2009 Annual Report to the School Community

35 Gwendoline Drive, Berwick, 3806 Phone: 8786 9988 Fax: 8786 9621 Email: [email protected] Website: www.berwickfieldsps.vic.edu.au

2009 Annual Report to the

School Community

2009 Berwick Fields Primary School Annual Report to the School Community

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CONTENTS School Overview page 3 Principal‟s report page 5 School Council President‟s report page 10 Student Learning Goal 1 page 11 Student Learning Goal 2 page 14 Student Engagement and Well being page 16 Student Pathways and Transition page 22 Future Directions page 26 „What Our School Is Doing‟` page 28 Government School Performance Summary page 29 Financial Performance and Position page 34 School Contact Information page 35

ACER - Australian Council for Educational Research ATSS – Attitudes To School Survey CHiPS – Christians Helping in Primary Schools DEECD – Department of Education and Early Childhood Development LSP – Language Support Program NAPLAN – National Assessment Program – Literacy And Numeracy PAG – Phonological Awareness Group PD - Professional Development PDSA – Plan, Do Study Act PSD - Program for Students with a Disability PLT – Professional Learning Team STAR – Students At Risk VCAA - Victorian Assessment and Curriculum Authority VELS – Victorian Essential Learning Standards VIT – Victorian Institute of Teaching Endorsed by Berwick Fields School Council on Monday 22nd March 2010.

Berwick Fields Primary School

2009 Annual Report to the School Community

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School Overview Berwick Fields Primary School is situated in the City of Casey, south east of Melbourne. The school opened in 2006 with 139, prep to grade six students. At the end of 2009 there were 689 students enrolled and in 2010 it is expected to be over 800. The Student Family Occupation (SFO) index sits at 0.4500, with an EMA percentage of 31.6%. There are 70 students from a language background other than English. Students are usually from the local neighbourhood and families are strongly supportive of the school. Our vision is “Berwick Fields Primary School is striving to build an involved community. One that fosters the achievement of personal best. One that makes a difference to others”. Our students, staff and parents have identified the following elements that we believe each of our students need to be proficient in to prepare themselves for the 21st Century. These are the ability to collaborate within a team, create new ideas and perspectives, understand the learning process (cognition), communicate with purpose, make connections with their learning and contribute to others. While English and Mathematics are very important priorities for our school it is the development of the „whole‟ child that is most important to us. Our community is proud of what we have achieved so far! Being a new school we have been able to attract quality staff and made sure, to the best of our ability, that their experience and personal qualities would compliment the needs of the school community. In 2009 our staffing demographics were:

0 5 10 15 20

Principal

Assistant Principal

Leading

Experienced

Accomplished

Graduate

ES

Staff Classifications

The goals/key improvement strategies we implemented in 2009, originating from our assessment of 2008 data using the „Excellence In Education‟ PLAN, DO, STUDY, ACT model. Data analysed included DEECD satisfaction surveys, NAPLAN, absence, VELS student achievement and school based surveys. In 2009 our Annual Implementation Goals were: Student Learning

To enhance the capabilities of teachers to purposefully and accurately assess student learning to inform their future planning (Essential Learnings).



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To foster a school culture that supports using data to improve instruction and student learning (School Improvement).

Student Engagement and Well Being To facilitate an environment that is safe, connected and inclusive (Health and Well Being).

Student Pathways and Transitions To focus on building an involved community that is welcoming, friendly and focused on fostering

and nurturing families in their transition between kinder and primary school (Community Development).

A summary of our effectiveness in trying to achieve these goals can be found in our learning community reports (starting on page 11).

Comments Since the school first opened in 2006 the parent satisfaction level for „General Satisfaction‟ has remained above the high satisfaction level of 6 while the student enrolment has increased by 350%. Teacher Satisfaction “The average score for teacher satisfaction (morale) at this school was 89.8 on a scale from 0 to 100 where 100 is the best possible score.” This is an increase of 1.5 from 2008. The school mean was again well above the State mean. Teacher Absence At the time of printing no data was available for this. Teacher Participation in Professional Learning



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All teaching staff have participated in professional learning throughout the year, such as „Peer Facilitation‟, „Reading To Learn‟, Monash PEEL Project and the Victorian Institute of Teaching „Induction/Mentoring for Graduate Teacher‟s Program.‟ Teacher Qualifications All teachers in Victorian Government schools are registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching. The requirements for registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching can be found at http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/content.asp?Document_ID=241.” CONTINUING OUR JOURNEY OF „STRIVING FOR PERSONAL BEST‟ An important achievement in 2009 was the development of our first School Strategic Plan. The plan was developed from the findings of an independent school review commissioned by the Department of Education and Early Childhood. This review, led by Julie Small, looked at our school‟s achievements since we first opened in 2006 and many school community members contributed to its discussions, analysis and recommendations for the future. An extract from the review report‟s „Executive Summary‟ is as follows. “One can only be impressed with the sense of community when visiting Berwick Fields Primary School and reflect on the contribution and energy harnessed across the student, staff and parent community in establishing an identity and culture already so evident after only three years of operation. Building relationships and connectedness within and across the school community reflects the school motto of „Together We Achieve‟ and underpins the school‟s vision and mission. The achievement of personal best and making a difference to others is supported by the school‟s values of respect, cooperation, friendliness and enthusiasm. A school tour hosted so confidently by students reveals immense pride, student ownership and responsibility and a high level of commitment to building an environment responsive to expressed community needs. Newly established in 2006, Berwick Fields is situated in a very young residential area in the fast growing municipality of the City of Casey, part of the growth corridor south-east of Melbourne, with the student enrolment, now at 689, reflecting this rapid and substantial growth. The Student Family Occupation (SFO) density indicates a community with an above median socio-economic status. The state of the art permanent buildings and newly designed and constructed re-locatable classrooms offer designated classroom and flexible learning spaces, optimising opportunities for individual and collaborative learning and shared class activities. The outside surroundings offer passive and active play and learning opportunities including playground equipment, a wetlands area, a planned kitchen garden and an oval adjacent to the school. Not one piece of litter is to be seen in this superbly presented school! This vibrant learning community organises its operations across the four areas of Community Building, Essential Learnings, Health and Wellbeing and School Improvement and can be highly satisfied with the elevated level of performance across three years in building a school identity

Principal‟s Report

http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/content.asp?Document_ID=241



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and strong culture. The capture and archiving of the school’s beginnings and early journey provide a rich account of the school’s development upon which to reflect and celebrate. As Berwick Fields has yet to write its first strategic plan, the school’s goals were identified on a yearly basis according to emerging needs and documented in each Annual Implementation Plan. Variation in achievement data was not surprising due to the very rapid growth and changing cohort sizes. Student achievement was strongest in the early years for both English and Mathematics. While English was stronger in comparison to Mathematics both remain areas for improvement with a future focus on purposeful and explicit teaching, effective use of assessment as, of and for learning and accurate and consistent judgements. A performance and development culture is highly apparent and evident in the school’s accreditation and will support the continued focus on capacity building. Staff are motivated, engaged, feel supported by leaders and view the school to be highly effective in its work with students. Work in transitions and pathways is outstanding due to the efforts in community building and welcoming families new to the school. The innovative „Transixon‟ program ensures a practical approach for year six students. Creating a whole school level-to-level transition program is a future focus. Effective processes support students enrolled under the program for students with disabilities (PSD) and students with identified needs. Personal follow-up and better data monitoring has resulted in improved student attendance and plans are in place to use this strategy to address punctuality. Students are motivated and confident learners, hooked into their learning through a negotiated inquiry-based curriculum, the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) and passionate and energetic teachers who model a lifelong learning attitude. The school is to be commended on its responsiveness to feedback including student concern for classroom behaviour and school connectedness. Parents have a very high regard for the school including a very positive level of general satisfaction”. SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEMBER‟S „MAKING A DIFFERENCE‟ The growth of the school has been phenomenal over the past four years and without boasting it is an indication of the overall satisfaction that our school community has for the way we care for our students and the excellent reputation the school continues to have amongst the wider community. Next year our prep intake will be very similar to this year - 170 students! At our last assembly for the year we thanked lots of people. In our last school community newsletter our appreciation was also extended to: All our parents and family members for the guidance and encouragement they gave to their child/ren this year. The members of School Council for their wise suggestions and desire to make sure that Berwick Fields is the best school it can be. Special thanks was given to Donna Foster for the excellent way she led School Council in 2009. The detail of her reports in the school community newsletter, after each meeting, certainly kept all of us well informed. Donna also actively involved herself in many school activities which set a great example by „walking the talk‟. Everyone that has been a part of Parents and Friends. They should feel very proud of their efforts in strengthening ‟community spirit‟ and providing additional resources for our school through well thought out fundraising activities. During 2009 Parents & Friends raised over $16,000! This was through various activities which included, Hot Cross Buns, Easter Raffle, Mothers and Fathers day Stalls, Disco, Pie



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Drive, Trivia Night, Chocolate Drive, Mini Fete and Christmas Raffle. This money was well received by all areas of the school to purchase the whole school Mathletics Program, play sets for preps, „Passion Poles‟, interschool sports jumpers and equipment, listening losts, pizza oven for „Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden‟, choir uniforms, car track and gazebos with logo for sports days. The rest went towards the lease of the new prep playground. A fantastic effort! A special thanks to Michelle Friend for her enthusiastic leadership of Parents and Friends. The staff for the enormous effort they have put in this year. They are all wonderful role models to our students and go that extra yard without being asked. It is a fantastic experience, and a privilege, to work with such positive, unselfish and team orientated people. The care they show towards all the students who attend Berwick Fields is a credit to all of them. The following sentiment is a great example of the appreciation many people have for the important role that our staff play in the lives of our students. “I just wanted to give you and Berwick Fields a huge heartfelt thanks for the love, care and education that has been given to my children over the past three years. Every year my children have had wonderful teachers, that seemed to be perfectly selected for my kids. I was amazed and so very grateful that over three years my children were in the right class with the right teacher, and they have gotten the maximum out of their schooling because of this. The Administration staff at Berwick Fields are amazing beautiful ladies, that have an endless amount of patience and good humour, and I have a huge amount of respect for them. I cannot express enough what a positive and wonderful journey it has been to have both my daughters move through senior primary school and graduating at Berwick Fields and to also have my son begin his school journey at this wonderful school also. I wish only the very best for the continued growth of improvement of Berwick Fields and am sad that we are leaving this school community but so very glad and happy that we were able to be a part of it for these past years”. The staff understand that there are few jobs with more importance than teaching! We also said goodbye to students and staff. All our grade six graduating students were given a big thank you for their contribution to Berwick Fields and wished good luck for the future with a „Be the best you can be!‟ Their graduation ceremony was a special event to attend. Its success was due to Amy Coath, her student organising committee and grade 5/6 staff for their preparation of the night. A highlight was how confident our students were in their M.C roles. This was matched by the mature way in which some of our past students came back to tell their story since leaving Berwick Fields. Everyone was so impressed with what they had to say! All our students were given a big thank you for the way in which they demonstrate our values of respect, co operation, enthusiasm and friendliness on a daily basis in 2009. Their reports showed that they took their learning seriously and they should be proud of their achievements. I am proud of all of them!

Congratulations were also extended to the following students for their special achievements in 2009. 2009 Honour Board

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE PHYSICAL EXPERTISE EXEMPLARY ACTIONS

Gabbie J Jerry L Srishnaa R

ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP

COMMUNITY SPIRIT INNOVATIVE EXPRESSION

Tegan L Chris B Wade B



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2009 Team Captains & Vice Captains Monarchs – Samantha D, Shamal W, Hope B and Jerry L. Ulysses – Chris B, Kyal N, Dwer G and Shanaya P. Rajahs – Joshua C, Charlie M, Jamie Lee T and Tan H. Skippers – Tegan L, Wade B, Andy R and Shrishnaa R. The 2010 Team Captains & Vice Captains (as elected by their peers) were also wished the best for their important role in 2010. They are: Monarchs – Dalton F, Taylor C, Ben K and Jennifer T. Ulysses – Rochelle R, Alecia C, Cait R and Krishia S. Rajahs – Luke D, Lidija T, Shami H and Georgia K. Skippers – Jordie H, Chelsea D, Kanesha B and Stephanie N. Apart from the goals set out in our 2008 Annual Implementation Plan the school also had a number of other important priorities that they were wanting to achieve. Here is a summary of those. Developing Our School Culture Integrate the school‟s Vision, Mission and Values with the system, sub system, processes,

policies and relationships. Continue to understand and use “Excellence In Education” principles in all areas of our learning

community. Induction of new school community members (valuing what they bring to our Learning

Community). Meetings continued to be used to develop, in staff and School Council members, their understanding of „Excellence In Education‟ principles. Induction programs were run for new staff, School Council members, students and parents. „Excellence In Education‟ Continue the development of Learning Community policies and processes (for Health & Well

Being, Community Development, Essential Learning and School Improvement) that are aligned with the school‟s vision, mission and values and are reviewed as part of a three year cycle.

Our work with Dynamic Solutions continued with a number of policies, processes and supporting documents being developed and approved by School Council and placed on our intranet ready for implementation. Performance and Development Train staff in the „Peer Facilitator‟s Program‟. Support 2009 First Year Graduates through the Victorian Institute of Teaching‟s Mentoring

Program.



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Continued Work in 2009 Develop a „Personal/Professional Development Plan‟ policy and process map that utilised our

learning‟s from the „Peer Facilitator‟s Program‟. Other School Based Initiatives Enhance our school community‟s capacity to take control of their learning in the areas of

computer skills and effective parenting. Build on our current assessment data base and ensure we make effective use of this student

achievement data to improve learning and teaching. Through the expertise of our „School Grounds For Learning‟ project committee develop a

master plan that extends the learning and play areas of the classroom into the playgrounds. Implement the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen/Garden project where we will be working with the

Berwick Campus of Chisholm TAFE, and other community groups, to build a kitchen, dining room and garden.

Promote „You Can Do It‟ and „Bully Busters‟ to enhance positive student relationships. Continue to provide effective Individual Learning Plans (for students at risk, including PSD

students, and those who need extending) by building a data base of students placed on an ILP and establishing a process by which to assess the effectiveness of ILP‟s.

Implement the Parent Representative Program to increase the effectiveness of parental involvement.

Build on the effectiveness of our existing transition programs and maintain contact with past students and show interest in their life beyond Berwick Fields Primary School.

Build on the whole school „Scope and Sequence‟ chart to ensure that we are teaching all Victorian Essential Learning Standard‟s domains through our integrated inquiries.

Implement a plan that effectively utilises the schools physical spaces for pedagogical purposes. Provide additional support for individual learning that takes into account social, emotional and

academic needs. Build on the excellent work of our School Chaplain to support the Health and Well Being area.

2010 is another exciting year to look forward to! Students will have the opportunity to develop some very important life skills through their involvement in the „Stephanie Alexander Kitchen/Garden‟ project. We will see the start of our fantastic Performing Arts Centre that will provide an authentic learning environment for our performing arts specialist program as well as a valued asset for our local and wider communities. We will embark on the implementation of our School Strategic Plan and continue our work in the data area where we hope our learning will provide opportunities to improve our planning, our teaching practice and enable our students to be the „best they can be‟. Regards, Stephen Wigney



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Berwick Fields‟ School Council experienced a busy year this year as our school reached an important milestone. It was time to create our first ever „School Strategic Plan‟. This plan sets the direction of our school for the next four years. The school undertook a „School Self-Evaluation‟ and an independent reviewer worked with members of the leadership team, including staff and parents, during a one day review meeting. The findings from this meeting were given to staff and to School Council through a presentation from our reviewer, Julie Small. Julie was most positive about the school‟s achievements since it first opened in 2006 and its vision for the future. From here School Council members participated in a process where they were asked their views about the important things our students would need to help them prepare for the 21st Century. These views, and the views of students and staff, were used by the strategic plan writing groups to inform their planning and decision making. We also experienced an exceptional year in regards to securing important funding from the Federal Government. „Building the Education Revolution‟ saw part one of the program, „National School Pride‟, allocating $200,000 for our staff room extension which is now completed . Under part two, „Primary Schools for the 21st Century‟, $3 million was granted to build a Performing Arts Centre. All building works should be completed by the start of 2011. We could not have achieved this without the commitment and dedication of our Principal Mr Stephen Wigney, our Leadership team and The Hon Anthony Byrne MP. Thank you because „Together We Achieved‟! The Australian Governments‟ „National Solar Program‟ saw our school receive a $50,000 grant for the installation of solar panels on the junior school roof. School Council created an award called the „Bronze Butterfly Award‟ to acknowledge the significant achievements of students who have made a difference to themselves or others. This award was presented for the first time during term four, 2009 and will continue each year with presentations being made once a term. Junior School Council members continued to join our School Council meetings to share reports and updates with us. Listening to JSC members make their presentations is the highlight of our meetings and is always appreciated and we look forward to this continuing each year. School Council approved the inclusion of the Mathletics Program at a cost included into the 2010 school fees. This program is now available to all students as part of our curriculum. We approved Parents and Friends Fundraisers for the year which saw some very successful events like the Easter Raffle, Easter Bun Drive, Trivia Night, Skip-a-thon, Disco, Mothers and Fathers Day stalls, Mini Fete, Chocolate Drive and Christmas raffles. I would like to thank everyone involved in helping make events like these enjoyable for our students and their families. The students seem to buzz for days around these events and it is a credit to the very hard working group of volunteers that help orchestrate them. Thank you also to our school community for supporting these events by attending or participating in the fundraisers! The four Learning Communities of Health & Wellbeing, Community Development, Essential Learnings and School Improvements continue to work hard and then work even harder to present School Council

School Council President‟s Report



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with a report each month on what their areas have been working on. We are extremely appreciative of this and we enjoy being able to read these reports, discuss and ask questions about them. Thank you! On behalf of School Council, I would like to thank all the staff, parents and community members for working together to give our students every chance to become the best they can be. I would also like to thank all our School Council members for supporting each other, and myself, in 2009 and for their dedication and enthusiasm towards Berwick Fields and making it the best school it can be. Thank You to our departing School Council members, Anne Radisch, Elana Heitmann, Mark Crees, Kelly Harold and Richard Kornfeld for your commitment over the last 2 years. Donna Foster School Council President

Student Learning

Student Learning Goal 1:

To enhance the capabilities of teachers to purposefully and accurately assess student learning to inform their future planning.

Targets:

To increase teacher’s satisfaction of the ‘new’ Whole School Assessment and Testing Program and the ‘Markbook’ database, as an instructional tool for future planning.

To have teacher’s assessing student learning with greater purpose and accuracy.

One Year Targets:

Whole School Assessment and Testing Program reviewed, redeveloped, trialled and finalised for implementation in 2010.

„Mark Book‟ database based on revised Whole School Assessment and Testing Program has been developed.

Staff have been introduced to assessment best practices through professional development (PD).

To achieve our school goals in Student Learning our „Key Improvement Strategies‟ included:

Whole School Assessment and Testing Program reviewed, redeveloped, trialled and finalised for implementation in 2010.

„Mark Book‟ database based on revised Whole School Assessment and Testing Program has been developed.

Staff have been introduced to assessment best practices through professional development (PD).

The leaders of our Learning Community have successfully completed the „Datawise‟ course run by the Harvard School of Education.



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The „Achievement Milestones‟ that reflect the changes in practice or behaviours included:

Survey completed by teachers and results analysed by Essential Learnings Team to determine content of New Whole School Assessment and Testing Program

New Whole School Assessment and Testing Program implemented 2010.

In February 2009 thirty one teachers completed a survey to determine their views of the current Whole School Assessment Program and the current Assessment Database. Teachers were asked the following questions for each assessment task:

a) Do you test your students using this assessment tool? b) How do you use this information? c) Do you find this a useful assessment tool? Why / Why not? d) If you answered no to question a), why don‟t you use this assessment tool?

Using the responses collected from the survey, the members of the Maths and English Teams then posed these questions of each assessment task: Validity of an assessment task - Why do we do the assessment task? - What data does this give us? - How do we use the data to make judgements? - How do we use the data to drive future planning? - How do we communicate the results with our students? This analysis determined which assessment tasks were to be maintained and which were to be replaced. As an Essential Learnings Team we decided that it was imperative that each assessment task to be included should be able to provide us with assessment data that we can use „for learning‟ (using data to drive future classroom planning), „of learning‟ (using data to make judgements of student‟s progress) and „as learning‟ (using data to help students reflect, set and achieve their goals). For those assessment tasks that were determined to be replaced, the Essential Learnings Team began researching alternative assessments based on „best practice‟ in assessment. We sought guidance from DEECD, other schools, Berwick Cluster Numeracy Team, ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research) and VCAA (Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority). A number of assessment tasks were suggested, to which we asked the same questions above (see Validity of an assessment task). Finally we agreed on several assessment tasks that we believed were appropriate to be trialled throughout the coming assessment period. These proposed assessments were presented to staff in a feedback forum where we outlined reasons for their proposed inclusion in the „trial assessment period‟. During semester two an „assessment trial group‟ was established, made up of representatives from each PLT. Those teachers in the trial conducted the proposed assessments with their class during the assessment period. Following the trial period, the group was asked to provide a detailed reflection on each assessment task, focussing on the following questions:

- How effective was the assessment tool to administer to your students? Discuss pros/cons.

- How effective was the correction process? Discuss pro/cons. Assessment OF learning

- How does the assessment tool support teachers to write reports?



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- How does the assessment tool support teachers in determining a progression point for individual students?

Assessment FOR learning

- How does the assessment tool enable teachers to use data to drive their classroom weekly/term planning?

- How does the assessment tool enable teachers to use data to accommodate for individual students needs?

Assessment AS learning

- How will the assessment tool enable us to share data with our students so they can reflect, set goals and celebrate achievements?

This reflection proved to be fundamental in determining appropriate assessment tasks. After much discussion and deliberation, the Assessment Trial Group put forward their recommendations to members of the Essential Learnings Team for feedback. The Essential Learnings team then finalised the revised Whole School Assessment Program for 2010 and beyond. Other „achievement milestones‟ that we saw as indicators of our effectiveness were:

Mark Book database in place in Jan 2010. Teachers have sound understandings in using Mark Book to record their assessment

results.

It became apparent early in 2009 that in order for the „Markbook‟ database to be constructed and utilised effectively, that we had to complete the review of the Whole School Assessment Program first, before we started building a new assessment database. Developing an alternative assessment tracking tool has become an achievement milestone for our 2010 Student Learning Implementation Plan. At this stage we are still intending to use „Markbook‟, however this may be redirected by the introduction of the Ultranet. As we have not been provided with specific details on the contents of the Ultranet at this time, we are unable to currently confirm the format of the new assessment database. We are currently redeveloping the format of our existing assessment database to provide an interim resource that includes the assessment tasks in our revised Whole School Assessment Program. We believe this will be more user friendly and purposeful. At this stage this will be used by teachers for the 2010 semester one, assessment and reporting period. Teachers have developed their understandings of the purpose of and how to administer

each assessment tool.

In February 2010 staff were been given professional development on the revised program and are currently looking closely at each assessment task with their PLTs. PLTs are looking at each test to develop common understandings of the assessment task‟s purpose, when it is delivered and how it should be consistently delivered in each class. Over the coming two years we will be endeavouring to build our teacher‟s understandings and capabilities in using assessment data „for learning‟ (using data to drive future classroom planning), „of learning‟ (using data to make judgements of student‟s progress) and „as learning‟ (using data to help students reflect, set and achieve their goals) through continued professional development and discussion during staff meetings.



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Student Learning Goal 2:

To foster a school culture that supports using data to improve instruction and student learning.

“Within an information-based society, it is no longer acceptable for teachers and leaders to rely on experience, intuition and tacit knowledge alone to make decisions. Parents and communities expect more…We need to link what we know about the importance of good teaching and assessment practices with the need to use qualitative and quantitative data more effectively. Control should be in the hands of the professional educators – but they need to be informed professionals”

ACT Department of Education and Training, 2007. Targets:

To improve the capacity of the leadership team to use data to improve student learning. One Year Targets:

The leaders of our Learning Community have successfully completed the „Data Wise‟ course run by the Harvard School of Education.

To achieve our school goal in Student Learning our „Key Improvement Strategies‟ included:

Assess value of program

Seek expressions of interest from leadership group

Enrol leadership group in Data Wise course for September

The school leaders Stephen Wigney (Principal), John Painter and Amanda Ellaby (Assistant Principals), Lara Laverman, Allison Scroggie and Fiona Anderson (Leading Teachers) undertook the Data Wise course for three months from September 2009. While undertaking this study the school leaders were addressing four core questions

1. What are the most effective strategies educational leaders can use to frame the work of using data to improve instruction?

2. How can educational leaders foster a school culture that supports using data to improve instruction, learning and understanding?

3. How can educators come to terms with the mountains of data they have? 4. How can educational leaders support meaningful discussions about data? Harvard School of Education, Data Wise, 2009.

These four questions framed the work that we did to ultimately create a „Data Wise‟ plan. This plan identifies for us where we want to head with our data work as well as any challenges that we may encounter along the way. One of our key objectives during the creation of the plan was to keep the plan manageable with limited outcomes, objectives and goals associated with it as recommended by the course outline. The „Achievement Milestones‟ that reflect the changes in practice or behaviours included:



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The leaders have developed understandings and strategies by which they can frame the work of using data to best improve instruction.

As a result of undertaking the „Data Wise‟ course and with the creation of a school wide data plan, it was felt that there needed to be a team created that would be responsible for the technical and organisational aspects of our data work and with the creation of that team we appointed a „Strategic Coach‟ to oversee the use of data within the school. As leaders we now understand the importance of establishing:

Where we are now in relation to our current processes, attitudes, knowledge and use of data within the school.

Protocols and improvement tools for effective use of executing our data plan.

Staff meetings that are focused on professional learning and sharing best practice.

A „shared language‟ amongst our school community so that we are able to talk about data.

A manageable timeline in which to start our conversations about data through our data plan.

Throughout 2010, we will begin working with staff on initial conversations about data. Through these conversations we will cover the following topics

What are teacher‟s current understandings of data and how do they use it?

What data displays are relevant to staff and how can we share these?

How do we best implement effective data managing practices into our school?

What is our timeline for conversations about data and digging in deeper with data? It is hoped by the end of 2010 that we will better understand the purposes of the data we collect and how it can provide knowledge to inform our teaching and learning practices.

A plan has been developed whereby the learning is shared with staff and is used to inform the „new‟ Whole School Assessment and Testing program.

In term one, 2010 as part of the introduction of the new assessment program, teachers participated in a staff meeting based on the „As‟, „Of‟ and „For‟ learning in relation to Berwick Fields assessment practices. Staff discussed our revised Assessment Schedule and how we can use assessment to inform our learning and teaching in the classroom. Teachers took these tools and discussed them back in PLT meetings where they were asked to consider:

Why the assessment is being done (purpose)?

When is the best time to conduct the assessment?

How do we administer the test consistently?

How can we use this information to improve student learning?

How can we communicate these results with the students?

How can we use these results to make accurate judgements?

How can we use this data to improve our teaching practice?

Based on these important discussions a staff meeting was held where we presented our Data Wise journey to the staff and further facilitated discussions about the importance of data. Through various



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activities staff were asked to discuss six important questions that will help guide us to understand their attitudes and current classroom practices in relation to data.

What are your current purposes for data?

What are the tools/processes you use to collect, analyse and engage with data?

What hinders your use of data?

What do you want/expect from the data team?

What would you like to be able to do with your student data?

How do you share your data and who with? This information will help us to further the development of our Data Team in 2010 and more specifically to adjust our Data Plan so that it reflects the current needs and attitudes of the teaching staff. This information will then be used to support teachers with the implementation of the assessment schedule for 2010.

Student Engagement and Well Being Student Engagement and Wellbeing Goal 1:

To facilitate an environment that is safe, connected and inclusive. Targets:

To improve our student’s connectedness to school.

To see school community members sharing the responsibility of improving our students connectedness to school.

One Year Targets:

The 2009 „Attitudes To School‟ survey results in the area of „school connectedness‟ have improved.

A descriptor of behaviours that demonstrate school connectedness has been developed and published.

During 2009 the Health and Well-Being area strived to achieve its vision of facilitating “an environment that is safe, connected and inclusive, based on effective communication, collaboration and a strong accountability framework”. Our Health and Well-Being Team included parents and staff that met twice a term to implement our mission of „assessing the needs of the community, defining goals and making information accessible to the community‟. Target One:

The 2009 „Attitudes To School‟ survey results in the area of „school connectedness‟ have improved.

There has been marginal improvement in the „Attitude to School Survey‟ results (ATSS) in the primary focus area of „School Connectedness‟. Overall, the 2009 data shows the school is performing under the state mean in most areas which is a disappointing result. However over the past four years it is above the state mean. Given the impact last year of a couple of students, across the 5/6 classes, lower



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results were not surprising though the results are lower in other areas too such as „Student Motivation‟ and „Learning Confidence‟. These are more difficult to explain.

It is no surprise that „classroom behaviour‟ and „student distress‟ were all significantly lower than other areas. Interestingly, this does not seem to have had an impact on student morale, safety or connectedness. Boys generally feel better about school but the girls feel more motivated and confident in school. Overall grade five scores were lower than those of grade six. The areas of „Student Relationships‟ and „Wellbeing‟ were quite similar in both grade levels. Tracking the 2008-09 cohort shows that students improved in most areas from grade five to six. Again the „student safety‟ and „classroom behaviour‟ results may indicate their concerns regarding the behaviour of selected students. I would expect to see a much more positive response from students in student safety, distress and classroom behaviour in the 2010 „Attitudes To School‟ survey results. Social and Emotional Support Programs The school invested time again in establishing support for targeted students, particularly in the senior area but students across all levels were involved in programs and support targeted at improving their social and emotional well being. This was provided through Maggie Callingham, our School Chaplain, and John Painter, Health and Well Being Coordinator. One of our 5/6 teachers Carol Baillie also spent time focused on selected students in the 5/6 level. Our entire staff undertook professional development „unpacking‟ the behaviour management „Calmer Classrooms‟ document as it relates to our school. There was an expectation of DEECD Student School Support Officer involvement with programs and processes established in 2008, ready for 2009 but due to staffing availability across the network this support did not eventuate. A disappointing outcome for everyone! Staff and parents were requested to provide the names of students or families they believed would benefit from some assistance socially, emotionally and/or academically. They were also asked to provide some background information on the reasoning behind their choices. Some students participating were continuing from 2008. Others were new members of our school or had not been referred before. After identifying students that were not „connecting‟ to school as effectively as we would like information was stored on our STAR (STudents At Risk) database. This was a valuable,



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confidential resource to identify those students that may need additional support but also to keep in mind those students who could not be assisted at that point in time due to restricted staff resources.. The Chaplaincy program continues to benefit our school community in many ways, helping refine our process for identifying student needs and providing additional support programs for students and families. It provides access to numerous day events like 'Sailability' and 'Day Away' trips for students and created ongoing regular contact, support and counselling for parents, teachers and students across all levels of the school. This also had a follow on effect on learning outcomes for many students. The Chaplaincy program provided strong links to other schools and organisations that are able to assist school communities and demonstrates a positive and successful partnership between a variety of community organisations. Support for the Chaplaincy program is again strong amongst our school community and there are regular parent requests to see the school Chaplain for both family and student issues. Parent and student feedback indicates positive results and staff surveys indicated an overwhelmingly positive response to the Chaplaincy initiative with almost 90% of staff seeing benefits to parents or students in our community. 100% of staff believe we have strategies and support for students who have difficulty engaging in school. Our Chaplain continues to support our school through her time, effort, knowledge and willingness to expand the variety of programs and resources available through the CHiPS organisation and her experience has increased the relevance and effectiveness of the work in our school. Student Absence Data Our student attendance data supports a fairly consistent level of connectedness with a slight decrease in student absences from 2008 to 2009 and being below the state mean. There were improved attendances in grades three, four and five while Prep, grade two and grade six all show a larger decrease in attendance. It will be important to monitor these cohorts more closely in 2010. Grade one, two three, four and five are all under the state mean while Prep and grade six are above. The school again promoted the „Not OK To Be Away‟ campaign and followed up on students with absence or late rates above 10%. Data on student absence and lateness rates was included on all student reports.

Behaviour Management A key to a positive connection to school is a behaviour management approach that aims to ensure that students feel safe at school. This year that has been a challenge with some of the students in the 5/6 area but we have continued to provide a variety of proactive and consistent strategies and processes across the school. Our desired state in this area is that every student takes responsibility for their behaviour and attitude and understands that they have control over the choices they make. We aim to provide students with support and strategies to make good choices and minimising negative incidents in the classroom and playground as well as in the wider community. “You Can Do It!” Program The “You Can Do It!” program is now firmly embedded into the school and its language and approach is a fundamental part of the school culture. There have been changes this year in the content and presentation of lessons in the classroom program but the language in all areas of the



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school community is well used and understood. Senior classes have included the „Bounce Back‟ program in the “You Can Do It!” times and the staff survey results showed that; 80% of staff felt confident in using and implementing the “You Can Do It!” program. 9 responses disagreed. With more than 10 new staff this is not a surprising result and is continuing to be addressed. 100% believe it had a positive impact on students (42 of 44). This was equal to 2007. 42 staff of 44 believed they saw improvement in student capabilities. Bully Busters The Bully Busters team again visited the school in term 2 for prep to grade 2 students and staff and students agreed it was a worthwhile experience in terms of identifying behaviours, developing shared language and finding strategies to create a more connected school environment. Responding to 2008 feedback we tried a new presentation for grade 3-6 “The Power of One”. While the response was positive it was felt the „Bully Busters‟ program offered a program more suited to our needs and one that better matched our school culture. We invited parents to attend an information session to coincide with the student sessions which was attended by more than 20 parents. They not only enjoyed the presentation but took away a better understanding of our approach and strategies to use with their children.

Better Buddies The Better Buddies framework was implemented across the school for the first time this year and was not as effective as we had hoped. Staff feedback indicated that clearer direction was needed and that it was more suited to a prep and grade six match rather than across all levels. We will take these recommendations on for 2010. Rethink Process The „Rethink‟ Process continued to be the predominant tool used across the school to support students to re-think their behaviour and look at alternative and more effective choices in the future. „Rethinks‟ issued decreased from 2008 and we returned to below the 10% mark for students who received a „Rethink‟ in term 4. This is an excellent indication of the effort by all members of staff and of the systems and processes in place. In all data the majority of students are one off offences with approximately one third being repeat offenders. The data also showed that most repeat offenders decreased in rethinks as the year progressed. The „Rethink‟ categories data shows the majority of incidents involve physical safety of others and authority, specifically disrespect to teachers instructions. Of those „Rethinks‟ that involved physical safety one third were related to throwing objects, usually rocks and one third to punching or hitting. Language Support (LSP) and Phonological Awareness Programs (PAG) These programs saw more than sixty students involved across the school. Staff, continuing on from 2008, have been excellent in liaising with the Speech Pathologist, class teachers, integration aides and myself in implementing and developing the program to cater for our expanding student population.This year we were able to start programs from term one and support students from



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prep to six. The LSP primarily assisted students in grades two to six and the PAG supported prep students with basic letter names and sounds. There was improvement in the vast majority of students during the program and few needed to continue for a second term. Program for Students with Disabilities The „Program for Students with Disabilities‟ remained fairly constant throughout the year. Staffing was in place from day one with the expectation that the pending application would be approved. This proved to be the case and the Integration Team, of fourteen staff, are a well coordinated and supportive team. Professional development was shared amongst them which was an extremely valuable process and has made our integration staff more aware and better equipped to support not only students who qualify for this program but other students as well. Almost all students had effective support groups which generally met each term. Minimal difficulty was evident in arranging parent input. Students with less parent support had plans and goals completed and information sent home to the parents instead. Target Two:

A descriptor of behaviours that demonstrate school connectedness has been developed and published.

Staff, students and parents completed a survey developed by the Health and Well Being team. The team then analysed almost four hundred responses to develop the following key descriptors relating to connectedness. The „connectedness to school‟ statements for Berwick Fields, published in the school and staff newsletters, were: As a PARENT I feel connected when… I see my child is happy and wants to go to school. Our family is welcomed into the school community. My family feels safe in a positive environment. I have good communication and feedback between teachers and parents. I am listened to and valued when decisions are made that affect my child‟s learning. I am given the opportunity to be actively involved in my child‟s education. I can approach and feel supported by staff. I have the opportunity to interact with other parents. As a STAFF MEMBER I feel connected when… I am involved in purposeful decision making. I have the opportunity to take on roles and responsibilities. I have ownership of physical space, projects or tasks. I am a respected member of a team whose contribution is valued by staff, children and parents.

I am part of a friendly and inclusive school community. I have friends who care for and support each other. I am part of a staff that „live‟ the values of the school. I experience clear and effective communication. As a STUDENT I feel connected when… I have something to do outside.



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I can share my feelings and ideas. I am safe and comfortable in the school. Others care about me and my things. I have the opportunity to do special jobs at school. I am happy and having fun. The teachers are fair. When I have friends at school. When I am included in activities with others. Our next step in 2010 is to further develop this into a survey where community members respond to how they feel about these statements in relation to our school.

Parent Survey

The Parent Opinion survey results are all still above the state mean though „reporting‟, „approachability‟, „connectedness to peers and „student safety‟ have dropped towards the state level. These will be areas to monitor for 2010. Student Engagement results are positive with improvements in most areas. Other categories have remained fairly constant and stable from 2008. This data also showed a decrease in „connectedness to school‟ matching the student survey response. The class behaviour in the student survey was however not mirrored in the parent data. While there was a significant increase in the school population the response rate by parents improved slightly over last year to 61%.

Recommendations for 2010:

Continued focus of student connectedness – through survey development and responses.

Continued policy and process development.

A continued focus on student attendance across all levels.

Closer support for classroom teachers with funded students.

More effective use of the Better Buddies program to Prep and Gr.5/6.

Chaplaincy initiative to continue to expand.

Creation of Student Support database to replace „At risk‟ database.



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Student Pathways and Transitions

Student Pathways and Transitions Goal 1

To focus on building an involved community that is welcoming, friendly and focused on fostering and nurturing families in their transition between kindergarten and primary school.

“Transition to school is not a point-in-time event, but rather an experience that starts well before, and extends far beyond, the first day of school.” DEECD Targets:

To support parents in their endeavours to make their child feel happy and confident to start primary school.

One Year Targets

A „starting school‟ transition process has been developed and documented.

Feedback from parents has demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with the „starting school‟ transition process.

The transition programs at Berwick Fields have a strong focus, during both term four and term one, as we believe that transition is a continuation of the learning journey for students and therefore requires an ongoing process for both the students and their families. The kindergarten to prep transition program commences in September with a variety of free play and developmental experiences within and outside the classroom for students. Parents are invited to attend information sessions to ensure they make a smooth transition also. This program continues until the end of term one when prep students commence primary school on a full time basis. The senior „Transixon‟ transition program commences in term four and continues into term one. This program includes visits by students and staff to our main „feeder‟ secondary school. These visits assist students in preparing for the next step in their learning and also to follow up and reflect on the transition process creating links in each student‟s learning journey. To achieve our school goal in Student Pathways and Transitions our „Key Improvement Strategies‟ included:

Develop a „Starting School‟ transition process With such a large cohort of prep children enrolling at Berwick Fields each year (175 in 2009) we found the need to ensure that we had a thorough process with which to follow to ensure that we were meeting the needs of all our learning community members in preparing them successfully for the transition from kindergarten to prep.



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Starting school is an important time for children, their families, teachers and schools. Children who are

happy and eager to go to school, who are comfortable in their new environment and who believe their

teachers are interested in them have a great chance at succeeding at school!

At Berwick Fields we have developed, and are continually refining, our comprehensive „Kindergarten to

Prep Transition Process‟ that will effectively prepare, encourage and support all our learning community

members in their transition from Kindergarten to Prep. Using this current process and drawing upon the

„Transition: A Positive Start to School’ initiative we aim to ensure that all aspects of the transition

experience for all learning community members has been captured and documented.

We are working to continually enhance and refine our transition programs to ensure that they reflect

current and up to date best practice.

Work closely with local kindergartens, child care centres and local community organisations to build positive working relationships that will support children and their families in their transition to the school environment.

For transition to be successful it is important that children, families and educators develop positive,

supportive relationships. We value and seek out the support of kindergarten and pre-school teachers as

they can provide meaningful professional insight into a child‟s learning and development. These

educators not only understand the children they have been teaching but also play a major role in

preparing children for their first year of school.

2009 saw the introduction of the „Transition: A Positive Start to Schoo‟l initiative and the „Transition

Learning and Development Statement‟ that kindergarten teachers (from funded kindergartens) were

asked to complete on behalf of all students who were attending school in 2010. Through this document,

the kindergarten teacher was able to communicate the philosophy of their centre as well as information

regarding each child‟s wellbeing, their confidence in learning, their ability to connect and communicate

with others and their sense of identity. They also provided us with examples of the child‟s interests and

tips for helping them settle into school. A section was also available for parents to share information that

they believed to be important regarding their child‟s transition to school. If the parent gave consent this

document was also used to facilitate communication regarding the child between their kindergarten and

prep teachers.

Throughout 2009 our Transition Coordinator and members of the prep team visited our local

kindergartens and pre-schools, meeting and getting to know staff, observing children, and chatting with

teachers and families.

During these visits we studied the differences between kindergarten and school environments, from

toileting to space and the kinds of furniture they use. We also learnt more about the routines that

kindergarten children are involved in and what activities they do throughout the day. We used this

information to understand the changes that children face when coming to school as well as to inform our

planning for the beginning of the school year.

Moreover, we used these informal visits as an opportunity to observe the children from local feeder

kindergartens in an environment where they felt comfortable and familiar. It enabled us to build on our

understandings of the children we had met through our transition sessions and the „Transition Learning

and Development Statements‟ and identify and prepare for those children who would require additional

support during transition sessions and once they began school.



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Teachers from local kindergartens also came to visit us, and their former students, during 2009. They came into our classrooms to share in the children‟s learning and on occasion joined us for our Prep Assembly.

We aim to continue to cultivate this culture in 2010, and the years to come, as it is important that we value sharing the transition experience with the pre-school organisations to ensure that we are well prepared to welcome all families to Berwick Fields.

Expand and build on our current relationships that have been developed through the Berwick Early Learning Network and the annual Early Years Expo.

Networks help to develop the understandings and needs of local children and families. They help to establish common philosophies, programs and processes and help us to build on our own knowledge and practices. The DEECD „Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development‟ identifies the need for pre-schools and primary schools to work closely, and in conjunction with each other, for the benefit of the child and the family. It is our goal to strengthen our kindergarten to prep transition process by continuing to develop a positive and collaborative relationship with Gwendoline Pre School and other pre schools in our local area.

We have made an effort to build a relationship with all the staff at Gwendoline Pre School and visit their classrooms on a regular basis. We communicate via email and phone and we allocate time together to discuss successful transition practices and ideas. Throughout the year, we spend time in their classrooms observing the children and their learning environment to best inform our programs. In return, they have come to visit us to become familiar with our school environment and to see how their former students are progressing. We have also been fortunate enough to develop relationships with other local teachers by visiting additional kindergartens in our area.

We continue to be heavily involved in the Early Learning Network which encourages kindergarten, prep, and grades one and two teachers to gather twice a term to discuss topical subjects and to participate in professional development. We are fortunate that this networking group is coordinated by one of the members of our Prep Team. Amongst other benefits, these sessions encourage us to share our ideas on transition, to meet key people in the transition process and to strengthen our understanding of early year‟s curriculums. Each year the Early Learning Network coordinates an Early Years Expo for families who live in the City of Casey. Berwick Fields participates by creating a display to communicate to potential students and families about our school and our „Starting School‟ transition process. We aim for our display to reflect the values and motivations of our school. We exhibit samples of children‟s work, documentation of school events, our methods of communicating to families, examples of our school uniform and, in 2009, Jade the turtle made an appearance to greet some of the children!

Develop individual transition plans for students during „Prep Wednesday assessments‟ and „Getting Acquainted interviews‟ with one goal per students for semester one.

It is a priority for the team at Berwick Fields Primary School to develop an in depth picture of the social, emotional and academic needs of individual students as they access the next stage in their learning. To build on our existing methods of collecting information about our incoming preps we have referred to the DEECD „Blueprint for Education and Early Childhood Development‟ which recognises the importance of developing individualised transition plans for every student. We have drawn on our existing „Getting Acquainted‟ interview questions, the „Sharing our Journey‟ protocol which supports children with disabilities and our own understandings of what



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information it is important to know about our new preps to develop our „Personal Transition Plan‟.

Our „Personal Transition Plan‟ requests that families complete the questions together. It involves an

„About Me‟ section where the child tells us what they are good at, what they are excited about, what

they want to learn at school as well as their concerns and what they think they need more help with.

There is also a section „About My Family‟ where parents have the opportunity to communicate what they

would like their child to learn during the year, any additional information they feel they need and their

concerns for their child. We have also included a section titled „A Billion Words or Less‟ where families

can tell us in one billion words or less, about their child. This task is designed to be a celebration of

individuality and the joy that children bring to our lives. The „Personal Transition Plan‟ was distributed to

families when they enrolled and during our Parent Information Sessions on our transition session days

in term four. It was encouraged that they be completed and returned to school by the end of the year to

support our planning and understanding of our new preps. We received many of these forms and they

were a lovely way to get to know the children who would make up our prep classes for the following

year.

Throughout the first term of school our Prep teachers have spent their Wednesday‟s conducting „Getting

to Know You‟ sessions with our new students and their families. This requires a one-on-one discussion

with each child and the completion of the Early Years Numeracy Interview [pre-numeracy] and the

English Online Interview [pre-literacy testing]. We use the information collected during these sessions to

guide our planning for the year and to develop a deeper understanding of each and every child in our

grade. We also find this to be an excellent opportunity for staff to meet with parents and to share

information and discuss the individual student‟s needs.

ONE YEAR TARGET

A „starting school‟ transition process has been developed and documented.

We have developed a formal transition process and allocated responsibility for the implementation of

that process to the Transition Coordinator with the support of the Community Development Leader. This

process is being updated annually to reflect the needs of our school, the implementation of the

„Transition: A Positive Start to School‟ initiative and other departmental strategies. The Kindergarten -

Prep Transition Process is available for all staff to access through our school Intranet.

Feedback from parents has demonstrated a high level of satisfaction with the „starting school‟ transition process.

Parents had the opportunity to provide feedback on the 2008/2009 transition experience through the 2009 DEECD Parent Opinion Survey. „Transitions‟ was an area of strength at Berwick Fields as parents indicated a high level of satisfaction with the transition programs of both secondary and pre-primary with the school mean at 5.95 (7 point scale) compared with the state mean at 5.37. In 2010 we hope to continue building on this success with ongoing improvement of both transition programs. Pre-Prep parents were invited to provide feedback on the Pre-Prep Transition program in December, 2009 in the areas of student transition experiences and parent information transition experiences. The feedback received was 100% positive and this was achieved through the provision of written comments



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by parents. 93% of parents were satisfied with the amount of transition sessions held. 7% or 3 families would prefer only 4 rather than 5.

Some of the comments received by parents included:

“My son is very excited every time he needs to come to school. He looks forward to it.”

“My child enjoyed all the sessions and activities.”

“The sessions were very helpful to the parents and children starting prep.”

“My daughter loved coming to school and was always excited and had a lot to share afterwards.”

“Always looked forward to and enjoyed the sessions.” Our opportunity for improvement based on the feedback received is to work on reducing the noise of younger children in the parent sessions so that everyone is able to listen effectively to the presentations. In future the feedback collected from the Transition surveys will include numerical based data to assist in the data analysis. Berwick Fields Staff also had the opportunity to provide feedback on the Transition programs at Berwick Fields in 2009.

97.7% agreed that the way we currently run the pre-school transition program is effective.

100% of staff agreed that the preschool sessions being broken into five sessions works well.

95.3% of staff agreed that it would be good to create stronger relationships with Gwendoline Preschool.

Future Directions for 2010 and Beyond The following goals/key improvement strategies that we intend to implement in 2010-2013 have originated from our assessment of 2006-2009 data using the „Excellence In Education‟ PLAN, DO ,STUDY, ACT model. Data analysed included DEECD satisfaction surveys, NAPLAN, absence, VELS student achievement and school based surveys. What is written below are the goals and key improvement strategies of our first School Strategic Plan.

Goal: To improve student connectedness.

Key Improvement Strategies: Enable students to build more productive and positive relationships with their peers and those adults who are supporting them with their learning.

Maintain effective student management strategies which empower students to take responsibility for their actions, individually and collectively.

Student Engagement and Wellbeing



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Goal: To improve transitions across the school. Key Improvement Strategies: Effectively prepare learning community members for the transitions in their learning journey.

Goal: To foster the achievement of personal best. Key Improvement Strategies: Engage learning community member‟s for the 21st century. Embed an effective school-wide assessment program with a specific focus on improving Mathematics achievement.

Goal: To provide an environment that supports school community members to „be the best they can be‟. Key Improvement Strategies: Provide opportunities for school community members to develop their learning, and share that with others, through effective coaching, peer facilitating and mentoring.

Enhance the capacity of staff to use data to improve their practice.

Student Pathways and Transitions

Student Learning

School Improvement



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Berwick Fields Primary School finished 2009 with a current account balance of $115,655. We have continued to utilise our funds to build on our existing learning and teaching resources. With our ever increasing student enrolment numbers we also had to accommodate this growth by purchasing additional classroom equipment and furniture. In 2009 we received funds from the Federal Government under the „National Schools Pride‟ grant to assist us with our staff room extension. This facility is a great space for staff professional development as it can accommodate our large staff and is also being utilised as a learning area for community courses such as the Parent helper course and the Parent rep program. Funds were used to develop our outdoor spaces and landscaping. This included developments such as the passion poles, the extension of the sand pit, the car track and extended gardens and grassed areas. With the arrival of seven new classrooms funds have also been spent to beautify these spaces. Our successful inclusion in the „Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden‟ program, allowed us to commence the creation of both our garden and kitchen. With the support of local community groups such as Berwick TAFE and the management of the project by Circon we have been able to create an outdoor teaching space, hot house and our fantastic kitchen. Time and effort, blood, sweat and tears also went into our „Taj Mahal‟ chook shed, meticulously built by our Principal and Assistant Principal. Thank you to the School Community for their fundraising efforts as this allows us to continue our great work!

Financial Performance – Operating Statement Summary for the year ending 31st December, 2009

Revenue 2009 Actual

DE&T Grants 931268

Commonwealth Grants 186043

State Grants 29700

Other Grants 59644

Locally Raised Funds 349817

Total Operating Revenue $1,556,472

Expenditure

Salaries and Allowances 184332

Bank Charges 2264

Leased Computers & Playgrounds 219704

Consumables 185909

Books and Publications 27112

Communication Costs 16233

Furniture and Equipment 316940

Repairs / Maintenance 37086

Utilities 41552

Publicity & Marketing 64141

Ground Works/Sanitation 78266

Administration 67601

Camps & Excursions 86170

Financial Performance



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Sue Willoughby Business Manager

School Contact Information

Address:

35 Gwendoline Drive, Berwick 3806

Principal:

Stephen Wigney

2009 School Council President:

Donna Foster

Telephone:

87869988

Email:

[email protected]

Web site:

www.berwickfieldsps.vic.edu.au

This report contains summary data extracted from the School Level Report. The School Level report is attached for your information.

Professional Development 29439

Trading and Fundraising 84068

Total Operating Expenditure $1,440,817

Net Operating Surplus $115,655

Please note that the above amounts do not include any credit revenue or expenditure allocated or spent by the school through its Student Resource Package

Financial Position as at 31st December, 2009

Funds Available 2009 High Yield Investment Account 87,017.00 Official Account 28,638.00

Total $115,655.00

Financial Commitments 2009

Completion of staff room extension 93,000.00

Total Financial Commitments $93,000.00

Total Funds Available $22,655.00

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

2009 Annual Report to the School Community