walungurru annual report 2014 - web.ntschools.netweb.ntschools.net/w/antgsr/Annual Reports/walungurru_annual_repor… · o Kormilda College (Darwin) o Yirara College (Alice Springs)

Walungurru School

Annual Performance Report to the School Community

2014

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Walungurru School

2014 Annual Performance Report to the School Community

School Overview Our School Walungurru School is located 530km west of Alice Springs in the community of Walungurru. The population of the surrounding community is approximately 400; residents are mostly of the Pintubi clan and speak Pintubi/Luritja. Warlpiri, Pitjantjatjara and Nanjantatjara are also spoken.

The very remote Northern Territory community of Walungurru (Kintore) was established in 1981 when Pintupi traditional owners decided to return to their homelands in the western desert from their temporary base at Papunya. The Pintupi had been unhappily settled at Papunya since coming into contact with Welfare Branch officials decades earlier. Initially as the homeland community began to become established, education classes were conducted in the shade of a tree by a visiting teachers. When it became apparent that the community would become a permanent home for Pintupi families, the NT Government committed to upgrading infrastructure. The first school buildings and teacher houses were constructed in the mid- 1980s. The first resident school staff included a teaching principal, a specialist teacher linguist and two Indigenous assistant teachers. They delivered formal bilingual education programs in the vernacular to primary and secondary-aged children. Since its formative beginnings, the school has experienced a number of changes to its structure. A preschool providing structured early childhood programs has been operating since 1994.The bilingual program closed when it lost both its accreditation and its teacher linguist at the end of 1998. From 2005, the school no longer provided a separate program for secondary-aged students when a middle year’s campus of Yirara College opened its doors across the road from the primary school. Over the years, the school has faced many challenging moments. It has lost buildings in two significant fires (1999 & 2011) and there has been frequent turnover of teachers throughout its history. In 2014, Walungurru School has a staff of 10 and a combined preschool/primary enrolment of 65. The school has existing partnership arrangements with various agencies and organisations to help support attendance strategies and program implementation.

Walungurru School provides education services to students from preschool to primary years.

Walungurru School


Our Staff One Classroom Teacher position has been vacant virtually all year. Total Non-

Indigenous Indigenous

Teaching Principal (TP 2) 1 Classroom Teacher 3 Assistant Teacher 2 2 PH2 1 1 CSO 2 2 SSO (ISA) 1 Our Students In 2014, the school offered preschool education to a small number of students (four) aged 3.5 to 5 years under the ‘mobile preschool’ program. The preschool program was delivered by an assistant teacher for half the day each school week with periodic support from the Remote School Support Unit in Alice Springs. There were approximately 60 primary aged students in four classes (Transition/ Year 1, Years 2/3, years 4/5 and year 6). There were thirteen year 6 students that transitioned to boarding school middle years programs at the end of the 2014 school year. Each primary class had a dedicated teacher and classroom support assistant. There were three identified special needs students who were integrated into the year 2/3 class. The special needs students were supported by a dedicated Inclusion Support Assistant (ISA). All the students who were enrolled in the school spoke an Indigenous first language – mostly Pintupi or Pintupi/Luritja.

Walungurru School


Teaching and Learning

• All teaching staff participated in structured Visible Learning (VL) professional development programs, both on site at the school in Kintore, as well as in Alice Springs that were delivered by trained VL impact coaches. Teaching support staff participated in formal activities at the school that focussed on embedding VL practises within the school.

• Support three Indigenous staff to complete VET qualifications in education support

• The school introduced to all students a shared vocabulary related to the characteristics of an ‘effective learner’. The term and concept were translated into the vernacular language Pintupi ‘pipirri ninti lingku’ which in turn was embedded in the course of their respective learning programs.

• Individual learning programs were developed for the special needs students in conjunction with Student Support Services

• PAT R & M assessments were conducted with the support of the school’s principal mentor in both Semester 1 and again in Semester 2. PM benchmarking was conducted by the school’s ESL/ Curriculum consultant in a similar manner. NAPLAN assessments were conducted in Term 2 by the Principal for Year 3 and Year 5 students.

• Teachers used assessment data from a range of instruments to inform the construction of their classroom programs. This included data from the following:

o PAT R & M o NAPLAN o PM benchmarking o Sight words (PM) o South Australian spelling test o Phonics (THRASS)

Walungurru School


Wellbeing

• Regular school community meetings and open days were convened throughout the year to promote school initiatives related to attendance strategies and enhanced educational outcomes for students. Both academic and attendance prizes that had been donated to the school from a variety of stakeholders were given to students at ceremonies at the end of each semester.

• Indigenous staff and the Principal represented the school at important community

meetings throughout the year on a variety of issues. Information about the school’s improvement agenda and general operations was disseminated.

• Student health screening by Pintupi Clinic staff conducted each week.

• Regular visitations by health professionals (paediatricians, psychiatrists, speech

pathologists, trachoma specialists, hearing specialists) to the school for student health assessments.

• Regular visitations by child protection officers and social workers who facilitated meetings

with the school, the police and health professionals with respect to targeted students and their families.

• Various local excursions related to the Language and Culture program were made

throughout the school year with assistance from external agencies. A major interstate excursion for twelve Year 6 students to Sydney and Canberra was made in Term 4.

• Partnership relationships with a variety of organisations were fostered to assist in the

delivery of a range of educational opportunities for students. These included: o Red Dust Role Models o Nutrition Plus o Pintupi Homelands Health Service o Kintore Community Store o Macdonnel Shire (Child Care, Youth Program, Swimming Pool Management) o Central Land Council o Swimming NT and Swimming Australia, Royal Life Saving Society o Australian National Museum o Australian National Art Gallery o NT and WA Police

Walungurru School


Participation, Transitions and Pathways


• ‘No school, no pool’ policy actively reinforced by all community stakeholders. • An enrolment day BBQ for child care children entering the school’s preschool program in

2015 was held. • Indigenous staff and the Principal represented the school at important community

meetings throughout the year on a variety of issues. Information about the school’s improvement agenda and general operations was disseminated.

• Information meetings held throughout the year with families of thirteen final Year (6) students to determine 2015 school destinations and transition to middle school arrangements.

• Application processes were completed for six destination schools including: o Kormilda College (Darwin) o Yirara College (Alice Springs) o St Josephs College (Melbourne) o Worawa College (Melbourne) o Shalom College (Townsville) o Wiltja Unit – Woodville High School (Adelaide)

Walungurru School


Partnerships


• Regular visitations by health professionals (paediatricians, psychiatrists, speech pathologists, trachoma specialists, hearing specialists) to the school for student health assessments.

• Regular visitations by child protection officers and social workers who facilitated meetings with the school, the police and health professionals with respect to targeted students and their families.

• Convene conflict mediation sessions between students and their families in conjunction with the police.

• Partnership relationships with a variety of organisations were fostered to assist in the delivery of a range of educational opportunities for students. These included:

o Red Dust Role Models o Nutrition Plus o Pintupi Homelands Health Service o Kintore Community Store o Macdonnel Shire (Child Care, Youth Program, Swimming Pool Management) o Central Land Council o Swimming NT and Swimming Australia, Royal Life Saving Society o Australian National Museum o Australian National Art Gallery o NT and WA Police

Walungurru School


Leadership

• Principal attended all scheduled principals’ meetings as well as global school budget meetings throughout the year.

• Principal participated in VL for leaders PD in Term 1 and 2, completed the school baseline matrix and collaboratively developed a school VL Stage 1 action plan for implementation.

• Manage all aspects of the school budget and transitioning to the new funding model of global school budgets

• Manage all school staff in respect to performance reviews/probation. • Host a recent graduate teacher working on a casual basis. • Funding from external sources was gained for the following:

o School sports and swimming program/ carnival (Australian Sports Commission, School Sports Vouchers)

o Sydney/Canberra school excursion (Central Land Council) o Student prizes (Kintore Store, Papunya Tula Arts) o Landscaping project/school garden (Nutrition Plus)

Walungurru School


ATTACHMENT A

Audited Financial Statements

Walungurru School


Walungurru School


Walungurru School


Walungurru School


ATTACHMENT B

NAPLAN data Year Level 3

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Grammar

School Mean Range 249 - 291 26 - 26 252 - 292 267 - 314 263 - 386 222 - 269

School Mean 270 26 272 290 325 246

NT Mean 316 311 313 315 338 326

Aust Mean 420 417 421 424 428 426

Numeracy


School Mean 227 209 277 278 268 272

NT Mean 322 329 338 323 332 338

Aust Mean 394 395 398 396 397 402

Reading


School Mean 242 84 265 273 269 237

NT Mean 322 329 323 332 339 332

Aust Mean 411 414 416 420 419 418

Spelling


School Mean 239 226 251 290 308 247

NT Mean 305 300 303 337 327 327

Aust Mean 405 399 406 414 411 412

Writing (Persuasive)

School Mean Range - - 205 - 301 373 - 373 186 - 276 153 - 255

School Mean 253 373 231 204

NT Mean 330 323 320 318

Aust Mean 416 416 416 402

Walungurru School


Year Level 5

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Grammar


School Mean 332 55 273 286 357 340

NT Mean 415 397 400 394 423 419

Aust Mean 500 500 499 491 501 504

Numeracy


School Mean 373 325 294 342 326 353

NT Mean 430 422 424 418 422 423

Aust Mean 487 489 488 489 486 488

Reading


School Mean 361 133 265 364 363 311

NT Mean 421 412 403 405 437 426

Aust Mean 494 487 488 494 502 501

Spelling


School Mean 346 320 302 325 341 328

NT Mean 411 409 393 413 413 422

Aust Mean 487 487 484 495 494 498

Writing (Persuasive)

School Mean Range - - 102 - 268 284 - 399 278 - 337 285 - 417

School Mean 185 341 307 351

NT Mean 397 391 386 380

Aust Mean 483 477 478 468

Walungurru School


ATTACHMENT C

Student Enrolment, Attendance and Learning

Whilst it was pleasing to track an improvement in average student attendance from the 2013 to the 2014 school year, there are external considerations that have a greater or lesser effect on attendance in very remote schools that vary from year to year. These include; ceremonial business, funerals, football carnivals, severe weather events and royalty payments. That being said, the collective school community believes that the suite of incentives that the school offered in 2014 had a direct bearing on the improved attendance.

Documents

walungurru annual report 2014 - web.ntschools.netweb.ntschools.net/w/antgsr/Annual Reports/walungurru_annual_repor… · o Kormilda College (Darwin) o Yirara College (Alice Springs)