Blackwater State School

ANNUAL REPORT

2018 Queensland State School Reporting

Every student succeeding State Schools Strategy

Department of Education

2018 Annual Report 1 Blackwater State School

Contact information

Postal address PO Box 44 Blackwater 4717

Phone (07) 4986 0111

Fax (07) 4986 0100

Email principal@blackwaterss.eq.edu.au

Webpages Additional information about Queensland state schools is located on:

the My School website

the Queensland Government data website

the Queensland Government schools directory website.

Contact person Vanessa Koina - Principal

2018 Annual Report 2 Blackwater State School

From the Principal

School overview

Blackwater State School is a coeducational school that caters for students from Prep to Year 6 and is located approximately 200km west of Rockhampton. The school was the first primary school in Blackwater and opened on 21st November 1877 and was relocated to its current site in 1967 as a result of the development of the coal mining industry in Blackwater. The school prides itself on a culture of collegial support and mutual respect. We acknowledge our school vision that 'every day, in every classroom, every student is learning and achieving to the best of their ability. We achieve this by - Knowing our students (through regular internal monitoring, moderation and data collection), Differentiating the curriculum to engage our students and Teaching with a quality Pedagogical Framework. The staff, students and community are extremely proud and respectful of our school and what everyone brings to our diverse and unique school environment. Blackwater State School offers a learning environment that caters for all by using a combination of small classes operating in large, open, air-conditioned classrooms and teachers and teacher aides team consistently being in classrooms every day. Our school grounds are well maintained and utilised by our students on a regular basis for Morning Moves, PE classes and lunch time activities. At Blackwater State School we provide quality learning experiences in a safe, caring and supportive environment. We are committed to achieving the best educational outcomes for every student in our school. Our staff successfully create friendly, stimulating and engaging learning environments for all students by leading the way in curriculum, pedagogy, differentiation and assessment. All members of the Blackwater State School community acknowledge our school motto 'Strive to Achieve' for all students and their families and are proud of Blackwater State School. We acknowledge our school values of 'Respect, responsibility, Effort and Safety by aligning these to our behaviour expectations.

This Annual Report helps the school to share with parents and other members of the school community information about the school, its strengths and its performance for 2018. This Annual Report includes contextual information such as the curriculum, opportunities for parental involvement and extra-curricular activities, as well as student outcome data such as the National Assessment Program Literacy & Numeracy (NAPLAN) Tests. Interested people can access this Annual Report via our school website or from the school administration upon request.

School progress towards its goals in 2018

By the end of the 2016 school year, the school community had produced an updated Strategic Plan for enactment from 2017 to 2020 which outlined improvement agenda priorities. Priorities were set in the following areas with positive initial progress made in all areas of this revised Strategic Plan.

School Performance - Focusing on improvements for all student Levels of Achievement (LoA, i.e. ‘A’ to ‘E’ reporting data) and NAPLAN Writing data by ensuring practices are consistent and collaborative when focusing on the teaching of Writing.

Teaching Quality - Successful implementation of the Australian Curriculum focusing on differentiation, an embedded culture of feedback and building an expert teaching team.

Successful Learners - Ensuring a consistent use and delivery of the school behaviour plan, effective use and allocation of resources and that teachers are provided with opportunities to build the capability of themselves and students to be global citizens.

Leadership - Seeking and providing leadership opportunities for all staff to develop responsibilities and roles within the school.

Local Decision Making - Establish strong, innovative and strategic partnerships to contribute to the success of all Blackwater State School students.

Future outlook

Priorities set in the 2019 Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) include:

2018 Annual Report 3 Blackwater State School

School Performance

Ensuring consistent whole-school practices around the quality teaching of reading responsive to student needs.

Ensuring consistent whole-school practices around the quality teaching of writing responsive to student needs.

Work collaboratively within the school and across schools using inquiry cycles to improve student outcomes.

Teaching Quality

Continue to implement the Australian Curriculum by collaboratively reviewing and planning the whole school curriculum plan to ensure programs reflect local context.

Building an expert teaching team by ensuring professional learnings are aligned to improvement agenda, with consideration for the high proportion of beginning teachers at BSS.

Create and embed a feedback culture incorporating lesson observations (including peer observations), coaching, moderation and feedback.

Review the pedagogical framework to enable a clear and consistent approaches in all classrooms.

Successful Learners

Ensure Responsible Behaviour Plan for students is consistent and responsive to the context school wide.

Leadership

Establish and communicate clear leadership roles, responsibilities and relationships.

Establish governance structure (including LCC) aligned with program management processes.

Local Decision Making

Implement the Parent and Community Engagement Framework to engage the community, business and industry in strong, innovative and strategic partnerships.

Continue to develop and promote the schools achievements and events in the wider community.

Our school at a glance

School profile

Coeducational or single sex Coeducational

Independent public school No

Year levels offered in 2018 Prep Year - Year 6

2018 Annual Report 4 Blackwater State School

Student enrolments

Table 1: Student enrolments at this school

Enrolment category 2016 2017 2018

Notes:

1. Student counts are based on the Census (August) enrolment collection.

2. Indigenous refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia.

3. pre-Prep is a kindergarten program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, living in 35 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, in the year before school.

Total 149 183 205

Girls 69 79 86

Boys 80 104 119

Indigenous 52 55 55

Enrolment continuity (Feb. – Nov.) 88% 88% 90%

In 2018, there were no students enrolled in a pre-Prep program.

Characteristics of the student body

Overview

The majority of students attending Blackwater SS are of European background and come from English speaking backgrounds. Our Indigenous population is approximately 40% of our total enrolments and Indigenous values are a respected part of our school community. Our school community includes a range of socio-economic backgrounds, family situations and a diverse student body. Blackwater, a mining town, experiences transience hence some of our students may be transitioning between schools and places of residence throughout the year. Blackwater State School offers many opportunities to ensure students’ learning needs are met, i.e. via Intervention Programs and forms of student support and extension, and that successful transitions occur between schools.

Average class sizes

Table 2: Average class size information for each phase of schooling

Phase of schooling 2016 2017 2018

Note:

The class size targets for composite classes are informed by the relevant year level target. Where composite classes exist across cohorts (e.g. year 3/4) the class size targets would be the lower cohort target.

Prep – Year 3 24 17 18

Year 4 – Year 6 27 26 22

Year 7 – Year 10

Year 11 – Year 12

Curriculum delivery

Our approach to curriculum delivery

Blackwater SS’s curriculum offerings are based on the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Australian Curriculum. Our Explicit Improvement Agenda focus areas are aligned with our Whole-school Curriculum Plan and teacher delivery of content aligned with our Whole-school Pedagogical Framework. The signature pedagogy of Explicit Instruction (EI) is beginning to be implemented by all teachers as an important aspect of curriculum delivery. Our teachers also incorporate two school based programs; 7 Steps to Writing Success and W2S2R (Write to Spell to Read) into each classroom from Prep to Year 6.

Co-curricular activities

Each year Blackwater SS, in consultation with the school community, offers a number of extra-curricular activities that students may participate in. Extra-curricular activities include:

2018 Annual Report 5 Blackwater State School

The Arts – students have the opportunity to participate in the Instrumental program offered at the school. Here students receive individual tutoring with various instruments on a weekly basis and are given the opportunity to showcase their skills when performing within the school community. Students also have the opportunity to participate in our school choir which meets weekly to practice and rehearse for various public performances throughout the year. Our Creative Arts teacher is also a trained guitar teacher and offers lunch time guitar club for all students.

Indigenous links – students are given opportunities to work with local Indigenous Elders and receive access to additional services, support and activities through our links with the Central Highlands Regional Council Indigenous Community Development Officer. Our whole-school participation in community NAIDOC celebrations is an activity the school community value and enjoy each year.

Sporting – students are given opportunities to participate in a variety of school based and representative sporting activities throughout the year. These include cross country, athletics, swimming, rugby league, rugby union, netball and golf. Our PE teacher is also a qualified gymnastics coach and has a full gym area that students have supervised access to at lunch breaks.

How information and communication technologies are used to assist learning

Blackwater SS acknowledges that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s) are embedded and integrated through classroom teaching programs and thus ICT’s are seen as integral parts of teaching and learning on a regular basis to foster, support and consolidate student learning. Hence we believe students should be capable users of ICT’s as one of the many learning tools available to them to investigate, create and communicate understanding of content covered. Staff at Blackwater SS use ICT’s as a resource to communicate with others, to locate, create, record, store, organize and retrieve information. This resource is also used when teachers plan, e.g. OneSchool, and present teaching programs. Staff and students at Blackwater SS use ICT resources such as digital cameras, electronic / interactive whiteboards, iPods, iPads, flip video cameras, MP3’s and computers to help achieve curriculum goals, to gather information and to communicate with others (i.e. email) and to locate, create, record, store, organize and retrieve information. OneSchool is the ‘single point of truth’ used by all state schools to house a variety of school, student, staff and parent details. Blackwater SS has a dedicated Computer Lab and also has computers available for use by all students, staff and community members in the Library and in Classrooms. Our computers are linked to a server via fibre optic cable and/or wireless technology that allows for a secure whole of school ICT network that can access a variety of software and Internet resources.

Social climate

Overview

The school climate at Blackwater SS can best be described as one of ‘mutual respect’ where as our School Motto suggests we “Strive to Achieve”. A caring, supportive positive and productive social climate exists at Blackwater State School that focuses on providing quality teaching and learning which helps to equip students to fulfil their full potential. Our weekly School Assemblies are used to reinforce our School Values of Respect, Responsibility, Effort & Safety and also to acknowledge the positive behaviour of our students. Once a week staff, students and families gather for breakfast club. The breakfast club is kindly donated by a local business who with parents and school staff prepare the breakfast for all. This weekly gathering allows everyone to share a meal and meet informally. Blackwater SS acknowledges bullying through our Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students. Blackwater SS has explicit procedures in place for preventing and responding to incidents of bullying (including Cyberbullying) should they take place. Blackwater SS believes there is no place for bullying at the school. Research indicates that both those being bullied and those who bully are at risk of behavioural, emotional and academic difficulties.

Parent, student and staff satisfaction

Tables 3–5 show selected items from the Parent/Caregiver, Student and Staff School Opinion Surveys.

Table 3: Parent opinion survey

Percentage of parents/caregivers who agree# that: 2016 2017 2018

their child is getting a good education at school (S2016) 88% 97% 100%

this is a good school (S2035) 94% 97% 91%

2018 Annual Report 6 Blackwater State School

Percentage of parents/caregivers who agree# that: 2016 2017 2018

their child likes being at this school* (S2001) 94% 91% 100%

their child feels safe at this school* (S2002) 82% 91% 100%

their child's learning needs are being met at this school* (S2003) 76% 94% 100%

their child is making good progress at this school* (S2004) 88% 97% 100%

teachers at this school expect their child to do his or her best* (S2005) 94% 100% 100%

teachers at this school provide their child with useful feedback about his or her school work* (S2006)

82% 94% 100%

teachers at this school motivate their child to learn* (S2007) 88% 94% 100%

teachers at this school treat students fairly* (S2008) 82% 89% 91%

they can talk to their child's teachers about their concerns* (S2009) 94% 97% 100%

this school works with them to support their child's learning* (S2010) 82% 97% 91%

this school takes parents' opinions seriously* (S2011) 88% 94% 70%

student behaviour is well managed at this school* (S2012) 88% 77% 73%

this school looks for ways to improve* (S2013) 88% 97% 82%

this school is well maintained* (S2014) 88% 91% 100%

* Nationally agreed student and parent/caregiver items.

# ‘Agree’ represents the percentage of respondents who Somewhat Agree, Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement.

DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.

Table 4: Student opinion survey

Percentage of students who agree# that: 2016 2017 2018

they are getting a good education at school (S2048) 95% 99% 93%

they like being at their school* (S2036) 91% 97% 96%

they feel safe at their school* (S2037) 92% 94% 74%

their teachers motivate them to learn* (S2038) 97% 97% 100%

their teachers expect them to do their best* (S2039) 97% 99% 100%

their teachers provide them with useful feedback about their school work* (S2040)

95% 97% 93%

teachers treat students fairly at their school* (S2041) 88% 81% 70%

they can talk to their teachers about their concerns* (S2042) 89% 95% 85%

their school takes students' opinions seriously* (S2043) 86% 93% 88%

student behaviour is well managed at their school* (S2044) 80% 83% 59%

their school looks for ways to improve* (S2045) 94% 96% 96%

their school is well maintained* (S2046) 92% 96% 85%

their school gives them opportunities to do interesting things* (S2047) 92% 96% 89%

* Nationally agreed student and parent/caregiver items.

# ‘Agree’ represents the percentage of respondents who Somewhat Agree, Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement.

DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.

2018 Annual Report 7 Blackwater State School

Table 5: Staff opinion survey

Percentage of school staff who agree# that: 2016 2017 2018

they enjoy working at their school (S2069) 100% 100% 100%

they feel that their school is a safe place in which to work (S2070) 100% 100% 100%

they receive useful feedback about their work at their school (S2071) 95% 96% 88%

they feel confident embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives across the learning areas (S2114)

100% 100% 89%

students are encouraged to do their best at their school (S2072) 100% 100% 100%

students are treated fairly at their school (S2073) 100% 100% 94%

student behaviour is well managed at their school (S2074) 100% 100% 94%

staff are well supported at their school (S2075) 95% 100% 59%

their school takes staff opinions seriously (S2076) 100% 96% 71%

their school looks for ways to improve (S2077) 100% 100% 76%

their school is well maintained (S2078) 100% 100% 94%

their school gives them opportunities to do interesting things (S2079) 90% 96% 81%

* Nationally agreed student and parent/caregiver items.

# ‘Agree’ represents the percentage of respondents who Somewhat Agree, Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement.

DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.

Parent and community engagement

Blackwater SS encourages parents / caregivers and family members to be an important part of school life. Parents are regularly encouraged to help in classrooms, participate in school activities such as excursions and camps along with participating in monthly P&C Meetings. Parents support the school by also accompanying their children to sporting events and other extracurricular activities. Parent Information sessions are also held throughout the year to help inform parents of procedures and expectations. In addition to this, each Semester, parents are provided with a Report card for each of their children and they are also given the opportunity to discuss the progress of their children with teaching staff. The ‘open door’ policy that exists at Blackwater SS is welcoming of parents and encourages regular communications between school and home in both formal and informal situations as the need may arise. Parents are valued members of the ‘teaching team’ at Blackwater SS and they actively participate in areas of student support such as developing Individual Curriculum Plans (ICP’s) and the student Verification process where required.

Respectful relationships education programs

Blackwater State School staff, students and families pride themselves on being accepting and welcoming of all. We celebrate our differences and consistently display respect within all interactions. The school has developed and implemented programs that focus on appropriate, respectful and healthy relationships. This includes personal safety and awareness, including identifying and responding to abuse and violence, with specific reference to preventing and responding to domestic and family violence and abuse; increasing gender equality, developing students’ knowledge and skills to be able to resolve conflict without violence and to recognise, react and report when they, or others, are unsafe. The curriculum and the school community collaboratively build a culture that seeks to prevent gender based violence, through the building of respectful relationships.

2018 Annual Report 8 Blackwater State School

School disciplinary absences

Table 6: Count of incidents for students recommended for school disciplinary absences at this school

Type of school disciplinary absence

2016 2017 2018

Note:

School disciplinary absences (SDAs) are absences enforced by a school for student conduct that is prejudicial to the good order and management of the school.

Short suspensions – 1 to 10 days 0 8 28

Long suspensions – 11 to 20 days 0 0 5

Exclusions 0 0 0

Cancellations of enrolment 0 0 0

Environmental footprint

Reducing this school’s environmental footprint

Blackwater SS is effectively using solar panels to help reduce energy expenditure. Interactive whiteboards and other ICT’s are used in classrooms to reduce paper usage. Water usage is managed and a balance found to maintain our grounds in a safe way whilst also being careful not to waste water.

Table 7: Environmental footprint indicators for this school

Utility category 2015–2016 2016–2017 2017–2018

Note:

Consumption data is compiled from sources including ERM, Ergon reports and utilities data entered into OneSchool* by schools. The data provides an indication of the consumption trend in each of the utility categories which impact on this school’s environmental footprint.

*OneSchool is the department's comprehensive software suite that schools use to run safe, secure, sustainable and consistent reporting and administrative processes.

Electricity (kWh) 126,634 120,493 93,026

Water (kL) 7,347 4,897 12,366

School funding

School income broken down by funding source

School income, reported by financial year accounting cycle using standardized national methodologies and broken down by funding source is available via the My School website at.

How to access our income details

1. Click on the My School link http://www.myschool.edu.au/.

2. Enter the school name or suburb of the school you wish to search.

3. Click on ‘View School Profile’ of the appropriate school to access the school’s profile.

4. Click on ‘Finances’ and select the appropriate year to view the school financial information.

2018 Annual Report 9 Blackwater State School

Note:

If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a hard copy of the school’s financial information.

Our staff profile

Workforce composition

Staff composition, including Indigenous staff

Table 8: Workforce composition for this school

Description Teaching staff* Non-teaching staff Indigenous** staff

Headcounts 14 17 <5

Full-time equivalents 13 10 <5

*Teaching staff includes School Leaders.

** Indigenous refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia.

Qualification of all teachers

Table 9: Teacher qualifications for classroom teachers and school leaders at this school

Highest level of qualification Number of qualifications

*Graduate Diploma etc. includes Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours Degree, and Graduate Certificate.

Doctorate

Masters 2

Graduate Diploma etc.*

Bachelor degree 12

Diploma

Certificate

Professional development

Expenditure on and teacher participation in professional development

The total funds expended on teacher professional development in 2018 were $ 7906.69

The major professional development initiatives are as follows:

W2S2R (Write to Spell to Read) program

Leadership Programs – High Performing Teams

The proportion of the teaching staff involved in professional development activities during 2018 was 100%.

2018 Annual Report 10 Blackwater State School

Staff attendance and retention

Staff attendance

Table 10: Average staff attendance for this school as percentages

Description 2016 2017 2018

Staff attendance for permanent and temporary staff and school leaders. 98% 99% 97%

Proportion of staff retained from the previous school year

From the end of the previous school year, 62% of staff were retained by the school for the entire 2018.

Performance of our students

Key student outcomes

Student attendance

The overall student attendance rate in 2018 for all Queensland state Primary schools was 92%.

Tables 11–12 show attendance rates at this school as percentages.

Table 11: Overall student attendance at this school

Description 2016 2017 2018

Overall attendance rate* for students at this school 86% 90% 91%

Attendance rate for Indigenous** students at this school 81% 84% 84%

* Student attendance rate = the total of full-days and part-days that students attended divided by the total of all possible days for students to attend (expressed as a percentage).

** Indigenous refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia.

Table 12: Average student attendance rates for each year level at this school

Year level 2016 2017 2018 Year level 2016 2017 2018

Notes:

1. Attendance rates effectively count attendance for every student for every day of attendance in Semester 1.

2. Student attendance rate = the total of full-days and part-days that students attended divided by the total of all possible days for students to attend (expressed as a percentage).

3. DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.

Prep 76% 86% 90% Year 7 DW

Year 1 86% 89% 90% Year 8

Year 2 88% 90% 91% Year 9

Year 3 88% 90% 92% Year 10

Year 4 90% 86% 89% Year 11

Year 5 86% 92% 89% Year 12

Year 6 92% 93% 92%

2018 Annual Report 11 Blackwater State School

Student attendance distribution

Graph 1: Proportion of students by attendance rate

Description of how this school manages non-attendance

Queensland state schools manage non-attendance in line with the Queensland Department of Education procedures: Managing Student Absences and Enforcing Enrolment and Attendance at State Schools; and Roll Marking in State Schools, which outline processes for managing and recording student attendance and absenteeism.

Attendance, via Class Rolls, is checked twice daily through the OneSchool electronic system. Classroom teachers attend to this at 9:00am and 1:45pm each day. Parents are contacted by staff to explain any unexplained absences and further to this as is required, letters are sent home to parents to gather this information. In addition to this, management processes that support classroom teachers include:

Students who arrive after 9:00am are to be accompanied to the school administration by a parent to explain the Late Arrival and to provide the student with a Late Slip to be passed on to the class teacher on arrival at the classroom.

Students who seek permission to leave the school grounds during the day are required to have their parents contact the school to seek permission and to explain the reason for this. Students are to be picked up from the school administration where parents are required to ‘sign out’ their child in the appropriate register.

NAPLAN Our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 NAPLAN tests are available via the My School website.

How to access our NAPLAN results

1. Click on the My School link http://www.myschool.edu.au/.

2. Enter the school name or suburb of the school you wish to search.

3. Click on ‘View School Profile’ of the appropriate school to access the school’s profile.

4. Click on ‘NAPLAN’ to access the school NAPLAN information.

19

31

35

15

11

15

25

23

22

42

35

28

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2018

2017

2016

Proportion of Students

Attendance Rate: 0% to <85% 85% to <90% 90% to <95% 95% to 100%

2018 Annual Report 12 Blackwater State School

Notes:

1. If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a hard copy of the school’s NAPLAN results.

2. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.