Annual Report 2014

Instructions for Using the Preschool Annual Report Template This Preschool Annual Report template has been provided to aid in the development of your site’s annual report. Full details of the requirements for completing the Annual Report can be obtained from the Essential Requirements 2014 document at http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/accountability/pages/cg0001005/annualreporting/. Please note: The data for your report will be available in SPeRS early November 2014. To assist leaders, SPeRS will also provide selected data reports for your own site. Sites are encouraged to copy and paste the charts and tables from these reports to ensure that all the Essential Requirements 2014 are included in the site’s Annual Report. <Deleting comments> Please note all highlighted <comments> in red MUST be deleted from your report. They are there to help guide you with the content of your report. Any sections that are not relevant for your site can be deleted. Please ensure you also delete this instruction page from the template. You will need to replace ‘Preschool Name’ on the front page of the report with your preschool name.

Data for your Reports Data for your report can be found in the SPeRS report Data for Annual Report. It has been

formatted so you can simply copy and paste the tables and charts you require from this document to your template. If you find the tables and charts in this report do not meet your needs, as in the past, you may also choose to use the Data Profiles or the Site Summary Report in SPeRS.

Finance data will come from your End of Year Profit and Loss Statement. You can choose to enter the data in the table provided in the template or attach your End of Year Profit and Loss Statement as an appendix.

Hints and Tips for Formatting your Report More information on how to copy and paste charts and tables or move text around them is

available from the Annual Report Template Tips document at http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/accountability/files/links/SPERS04_Annual_Report_Tips.pdf

For copying and pasting from PDF documents e.g. Opinion Survey please check out the following document

http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/accountability/files/links/SPERS02_Copying_from_PDF_v.pdf

Contact Details For any queries regarding the data sets or the annual report templates please contact Data Management and Information Systems: Rex Bowden Information Analyst Email: rex.bowden@sa.gov.au Phone: 8226 1467

Version 2.4 3/10/2014

Annual Report 2014

Willunga Preschool Annual Report

2014

Annual Report 2014

Page 1

1. CONTEXT

Preschool Name: Willunga Preschool Preschool Number: 3699

Preschool Director: Megan Webster Partnership: Sea and Vines

BRIEF CONTEXT 2014 We experienced our first year of the same first day policy with all of our children commencing Preschool in term 1. We began the year with 72 enrollments and at the end of term 4 we had 71 children enrolled and ready to commence Primary School in 2015. Willunga Preschool experienced a leadership change this year mid-term 2 with Rita taking on a position at another site and a new temporary director, Megan Webster appointed for the rest of 2014. The transition to new leadership was very smooth with the whole staff team worked together to ensure that the transition for the children and families was positive. We successfully ensured no disruption to the learning programs, these were maintained effectively during that period with positive learning outcomes for the children.

2. REPORT FROM GOVERNING COUNCIL

Chairperson's Report 2014 The role of the Parent Voice is to provide support to the preschool director, teaching staff and support staff by assisting with fundraising, important decision making on where funding is to be directed, resources needed, and to some extent, what activities the children are going to be involved in during the year. Last year, the Parent Voice's main role was assisting in fundraising activities, the most successful of these being the kindy wheelathon which raised over $1000. The children were involved in the community through events such as the Almond Blossom Festival parade, where the children had fun dressing up in whatever their hearts desired as part of celebrating the theme “Past, Present & Future” to coincide with Willunga's 175th birthday celebrations. In addition, the preschool's inaugural art show, held alongside the festival, showcased the artistic talents of the students and gave the community at large a glimpse of their visions. At the end of the year the students participated in the annual Christmas Tree Festival at the Uniting Church by again celebrating the “present” and decorated a small giftbox each for the kindy tree that represented their likes, loves, and individual personalities. Linked to the kindy, and held at the primary school in the drama room, is the local playgroup. Numbers have been consistent, thanks in part to the creative program run by the departing coordinator Sofie Amos. We wish the new coordinator Kimberley the best of luck in following in Sofie's footsteps. We had a major change part way through the year with the shock departure of our director Rita. Although we accepted her decision, we nervously awaited the appointment of our incumbent director, Megan. Within days, we realised what a great fit Megan was for our centre, and the community at large, including the primary school principal Mick Underwood, and reception teachers Sandy Graham and Leanne Crockford, have welcomed her wholeheartedly and enjoys what she brings to our community. We were thoroughly delighted to learn at the end of the year that Megan was reappointed to the position for 2015. In finishing, I have truly enjoyed being chairperson this past year, and I would like to thank Megan, the Parent Voice team, and the preschool staff for their support, and I look forward to serving another year on the committee. Alison Fawcett 9th February 2015

Annual Report 2014

Page 2

3. HIGHLIGHTS 2014

2014 was a year a change at Willunga Preschool with the introduction of the “Same First Day”. This was the first year that all children who turned 4 between the 1st of May and the 30th of April began their Preschool year in term one with no other intakes throughout the year. To help ease the transition of 72 new students into the Preschool sessions in the first two weeks of the year each of the groups were divided in half to allow for smaller amounts of children and parents transitioning at the same time. This model worked successfully to integrate the children and families into the routines of the Preschool.

Mid-way through term 2 a change of leadership occurred with Rita taking on a temporary position at another Preschool. The whole staff team worked together with the new Director to enable a seamless transition of leadership, with little disruption for either the children or the families.

At the start of term 3 the Preschool was once again involved in the Almond blossom festival parade through the high street to celebrate the start of the annual festival. This year however the Preschool held an art show in the Willunga Show Hall directly after the parade. This was an opportunity for the Preschool to showcase the children’s learning to the wider community, as well as a fundraiser as we sold framed an unframed artwork to the families after viewing it at the show. This was such a successful event that the Almond Blossom Festival Co-ordinator has invited the Preschool to be involved in the 2015 Festival.

In term 4 the Preschool co-ordinated with the staff in the Reception Unit at Willunga Primary School to engage in a program to help our children in coping with changing environments and learning about the aspects of school life. Throughout most of term 4 (weeks 1-7) each Preschool student visited the Reception unit for an hour with some of the reception class students and teachers. Half of the children from each site swapped, sharing time and experiences. This programme set the foundation for our Pre-schoolers to have successful transitions to school life and further developed positive relationships between the Primary school and the Preschool communities.

Parent opinion survey returned with positive results. One area that was highlighted for improvement was how the Centre helps families to engage with services in the within the community.

At the end of term 4 Rita won a Director’s position at another Preschool and will not be returning in 2015. Megan Webster won the Position of Director at Willunga Preschool for 2015 and is very enthusiastic about working with the excellent staff team and to further develop relationships both within the Centre and in the wider community.

4. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN

QUALITY AREA 1: EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND PRACTICE. Achievements in this area have been:- We introduced an effective tool to program based on the children’s interests by introducing floor books. Staff had undertaken professional development in relation to using floor books. Each group, red and blue, had their own floor book which documented the learning journey of each child within their group. Individual Porfolio’s were also used to highlight the individual child’s development and learning. Children’s learning outcomes were recorded by learning stories, photo’s, staff descriptions, children’s voice and children’s writing and drawing as well as examples of the child’s work illustrating

Annual Report 2014

Page 3

their development throughout the Preschool year. The documentation was discussed by staff at planning meetings and used to form learning programs. Termly summaries were introduced into the individual portfolios to highlight the learning and development that had occurred for each child over the course of the term. The daily use of our ‘What has happened at kindy’ whiteboard has been maintained as an essential part of the day for educators to record learning activities and to the parents as a way of reporting. Feedback from parents was very positive. At various times throughout the year staff would copy a photograph of the daily board to send home to families to highlight particular learning or events that had occurred during the sessions. Our inquiry question for the RRR: “How can we support children’s deeper engagement in the outdoor learning environment?” was developed after a pupil free day in term 3 that was focused on ways we can improve children’s engagement in our outdoor learning environment to provide opportunites for deeper engagement in the curriculum. Evidence of children’s outdoor play experiences were recorded on the centre’s Ipads and evaluated using the RRR involvement scale. 12 children were observed over two separate occasions and the average score for involvement was 4. Our analysis demonstrated that overall the children of both groups were highly engaged in our outdoor playspace, involved in group dramatic play with the ability to alter and extend their play scenarios with limited adult assistance required. The children utilised a great number of different resources to increase the complexity of their play and often made their own props. One area of observation that some of the children consistently were less involved in was verbal utterances /language.

Directions for 2015:

Investigate strategies for increasing rich language experiences in the outdoor learning environment.

Use the RRR document to investigate engagement in literacy and align it with the EYLF and our planning and improvement cycle.

Evaluate how effective our floor books are at demonstrating our curriculum planning and documentation of children’s learning. Incorporate our strategies into our curriculum review and planning sessions.

QUALITY AREA 2: CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND SAFETY Achievements in this area have been:- The ‘Eat a Rainbow’ program was implemented with great success. These sessions occurred on the half day on Wednesday and supported the children’s wellbeing by providing opportunities to cook and try new foods. As the Wednesday session runs until 12.40 and children do not have a lunch routine on this day, the cooking and eating was very beneficial in helping children who were feeling ready for lunch before the end of the session. It provided much needed nutrients and energy to help them sustain focus through the whole session. The cooking was extremely popular during the Eat a Rainbow program so we continued to use the half day Wednesday session as a time for the children in engage in making and trying a variety of foods. The staff took this opportunity to involve our families by extending invitations to willing family members (parents, grandparents etc) to join us during these session and working with a small group of children to produce healthy food for the group to share. This was extremely successful and throughout the whole year there were only a couple of weeks where staff took groups of children for the cooking when no community help was offered. Yoga mats were utilized during relaxation times, prior to the lunch routines to help children transition between play and eating times. These mats provided an independent area for each child during relaxation, assisting them to maintain their area of personal space and supported them to not encroach on other children’s space. Relaxation activities varied including: - listening to quiet music, stories, visualization, yoga and meditation. Children were encouraged to bring a comfort toy and blanket from home to aid their wellbeing during the relaxation sessions. This was successful for the start of the year, but as the year progressed staff found that they toys became a distraction and we asked families to not bring them in and the children were able to relax using the music and other techniques effectively.

Annual Report 2014

Page 4

A Risk assessment was undertaken and recorded before each excursion or local walk. Less injury incidents were recorded as improving deeper engagement in our outdoor play space was a focus during the year. Directions for 2015:

The provision of a quiet area where children can go to rest independently during the day. Continue the “Eat a Rainbow” program and involving families in our Wednesday cooking

curriculum. Engage professionals in body movement and music activities for incursions to encourage

different forms of physical activity. QUALITY AREA 3:- PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Achievements this year have been:- Our Vegetable garden continues to thrive under the care of our staff and dedicated local volunteer who donates plants and cultivates the garden with the students. We propagated our vegetables, cooked and tried them seasonally throughout the year. Staff have collected many different loose parts which were utilised positively in our outdoor play space. We dedicated a pupil free day to engage in research and facilitate professional discussions about strategies to provide open ended experiences in the outdoor area that allow for deeper exploration and extension of learning. Through our investigations using the RRR involvement scale we found a large number of our cohort became deeply engaged in dramatic play in the outdoor environment using a number of props and structures in the play space, involving a large number of children. When loose part resources were added to the scenario the play was considerably extended and would often last for the majority of the session. Directions for 2015:

Source more loose parts and large outdoor props to sustain and extend dramatic play in the outdoor play space.

Provide children with choice of play ideas for outside. Intentional teaching on respect for the environment.

QUALITY AREA 4:- STAFFING ARRANGEMENTS Achievements this year have been:- Observation books were utilised by all staff to record information to be later transferred to learning stories and the floor books. The whole staff team were responsible for observations and recording learner achievement. The consecutive day model for the groups was implemented again this year with great success– Educators were responsible for developing programs for two different groups of children and working together to form a cohesive curriculum that reflected the specific needs and interests of each group. Staff meetings occurred fortnightly with extra meetings scheduled during non-contact time on Wednesday afternoon when required. Directions for 2015:

Introduce weekly staff meetings to allow for greater collaboration and cohesion between the two groups and all staff members. Issues can be raised and resolved promptly and effectively.

Provide opportunities for staff to attend Professional development as a team as well as individually.

QUALITY AREA 5: RELATIONSHIPS WITH CHILDREN Achievements this year have been:-

Annual Report 2014

Page 5

Each child was allocated a space for their whole Preschool year for displaying their work. Half days were offered for the first 2 weeks of the year to assist transition into the Preschool environment. This was highly successful and allowed staff to develop the foundations for strong positive relationships with both children and their families. The BBQ/Acquaintance night provided opportunities for the children to make strong connections between their home and the Preschool environment. A photo board was developed and each child and staff member had a photo displayed on the board as you enter the Preschool in a display of our Preschool community. Children were allowed time to access their own portfolios to track their own learning journey. Interviews with families occurred throughout term 2 with each family allocated time with the teacher from their child’s group to discuss achievements and learning goals. Families were encouraged to help formulate the learning goals for their child. The Preschool program was developed from children’s voice, following the ideas and needs of the children to provide opportunities for them to drive their own learning and take ownership of their curriculum achievements. The program when driven by the children’s ideas, provided relevant experiences that have meaning to who the child is and where they belong in their world. Directions for 2015:

Structure the beginning of the year to ease transition for every child, valuing what they bring to the kindy ensuring they all feel a strong sense of belonging.

Include children in planning, recording and reviewing the programming cycle. (Floorbooks). QUALITY AREA 6: COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES. Achievements this year have been:- A very successful BBQ was held at the beginning of the year for our families. This was driven by the Governing Council (Parent Group) as an acquaintance night and opportunity for all families, especially working families, to visit the centre and meet the staff. Money raised from the BBQ was donated to a local family in need with a very sick child to help with expenses relating to supporting the child during treatment. This event provided a strong sense of community and as both groups attended together for the cause of supporting a former family of the centre. In term 3 the centre participated in the Annual street parade for the Almond Blossom festival with a large number of our families and children involved in the parade. The Centre held an Art Show in the Willunga Show Hall directly after the Parade to show case our children’s learning in our term 2 focus of visual art, shapes and patterns. Each child had a framed work of art and a small number of unframed art displayed in our gallery in the show hall. The art show was open for anyone attending the Almond Blossom Festival to visit and for Preschool families to purchase their own child’s artwork as a fundraiser. This event was a highly successful community event and the organiser of the festival has asked the Preschool to hold an event in the 2015 Almond Blossom Festival. The Whiteboard with a report on learning experiences at the end of each day was very successful. Literacy packs were maintained by our Parent Voice Committee and we utilized throughout the year, with the majority of families taking packs home regularly. Different cultural backgrounds were recognized and included in the program. We sought parent feedback on a regular basis and introduced an end of term feedback form for parents which was placed in their child’s portfolio.

Annual Report 2014

Page 6

Directions for 2015: Develop a strong sense of belonging right from the start of the year. We will provide every

new family with a poster to make about their child to create a sense of belonging as these will be displayed in each child’s special wall space.

Find alternate means for informing families of Centre news and events, investigate the introduction of the Skoolbag app as a tool for information sharing

Develop a website. Develop the parent information area with more recent and appropriate resources and books

making it more inviting. QUALITY AREA 7: LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE MANAGEMENT

Achievements this year have been:- Regular review of the QUIP We developed a successful cycle for planning, programming, review, improvement and documentation of children’s learning with the implementation of the floor books. Each group had a floor book that represented the programming and learning specific to the children of each group and their ideas and needs. Collection and interpretation of data through both the floor books (group learning) and the portfolios (individual learning) to illustrate the each child’s learning journey and achievement of outcomes. In term 4 we developed a strong working relationship with the teachers in Willunga Primary Schools reception unit. Through consultation the Preschool and Reception staff introduced a program that provided opportunities for our students to experience learning in the School environment, coping with change and developing resilience. From weeks 1-7 the children did a school swap which saw half of the Preschool group and half of the Reception students swap environments and join in with learning experiences in the Preschool and Reception class. Over the weeks each child had multiple opportunities to engage in the Reception unit with their students as well as sharing the Preschool space with the Reception students. Strong relationships were formed between staff and students from both centres. This program then led seamlessly into the Transition programs of the Primary Schools that our children were entering in 2015. Directions for 2015:

Continue to review and update all the policies. Review how the Preschool program is reflected in the floor books and the effectiveness of the

documentation of children’s learning journey. Develop a program with Willunga Primary School that allows our students to experience the

School environment throughout the year, not only in term 4. To continue to forge stronger working relationships between the Preschool and Reception unit staff.

5. INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT PROGRAMS

Preschool support was utilized for a number of students from term 2. All students progressed positively from the intervention with the majority of students accessing Speech Therapy, progressing to needing minimal support in term 4. We accessed Bilingual support for one student for whom English was his second language. Through integrated working with our Speech Pathologist, Bilingual support worker, Preschool staff and the child’s family, his language acquisition in both his first language (Indonesian) and English continued throughout terms 2-4. An NEP was developed to assist the child’s language acquisition and learning when he attends Primary School.

Annual Report 2014

Page 7

6. STUDENT DATA

6.1 Enrolments

Figure 1: Enrolments by Term

Total Enrolments 2012 - 2014

Table 1: Enrolments by Term

Enrolment by Term

Year Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4

2012 87 85 85 85

2013 75 85

2014 77 71 71

Based on person counts in the two week reference period each term. Excludes pre-entry. Source: Preschool Data Collection, Data Management and Information Systems

We started the year with 72 enrolments. By the end of the year we had 70 children attending.

6.2 Attendance

Figure 2: Attendance by Term

Attendance Percentages 2012 - 2014

Annual Report 2014

Page 8

Table 2: Attendance Percentages 2012 - 2014

Attendance Percentage

Year Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4

2012 Centre 89.7 87.1 80.0 88.2

2013 Centre 89.3 91.8

2014 Centre 85.7 90.1 80.3

2012 State 87.4 85.9 84.5 85.5

2013 State 88.7 88.0

2014 State 89.9 88.8 85.9

Based on attendances recorded in the two week reference period each term, and calculated to an average unadjusted daily attendance (deemed attendance). Attendance percentages are based on the calculated deemed attendance (integer), divided by the number of enrolments. Excludes pre-entry Note: Figures have been revised for previous years, using integer deemed attendance not decimal. Source: Preschool Data Collection, Data Management and Information Systems

Many children did not attend the Wednesday morning session due to parent choice. It was a four hour session (long half day session once a fortnight) so many parents preferred their children to stay at home, childcare or had other reasons for not attending. We are positive that in 2015 this will change as we will be running special programs for that day involving the families in the curriculum.

6.3 Destination – Feeder Schools

Table 3: Feeder School Percentage Data 2012 - 2014

Feeder Schools

Site number - Name Type 2012 2013 2014

0222 - Aldinga Beach B-7 School Govt. 1.7 1.5

0250 - McLaren Flat Primary School Govt. 1.7 3.0

0251 - McLaren Vale Primary School Govt. 1.5

0303 - Myponga Pri

mary School

Govt. 4.7 3.4 3.0

0744 - Willunga Primary School Govt. 62.8 62.7 58.2

1019 - Christie Downs Primary School Govt. 2.3

8163 - Willunga Waldorf School Non-Govt. 4.7 5.1

8390 - Prescott College Southern Non-Govt. 1.5

8418 - Sthn Vales Christian Community Sch Non-Govt. 7.0

Annual Report 2014

Page 9

8498 - Tatachilla Lutheran College Non-Govt. 4.7 11.9 13.4

9133 - Galilee Catholic School Non-Govt. 11.6 13.6 17.9

9756 - All Saints Catholic Primary School Non-Govt. 2.3

Total 100.1 100.1 100.0

Based on the percent of children currently enrolled who will attend school in the following year, where the expected school is known. Due to rounding totals may not add up to 100%. Source: Term 3 Preschool Data Collection, Data Management and Information Systems

Annual Report 2014

Page 10

7. CLIENT OPINION

Annual Report 2014

Page 11

Annual Report 2014

Page 12

Annual Report 2014

Page 13

Annual Report 2014

Page 14

Annual Report 2014

Page 15

Our results show that from the 23 responses, that our parents are generally very happy and satisfied with all areas of the preschool. An area that 31% of parents were neutral about was the amount of information available on other services in the area. However over 63 % were more than satisfied with information available. So we

Annual Report 2014

Page 16

will evaluate how we provide information to families about community events and resources and also which services they would prefer to have information about. Another area that that rated lower was the information provided to parents regarding how their children were doing. 9% of parents believe that they could be receiving more information whereas 59% believe that they get excellent feedback. 9% of families were concerned with opportunities for them to receive feedback about their child’s progress. We will evaluate our processes for informing parents and work towards cultivating relationships with all families, so that they feel comfortable and supported to seek information from staff regarding their child. We received wonderful feedback form the parents regarding learning programs and the education that children are receiving. Parent comments demonstrated a positive view of the Preschool in all areas, parents were pleased with the relationships that the staff had formed with their children and how well staff know their child. The comment ‘My child has thrived at this centre’ is a wonderful endorsement for the whole staff team who strive to provide a welcoming and secure environment for all children’s wellbeing and learning.

8. ACCOUNTABILITY

http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/RelevantHistoryScreenin-1.pdf All staff, volunteers, governing council position holders and students have current criminal history screenings a copy of which is kept on site.

9. FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Funding Source Amount 1 Grants: State 02 Grants: Commonwealth 03 Parent Contributions 21 277.504 Other 0

Annual Report 2014

Page 17

Annual Report 2014

Page 18