2018 Balgowlah North Public School Annual Report€¦ · Public School provides an environment...

Balgowlah North Public SchoolAnnual Report

2018

3984

Printed on: 29 May, 2019 of 13 Balgowlah North Public School 3984 (2018)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2018 is provided to the community of Balgowlah North 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.

Owen Taylor, Principal

School contact details

Balgowlah North Public School10 Manning StreetNorth Balgowlah, 2093www.balgowlahn-p.schools.nsw.edu.aubalgowlahn-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au9949 4499


School background

School vision statement

Balgowlah North Public School is committed to ensuring all children achieve their potential. Our children will be creative,independent thinkers who take responsibility for their own learning. High expectations and quality relationships underpinall aspects of teaching and learning. We value the role teachers and parents play together in the development ofconfident, respectful and responsible citizens with a love of learning.

School context

Balgowlah North Public School is located on the lower northern beaches area of Sydney. Situated in a beautiful bushlandsetting adjacent to Manly Dam, the school enjoys spacious and attractive grounds and offers a wide range ofeducational, cultural and sporting opportunities for all students. The supportive and inclusive culture of Balgowlah NorthPublic School provides an environment conducive to the achievement of excellent outcomes for all students. Our schoolhas developed a well–earned reputation for promoting a love of learning, celebrating success and fostering a strongsense of values and community pride. Our highly qualified, dedicated and caring staff is committed to providing a qualityeducation for all students. The provision of dynamic, innovative learning programs encourages all students to achievetheir personal best and develop a life–long love of learning.

We have specialist teachers in dance & drama, music and sports skills. In addition, students are able to take advantageof extra–curricular activities which include choir, recorder, band, string ensemble, ukulele orchestra, performance dancegroups, PSSA sport, SRC, chess, debating and public speaking and Maths Olympiad. Our school is well resourced andprovides students access to the latest technologies. The students in Years 5 and 6 are part of a 1–to–1 iPad initiative tosupport their classroom learning. The Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) program embedded within our schoolensures that children feel safe, happy and confident. Our transition programs promote important links with ourneighbouring pre–schools and high schools for the benefit of our children. Our school is welcoming and friendly andworks in close partnership with parents and the wider community. We encourage parents to be active participants inschool activities and we value their input into their children's education.

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.

The results of this self–evaluation process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework domain of Learning, weare rated as Sustaining & Growing.

The results of this self–evaluation process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework domain of Teaching, weare rated as Sustaining & Growing.

The results of this self–evaluation process indicated that in the School Excellence Framework domain of Leading, we arerated as Sustaining & Growing.

Our self–assessment process will assist the school to refine our school plan, leading to further improvements in thedelivery 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

Engaged Learners

Purpose

To develop critical and creative thinkers who take responsibility for their own learning and demonstrate independenceand resilience as learners.

Overall summary of progress

Our teaching staff were trained in the methods of the Seven Steps to Writing Success. This involved using the NAPLANwriting criteria to mark writing samples and collect baseline assessment data. Our Instructional Leader has worked withall classes to ensure consistent implementation and support for teachers across the board. Instructional practicesinventory (IPI) data shows an improvement in student engagement which is supported by The Tell Them From Me data.Staff participated in the Dare to Differentiate project and classroom programs show evidence of differentiation throughannotation. Visible learning strategies of using clear learning intentions and success criteria are supporting the setting ofstudent learning goals.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Funds Expended(Resources)

Progress achieved this year

Increase student achievement inwriting by 20%.

Seven Steps Training forthe whole staff: $12 000

Two thirds of our Year 3 students achieved in thetop two bands but only 13% of Year 5 students did.We await the publication of the 2019 figures toshow the growth our internal data indicates.

Increase student achievement inwhole number by 30%.

Professional learning: $3000

Two thirds of Year 3 students achieved in the toptwo bands and 47% of Year 5 children did likewise.These figures are down on last year.

Areas for improvement include: Multi–step wordand number problems.; solving visual numberpatterns; probability; place value using decimals.

Increase in Instructional PracticesInventory (IPI) student cognitiveengagement data by 15%.

Data Collection: 5 teammembers x 2 days = $5 000

When comparing the data from 110 room visits overtwo separate days, student engagement increasedby 25%. TTFM data also indicated students'engagement had improved.

Negative incidents are reducedby 10%, year on year.

Sentral software licence: $8000

We are in the early days of Sentral reporting.Teachers report the ease of use and ability to trackincidents as a positive. We need to record mostinstances to ensure we have the complete picturebefore we can accurately chart the rise or fall ofnegative events.

Next Steps

As a result of our 2018 self–assessment process, we will continue to work towards excelling in the areas of learning,teaching and leading. We will do this through:

• Implementation of learning progressions for literacy and numeracy. • encourage students to set their own learning goals. • compare writing growth via internal and external assessments. • continue to implement Restorative Practices and re–evaluate the impact of our PBL program.



Expert teachers

Purpose

To support our high performing teaching staff, working within a culture of collaboration and mutual respect, to ensureevery student demonstrates improvement in learning outcomes.


We have invested significantly in collaborative planning processes for all staff. All staff spend two full days workingtogether to create and improve teaching programs. Scope and sequence documents were completed for English andMathematics and we prepared for the implementation of the new Science & Technology syllabus. The whole team joinedthe iPlay program in conjunction with Woolongong University which will be completed in early 2019. This has improvedteacher confidence in teaching sport and physical education.





K–6 scope & sequencedocuments are prepared for allKey Learning Areas and meetNESA requirements.

TPL session: 4 x afternoons English and Mathematics Scope & Sequencedocuments completed.

All learning and teachingprograms are preparedcollaboratively and comply withNESA requirements.

Collaborative planningdays: 30 x $500/day = $15000

All teaching programs are collaboratively planned.

10% of teaching staff are in thepreliminary stages of higher levelaccreditation.

TPL: $1 000

NBLA Network meetings

Following initial exploration, two staff numbers havechosen to begin higher accreditation. Thisrepresented 5% of our team.

Teachers confidence levels andattitudes towards teachingphysical education improveagainst baseline survey data.

iPlay lessons: Free

Lesson observations: 30 x1/3 = 10 Hours or $5 000

100% of teachers enrolled in iPlay reported anincrease in confidence when teaching PE and otheroutdoor lessons.

Next Steps


• Implementation of learning progressions for literacy and numeracy. • continue to ensure ALL curriculum documents meet NESA requirements. • teaching and learning programs are annotated online. • all stages have up–to–date assessment schedules.



Quality Relationships

Purpose

To enhance and develop student, staff, parent and community sense of belonging and commitment to the school.Maintain and improve quality relationships with all stakeholders.


Our first year of online reporting to parents was a success, with the parent community being very supportive. RestorativePractices was successfully implemented into out student wellbeing programs with all staff confident to use the languageof RP when interacting with children and solving problems. There have been some decreases in negative behaviours asreported through the Sentral data. This may be result of the conflicting data as we merge across to the Sentral database.Exit surveys by Year 6 students showed that 88.4% felt academically prepared for high school and 89.8% felt sociallyprepared for high school. 91.3% said their primary school experience at BNPS was positive. These are figures we arevery proud of.





Decrease in the reporting ofnegative behaviours by 10%.

Sentral AnnualSubscription: $7 000

The Sentral system has allowed us to track andmonitor individual incidents and see trends innegative behaviour.

Improve parent participation andinvolvement in student wellbeingprograms.

Online surveys

Catering: $60

Parent focus groups were established to review theschool uniform. Year 6 parents were surveyedabout their child's primary school experience.

100% of aboriginal studentsdevelop, implement and evaluatetheir personalised learning plans.

$1 300 RAM AboriginalEquity Funding

All our Aboriginal students have PLPs which areregularly monitored by classroom teachers,Learning & Support Teachers and the DiverseLearners Team.

Students have the opportunity toengage with local Aboriginalpeople and their cultures in ameaningful way.

Dave Lardner – DoEAboriginal Educationconsultant. No charge toour school.

DL has been working with the teachers to ensureAboriginal education and culture is portrayedaccurately and with respect. This work is ongoingwith many new 'on–country' experiences plannedfor the staff in 2019.

Next Steps


• Continued staff training and awareness of Restorative Practices & monitor data. • Create Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) for the school. • Continued parental contact across a range of important school issues.


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

Aboriginal background loading • Aboriginal BackgroundLoading ($1 300.00)

• All 25 classes have written and displayedtheir Acknowledgement of Country.

Low level adjustment for disability • Low level adjustment fordisability ($99 295.00)

• Additional 10 days/week SLSO timeprovided to support classroom learning. • LAST employed for 3 days/week.

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

• Quality Teaching,Successful Students(QTSS) ($108 173.00)

• Funding spent to employ a full–timeInstructional Leader to work with all staff toimprove teaching practice.

Socio–economic background • Socio–economicbackground ($4 570.00)

• Funding to ensure no child missed out onlearning opportunities due to financialhardship.

Support for beginning teachers • Support for beginningteachers ($25 000.00)

• Identified beginning teachers provided withadditional RFF to manage administrativeworkload. • Weekly Mentor program established for allnew teachers.

Targeted student support forrefugees and new arrivals

• N/A • N/A


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2015 2016 2017 2018

Boys 313 312 312 318

Girls 328 322 297 289

Student numbers have remained steady over the pastfew years at Balgowlah North. We only accept localarea enrolments due to increased enrolment pressuresand the lack of permanent classroom facilities. Ournumbers dipped slightly to 606 this year and weanticipate dropping a class in 2019. However, with therecent completion of an extensive school upgrade toManly Vale PS, increasing its capacity to 1000+enrolments, we are expecting local boundaries to beredrawn which will have a negative impact on ourschool's numbers in coming years.

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

K 96.7 96.5 96.8 96.4

1 95 95.5 96.6 95.9

2 95.8 95.8 96 94.9

3 95.3 95.5 96.2 95.8

4 95.5 94 95.1 95

5 95 95.1 95.3 92.5

6 92.9 94.8 95.2 94.9

All Years 95.3 95.3 95.9 95.1

State DoE

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

K 94.4 94.4 94.4 93.8

1 93.8 93.9 93.8 93.4

2 94 94.1 94 93.5

3 94.1 94.2 94.1 93.6

4 94 93.9 93.9 93.4

5 94 93.9 93.8 93.2

6 93.5 93.4 93.3 92.5

All Years 94 94 93.9 93.4

Management of non-attendance

Student attendance is high. At 95%+ over the pastnumber of years, attendance remains consistently

above state DoE averages and in line with otherschools in the local area and within the former NorthernSydney Region. The Home School Liaison Officerregularly monitors our students' attendance and workswith one child as part of his caseload. Teachers followup absences within two days of students being awayand mark attendance in the ebs4 system. Weintroduced an online absence reporting system throughthe school app which is well used by the parentcommunity.

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal(s) 1

Deputy Principal(s) 1

Assistant Principal(s) 4

Classroom Teacher(s) 23.13

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.6

Teacher Librarian 1.2

School Administration and SupportStaff

4.06

*Full Time Equivalent

The Australian Education Regulation 2014 requiresschools to report on Aboriginal composition of theirworkforce. We do not have any Aboriginal staff atBalgowlah North Public School.

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 17

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

This year, our staff participated in valuable weeklyprofessional learning sessions to support studentlearning outcomes and mandatory guidelines.Curriculum development and planning was coveredduring stage meetings which are held in addition towhole school professional learning. We joined with 10other primary schools in the Northern BeachesLearning Alliance (NBLA) for a combined schooldevelopment day led by Michael Carr–Gregg and DrKristy Goodwin. The focus on this day was about


teaching the iGeneration of learners and the importantlife skills to be successful throughout school andbeyond. This event allowed the opportunity to networkwith 440 staff from neighbouring schools. The teachingstaff were also trained in the methods of Seven Stepsto Writing Success, a writing program proven toimprove the quality of children's writing. End of yeardata shows significant growth from the baseline datacollected during first term. The entire staff took part inthe iPlay professional learning program coordinated beAustralian Catholic University and Western SydneyUniversity to improve teacher quality and skills inphysical education. Fourteen online modules werefollowed by mentor observations by an external mentor.Peer observations and feedback sessions were thenorganised between class teachers. By mid–2019, ourteachers will be accredited with 30 registeredprofessional learning hours. Our staff also completedCPR and anaphylaxis training and our early careerteachers took part in a fortnightly mentoring programled by our deputy principal.

From the beginning of this year, all of our pre–2004teachers were accredited by the NSW EducationStandards Authority (NESA) at proficient level.

Financial information

Financial summary

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from 1 January 2018 to 31December 2018.

2018 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 230,160

Revenue 5,554,453

Appropriation 4,457,589

Sale of Goods and Services 31,847

Grants and Contributions 1,052,859

Gain and Loss 0

Other Revenue 6,789

Investment Income 5,369

Expenses -5,407,247

Recurrent Expenses -5,407,247

Employee Related -4,255,476

Operating Expenses -1,151,771

Capital Expenses 0

Employee Related 0

Operating Expenses 0

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

147,206

Balance Carried Forward 377,366

We are grateful for the contributions from our schoolcommunity which allow us to run additional programsand employ additional staff. We have saved $70 000which will be the school's contribution towards our newCOLA and Futsal court. Building will commence in early2019.

Financial summary equity funding

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

2018 Actual ($)

Base Total 4,052,567

Base Per Capita 117,762

Base Location 0

Other Base 3,934,805

Equity Total 105,165

Equity Aboriginal 1,300

Equity Socio economic 4,570

Equity Language 0

Equity Disability 99,295

Targeted Total 37,897

Other Total 109,486

Grand Total 4,305,115

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.

From 2018 to 2020 NAPLAN is moving from a papertest to an online test. Individual schools are migrating tothe online test, with some schools attempting NAPLANon paper and others online.

Results for both online and paper formats are reported


on the same NAPLAN assessment scale. Anycomparison of NAPLAN results – such as comparisonsto previous NAPLAN results or to results for studentswho did the assessment in a different format – shouldtake into consideration the different test formats andare discouraged during these transition years.

This year, our Year 3 results show we have 78% in thetop two bands in Reading, up by 8% on last year. OurYear 5 results show a decrease in the top two bands forreading. Writing results were disappointing but we arecertain our school–based results using the Seven Stepsto Writing Success will translate into an improvement infuture NAPLAN results.

We tracked 75 students from Years 3–5. The resultsshowed:

* 72% of students achieved better than expectedgrowth in reading, which is a 7% increase last year.

* Overall, BNPS children were gaining better thanexpected growth across all assessed areas, comparedto State and statistically–similar schools figures.


This year, our Year 3 results show we have 67% in thetop two bands for numeracy. Our Year 5 results showwe have 47% in the top two bands for numeracy. Theseresults are lower than last year's figures. Our studentshad trouble with multi–step word and number problems,solving visual number patterns and probability.


The My School website provides detailed informationand data for national literacy and numeracy testing. Goto http://www.myschool.edu.au to access the schooldata..

The Premier's Priorities: Increase the proportion ofNSW students in the top two NAPLAN bands by eight

per cent by 2019. • Year 3 Reading = 78% • Year 3 Numeracy = 67%

• Year 5 Reading = 49% • Year 5 Numeracy = 47%

State Priorities: Better services – Improving Aboriginaleducation outcomes in the top two NAPLAN bands. • We had one Aboriginal student who performed in

the top two bands for all areas.

Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

Each year schools are required to seek the opinions ofparents, students and teachers about the school. Theirresponses are presented below:

In March, the student leaders conducted a parentdoorstop survey asking two key questions: What doesour school do well? What could our school do better?We received 68 responses. • Parent responses indicated that there is a strong

sense of community at Balgowlah North witheffective communication practices between homeand school. The teachers were praised for theirhard work and dedication and the quality ofschool facilities was acknowledged.

• Areas for improvement included keeping theplayground tidy, installing a pool and streamliningthe school uniform.

At the end of the year, we surveyed the leaving Year 6students and their parents about their experiences overthe past seven years at BNPS. We received 68 studentresponses which was 89% of the cohort and 23 parentresponses which was 23% of our Year 6 families. • Student results showed that 95% of students felt

their learning experience at BNPS was positive,90% felt they were academically and sociallyprepared for high school and 95% believed BNPShad cl;ear behavioural expectations.

• Parent responses showed 90% believed theirchild was taught well, that their child felt safe andthere was a good standard of behaviour at BNPS.83% thought their child made good overallprogress and 78% believed their child's particularneeds were met.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Balgowlah North Public School is committed toimproving the educational outcomes and wellbeing ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. We hadtwo students in 2018 who identified as being ofAboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. BNPSpromotes respect for the unique and ancient culture ofthe Aboriginal people in the following forms:


• Acknowledging the traditional custodians of theland in all assemblies.

• Integration of Aboriginal perspectives across KeyLearning Areas so students can develop deepknowledge and understanding about Australia'sfirst peoples.

• We have commenced with Aboriginal EducationConsultants Dave Lardner and ClarenceBruinsma to support the delivery of authenticon–country experiences for staff and students,write acknowledgement of country for each classand to create a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

Multicultural and anti-racism education

The role of the Anti–Racism Contact Officer (ARCO) inschools is to be the contact between students, staff,parents and community members who wish to make acomplaint regarding racism. Mrs Mason is the trainedARCO for Balgowlah North Public School and in 2018she did not deal with any reported incidents of racismby individual students. The ARCO role involvespromoting the values of respect for all races andcultures and our school expectations of beingrespectful, responsible and safe.


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