2017 wheeler heights public school annual report · introduction the annual report for€2017 is...

Wheeler Heights Public SchoolAnnual Report

2017

4249

Printed on: 29 April, 2018 of 15 Wheeler Heights Public School 4249 (2017)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2017 is provided to the community of Wheeler Heights Public School as an account of theschool's operations 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.

David Scotter

Principal

School contact details

Wheeler Heights Public SchoolVeterans PdeCollaroy Plateau, 2097www.wheelerhts-p.schools.nsw.edu.auwheelerhts-p.School@det.nsw.edu.au9971 8352


School background

School vision statement

Our successful practices and targeted priority areas will continue to refine and refocus our teaching and welfare practicesleading to well adjusted, 21st Century–ready learners with the knowledge and skills they need to become active andcreative participants in society.We will enhance support and expand each teacher’s understanding of the curriculum tofacilitate rich, relevant and purposeful lesson delivery through quality teaching and embed quality assessment.We willrecognise accomplishments and foster pride in achievements for both staff and students and develop staff and studentleadership capacity for school improvement.

School context

Located on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Wheeler Heights Public School has a strong reputation for providing qualityeducation in a caring, supportive and physically attractive environment. The population of Wheeler Heights Public Schoolis 492, organised into 19 classes. Students, who are the core focus, are challenged along with the teachers, to achievetheir “personal best” in academic, sporting, creative and performing domains.This is underpinned by a strong emphasison providing positive support to engage every learner, through the shared school community values of Respect,Responsibility and Personal Best.Teachers work in collaborative teams to embed a culture of high expectations, as theydeliver engaging lessons reflecting best practice, so as to achieve the school targets of improved outcomes for everystudent. On going teacher professional learning is a key element of enhancing teacher quality and expertise.WheelerHeights Public School is one where positive relationships with parents and the wider community are encouraged andcontinue to complement quality teaching programs. As an active member of the Peninsula Community of Schools (PCS),the staff and students maintain strong partnerships that support teacher professional development and learningopportunities for students and the wider community. Achievement of the school's aims is greatly enhanced by thesupport of an interested and involved community.


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.

Domain 1: Learning

Our teachers ensure they use information about individual students’ capabilities and needs to plan for students’ learningso as to engage them in rich learning experiences. A major focus in our school plan for this year has been on studentlearning and wellbeing, providing students with opportunities to flourish cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically.We have worked to implement programs, policies and practices to ensure collective responsibility for student learningand success, with high levels of student, staff and community engagement. Within class time, students engaged in adiverse range of programs across the key learning areas. Programs introduced and continued in 2017 include: Yoga andMindfulness; Athletics Skills; Ballroom Dancing and specialised Music and Drama lessons for all students. Extension andsupport groups continued to be offered through extra funding of teachers to run specialised small groups in Literacy,Numeracy, ICT & Science. Executive staff provide target students with a behaviour support intervention program,Games Club, twice a week and specialised student interest groups such as Young Endeavours, Little Doers and EcoWarriors provided students with opportunities to develop socially and emotionally promoting positive wellbeing.Continued participation for students in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) saw many ofour students receiving high distinctions, distinctions and merits. A major project in this domain was the continuedimplementation and utilisation of the Sentral Management system to support all areas of student learning and wellbeing.Students are tracked according to their participation in extracurricular activities, welfare programs, learning supportintervention and general academic progress for all key learning areas. Formal and external data such as NAPLAN andICAS testing is also added to Sentral, giving teachers an excellent resource to retrieve information about their students toenhance student learning.

We have continued our focus on positive and respectful relationship building across the school community to promoteand support a productive learning environment. Our whole–school approach to wellbeing through ‘The Wheeler Way,’(PBEL–based welfare policy) ensures we drive and maintain a strong, proactive and supportive learning community.This program continues to deliver strong outcomes as identified through our school data collection and commentsreceived in our student, staff and parent satisfaction surveys.

Domain 2: Teaching

Student learning is underpinned in excellent schools by high quality teaching and leadership. Our school strives tomaintain universally high levels of professionalism and commitment amongst teachers with engaging learningopportunities and well–considered teaching strategies. As a staff, we continued to investigate quality opportunities forteachers to provide and receive planned constructive feedback from peers and school leaders to improve teachingpractice. To support and develop excellent teaching practices we continued our implementation and refinement ofPersonal Development Plans (PDPs) for all teaching staff. Classroom observations and peer visits, in areas identifiedfrom teachers professional development plans, allowed for teachers across the school to be reflective of their ownteaching and act in an advisory and mentor role to help improve the teaching across the school.

We also had a strong focus on assessment and reporting, particularly in refining our formal school reporting processes.Teachers were actively engaged across the school working collaboratively to ensure assessment tasks aligned withoutcomes from newly implemented syllabus documents. This review of assessment tasks and aligning them with stagebased outcomes supported our ongoing collection of internal data and improved consistent teacher judgement ofexpectations across the school. Using Sentral software, we have begun to collect and record a broader range of internaland external data to continue to inform teachers about our students and improve teaching practices.

Our highly–regarded collegial staff also worked together in stage teams to improve teaching and learning in their yeargroups. To continue to implement the new BOSTES syllabus documents, our school utilised teacher focus teams, regularcollaborative stage planning and coordinated whole–staff TPL to create an integrated approach to quality teaching,curriculum planning and delivery, and assessment to promote learning excellence and responsiveness in meeting thelearning needs of all students. Considerable time was also spent to ensure consistency of curriculum delivery, includingstrategies for differentiation and consistency of teacher judgement. Staff project teams were responsible for their areas ofinterest and expertise.

Across the Peninsula Community of Schools, our teachers were also engaged in professional learning. Teachers also


engaged in many professional learning experiences outside of school. Professional learning was undertaken across keylearning areas including courses offered by the Department of Education and NSW Teachers Federation – Centre forProfessional Learning (CPL). As always, our committed staff worked beyond their classrooms to contribute to broaderschool programs in order to work toward the school’s goals.

Domain 3: Leading

This year our school strived to implement a meaningful school plan embraced by the whole school community. Weendeavoured to ensure the school plan remained at the core of continuous improvement efforts, with the school’s visionand strategic directions evident in our main programs. As a school we recognise that leadership development is centralto school capacity building and we continue to mentor and provide experiences for staff who are aspiring school leaders.Our Student Representative Council (SRC) had a very productive year organising a wide range of fundraising activities.School leaders contributed to the PCS Leadership groups attending the Young Leaders conference.

Continuing and improving tools for communication and data management has again been a major emphasis in 2017.The school has ensured that streamlined, flexible processes exist to deliver services and information to the communityand thereby strengthen parental engagement. Our communication and administrative practices are consistently reviewedto provide high quality service to the school community. Staff and parents commented positively in the 2017 survey.

The school leadership team works closely with the P&C and school administration to ensure systems and processesprovide efficient service to our community. The WHPS P & C was very active in supporting and promoting our school.Funds raised continued to support the upgrade of the K–2 playground; buying and maintaining 1:1 laptops and iPad’s;and further air conditioning of classroom spaces. Our P & C also assisted with the funding of the Bushlink Program towork with our Year 3 & 4 students. The Bushlink team works on sustainability projects within schools, also givingstudents the confidence to embrace inclusion and diversity in their lives. Community involvement was also evidentthrough strong support for community events and activities. Strong community links continued with our neighbouring WarVeterans Retirement Village and through our involvement in the Peninsula Community of Schools.

Our students participated in specialised programs and activities such as presenting experiments at the Science Fair,singing as part of a combined choir and dancing at the annual Music Festival and celebrating NAIDOC. Students alsohad opportunities to visit and present and perform at a variety of venues including our local War Veteran’s home and thelocal feeder pre–schools.

As a school, we continued our commitment to ensuring that the school is well resourced to support newly created unitsof work aligned with current Syllabus documents and that current technologies are accessible to staff and students. Ourself–assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School Plan leading tofurther improvements in the delivery of quality education to our students.

Our self–assessment process will assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School Plan, leading to furtherimprovements in the delivery of education to our students.

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching–and–learning/school–excellence–and–accountability/sef–evidence–guide


Strategic Direction 1

Students: Learning, Leadership and Wellbeing

Purpose

Students

To develop a welcoming, safe and secure school environment focussing on the individual student.

To ensure continuous successful learning in the context of high standards and thorough engagement leading to welladjusted, 21st Century–ready learners with responsible environmental and social attitudes.

Overall summary of progress

Progress made in 2017. • Continued wide range of extra curricular activities for students including wellbeing and environmental programs

such as Eco Warriors, Games Club, Young Endeavours and Little Doers. • Continued improvements of the K–2 playground and outdoor areas. • Ensured strategic and equitable management of resources across the school. • ICT hardware and software continued to be updated and expanded.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Funds Expended(Resources)

Progress achieved this year

• Student attendance. • NAPLAN & StandardisedTesting. • Extra–curricular involvement. • Quality, 21stCentury basedTeaching and LearningPrograms. • Parent, Staff and Studentannual surveys.

$46 000 • Continued use of standardised tests (ICAS Years4 & 6) and PAT test results sent for analysis to trackimprovements in literacy and numeracy forconsistent and meaningful assessment. • Systems put in place (SENTRAL) to record andtrack a wide range of standardised assessmentdata to create quality differentiated teaching andlearning programs responsive to student results. • Wide variety of extra–curricular opportunities andactivities across key learning areas offered andpromoted to students with high levels ofinvolvement. • ICT hardware and software update andmaintenance. • Extension and support groups offered to studentscatering to their specific needs. • Parent, student and staff surveys conducted toevaluate level of satisfaction. •

Next Steps

Strategies to be employed for 2018: • Continue a wide offering of specialised and extracurricular activities. • Utilise data to provide quality differentiated teaching and learning programs. • Extension and support groups in key learning areas offered to students catering to their specific needs based on

data. • Parent, student and staff surveys conducted yearly to evaluate level of satisfaction. • Input NAPLAN & PLAN data to SENTRAL. • Teacher Professional Learning focussing on 21st Century Pedagogy, such as integrated learning; stating and

creating learning intentions; inquiry based learning and student self assessment.



Teaching, Development and Wellbeing

Purpose

Staff

To foster a happy, supportive and collegial working environment which promotes success, high standards andleadership.

To ensure continuously developing knowledge and expertise of teaching skills and curriculum implementation leading torich, relevant and purposeful lesson delivery which promotes sustainable, socially responsible attitudes.


Progress made in 2017: • Grade markbooks and tracking across the school using SENTRAL. • Learning and Support Team employment of SENTRAL to track student referrals and progress. • Professional Development Plans and lesson observations completed by staff promoting knowledge, expertise of

teaching and leadership skills.





• NAPLAN & StandardisedTesting. • Extra–curricular involvement. • Quality, 21st Century basedTeaching and LearningPrograms. • Differentiated TPL plans & TPLattendance. • Parent, Staff and Studentannual surveys.

$44 000 • Professional Development Plans (PDP)completed by staff. • Lesson observations completed by teachers. • Professional learning completed by staff in linewith professional learning goals and school plan. • Collegially produced quality differentiatedteaching and learning programs. • Revision of consistent and meaningfulassessment and reporting process. • Leadership capacity inspired and facilitated withinall staff. • Provision and promotion of leadershipdevelopment opportunities. • Staff survey conducted to evaluate level ofsatisfaction.

Next Steps

Strategies to be employed for 2018: • Teachers to continue working on Professional Development Plans, developing goals and aligning their professional

learning based on their personal needs with support of the executive team – align with BOSTES teachingstandards in preparation for 2018.

• Develop staff capacity to use SENTRAL and PLAN for data tracking to inform quality differentiated teaching andlearning programs.

• Tell Them From Me Survey– Parent, student and staff surveys conducted yearly to evaluate level of satisfaction.



Communication and Engagement

Purpose

Community

To foster an environment that encourages community input into decision making and involvement in school initiativeswhilst promoting a positive image of the school.To maintain high expectations of student and school achievement andcommunity pride in the context of open and reliable communication and support.


Progress made in 2017: • Update of semester school reports on SENTRAL. • Increased use of school communication APP's. • Increased attendance and participation of parents and community members at P&C meetings and school events.





• Parent, Staff and Studentannual surveys. • Community Involvement&attendance at activities andinitiatives. • Strong and active P&C withwell attended meetings.

$37 000 • Strong attendance and support of P&C. • Continued communication through email,website, newsletters, PPP app. • Use of SENTRAL to further enhancecommunications through a central system. • Continued support and promotion of P&C events. • Large variety of events to enhance communityinvolvement.

Next Steps

Strategies to be employed for 2018: • Continued strong and active P&C. • Continue reliable communication through email, website, newsletters, PPP app and face–to–face communication

and visibility. • Air conditioning continues to be installed across the school to promote more comfortable learning environments. • Parent and community involvement in all events and strengthening what we have already established. • Tell Them From Me Survey– Parent, student and staff surveys conducted yearly to evaluate level of satisfaction.


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

Aboriginal background loading $ 2 594 This money was used to write IndividualLearning Plans and provide support forspecific Aboriginal programs.

Low level adjustment for disability $99 568 This funding was used to employ a full timeTeacher Aide to assist identified studentsboth in the classroom and also at recess andlunchtime on the playground.

Socio–economic background $14 633 This money was used to purchase additionalresources to support these students, and topartially fund additional Teacher Aides forwork in the classroom and playground.

Support for beginning teachers $13 450 This funding allowed the new teachersopportunities for teacher development, inservice, observation and additional releasetime.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2014 2015 2016 2017

Boys 263 263 260 257

Girls 278 259 243 235

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2014 2015 2016 2017

K 96.4 96 95.7 95.1

1 95.4 94.7 95.6 94.9

2 95.7 95.4 95.1 96.1

3 95.8 95.8 94.6 94.8

4 95.2 94.4 95.6 93.9

5 94.6 95.7 96 96.1

6 95.1 94.3 94.9 95.2

All Years 95.5 95.2 95.3 95.1

State DoE

Year 2014 2015 2016 2017

K 95.2 94.4 94.4 94.4

1 94.7 93.8 93.9 93.8

2 94.9 94 94.1 94

3 95 94.1 94.2 94.1

4 94.9 94 93.9 93.9

5 94.8 94 93.9 93.8

6 94.2 93.5 93.4 93.3

All Years 94.8 94 94 93.9

Management of non-attendance

The School Learning Support team closely monitor anyattendance concerns and where necessary consult theHome School Liaison Officer (HSLO).

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal 1

Deputy Principal(s) 1

Assistant Principal(s) 4

Head Teacher(s) 0

Classroom Teacher(s) 15.98

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.42

Learning & Support Teacher(s) 0.7

Teacher Librarian 1

Teacher of ESL 0

School Counsellor 0

School Administration & SupportStaff

2.78

Other Positions 0

*Full Time Equivalent

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 15

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

Significant amounts of professional learning wereundertaken by teachers at Wheeler Heights PublicSchool staff over the course of 2017. With thecontinued implementation of the new BOSTES syllabi,considerable teacher professional learning (TPL) wasdevoted to programming with the new documents.Other areas included Problem Solving and 21stCentury learning, the SENTRAL system, NAPLANanalysis, Student Wellbeing and the updating of Scopeand Sequences for various Key Learning Areas. TPLwas also completed collaboratively with the entire PCSschools’ teaching staff during 2017. The combinedSchool Development Day at Pittwater High School sawalmost 600 teachers come together to participate in anumber of excellent workshop. Finally, with researchindicating that teacher quality is the single largestindicator of student success, teacher development andpersonalised staff learning goals were again a focusarea of TPL in 2017. All staff completed mandatory WH& S, CPR, First Aid, Child Protection and Anaphylaxis


training.

Financial information (for schoolsfully deployed to SAP/SALM)

Financial summary

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from 1 January 2017 to 31December 2017.

2017 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 40,823

Revenue 3,861,748

Appropriation 3,422,921

Sale of Goods and Services 4,392

Grants and Contributions 432,202

Gain and Loss 0

Other Revenue 0

Investment Income 2,233

Expenses -3,757,801

Recurrent Expenses -3,757,801

Employee Related -3,216,218

Operating Expenses -541,583

Capital Expenses 0

Employee Related 0

Operating Expenses 0

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

103,947

Balance Carried Forward 144,770

Financial summary equity funding

The equity funding data is the main component of the'Appropriation' section of the financial summary above.

2017 Actual ($)

Base Total 3,063,995

Base Per Capita 76,872

Base Location 0

Other Base 2,987,123

Equity Total 116,796

Equity Aboriginal 2,594

Equity Socio economic 14,633

Equity Language 0

Equity Disability 99,568

Targeted Total 33,321

Other Total 83,390

Grand Total 3,297,502

Figures presented in this report may be subject torounding so may not reconcile exactly with the bottomline totals, which are calculated without any rounding.

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

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.

Results of the 2017 National Assessment ProgramLiteracy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) reveal many positivegains which validate the recent focus in TeacherProfessional Learning (TPL) and concerted efforts inplanning and programing for the new syllabi,particularly in English and Mathematics.


Band 1 2 3 4 5 6

Percentage of students 0.0 5.5 6.9 9.6 32.9 45.2

School avg 2015-2017 1.3 3.8 10.3 14.6 24.8 45.3

Band 1 2 3 4 5 6


School avg 2015-2017 1.4 3.6 10.5 18.3 24.1 42.1

Band 1 2 3 4 5 6


School avg 2015-2017 1.3 6.6 8.1 18.5 31.3 34.3


Band 1 2 3 4 5 6


School avg 2015-2017 0.0 2.1 9.9 18.7 42.2 27.1

Band 3 4 5 6 7 8


School avg 2015-2017 0.6 3.3 17.6 27.2 24.7 26.7

Band 3 4 5 6 7 8


School avg 2015-2017 2.7 3.3 16.9 29.1 29.6 18.6


Band 3 4 5 6 7 8


School avg 2015-2017 1.8 3.3 26.8 40.8 20.8 6.6

Band 3 4 5 6 7 8


School avg 2015-2017 2.1 4.3 13.2 33.5 32.0 14.9

Band 1 2 3 4 5 6


School avg 2015-2017 1.8 5.4 17.9 22.6 28.8 23.6


Band 3 4 5 6 7 8


School avg 2015-2017 0.0 4.9 19.5 31.8 25.4 18.5

The My School website provides detailedinformation and data for national literacy and numeracytesting. Go to http://www.myschool.edu.au to accessthe school data.>

Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

In Term 4 2017 the school surveyed parents, teachersand students in Years 4–6. A link to the survey was putin the newsletter and all surveys were completedonline. Over 156 students, 23 staff and 16 parentscompleted the survey. The survey results indicated ahigh level of satisfaction with Wheeler Heights PublicSchool.

Student results were scored highest on positiverelationships and behaviour at school and participationin sports and clubs. The areas to focus on includeinterest and motivation and homework.

Parent results were scored highest on being made tofeel welcome at our school and that the school supportspositive behaviour. The area to improve upon wasschool inclusiveness.

Staff results were scored highest on collaboration, thelearning culture and teaching strategies. The area in

need of improvement was technology.

A summary of the survey results was published in theschool newsletter and a full record of the survey isavailable from the school office.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Aboriginal perspectives are incorporated into studyacross all the curriculum areas. Our student leadersand Aboriginal students worked together to write andpublish a number of original and personal Welcome toCountry scripts. These acknowledgements of thetraditional owners of the land became a major featureof all assemblies and school events. WHPS Studentsparticipated in the PCS Aboriginal Art Exhibition duringNAIDOC week, followed by the Camp Out which washeld at Narrabeen Lakes PS. During NAIDOC week, anindigenous group performed for the K–6 students. Awonderful mural was designed and painted on theschool courts, with all students participating.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

Students are provided with learning activities andperspective to assist them to develop the skills,knowledge and attitudes required for a multiculturaldiverse society. The annual Multicultural PerspectivePublic Speaking Competition provides a valuable forumfor students to participate in, and be made aware ofissues such as multiculturalism, acceptance, racismand diversity. After a competition at the school level,four representatives were selected to represent theschool at the zone level, The whole school celebratedHarmony Day with art work, messages at a K–6assembly and fundraising with money raised for Gedeteour Ethiopian sponsor child. An experiencedteacher, Priscilla Wright is our Anti– Racism Contactofficer (ARCO) and has been fully trained in theprocedures to handle complaints of a racist nature.


2017 wheeler heights public school annual report · introduction the annual report for€2017 is...

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