2016 woodstock public school annual report - cloud … · woodstock public school annual report...

Woodstock Public SchoolAnnual Report

2016

3499

Printed on: 17 May, 2017 of 12 Woodstock Public School 3499 (2016)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2016 is provided to the community of <Woodstock Public School as an account of the school'soperations and achievements throughout the year.

It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities forall students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self–assessment that reflect the impact of keyschool strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equityfunding.

Vanessa Williams

Principal

School contact details

Woodstock Public SchoolParkes StWoodstock, 2793www.woodstock-p.schools.nsw.edu.auwoodstock-p.School@det.nsw.edu.au6345 0217

Message from the Principal

At Woodstock Public School, we are preparing students for a complex, rapidlychanging world. When we first see ourkindergarten students we see a product of the first five years of life, moulded and driven by their home life andexperiences. None of these experiences are the same yet expectations are that they will all learn to read and write andcount at the same time and to the same standard. Our education system requires us to report on students’ results, andthat due to the nature of our enormous system, it is quite a narrow focus on the basics of reading, writing and numeracy.That's our accountability, but to be active and informed citizens who make the most of the opportunities that this futurewill present, they will need to be active and successful learners throughout their lives. We have an obligation to inspirestudents to develop a lifelong love of learning. An important part of this is ensuring that all students have the basic skillsto be active and informed participants in Australian society.

To be confident and creative individuals, our students will need to be agile thinkers who can adapt to a world that is everchanging. This means that we need to prepare students for a world where technology will play an increasing role.

Just as importantly, we must build resilience in our students by supporting their physical and emotional development.

The world that our students will grow into will be more global and interconnected. Australia will continue to develop as avibrant multicultural society. We must support and encourage our students to embrace all of the opportunities that thiswill bring.

In all of these activities, we will only be successful if we engage effectively with our local community. We must beprepared to participate in the life of the local community and to draw on the strengths and capabilities of the localcommunity to support our mission.


School background

School vision statement

At Woodstock Public School we are committed to creating a learning environment that is inclusive for all students andfosters collaboration between staff, students, parents and the wider school community.

Every student has the opportunity to achieve their personal best through engaged, active learning in a safe, respectfuland supportive school.

School context

Woodstock is a small village, population 300, located 25 kilometres north–west of Cowra. The school receives strongsupport from the local community and community involvement in school activities is a feature. Currently there are 22students (K– 6) from a diverse range of backgrounds including 35% Aboriginal.

Our school motto is " In knowledge we grow" and the community see that they are a vital part in contributing to thechildren's overall education.

The school operates teaching and learning programs for K–6 students and caters for the broad socio–economicbackgrounds of its students with considerable parent contribution through a very active P&C Association. The studentsare enthusiastic learners who relate well with each other and enjoy the benefits of the Home/School Partnership andinteracting with the broader School Community. Individual and small group learning programs operate with experienced,dedicated staff.

The school has a magnificent, well equipped 3 station’ kitchen, as part of our Stephanie Alexander Kitchen GardenProgram, a dedicated Music building with a range of instruments and every classroom has an interactive Smartboardwhich is used as a teaching tool to enhance quality teaching and learning.

The school also provides many opportunities for its students in the areas of sport, excursions, leadership and extracurricula activities through Video Conferencing (with other schools and virtual excursions) personal tutoring and coachingprograms as well as visiting performers.


Self-assessment and school achievement

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework,school achievements and the next steps to be pursued.

This year, our school undertook self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework. The framework supportspublic schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practiceacross the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

During 2016 staff at Woodstock Public School discussed the School Excellence Framework and its implications forinforming, monitoring and validating our journey of school excellence. At one of the School Development Days in Term 4we examined the school plan to determine the elements of the School Excellence Framework that the school plan moststrongly addressed. Staff discussions looked at the progress being made across the school based on the expectationsidentified in the School Excellence Framework

In the domain of Learning our school primarily focussed on Wellbeing, Curriculum and Learning. Creating a positive andproductive learning culture amongst staff and students has helped build a culture of trust and respect and increased theengagement of all students in the learning process. Attention to individual learning needs has been another componentof our progress throughout the year. Students with high learning needs are being identified early and their parents areincreasingly involved in planning and supporting the learning directions for them.

Our major focus in the domain of Teaching has been on collaborative practice for staff members including planning,programming,teaching and learning as a team. Changes in teacher practice, including the use of technology, dataanalysis, classroom observations, feedback and syllabus knowledge, has resulted in increased levels of student learningand engagement. Staff members are developing evidence based practice through their reflections and evaluations oftheir work and the work of their colleagues.

In the domain of Leading, we looked at leadership and management practices and processes across our school. Theconsistency and effectiveness of implementation of our key strategic directions throughout the year has been due to astrong foundation of leadership capacity building across the school

The new approach to school planning, supported by the new funding model to schools, is making a major difference toour progress as a school. Our self assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in ourschool plan leading to further improvements in the delivery of education to our students.

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:

http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about–the–department/our–reforms/school–excellence–framework


Strategic Direction 1

Literacy. The school is committed to develop students that are engaged in an innovative, strategic and relevant Englishprogram.

Purpose

To improve student learning outcomes in all areas of Literacy and assist students to reach their full potential through thedevelopment and delivery of consistent, high quality teaching practice aligned to the Australian National Curriculum.

Overall summary of progress

Throughout 2016 we have continually improved the Learning and Support team processes in order to monitor and planstudent progress in Literacy. The early identification and intervention of individual support needs for identified studentshas been improved due to the processes the Learning and Support team have put in place and the collaborativepractices between staff and parents when writing Individual Education Plans for students.

Student engagement has improved as a result of more intensive instruction and the purchase of additional PM Readers.Students are developing a greater love of reading due to the variety of additional readers they can choose from. A steadyimprovement is evident through tracking on PLAN and through detailed analysis of EAfS Data. Individual student growthwas evident in NAPLAN testing this year in Literacy results between Year3 to Year 5.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year Funds Expended(Resources)

Improved student engagement inLiteracy activities.

Students received more intensive instruction inLiteracy by the formation of two classes 3 days aweek (K–2 and Y3–6), this resulted in greaterstudent engagement.

Global Funding, Staffingentitlement A portion ofAboriginal backgroundFunding. EAfS $18200

.

Improved results in NAPLAN andschool assessments in Literacy.

The purchase of additional new PM Readers hascontinued to encourage a love of reading in allstudents and improved student engagement.

EAfS $2500

Individual student growth isevident in NAPLAN Literacyresults between Year 3 – 5 (forIndigenous and non–Indigenousstudents).

Individual student growth was evident in NAPLANLiteracy between Year 3–5 for all students.

Quality Program Developmentand alignment with the NationalAustralian Curriculum in Literacy.

PLAN software is being used to generate reportsand all programs align with the National AustralianCurriculum. There has been somesteady improvements displayed through tracking onPLAN and through detailed analysis of EAfS Data.

Professional Learning andemployment of InstructionalLeader to support EAfSinitiative

Next Steps

The school will continue to employ a second teacher to enable the provision of more intensive instruction to targeted yeargroups as well as individuals in Literacy. The School learning Support Officer role will support the classroom teachersand create individual programs under the guidance of the Learning and Support Team.

There will be a continued focus on Literacy, particularly Reading, Comprehension and Writing to continue to improve theLiteracy Learning Outcomes.

The use of the Data Wall and Continuum mapping using the PLAN data software will be continued to plot student growthand increased to include Year 3 students in 2017. Students in Year 2–6 will also be mapped using PAT R Testing as wellas NAPLAN results to see if we are achieving the Premier's Priorities for Numeracy achievement.



Numeracy. The school is committed to develop students that are engaged in an innovative, strategic and relevantMathematics program.

Purpose

To improve student learning outcomes in all areas of Numeracy and assist students to reach their full potential inmathematics through the development and delivery of consistent, high quality teaching practice aligned to the AustralianNational Curriculum.


In 2016 all teaching staff participated in professional development on the implementation of the NSW AustralianCurriculum and cross–referencing to the Numeracy Continuum to more effectively utilise PLAN software.

The use of data (both NAPLAN and school based assessments) has resulted in collaborative programs that are reflectiveof the learning needs of students.

Under the Early Action for Success Initiative the statistics data gathered about student growth has demonstrated thatsome students are not showing the amount of growth we expected.

The purchase of new Maths resources for the infants classroom, including Maths Box, and the continual access toMathletics made available to all students has greatly improved student engagement in this area.




Improved student engagement inNumeracy activities.

Students received more intensive instruction inNumeracy by the formation of two classes 3 days aweek (K–2 and Y3–6). This resulted in greaterstudent engagement.

As per SD1.

Improved results in NAPLAN andschool assessments in Numeracy(both formative and summative).

The purchase of new Numeracy resources,including Maths Boxes, has dramatically improvedstudent engagement.

EAfS $1680.00

Individual student growth isevident in NAPLAN Numeracyresults between Year 3 – 5 (forIndigenous and non–Indigenousstudents).

There has been a steady improvement shownthrough tracking on PLAN and detailed analysis ofEAfS Data in Numeracy.

Professional Learning andemployment of InstructionalLeader to support EAfSinitiative.

Next Steps

The school will continue to employ a second teacher to enable the provision of more intensive instruction to targeted yeargroups as well as individuals in Numeracy. The School learning Support Officer role will continue to support theclassroom teachers and create individual programs that incorporate Numeracy outcomes under the guidance of theLearning and Support Team.

We have identified that Measurement and Data and Money and Financial Mathematics will need to be a continual focusin Numeracy in our classrooms in 2017. We are continually looking for new ways to improve students' skills in theseareas. These will be introduced in 2017 and students will be mapped using PAT N Testing as well as NAPLAN results tosee if we are achieving the Premier's Priorities for Numeracy achievement.



Community. The school is committed to develop community partnerships that foster engagement, participation andpositive learning environments.

Purpose

To create a positive learning environment where everyone works together, as a learning community, to give our studentsthe knowledge, skills and experiences to achieve their personal goals and lead successful lives in the21st Century.


In 2016 our school continued to thrive in developing and consolidating community engagement and attendance at schoolevents. We again had a ‘full house’ at both the Easter Hat Parade and Easter Activities Day and our Annual PresentationNight. We received very positive feedback from the community in regards to our Book Week activities where staff andstudents dressed up as their favourite book character. Our school hosted the Camp Quality Tractor Trek on its journeythrough the Central West in September 2016. Our whole school community, students and teachers from schools in theCowra District and the heritage Schools District as well as local community members from Cowra andWoodstock participated in activities involving Carewest, Cowra Information and Neighbourhood Centre, Cowra AECGand the Emergency Services (Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance). Community relationships with our school has beenenhanced through this engagement and attendance at this event. Our school is always represented at the local AECGmeetings, the Woodstock Progress Association, Woodstock Bowling Club meetings and other local community meetings.




Student engagement andachievement.

Student engagement programs such as the Musicand Band and the Stephanie Alexander KitchenGarden Programs both received 100% positivefeedback from students. School attendance levelswere 93.9% – just below the state average of 94%for 2016.

A portion of AboriginalBackground Funding

A portion ofSocio–EconomicBackground Funding

Whole school Scope andSequences align with theAustralian National Curriculum.

Staff have developed whole school Scope andSequences for Science, History and Geographythat align with the National Curriculum.

No additional cost involved.

Community engagement andattendance.

Students were involved in a number of programswith other schools in the LVLC area, including theEisteddfod, sporting carnivals, ANZAC Day March,Friday Sport at WBC, Camp Quality Tractor Trekand the Olympic Day organised through Be SkilledBe Fit. Our Stage 3 students also attended theNational Young Leaders Conference in Sydney withother students from the Heritage schools inBlayney.

Global funds $420

The school accesses communityfacilities for a variety ofcurriculum and extracurriculumactivities.

Woodstock PS students have been able to accessa number of local facilities for activities including thelocal swimming pool, the Woodstock Bowling Cluband the Woodstock Memorial Hall.

No charge for use ofcommunity facilities.

Strengthening of relationshipsand connections with the AECGand involvement with localAboriginal activities.

The Principal has attended as many meetings ofthe local AECG as possible and is currently trying tosource a teacher to enable the students to learn theWiradjuri language.

No additional cost involved.


Next Steps

Community and student engagement and support are vital to the success of our small school and assist in building apositive school culture.

We will continue our involvement in community events e.g. ANZAC Day March, Cowra Eisteddfod, Woodstock CWACountry of Study and the Festival of International Understanding.

Continue to explore the possibility of employing a teacher to enable the students to learn the local Aboriginal language,Wiradjuri.

Seek out opportunities to assist all students to strive for and achieve their personal best.

Maintain the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program.


Key Initiatives Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Aboriginal background loading Individual Education Plans were created forall identified students after consultation withstudents, parents and school staff. Allstudents are making progress across theliteracy and numeracy continuums and IEPsare reviewed regularly. Attendance rates forAboriginal students continue to improve andall students participated regularly in theweekly music program and kitchen gardenprogram.

Aboriginal BackgroundLoading($13 642.00)

Low level adjustment for disability Meetings were organised with students,parents/carers, classroom teachers and theLearning and Support Teacher to ensure athorough process of support was available forstudents. All stakeholders were engaged inthe Learning and Support needs of identifiedstudents.

Low Level Adjustment forDisability($13 111.00)

Socio–economic background Weekly music lessons were conductedengaging students in the art of music.Students learnt to play individual instruments,play as a band and sing as a choir.Attendance rates are very close to stateaverage. Weekly Kindergarten Transitionsessions from Term 2 to W8 Term 4 allowedfor a smooth introduction to the school and itsfacilities as well as a link to support networksfor new families. Feedback received fromthese programs was very positive.

Socio EconomicBackground($16 913.00)

Early Action for Success An Instructional Leader was allocated to ourschool and worked directly with the K–2teacher to identify and provide teacherprofessional development and classroombased coaching. The K–2 classroom teachercontinually monitored student achievementusing the Literacy and Numeracy Continuumsand PLAN data. All students showed growthacross most 5 week assessment blocks.

Early Action for Success$23 077


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2013 2014 2015 2016

Boys 9 16 10 13

Girls 5 8 8 7

Enrolments have remained fairly static since 2014.

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

K 97.1 97.6 96.7 92.3

1 96.8 97.8 98.9

2 77.1 93.2 98 93.5

3 92.4 93.4 95.3

4 100 95.5 96.7 94.1

5 100 96.3 86

6 83.3 90.2 92.3 94.6

All Years 90.8 95.5 96.3 93.9

State DoE

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016

K 95 95.2 94.4 94.4

1 94.7 93.8 93.9

2 94.7 94.9 94 94.1

3 94.8 94.1 94.2

4 94.7 94.9 94 93.9

5 94.8 94 93.9

6 94.1 94.2 93.5 93.4

All Years 94.7 94.8 94 94

Management of non-attendance

Non Attendance is managed by following our SchoolAttendance Policy. Parents are contacted by staff if astudent is not in attendance and no notification hasbeen received from family after two days absence.Most absences are reported to the school by telephoneor by Private Message to the Principal. An absenteeform is then filled in by staff and recorded in the schoolroll.

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Classroom Teacher(s) 0.13

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.1

Teacher Librarian 0.08

School Administration & SupportStaff

0.8

Other Positions 0.1

*Full Time Equivalent

No staff members identify as Aboriginal.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirementsfor teaching in NSW public schools.

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 100

Postgraduate degree

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Professional Learning has been undertaken by all staffthroughout the 2016 school year. Staff received trainingin the NSW Quality Teaching model, Child Protection,OH&S Awareness, Asthma awareness andAnaphylaxis training at staff development days and atregular fortnightly staff meetings. In addition to thethree staff development days conducted at thebeginning of Terms 1, 2 and 3 and the last 2 days ofTerm 4, staff accessed a range of professional learningopportunities in line with the School Plan and staffidentified professional learning based on individualneed as well mandatory training as identified by theDepartment of Education and Communities. Groupsand individuals took part in training associated with: Early Action for Success; Video Conferencing; QualityTeaching; School Leadership; Jolly Phonics and JollyGrammar; CPR Certification; Anaphylaxis; AsthmaAwareness Training; Learning and Support NetworkDays; Curriculum Design; Development andPerformance Workshops; and Principals’ Conferences. There is one teacher who is NSW Teacher accredited.During 2016 the teacher undertook 20 hours ofprofessional development. All other teaching staff wereemployed prior to October 2004 and therefore will be


Accreditation in 2018 as per Department of Educationrequirements.

Financial information (for schoolsusing OASIS for the whole year)

Financial information

This summary financial information covers funds foroperating costs to 30th November 2016 and does notinvolve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries,building and major maintenance.

Income $

Balance brought forward 68 669.88

Global funds 59 583.61

Tied funds 75 675.51

School & community sources 6 715.79

Interest 1 736.02

Trust receipts 636.00

Canteen 0.00

Total income 213 016.81

Expenditure

Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 7 879.36

Excursions 5 356.26

Extracurricular dissections 1 888.74

Library 497.99

Training & development 729.35

Tied funds 81 199.75

Short term relief 0.00

Administration & office 11 278.87

School-operated canteen 0.00

Utilities 8 782.63

Maintenance 1 469.17

Trust accounts 267.00

Capital programs 0.00

Total expenditure 119 349.12

Balance carried forward 93 667.69

A full copy of the school’s financial statement is tabledat the annual general meetings of the parent and/orcommunity groups. Further details concerning thestatement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance

School-based assessment

School based assessments were undertaken for eachstudent using a variety of assessment instruments.

The Kindergarten students were assessed for theirknowledge of basic concepts using Boehm , for theirknowledge of reading and interacting with tests weused Best Start and for their Numeracy skills we usedSENA 1. Older students were tested using the SouthAustralia Spelling test, Maths Plus Diagnostic tests,NAPLAN style Literacy and Numeracy Tests, Burt WordReading tests and Reading Box placement tests.Students were tested at the beginning of Term 1 and atthe beginning of Term 4 in the SA Spelling Test and theBurt Word reading test and their progress was trackedon a spreadsheet. All students are regularly assessedusing the PM Benchmark Assessment Kit by teachersand the Learning and Support Teacher. Progress wasalso tracked for students between Years 3 and 5 inNAPLAN and adjustments made to individual andwhole school programs to ensure that students areprogressing towards proficiency in these assessments.

As part of our participation in the Early Action forSuccess initiative student progress in the K–2 cohort istracked and reported every five weeks. This iscompleted using the Literacy and NumeracyContinuums and the PLAN software.

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results acrossthe Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy andnumeracy assessments are reported on a scale fromBand 1 to Band 10. The achievement scalerepresents increasing levels of skillsand understandings demonstrated in theseassessments.

The number of students who sat NAPLAN in 2016 wastoo small to be able to report results.

Privacy regulations do not allow us to release resultsthat could identify individual students. Results from thetests in literacy and numeracy have been analysed forthe students and will be used to help determinestrategies for improvement. Individual student reportswere sent home to parents identifying areas of strengthand aspects for improvement. Parents also had theopportunity to discuss their child’s report with theteaching staff.


Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

Parents strongly indicated they believe WoodstockPublic School is an attractive and well–resourcedschool and has experienced and committed teacherswho set high standards of achievement. Evidence ofParent/Caregiver, student and teacher satisfaction iscollected using School Map Surveys, attendance atschool events, social media engagement, newslettersand informal interviews. The school has an 'open door'policy and parents and the wider community areencouraged to be involved with the students’ education.In addition the school offers one–on–one programs toimprove their child’s educational outcomes and a highlevel of Sporting opportunities. There is also very goodstudent access to computers and technology programs.Our Annual Presentation Night attracts more than 120parents and community members and our EasterActivity Day, including the Easter Hat Parade andEaster Egg Hunt, sees more than 30 people beingcatered for at the BBQ being run by the Woodstock P &C.

The results from the student surveys and discussionsindicated that the students of Woodstock Public Schoolare very happy with their school and the progress theyare making. The students agree their teachers set highstandards and the resources the school has to offer,help them with their learning as the learning andteaching activities are both engaging and fun.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Woodstock Public School has a 50% Aboriginal studentpopulation. Aboriginal students are supported by thestaff and their parents using Personal Learning Plans.As for all students their learning is individualised andassessment is used to track and adjust their learningand extra curricula programs as necessary. The schoolhas an ongoing focus to fully incorporate Indigenousperspectives in the curriculum and ensure that allstudents gain a deep knowledge and understanding ofAustralia’s original inhabitants.

The school regularly reviews its Aboriginal Educationpolicy and students participate in teaching and learningactivities that focus on Aboriginal cultures, heritage,histories, art, craft and storytelling including NAIDOCWeek activities.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

In 2016 we had only a very small number of studentsthat identify as having backgrounds from other cultures.All students understand the need to look at culturesbeyond their own and value their learning in this area.HSIE, History and Geography provide the vehicle tostudy other cultures and encourage attitudes oftolerance and respect for those different to themselves.In particular all students study a different country everyyear based on the CWA Country of Study and thewhole school is involved in activities for Harmony Day.


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