 3 94.4 84.0 4 80.8 86.7 5 84.3 86.2 6 87.4 89.5 Total 92.2 87.7 89.0 88.1Region K 92.5 93.4 1 92.3 93.2 2 92.4 93.3 3 92.6 93.2 4 92.6 93.3 5 92.4 93.2 6 92.2 92.9 Total 93.3 92.8 90.1 93.2State DET K 94.3 94.7 1 93.7 94.2 2 94.0 94.4 3 94.1 94.5 4 94.0 94.5 5 94.0 94.4 6 93.6 94.0 Total 94.0 94.1 92.1 94.4

Management of non-attendance

Student attendance is a priority at our school. Regular communication with families is a key management technique used to manage attendance.

Parents are encouraged to find alternate arrangements to accommodate family matters. The school continues to address this priority.

Class sizes

In March 2003 the Government announced its commitment to publish primary class sizes in annual school reports in order to provide parents with as much local information as possible.

The following table shows our class sizes as reported at the 2010 class size audit conducted on Wednesday 17 March 2010.

Roll Class

Year Total per Year

Total in Class

K-6 K 1 16K-6 1 2 16K-6 2 1 16K-6 3 3 16K-6 4 2 16K-6 5 1 16K-6 6 6 16

Structure of classes

Two classrooms ran this year. Years K/1/2/3/4 were taught in one class and Years 5 and 6 were taught in a second class for both the morning and middle sessions. The classes were joined for afternoon lessons. The second class was funded using PSP supplementary funding. Using PSP funding we have also been able to provide individual attention to students not meeting expected outcomes for their cohort.

Staff informationIt is a requirement that the reporting of information for all staff must be consistent with privacy and personal information policies

Ms Kay Crossman was Principal in 2010. Mrs Lynda Cowley and Ms Andrian Sheahan have supported the school through providing Release from Face to Face (RFF), intensive numeracy and

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literacy programs and class split for literacy and numeracy sessions.

Staff establishmentPosition NumberPrincipal 1.0Classroom Teachers 0.084Teacher of release from Race to Face (RFF) 0.042

Primary PSP funding 0.1Support Teacher Learning Assistance 0.1Teacher Librarian 0.084Total 1.41

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.

Qualifications % of staffDegree or Diploma 100Postgraduate 100

Financial summaryThis summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance. The school is in a strong financial position. The

school was awarded funding through the Federal Government’s Building the Education Revolution (BER) program. This funding has been used to construct a permanent classroom during 2010. The classroom should be complete and operational in Term 1, 2011.

A full copy of the school’s 2010 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the School Council and/or the parent body. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance 2010

AchievementsArts

Apart from normal lessons in the Arts, the following were notable activities;

Erth’s Petting Zoo performance Blue Back Performance at MEC

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Life skills days at Bobin and Elands. Tradional Dance Day at Bobin

Sport

Swimming carnival with Bobin and Mount George

Hockey Gala Day Rugby Union Gala Day Zone Cross Country Small School Athletics Carnival

Swimming 2010

Other

The school has provided a variety of extra-curricula activities for students with following worth noting;

Students participated in an outreach Library program with the assistance of Greater Taree City Council.

Students participated in the ICAS Maths, English, Writing and Spelling Tests.

Students participated in the Australian Maths Competition.

Academic

Literacy – NAPLAN Year 3

Because of the low cohort no significant data was available.

Numeracy – NAPLAN Year 3


Literacy – NAPLAN Year 5


Numeracy – NAPLAN Year 5


Community support for science lessons

Significant programs and initiativesAboriginal education

Students participated in NAIDOC celebration with students from Bobin. Buudja Marrung Bush Tucker Catering were engaged and conducted cultural workshops provided a bush tucker morning tea and lunch for students, staff and community members. This day was also the culmination of a whole school HSIE program “Then and Now” which was delivered to students from both Elands and Bobin schools. The program had an intensive language component and investigated aboriginal culture from both a past and present perspective.

Multicultural education

The school promotes positive multicultural attitudes and throughout the year students were involved with languages including French and German.

Respect and responsibility

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The students’ main areas of respect and responsibility were towards looking after the environment, respecting different life styles and tolerance towards each other. It is planned to further develop this in 2011 through a strong sense of community.

National partnership programs

The school has been involved in the Low SES National Partnerships program during 2010 and it will continue in 2011. This program has assisted teachers in the development of their skills and professional learning to improve teaching quality. The principal and class teacher were trained in Accelerated Literacy and Interactive Whiteboard Technology during 2010.

Connected learning

Elands school will have access to connected learning resources when the new classroom being constructed under the BER program is completed during 2011.

Other programs

Priority Schools Programs (PSP) enabled the school to focus a literacy and numeracy through the use of extra Teacher time, Teachers Aid time and extra resources.

A special program of hands on Science ran in Term 2 through skills provided by Community Members.

Music and Drama programs were run in Term 2 through skills provided by Community Members.

Music led by community members

Progress on 2010 targetsTarget 1

To improve student performance in spelling to match stage appropriate syllabus standards

Our achievements include:

programs reflecting Quality Teaching practices;

participation of all teachers in Accelerated Literacy professional learning

implementation of Accelerated Literacy strategies in all classrooms.

student improvement in spelling evident by school based assessment.

Target 2

To improve student performance in Numeracy to match stage appropriate syllabus standards.


implementation of a mathematics program that encourages individual progression and student engagement, with a focus on the teaching learning cycle

improvement in numeracy reflected through school based assessment – particularly in the area of literacy in numeracy, multi-step word problems

use of a variety of mathematical activities to reinforce mathematical skills.

participation of parents in numeracy workshops.

Target 3

Improve teaching skill and leadership capabilities of staff


all teachers accredited with the NSW Institute of Teachers

principal involved in Collegial Leadership Network of Teaching Principals

increased contact with parents and community

Key evaluationsIt is a requirement for all NSW public schools to conduct at least two annual evaluations – one

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related to educational and management practice and the other related to curriculum.

Educational and management practice

Student and Community Engagement

Background

Parents and care givers completed surveys seeking information on community engagement within the school. Twenty two questions were presented. A second survey seeking information regarding the quality of the school was completed. Twenty questions were presented. This was followed by a question regarding the most successful things the community and school do together to improve student learning outcomes. Lastly a question regarding things that the school and community could do better to improve students’ learning outcomes was presented.

Findings and conclusions

100% indicated that they felt welcomed in the school.

100% believe that this is a school where members of the community are regularly invited to meet with school leaders.

83% indicated that learning activities connect students to family and community contexts.

100% agree that information about student leaning is shared between home and school.

100% agree that parents and carers are encouraged to be involved in their child’s learning.

100% agree the school takes parent and carers concerns seriously.

83% agree that the school values parent and carer help and interest in school activities.

100% agree that teachers care if my child is not doing as well as he/she can.

100% agree that the school has a safe and secure environment.

Future directions

Parents indicated that individual pupil’s needs are catered for, each student works at their own level and are monitored regularly regarding their progress. Teachers regularly “update” themselves

as to best and latest practice with regards to literacy and numeracy which they then pass onto pupils. Teachers do not “give up” on pupils. If one method doesn’t work others are tried. These points were noted as some of the successful things that the school and community do together to improve students’ learning outcomes.

Parents indicated, that more parental/community involvement in regular classroom activities to enable different stages to get individual attention and more invitations to school community to participate in open days and “showing off” by pupils, are things that the school and community could do better to improve student learning outcomes.

Visit to Crowdy Head PS

Curriculum

Numeracy

Background

Students, parents and staff completed a Numeracy survey seeking information relating to how they viewed Numeracy lessons. Sixteen questions were presented covering areas such as the quality of the learning environment, learning styles and the importance of each subject.

Findings and conclusions

100% of staff indicated confidence in teaching Mathematics and that they hold high expectations that all students will succeed in numeracy.

100% of staff agreed that the school uses data from NAPLAN to inform whole school strategies

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100% of staff indicated that their teaching programs included a range of strategies to explicitly address students’ numeracy needs.

100% give explicit feedback to students about what they are doing well and how to improve their numeracy skills.

100% believed the professional learning provided for me at this school in the teaching of numeracy skills meets my needs.

94% of students indicated Mathematics was an important subject to learn

100% of students believed that their teacher, school and parents expected them to do well in Mathematics.

88% of students believed that the activities teachers planned helped them learn.

100% of students identified that teachers clearly explain what they will be assessed on in tests and assessments.

100% of students identified they knew what they were learning and why

94% of students are aware of what they need to do to improve their results.

89% of students indicated teachers find a variety of ways to help them understand mathematics

Future directions

Provide opportunities for parents, staff and community to share information about planned activities with the school in order for the school to link learning outcomes to them.

Develop programming techniques which allow for the individual need of students through differentiation.

Investigate ways of encouraging parental/community involvement in regular classroom activities.

Parent, student, and teacher satisfactionIn 2010 the school sought the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school.

Their responses are presented below.

Through surveys, parent meetings and general observations there was evidence of satisfaction

with the general management of the school, academic performance and communication between school and the community.

Parents indicated that more parental/community involvement in classroom activities would assist students to gain more individual attention.

Students indicated positive opinions about school and the community involvement in their learning.

Professional learningStaff were involved in the following courses:

Aboriginal Policy Conference – Closing the Gap

New Scheme Teachers Accelerated Literacy Finance and Rollover Mathematics Planning and Programming North Coast Quality Teaching conference Effective Literacy Teaching Principals Program Anti Racism ICT in Numeracy Team Leadership for School

Improvement Prioritising Grammar

School development 2009 – 2011

Targets for 2011

Target 1To improve student performance in spelling to match stage appropriate syllabus standards

Strategies to achieve this target include:

Teachers to use Accelerated Literacy strategies in literacy programs.

Investigate then implement a process of tracking student results to assist with development of student specific teaching/learning programs.

Teaching /Learning programs provide evidence of explicit teaching of strategies to learn spelling,

Lesson study by teachers to ensure elements of Quality Teaching is embedded in teaching/learning programs.

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Resources provided to support implementation of individual intervention strategies

Train a staff member in Prioritising Grammar

Collegial visits for all staff to observe and investigate best practice techniques in other Low SES National Partnership Schools

Investigate ways of increasing volunteer participation in spelling lessons to involve, explain and demonstrate current spelling practices to parents and community members.

Our success will be measured by:

Teachers to cooperatively plan for Accelerated Literacy sessions

Sourcing of tracking system and assessment tasks for student spelling results.

Development and implementation of explicit teaching/learning programs across all stages.

Professional learning for teachers to assist with development of uniformed programming across stages.

Completion of regular lesson studies.

100% staff using Electronic Whiteboards during Literacy lessons, complimented with intensive and rigorous PL in use of WB

Community Volunteers involved in spelling lessons. To assist them in understanding and providing opportunities for them to learn strategies to assist their children’s learning.

Target 2To improve student performance in Numeracy to match stage appropriate syllabus standards with a focus on number and multi-step word problems.


Teachers to maintain use of NAPLAN teaching strategies in teaching/learning programs.

Investigate then implement a process of tracking student results to assist with

development of student specific teaching/learning programs.

Teaching /learning programs provide evidence of teaching/learning Cycle driving Numeracy planning, implementation and assessment

Lesson study by teachers to ensure elements of Quality Teaching is embedded in teaching/learning programs.

Investigate ways of increasing volunteer participation in numeracy lessons to involve, explain and demonstrate current numeracy practices to parents and community members.

Collegial visits for all staff to observe and investigate best practice techniques in other Low SES National Partnership Schools

Development of literacy in numeracy across teaching/learning programs to enhance students ability to solve multi step word problems


Completion of regular lesson studies.

Sourcing of tracking system and assessment tasks for student spelling results.

Evaluation of teaching/learning programs using elements of Quality Teaching

Teacher’s attendance at PL for numeracy specifically involving literacy in numeracy content.

Community Volunteers involved in numeracy lessons. To assist them in understanding and providing opportunities for them to learn strategies to assist their children’s learning.

Staff attendance at other schools. Sourcing of best practice techniques.

Target 3

Improve teaching skill and leadership capabilities of staff


Demonstrate a progression in leadership capabilities with the School Leadership Capability Framework

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Principal and staff to participate in Team Leadership Program with other small schools

Use team leadership strategies to enhance school planning in 2012

Mentoring and collegial support for Principal by other local Principals and SED.


Staff increase their position within the School Leadership Capability Framework

Completion of modules around team leadership

Formulation of leadership team with a focus on teachers as leaders.

About this reportIn preparing this report, the self-evaluation committee has gathered information from evaluations conducted during the year and analysed other information about the school's practices and student learning outcomes. The self-evaluation committee and school planning committee have determined targets for the school's future development.

Kay Crossman- Principal

Andrina Sheahan- Teacher

Lynda Cowley- Teacher

Maree Lowe- Parent Representative

School contact information

Elands Public School

192 Glenwarrin Road Elands 2429

Ph: 02 6550 4557

Fax: 02 6550 4412

Email: [email protected]

Web: http://www.elands-p.schools.nsw.edu.au

School Code: 1824

Parents can find out more information about Annual School Reports, how to interpret information in the reports and have the opportunity to provide feedback about these reports at:

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/asr

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