Structure of Education Queensland National Curriculum Middle Ridge State SchoolIDEAS Process and Fostering Leadership

o Taiwanese colleagues o Minister, Directors, Principals, & fellow educators o Thank you for the opportunity to present to you

today o Accompanying me on this educational tour is my

wife Mr Deborah McSwiney and one of my teachers, Mr Dan Wu

o (please make them welcome )o I trust you enjoy and find the presentation useful

o Federal Government o State Government o Local Government –Toowoomba Regional council

o State Government o Premier o Ministers – all allocated portfolios o Minister for Education (John Paul Langbroek)o Director General –Dr Jim Waterson

o Provide service delivery and strategic planning. Centralisation of :

o Human Resource management, state wide teacher staffing, Recruitment & Selection process for senior classified officers eg. Principals, Deputy Principals, Heads of Special Education, Heads of Curriculum

o Finance –school allocated funding from at state government quarterly

o Funding and staffing are based on enrolment numbers

o School in Queensland receive their funding through :

o Federal government grants o State government grants o Allied government agencies like Sport &

Recreation o Gaming Community Benefits Funds o Parents and Citizens -P&C o External funding eg sponsorship

Principal Education

OfficerSchool

Improvement

Regional Manager Training

Coach FTE Resource

(Local, Area,

Region)

Regional Manager Early

Childhood Education and

Care

Regional ManagerFacilities

Principal Advisor

RegionalImprovement,

YAT, CTG

Assistant Regional Director Primary

Principal Advisor

SecondaryP-10/12/Spec Operations &

Communication

Principal Advisor

RegionalServices

Regional ManagerHuman

Resources

Regional ManagerFinance

Regional Manager

Technology

Principal AdvisorPrimary

Operations

Regional Director

Principal Advisor Student Services

Principal Education

OfficerStudent Services

Principal Education

OfficerStudent Services

Principal Education

OfficerStudent Services

RegionalExecutive Support Officer

Principal Advisor

Workforce Capability &

Corp. Partnerships

Principal Education

OfficerSchool

Operations

Regional Services E C E C Training

Assistant Regional Director Primary

Executive Services Officer

& Complaints

Directorof

Coaching

Band 5/6 Coach

Position(NP)

Operations

Department of Education & Training DDSW Region

Executive Services Officer

& Complaints

Principal Advisor

Curriculum Teaching &

Learning

C T & L Improvement

Principal Education

OfficerIndigenousEducation

RegionalYouth

SupportCo-ordinator

Executive Services Officer

& Complaints

Executive Services Officer

& Complaints

School Supervision

Coaching

Corporate Services

Assistant Regional Director Special,

Secondary & P-10/12,

YAT

Regional Office provides the following support:oDriving strategic direction oCurriculum oStaffing oFinance oAudit – financial, curriculum, behavioural oSupport for Students with DisabilitiesoTechnology oSupport and supervision of Principals

Three Pillar Strategy for continuous improvement 1.Explicit teaching 2.Purposeful use of Data 3.Coaching and provision of quality feedback

There are 14 Regions and 14 Regional Directors.There are 2-3 Assistant Regional Directors in each region- their role is to support and supervise Principals. Because our state is so large, this enables the government to decentralise service delivery.

o Updated* March 2013 and aligned to United in Pursuit of Excellence Focus Areas…)o School Curriculum (“the what”)o The school leadership team will have led a process to ensure that school practices are

compliant with the contents of the P-12 CARF and its associated policy statements.*o Teaching Practice (“the how”)o The school leadership team will have fully embedded their school-wide pedagogical

framework with a specific emphasis on Explicit Teaching. This means… The school leadership team will have kept abreast of research that informs teaching

practice; The school leadership team will have established clear expectations concerning the

use of consistent, school-wide, effective teaching strategies; All teachers will be implementing teaching methods (including consolidation

episodes) that have shown to be effective in promoting successful learning for all students and are consistent with the school-wide pedagogical framework;

Each school will have documented their pedagogical framework in a manner which supports quality induction and leadership transition processes.

o Principal Leadership and School Capability (“the capacity”)o Each principal will be positioned as the prime instructional leader in their school.*o Each school will have embedded a Professional Development process based on coaching

and feedback; ando School and Community Partnershipso The school leadership team have led a process to unpack the PACE Framework with staff

and community.*

This regional document is aligned to the United in our Pursuit of Excellence’ strategic plan.oPrincipals personally and actively lead the improvement of instructionoEvery school has a culture of high expectations, inside and outside the classroom, based on a belief that:

All students matter, every day All students can achieve high academic results Quality practices within the school enhance learning

oPrincipals and teachers use data to inform decision making and classroom practiceoThe Teaching and Learning Audit materials are in use as a reference sourceoThere is an emphasis on achieving consistently high student attendanceoThere are high standards of student behaviour as a precondition for learningoCurriculum delivery is underpinned by highly effective explicit teaching, including consolidation or warm-up episodes (Archer & Hughes research framework)oThere is a high level of community engagement and support for the importance of learningoThere are strong relationships between parents and their children’s teachers in relation to learning successoSchool leaders actively coach and support teachers in their development of explicit teachingoFeedback is valued and practised at all levelsoStaff share collective accountability for all student outcomes

Toowoomba is a major educational centre providing many facilities for our rural region.oSize of greater population : 157,000 people oLocation: due west of Brisbane 150km oAltitude : 691moCity area:oNumber of schools:

- State- Catholic -Independent

o 0-4 years child care playgroups o Kindergarten or Pre Prep programs o Prep 4.5 years oldo Primary 4.5 years Preps -12 years old Y7o Secondary school 13 years – 17 or 18 years o Compulsory Education is to Year 10 working towards Y12 o High school :

- Tertiary University - TAFE- Workforce

o Primary classes o Preps enter school 4.5 Year must be 5 by June 30th o School Year commences in late Jan each yearo School Year finishes –early December after 41 weeks of

schooling o Seniors Year 7’s exit school 12/13 years transition to high

school o School year divided into 4 x 10 week terms o 2 Semesters

o Traditional entry to university through OP scores (overall position) a rating 1- 25

o Alternate Pathways including vocational education programs

o Including core subjects: English, Maths, Science

Apprenticeships: oApprenticeships 3-4 years oYoung students are indentured to a master tradesmen - electrician, carpenter, plastereroWages are low and progressively rise as they acquire a skill set and are more productive to their master or employeroThese are licenced trades which industry/government regulate Traineeships: oSchool Based traineeships: Part placement in school 3 or 4 days a week o1 day industry placement

University :oAdvanced Diplomas, Undergraduate degrees, Postgraduate degrees, Doctorates –> Professions (eg. Accountant, Engineer, Teacher)

Technical and Further Education (TAFE):o Trade accreditation, certificates, diplomas – > Trades (eg. Hairdresser, Mechanic, Plumber)

o MRSS is 127 years old o School was a small rural school 20 years ago

surrounded by market gardenso Suburban sprawl has now reached the community o Massive subdivisions of land have taken place and

smaller allotments developedo School size has generated an increase in staff and

facilities

o Vision “Where Seeds of Learning Become Forests of Opportunity”o 7 Values- Respect, Learning, Self Discipline, Co-operation, Social

Justice, Kindness, Honesty o Complex community of 820 students 560 familieso Parents are very motivated to value add to children’s educationo Teachers are lifelong learners with many sharing leadership roles o Our school is diverse in population with children coming from

many countries o School is enrolment managed o School has grown from the base for the last 6 years o Academically our school has been achieving excellent resultso We provide educational support for a range of students including

those with disabilities. o We provide a broad range of student leadership opportunities

eg. 12 School leaders; 2 Music captains; 4 House captains – 4 houses

o Primary classes o Preps enter school at 4.5 Year must be 5 by

June 30th o School Year commences in late January o School Year finishes –early December after 41

weeks of schooling o Seniors exit school at 12/13 years and

transition to high school o School year divided into 4 x 10 week terms o 2 Semesters

o National curriculum was implemented 2 years ago o All states /Territories must follow National

curriculumo Core subjects English, Maths, Science o Geography, History, Arts, Technology, Language

other than English (LOTE) Mandarin, Physical Education

o This is designed by ACARA in Canberra our capital o Curriculum is web based o Teachers source lessons from the department’s

net o Education Qld named the units C2C - Curriculum 2

the Classroom

LESSON PLAN

o We have 6 States and 2 Territorieso We have National benchmarking o Students are assessed in Year 3,5,7, and Year 9

across our nation in May each year o Results are provided to : individual students and the

school - year level and class cohortso All school data is aggregated and compared to Like

Schools, the State, and the Nationo All Australian schools’ results are published on the

MySchool website for parents and the general public to peruse - http://www.myschool.edu.au/

o Effective enrolment 820 students o Staffing model 90 staff o 32 classes o Classified positions: 3 school Administratorso Principal, 2 Deputy Principals o Head of Special Education Student Services o Head of Curriculum o Support Teacher – Literacy and Numeracyo 45 teachers -50% of the teachers work permanent part timeo 4 Specialist teachers- Librarian, Music , PE, o Ancillary staff: Teacher Aides, Administration staff, cleaners,

groundsman 1.5

o Admin team o Senior Leadership team o Curriculum Committee structure

This team comprises of the following personnel :Principal, Deputy Principals, Head of Special Education, Head of Curriculum, Business Service Manager, Librarian, Support Teacher Literacy and Numeracy Role –these key staff are change agents on my staff involved in the following:oImproving and build leadership density in our schooloImproving connectivity and communication oReviewing existing modes of delivery oAnalysing those which are effectively utilised and those which are not oProviding early feedback loopoCapitalising on the collective wisdom and talents of the team

Strategic Direction & Support oAnnual Operational Plan oIDEAS – as an IDEAS school how are we travelling oActioning of Diagnostic Inventory oSemester 2 2012Proactivity oProactively trouble shooting issues early up oFormulating possible solutions to take to staffoDesigning processes to reaching consensus oReview of our governance –Local Consultative CommitteeoCommittee structures, In School Management TeamAccountabilityoPrepare for key events /draft documents eg School Annual Report, oQuadrennial School Review, Annual Operational Plans, Audits: Financial and Curriculum o3 Pillar Regional Strategy oExplicit teaching –Maximising Achievement Program oCoaching and Mentoring oData

o Vision: “Where Seeds of Learning Become Forests of Opportunity “

o Our vision is really about maximising potential of both students and staff

o Students come into our school as very young preps and transition to high school as

o literate, numerate and well rounded members of our society ,who are life long learners

o The IDEAS process fosters and develops Leadership and Curriculum renewal

o Implemented globallyo Professor Frank Crowther from University of Southern

Queensland researched and developed the processo Crowther retired some 5 years ago o Dr Dorothy Andrews continues their work

initiating: How will we manage the process? Who will facilitate the process? Who will record our history of the journey?

discovering: What are we doing that is most successful? What is not working as well as we would like it to?

envisioning: What do we hope our school will look like in the future? What is our conceptualisation of schoolwide pedagogy?

actioning: How will we create a tripartite action plan? How will we work towards the alignment of key school elements and processes?

sustaining: What progress have we made towards schoolwide pedagogy? What school practices are succeeding and how can we expand them?

A Research-based Framework for Enhancing School Outcomes

(LRI IDEAS Team, April, 2002)

Principle 1: Teachers are the key

Principle 2: Professional Learning is key to professional revitalisation

Principle 3: Success breeds success

Principle 4: Alignment of school processes is a collective school responsibility

Principle 5: No Blame

“Our research is conclusive that shared responsibility for school outcomes, involving teachers and principals in mutualistic leadership relationships, is a vital key to successful school improvement.”

Frank Crowther 2001

“Parallel leadership is the central concept – the principal can step outside the safety zone and teachers learn leadership skills that enable them to influence others.”

Lesley Bath, Teacher Leader, Walkervale State School

The IDEAS model is an enabler for sustainability

o Communicates a clear strategic intento Incorporates the aspirations and views of otherso Poses difficult-to-answer questionso Makes space for individual innovationo Knows when to step backo Creates opportunities from perceived difficultieso Builds upon achievements to create a culture of

successCrowther, Kaagan, Hann & Ferguson (2002)

o Teachers and administration team share leadership responsibilities;

o The school’s vision is clearly focused on shared, concrete aspirations;

o School development emphasises the creation of schoolwide pedagogy and the alignment of vision and schoolwide pedagogy; and

o Systemic services are available when required to support school priorities.

o School based facilitators

o School IDEAS Management Team (ISMT)

o IDEAS Support Team (IST)

o IDEAS Core Team

o Composition: Preferably a voluntary representative group including the facilitator, a scribe and other stakeholders including classroom teachers, administration, middle management and parents.

o This group provides:• Representation (represents the community in the process);• Communication (documents the process, prepares and

publishes the reports, provides information and readings);• Planning (facilitates workshops and develops an action plan

for the process);• Networking (with other schools and districts);• Advocacy (on behalf of teachers and students); and• Development (of teacher leaders).

o Qld Association of State School Principals (QASSP)o Queensland Teachers Union o Queensland Studies Authorityo Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authorityo Queensland College of Teachers