Lord Howe Island Central School Annual Report 2015 1921
Introduction The Annual Report for 2015 is provided to the community of Lord Howe Island Central School as an account of the school 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 for all students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self-assessment that reflect the impact of key school strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equity funding. School contact details: Lord Howe Island Central School Lagoon Rd Lord Howe Island 2898 http://www.lordhowe-c.schools.nsw.edu.au/ lordhowe-c.school@det.nsw.edu.au 02 6563 2096 Message from the Principal Our school has had the opportunity to provide an extensive selection of programs to students across all year levels to allow them the chance to participate and discover the activities that they enjoy and can shine in. We have provided opportunities for students to participate in quality learning and educational programs delivered by highly qualified, dedicated teachers, whilst building meaningful relationships that meet individual needs. We encourage all students to develop a positive and confident identity in a secure and happy learning environment. Our school community strives to enable students to have as many options as possible and to develop their skills to interact successfully. I would like to acknowledge all of our parents and families who have worked alongside us in supporting our students throughout the year. Our P&C and School Council passionately continue to support our school in a proactive and positive way. The effort and collaboration has been phenomenal this year and we have successfully built on our excellent relationship to create an environment to foster the development of confident successful learners. The generous donation of funds, support and involvement in school planning and policy have been greatly appreciated. Our staff are a highly dedicated group of people who work tirelessly in providing great opportunities for children of all abilities in our school community. They possess high order skills in guiding, supporting and caring for students. They do so much for our students and families each day and hold the genuine belief that all students can succeed and deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and fairness. Through the school's extensive curriculum we encourage our students to develop a love of learning. This reflects in their individual work as well as their contributions to both the school and wider school community. If necessary, flexible programs are tailored to the individual learning styles and needs of students. Our personalised approach to education ensures each student has the opportunity to be a successful learner. A school needs to have everyone working together as a team to achieve the very best they can for all their students. The students are what we are here for, so thank you to all the parents, grandparents, P&C members, teachers and friends who have given their time, support and finances to support the learning of each child at our School. We can all look forward to another year of adventures and achievements in 2016. Kind regards and best wishes, Trev Mason Principal
School background School vision statement To create an environment to develop successful leaners and confident individuals School context Lord Howe Island Central School is located over 520 kilometres of the New South Wales mid-north coast. It is the most remote school in N.S.W. The isolation that defines this school is unique amongst isolated schools in New South Wales. The school community is a blending of families whose history is closely linked to the island and families who live and work here for a contracted period of time. We directly cater for the teaching and learning of all students on the island from Kindergarten to Year 6, and in conjunction with Camden Haven High School Distance Education, we support all secondary students on the island from Years 7 12 with their learning. Three permanent staff is appointed to the island on limited tenure contracts (2 or 3 years). There are three Aboriginal students currently enrolled. The school is a trial Empowering Local School and as such is implementing the DEC SAP and Student Wellbeing operational systems. The school recorded strong individual student results in NAPLAN and also in local school based data. School staff enjoys a high level of support from the parent and wider island community. Self-assessment and school achievements Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework, our school achievements and the next steps to be pursued. The Framework supports public schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading. This year, our school undertook self-assessment using the elements of the School Excellence Framework (SEF). The findings indicate our school actively promotes a culture of positivity & respect to deliver a strategically planned approach to support the cognitive, emotional, social, physical and spiritual wellbeing of all our students. Our approach to curriculum implementation and assessment promotes learning and responsiveness in meeting the learning needs of our students. We have school-wide practices for assessment and reporting, which are used to monitor, plan and report on student learning. The majority of students are achieving at or greater than expected cluster growth on the Literacy and Numeracy Continuums according to their Individual Learning Plans. Our teachers are committed to identifying, understanding and implementing effective teaching methods. Our student assessment data is used to identify student achievements and progress, in order to inform future school planning. We have used collaborative feedback and reflection to promote and generate learning and innovation for our teachers. We support teachers to pursue accreditation and all teachers have demonstrated a strong commitment to their ongoing development as members of the teaching profession. Our school supports a culture of high expectations and community engagement. We have strategically developed, implemented, evaluated and refined specific measurable milestones to ensure we are focused on our priorities. With support of the School Council our resources were strategically used to achieve improved student outcomes. Our management systems, structures and processes underpin ongoing school improvement and the professional effectiveness of all our staff. Across 2016 we plan to embed and develop explicit systems for collaboration, classroom observation, the modelling of effective practice and feedback to drive and sustain ongoing, school-wide improvement in teaching practice and student outcomes. We are planning and embedding an ICT system and approach to provide students with opportunities to connect, succeed and thrive that are relevant to their stages of learning and development. We are planning to develop deeper engagement across our learning community to create an environment that supports every student to be a confident, successful learner. Our self-assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our school plan leading to further improvements in the delivery of education to our students.
Strategic Direction 1 Expert teaching team Purpose Culture of continuous improvement and capacity Overall summary of progress This section describes the school s ongoing self-assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 1 of the School plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievements. The school implemented the Performance and Development Framework to support quality teaching and learning practices across the school. We outlined and determined an agreed shared purpose, process and timeline. We developed and shared professional goals. All staff attended (individual and team) meetings to plan and reflect on professional learning. The team participated in shared planning time, engaged in individual mentoring and classroom observational sessions. All staff developed successful individual Performance and Development Plans (PDP s). School and staff goals were supported by ongoing professional learning and individual mentoring. The shared planning time strongly developed collaborative processes focused on student learning. Teachers engaged in classroom observations informally. Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual) Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years) Progress achieved this year $5865 All K-6 students will achieve at or greater than expected cluster/continuum growth according to their Personalised Learning Plan NAPLAN results demonstrate growth between years 3 & 5 for each relevant student, at their expected level. 94% of students achieving at or greater than expected cluster growth on Literacy Continuum according to their Personalised Learning Plan. 97% of students achieving at or greater than expected cluster growth on Numeracy Continuum according to their Personalised Learning Plan 100% of students exceeded growth expectations between year 3 and 5 achieving at or above the minimum standards for Literacy and Numeracy in NAPLAN 2015 results. $2933 $2932 Next steps The School will embed and develop explicit systems for collaboration, classroom observation, model effective practice and provide feedback to drive and sustain ongoing, school-wide improvement in teaching practice and student outcomes. Strategies include; Development of yearly Scope & Sequence across all subjects to inform programming
Collaborative (supported) planning time every week Collect, monitor & review learning programs & assessment data Staff to engage in 3 way interviews with parents & students for PLP s for Aboriginal students All staff to have Individual PDP meetings to set and monitor expectations, goals and support professional development planning to address specific staff need and align with school wide goals. Identify students requiring learning support and set and monitor plan to address need. Implement Individual Numeracy & Literacy programs. Formal timetabled classroom observations with specific feedback. Evaluate reporting process to align with new curriculum. Strategic Direction 2 Successful 21st Century Learners Purpose To develop future focused skills and thinking Overall summary of progress This section describes the school s ongoing self-assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 2 of the School plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievements. The school completed an audit of 21 st Century learning skills with students, staff and the learning community. Through evaluation and discussion we were able to define an agreed purpose, define our current strengths and set out some our priorities for the future. We set up a small student group trial to collaborate and work with using technology as a tool for learning. We enjoyed some success but experienced difficulties with our infrastructure, expertise, implementation and systems. We were able to collaboratively design and put together a school movie demonstrating student learning and engagement across the school year. This was shared with our learning community during Presentation Day. Although we did not reach our intended planning outcomes we were able to evaluate and strategically develop a more authentic approach to plan, fund and embed a sustainable process for the future. Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual) Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years) Teaching programs and We were not able to achieve a measurable outcome for this process this year. We experienced many changes in system and were able to look forward to careful planning for 2016. We were able to superficially incorporate ICT skills in $ 3500
practise include ICT focus isolation. There was no impact on planning or implementation of future focused skills or thinking. Next steps The school needs to strategically purchase ICT resources, set up and maintain infrastructure, implement and trial system and access professional support along the ICT journey. Strategies include: Training and development to provide ongoing support for our onsite local ICT leader. Planning and support trial implementation in isolation (during RFF time). Ensure ongoing evaluation and refinement of ICT system and tools. Plan ICT focus to align with school learning goals. All students to be supported to use Ipads. ICT leader to introduce school wide system, provide Ipad training and guidance to teachers. Ensure shared collaborative planning, evaluation and in class sharing time to support and celebrate the implementation process. Strategic Direction 3 Passionate Community Partnerships Purpose To nurture student wellbeing to support relationships. Overall summary of progress This section describes the school s ongoing self-assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 3 of the School plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievements. We prioritised planning to collaboratively implement our whole school student wellbeing project. The goal was to ensure the 3 P s Positive, Polite & Productive; were the expectation for all behaviour and learning across the learning environment. The concept was introduced & developed by all teaching staff. Teachers introduced the 3P s with students. The process was refined to support classroom strategies/prompts to focus on ownership and self-reflection of behaviour and learning. The team evaluated and implemented a shared language across the playground in line with the 3P s. Did it have the planned impact? The process and implementation was highly successful. There was clear evidence that negative playground incidents were reduced. The atmosphere, tone and climate of the school are very positive. There was strong staff ownership of the process. The system was utilised, accepted and the 3P s are used as a consistent language and approach across the school.
Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual) Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years) Consistent language and process across the school as evidenced by language used across all environments, class criteria displays, and approach (and discussions) towards behaviour incidents in classrooms and playground. Progress achieved this year Playground and class behavior data demonstrate the process and implementation was highly successful. The various negative social interactions and individual acting out behavior in both the classrooms and the playground environments was significantly reduced. The general tone and climate of the school are very positive. Staff feel they have a genuine process and fair expectations to guide student choices. Staff moved beyond the outcome of the original plan to further develop strategies and student thinking on supporting others to be emotionally balanced. Budget $7541 Next steps This section includes future directions for 2016 and ensures the 3-year plan remains on track to provide high quality educational outcomes. Strategies include; Last year there was a priority to support this process at the school level. The outcome and process was successfully established and moved well beyond all expectations. For this reason the priority will shift back to the original concept of building community engagement to support the capacity for learning by engaging strategically with our learning community. This is strongly supported as evidenced by parent evaluations, feedback, and school council evaluations (including the SEF) and discussions. To support and build community engagement the school will be focusing on providing opportunities for community engagement that aligns, expands and builds on the curriculum and enhances relationships. The school will ensure parent class information sessions early in the year to share an overview of the learning expectations & organisational systems. The school will further support this by sharing information on learning and organisation through term planners, fortnightly school newsletters, school website, Facebook and monthly local newspaper school articles. Our reporting process will include parent interviews and formal reports. We will provide an overview of the learning each term. We will also provide NAPLAN Information and data sessions, and a special performance based presentation day at the end of the year to share and celebrate our success. The school will proactively support community relationships through providing a Transition to School Program for all preschool aged children, special religious classes and develop partnership and consultation with the with LHI Isolated Children Association & LHI Pre-School Committee. In term 4 we will provide a kindergarten orientation program for pre-schoolers and new parents. We will also provide a year 6 transition and orientation to high school program. The school will provide a range of extra-curricular activities such as Gymnastics Program, Sea Week Activities, Swimming, Cross Country and Athletic Carnivals, Big Music Week performances, North Bay Whole School Camp, ANZAC Day participation, Competitions in; Writing, Art & Public speaking, and Swim School for all students. We will encourage and support specialist visitors such as Authors, the Australian Forces, LHI local experts, and other expert specialist visitors that are able to support and expand the curriculum.
Key initiatives and other school focus areas Key initiatives (annual) Impact achieved this year Resources (annual) Aboriginal background funding All Aboriginal students engaged in developing individual personalised learning plans All students achieving at or greater than expected cluster growth on Literacy and Numeracy Continuum according to their Personalised Learning Plan. $1259 Socio-economic funding All classes will receive extra targeted literacy and numeracy support teacher to support differentiation learning needs. Low level adjustment for disability funding All K-6 students will achieve at or greater than expected cluster/continuum growth according to their Personalised Learning Plan Support for beginning teachers All beginning teachers to engage in individual Performance and Development meetings & set individual expectations, goals & Professional Learning needs to support professional Development to reach accreditation. 100% of students exceeded growth expectations between year 3 and 5 achieving at or above the minimum standards for Literacy and Numeracy in NAPLAN 2015 results. All students achieving at or greater than expected cluster growth on Literacy and Numeracy Continuum according to their Personalised Learning Plan. All beginning teachers reached Teacher Accreditation standards. $864 $11864 Nil
State DoE School Students Mandatory reporting requirements Student information It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all students be consistent with privacy and personal information policies. Student enrolment profile 40 Enrolments 30 20 10 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Year Male Female Workforce composition (mandatory) Student attendance profile Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 K 96.0 95.0 94.1 92.0 90.7 92.1 1 88.3 98.9 93.5 97.4 91.5 94.6 2 96.8 96.5 92.0 85.2 88.6 94.6 3 100.0 96.7 77.5 99.5 92.9 92.2 4 97.3 83.7 91.9 80.9 97.1 93.7 5 86.2 97.8 94.0 83.4 72.8 97.4 6 96.8 82.2 92.2 96.6 97.8 90.1 Total 93.6 93.3 91.0 92.2 91.1 93.7 K 94.7 94.7 94.3 95.0 95.2 94.4 1 94.2 94.2 93.9 94.5 94.7 93.8 2 94.4 94.2 94.2 94.7 94.9 94.0 3 94.5 94.4 94.4 94.8 95.0 94.1 4 94.5 94.3 94.3 94.7 94.9 94.0 5 94.4 94.2 94.2 94.5 94.8 94.0 6 94 93.8 93.8 94.1 94.2 93.5 Total 94.4 94.3 94.2 94.7 94.8 94.0 Position Number Principal 1 Deputy Principal(s) 0 Assistant Principal(s) 0 Head Teacher(s) 0 Classroom Teacher(s) 2 Teacher of Reading Recovery 0 Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0 Teacher Librarian 0 Teacher of ESL 0 School Counsellor 0 School Administrative & Support Staff 0.696 Other positions 0.2 Total 3.869 The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requires schools to report on Aboriginal composition of their workforce. Lord Howe Island Central School currently has no indigenous representation on their workforce.
Teacher qualifications All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools. Qualifications % of staff Undergraduate degree or diploma 100% Postgraduate degree 0% Professional learning and teacher accreditation 100% of teachers met accreditation requirements. All Permanent and Casual Staff were invited to all registered Professional Learning events and all Staff Development Days, & after and before school Professional Learning events throughout the entire year. During the 5 school development days, LHICS staff were trained in: BOSTE English, Math s and Science Syllabus Code of Conduct Child Protection Awareness Training Child Protection Update Keep Them Safe - Information sharing Keep Them Safe - Using the Mandatory Reporter Guide Keep Them Safe - Managing meetings Emergency care Anaphylaxis Remote Island First Aid Course Performance and Development workshop All permanent staff also engaged in one on one Professional Learning throughout the year to develop their Professional Development Learning Plans. Professional Learning opportunities provided for all staff throughout 2015 included: Approach to Teaching Writing Assessment, Modelled, Guided and Independent Cycle Schedule for Early Numeracy Assessment process, collection and analysis of data for planning and tracking on the Continuum SMART School analysis of NAPLAN data Enhancing Teacher Effectiveness Best Start Targeted Early Numeracy (TEN) Intervention Program Music: Count Us In Workshop Administration of prescribed medication at school Active Learning Through Formative Assessment Numeracy Programming/Review Bringing our reforms together to continually improve teaching and learning Teaching Early Numeracy Accredited trainer Course School s Finance Workshop SALM workshop Principals as Teacher Accreditation Authority (TAA)- Proficient Level
Financial information Financial summary This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance. A full copy of the school s 2015 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the parent and/or community groups. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school. Financial summary for 229 (SAP) schools Other Staff and Contractor Costs 3,092 Operating Expenses 96,065 Teaching and Learning 25,434 Operating Lease Rental 0 Insurance 0 Cleaning 0 Fees for Services Rendered 23,279 Computer Costs 21 Furniture & Equipment 4,395 Administration 1,859 Travelling and Sustenance 17,305 Motor Vehicles 27 Telephone 1,218 Postage Utilities 9,026 Printing 0 Advertising 0 Other Operating Expenses 3,654 Computer Maintenance Property Maintenance 9,848 Total Expenses 195,223 SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THE YEAR 5,856 Reading, Writing and Numeracy. Spelling data is formally collected at the beginning and end of the year. Reading assessment is in the form of a Running Records, where students read a sample of text to ascertain their instructional reading level and also to determine the strategies that the student is using in order to de-code, understand and comprehend the text. Running Record assessments are completed until the student reaches the top Reading Recovery level 30. Once a student reaches this level they then complete a reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension assessment tasks. Spelling formal assessment is conducted once at the beginning of the year and once at the end of the year using the South Australian Spelling Program. This Pro-gram allows teachers to select a spelling age and also provides evidence for areas of development as a means for planning teaching activities. Spelling data is also assessed as part writing on a regular basis. Writing is assessed once a term in the form of a student writing sample based and specific criteria that has been taught. Numeracy is individually assessed by using the Schedule for Early Numeracy Assessment (SENA 1 or 2) to ascertain the students strategies and areas of understandings to solve numeracy problems. This specifically measures students mental computation skills for Place Value (understanding numerals), and what strategies students use to add, subtract, multiply and divide (to form groups). All local school data is used to track learning across the year. This data is used to determine where to place students skill capacity on the Literacy and Numeracy continuums. It is used for planning of teaching activities to target individual student learning needs. School performance School-based assessment It is a school requirement that formal assessment in Reading, Spelling, Writing and Numeracy is administered, collected and analyzed to evaluate the impact of teaching and to inform planning according to individual students need. School Policy is to formally collect assessment data once a term on
Progress Progress Progress Progress Progress NAPLAN In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10. The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments. The My School website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and numeracy testing. Click on the link My School and insert the school name in the Find a school and select GO to access the school data. 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Average progress in Grammar & Punctuation between Year 3 and 5 School 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Average progress in Reading between Year 3 and 5 150 100 50 0 Average progress in Writing between Year 3 and 5 2011-2013 2012-2014 2013-2015 School School Average progress in Numeracy between Year 3 and 5 150 100 50 0 Average progress in Spelling between Year 3 and 5 School 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 School Percentage of Year 3 students achieving at or above minimum standard (exempt students included) Reading 100.0 Writing 100.0 Spelling 100.0 Grammar & Punctuation 100.0 Numeracy 100.0
Percentage of Year 5 students achieving at or above minimum standard (exempt students included) Reading 100.0 Writing 100.0 Spelling 100.0 Grammar & Punctuation 100.0 Numeracy 100.0 All parents read the Newsletter regularly and most believe the school communicates well with parents and the community. Highlights from 2015 parent surveys: Island Heritage lessons, Author Presentations, Writing Workshops, Music Rockfest, Open Day, Assemblies, Historical Movies, Gymnastics, School Working Bee, ANZAC DAY, Athletics, swimming & Cross Country carnivals, Gold Days, Tree Day, Public Speaking Presentations, Virtual Excursions / Video Conferences, Choir, Music lessons, Music - Ukes and singing in the classrooms, Tennis Camp, North Bay School Camp, Mainland Excursions, Marine survey, Fish Fry / Sports Carnival - Discovery Day, Chaplaincy Program - Sailing Club, Remote Control Car Club, Community breakfast. Movie Nights, Drive In Movies Parent/caregiver, student, teacher satisfaction (mandatory) Each year schools are required to seek the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school. Their responses are presented below. 95% of parent and student surveys demonstrated that the teachers provide appropriate learning experiences and cater to individual learning styles across all areas. 91% of parent surveys and 95% of student surveys demonstrated that students enjoyed the teaching and learning experiences offered across all Key learning Areas (KLAs) in their classroom this year. Student feedback demonstrated that most students believed the implementation of new technologies and teaching styles has broadened the range of opportunities for learning. Discussion and feedback from school key evaluation surveys demonstrated that most staff believed the training and support enhanced their ability to engage and teach more effectively. 100% staff reported they felt supported and have increased skills and levels of confidence. Nearly all students, staff and parents believe that LHICS is a happy and engaging environment. Most parents are comfortable discussing issues with the principal and or teachers.
Policy requirements Aboriginal education Other school programs The island has no traditional, indigenous owners of the land. There were three aboriginal students enrolled at the school in 2015. All staff complies with departmental expectations for Aboriginal content and perspectives in curriculum delivery. Aboriginal history and culture is respected and discussed by staff and students through classroom, SRC and whole school scenarios. Special days such as Sorry Day and NAIDOC Week are commemorated within our school. The school designed and supported Individual Education Plans for all Aboriginal students. Multicultural Education and Anti-racism The school embraced a multicultural perspective into its teaching and learning experiences. Specifically through the integration of Science and Human Society in its Environment programs and facilitation of an island focus in release from face to face teaching time. Participation in cultural awareness programs such as Harmony Day, Student Representative Council fund raising activities, a fantastic senior citizens community luncheon and assembly were highlights. The school implements an array of programs in all curriculum areas which specifically cater for the academic, physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of our whole student population. Equity Funding was utilized for students and staff to undertake learning experiences that otherwise wouldn t have been possible. These programs included the school s Transition to School Program, employment of a specialist gymnastics teacher to support students, the opportunity to be involved with Big Music to expand their musical capacity and professional learning experiences for permanent staff.