Excellence in School Improvement

Bowraville Central School, New South Wales

Shifting from a welfare driven to a learning driven culture

Shifting the culture of Bowraville Central School from welfare-driven to learning-driven was a challenging undertaking. The problems of a disadvantaged community were reflected in absenteeism, high suspension and drop out rates, serious incidents, low self-esteem, mental health issues, and literacy and numeracy concerns. Action centred around innovative changes to school structures and practices, staff professional development and the School’s integral role in a highly successful community alliance project. Community support and involvement is now at an all time high, morale has increased and there are numerous examples of improved academic, personal and social outcomes.

Brookvale Public School, New South Wales

Integrating ICT into the K-6 classroom

Brookvale Public School integrated ICT into the classroom to better cater for different learning styles and the varying needs of children. This has resulted in classrooms that are stimulating learning environments with enthusiastic students eager to explore the new opportunities provided by technology and to complete their class work. The change has also fostered children’s social development as they have learnt to work together and share. Enrolments and parent involvement have both increased, and the school has developed an educationally enriching international profile through its award-winning website made ‘by kids for kids’.

Collingwood/Fitzroy Catholic Primary School Cluster, Victoria: St Joseph’s Primary School, St Brigid’s Primary School, Sacred Heart Primary School

Schools as core social centres

The Schools as Core Social Centres project is an outstanding example of how schools can be transformed into social centres that improve students’ well-being and learning and increase social capital. By building strategic partnerships with community agencies, linking together schools and families through a range of sporting and social activities, and increasing parent involvement in children’s learning, this cluster of schools has achieved very positive outcomes for students and their families, including significantly improved results in Achievement Improvement Monitor (AIM) testing and notable reductions in negative student behaviour.

Geographe Primary School, Western Australia

School-wide pedagogy

Geographe Primary School began operations in 2002 with a commitment to the creation of a values-driven school-wide pedagogy in which staff have a collective responsibility for nurturing student learning. The school has sought to develop a cohesive culture with a high degree of pedagogical consistency between classrooms and is achieving this through comprehensive 5–7 year operational plans, to which professional development and collaboration are linked. Literacy and numeracy testing has already shown a significant improvement in student outcomes and the school’s success is reflected in rapidly growing enrolments.

Loreto Normanhurst, New South Wales

Holistic learning and school transformation

Loreto Normanhurst has adopted a holistic view of education designed to provide for the acquisition of skills and values for living as a ‘fully alive human being’ in the 21st Century. This approach led to an innovative project which, in the words of a student visitor, has made it a place in which it is ‘cool to learn, and cool to do the right thing’. The school’s student growth model, with its integrated learning focus and emphasis on self-directed learning, has resulted in improved attitudes towards learning, a more collegial and collaborative atmosphere among teachers, greater engagement of parents and improved student outcomes.

Melrose Primary School, Victoria

Improving literacy in the early years

Melrose Primary School at Wodonga is driven by the mantra that all children can succeed if given enough time, support and encouragement. A comprehensive and strategic plan has enabled children to move along a developmental continuum of learning in literacy that scaffolds their progress from year to year. Where previously over 50% of students were at risk of reading failure and disengagement from school, all students now reach or surpass state benchmarks in reading, writing, speaking and listening by the end of Year 2.

Mirani Cluster, Queensland:

Mirani State High School, Mirani, State School, Marian State School

Middle years at risk boys

For ‘at risk’ boys in the 10 to 15 year sage group at the Mirani cluster of schools, the Kick start to Literacy project, which combines hands-on activity with specific learning support, has provided a very successful alternative to dropping out of schooling. Through partnerships with business and industry, the project has given students the opportunity to acquire practical skills and related TAFE training, and enhanced their employment prospects. This approach has brought about more positive attitudes to school, increased self-esteem, improved behaviour and family relationships, and real improvements in literacy and numeracy.

Northern Beaches State High School, Queensland

Creating opportunities through vocational education and training

A varied and challenging program of vocational education and training has been implemented by a committed team of teachers at Northern Beaches State High School. A key success has been the number of seriously disengaged students who have become passionately involved in their own education and developed positive attitudes about themselves and their capabilities, together with real career options for the future.

Northern Territory Music School, Northern Territory

Literacy and well-being through the Arts

Improving literacy and wellbeing through the Arts has been the focus of the Northern Territory Music School. Three special initiatives (Indigenous Music Education, Boys Business and LYNX teacher professional development) were developed to achieve each program centres on music as a means to enrich students’ educational experiences and provide the skills for life-long learning. Each initiative has been very successful in attracting students to school, and keeping them engaged in their learning while developing their self-esteem, musical skills and literacy levels.

Orange Preschool Kindergarten, New South Wales

Improving school preparedness through support to families

Orange Preschool Kindergarten has set out to tackle the barriers that restrict educational outcomes for disadvantaged children in the area, through better interaction between the preschool as an educational service, disadvantaged families and early intervention programs such as Family Support, specialist speech and occupational therapy services, and auditory and sight screening. The preschool has improved access to screening and necessary services, achieved significant increases in the participation rate of ‘at risk’ children in early childhood education, and supports children in other families through its parenting information sessions.

Portland Central School, New South Wales

Improving student outcomes through a middle school program Portland Central School has addressed problems amongst Year 7 and 8 students with the creation of a Middle School with structures and programs designed to meet the specific pedagogical and emotional needs of young adolescents. A supportive environment, which caters for differing student needs and rates of progression, more relevant curriculum and use of technology have achieved a significant improvement in student engagement. Results in literacy and numeracy have also improved, as have retention and attendance rates.

Sherwood State School, Queensland

Early years literacy enrichment

Dramatic improvements in reading and writing have been achieved by Sherwood State School through the implementation of an innovative literacy program targeting the first three years of schooling. This initiative relies on teachers, teacher aides and the Learning Support Teacher working in collaboration to plan literacy activities suitable to the learning needs of each child. As a result of this initiative, students at Sherwood State School now perform consistently above state means in reading, spelling, writing and literacy overall, fewer students need learning support beyond Year 3 and nearly all students who require learning support are identified in the first three years of school.

Spensley Street Primary School, Victoria

Responding to the whole child

Spensley Street Primary School refreshed its approach to multi-age teaching to focus more effectively on the needs of the ‘whole child’. Important steps in achieving this goal were introducing more active play, project-based teaching and strategies responsive to children’s developmental stages, encouraging higher levels of student reflection, initiative and responsibility, and greater parent involvement. This approach proved to be highly successful. Students are now more engaged in their learning while teachers are more aware of and responsive to children’s development and individual needs.

St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls, Western Australia

Improving student outcomes through values education

The ‘Adding Values–ask us how’ project at St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls has provided students and the school community with a common values framework, which has been embedded in school practices. A values audit has enabled the school to identify areas for improvement in pastoral care, such as the introduction of a Good Thinking Program which teaches solutions-based behaviour strategies. Outcomes for students include an increased knowledge and understanding of values leading to positive behaviour changes, and increased respect and concern for others.

St John Vianney’s Doonside, New South Wales

Improving literacy and numeracy

St John Vianney’s Primary School has worked hard to create a teaching and learning culture to enable students to improve their literacy and numeracy. This whole school improvement project provided intensive professional development for teachers, which resulted in the creation of a shared methodology for teaching literacy and numeracy.

These common understandings of best teaching practice have been the foundation of a marked improved in student learning outcomes in these areas through implementation of programs over the past five years.

St Patrick’s Catholic Primary, Prouille Catholic Primary, Holy Family Catholic Primary, New South Wales

Positive changes to boy’s education

A team of teachers from St Patrick’s Catholic Primary, Prouille Catholic Primary and Holy Family Catholic Primary have achieved important changes in boys’ education. By encouraging fathers to play a more active role in the school life of their sons, creating positive role models to enhance attitudes to literacy, and providing the boys with a clearer understanding of stereotypes and their own ‘maleness’, boys at the school have been able to increase their self-esteem and become more confident learners. The schools also trialled a unit of work-based on Multiple Intelligences and found that accommodating boys’ different learning styles resulted in a big increase in boys’ engagement, enjoyment and achievement.

St Peter’s Primary School, Victoria

Building a professional learning community

An innovative staff development project has built a strong professional learning community at St Peter’s Primary School that has raised the quality of teaching and learning. Teachers at the school are regularly invited to demonstrate their practices for local, interstate and international visitors, particularly in the areas of literacy and e-learning.

St Stephen’s School, Western Australia

Providing support for students with special learning needs

St Stephen’s School introduced a holistic, research-based system of support for student learning, which has a dual emphasis on individualised, case-managed support for students and on up-skilling and supporting teachers across the school. Students with disabilities, Specific Learning Difficulties, under achieving and highly gifted students are all supported through the case management model. The INSPIRE Learning Support initiative has meant that students of all abilities across the school are experiencing success, are able to access more learning opportunities and are included in classrooms with their peers to achieve their academic potential.

Waverley Primary School, Tasmania

Building social responsibility

Waverley Primary School in Tasmania undertook a project to change the culture of the school by building social responsibility as a meaningful and consistent focus in both planned teaching and learning experiences, and as an underlying thread in other contexts. There have been dramatic improvements in student access, participation and achievement. Flexible options offered to students have increased engagement, behaviour has improved and suspension rates and vandalism have declined. Community confidence and involvement in the school has grown significantly.

Wycliffe Christian School, New South Wales

Challenging conservative world view perceptions

Wycliffe Christian School, which is committed to educating its students to be engaged, thoughtful world citizens, developed an initiative to challenge students’ perceptions through cross-cultural education. Through a program called ‘Tonga CAFÉ’, which includes a trip to the Pacific nation of Tonga and involvement in various aspects of Tongan life, students have come to realise that friendship and respect are based on issues beyond language, dress and possessions. There is evidence that the program has had long term benefits for participants and the wider communities in terms of individual maturation, development of cultural understandings, improvement in the academic performance of participants, peer group stabilisation and growth, and passion for social justice responses.

Aberfoyle Park High School, South Australia

Turning ‘at risk’ students into STARs

The Future Leaders Program at Aberfoyle Park High School represents a positive and innovative approach to engaging ‘at risk’ students. By focusing on the development of practical and communication skills, the leadership program has successfully drawn out students’ potential for self direction, team-work and community involvement.

Airds High School, New South Wales

Boys’ Own Program

The Boys Own Program at Airds High School has had an incredible effect on improving the educational outcomes of boys in Years 6–11. By providing a supportive environment and encouraging students to work individually and in teams, the program has achieved remarkable results in improving the attendance, social behaviour and self-confidence of boys.

Airds High School, New South Wales

Improving students’ achievements in English through curriculum renewal and quality teaching practices

With the aim of improving student achievement, the English faculty at Airds High School created and implemented a new curriculum that has led to significant improvements in all external exam data. This new curriculum focuses on quality teaching and tracking individual student improvement through a vertical assessment system.

Avalon Public School, New South Wales

Kindergarten transition and orientation program

Avalon Public School has successfully helped preschool children and parents adapt to primary school life through its kindergarten transition program. This program connects parents, teachers, preschool directors and day-care operators and provides children with a personalised and supportive introduction to primary school.

Barmera Primary School, South Australia

Learning to Lead

Through the Learning to Lead initiative, Barmera Primary School developed students’ leadership skills by encouraging them to take responsibility for their actions, act as role models and become good community citizens. Improving leadership skills has resulted in a positive change in student behaviour and allowed teachers to re-focus on student learning.

Berne Education Centre, New South Wales

Hope always for children at risk

At the Berne Education Centre, students who are not coping with traditional schooling are offered the opportunity to complete their school certificate in a supportive and flexible learning environment. The Centre is constantly implementing new programs for students and significant success has been achieved in engaging students socially and academically.

Caloundra State High School, Queensland

Performance Excellence Program

The Performance Excellence Program at Caloundra State High School offers a myriad of enriching performing arts opportunities for students outside their normal curriculum subjects. The success of this program extends well beyond attracting and retaining student participation in the Arts. The self-confidence and interpersonal skills of students have also been significantly improved.

Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Parramatta, New South Wales

Through school to community

This transition education program has successfully enabled students with special needs to settle into the community and the workplace. The program promotes inclusion and realistic goal setting as the basis for success and concentrates on building generic work skills from students’ personal skills.

Claremont College, Tasmania

Provision for students with special needs

To promote the inclusion of students with special needs in the classroom and school community, Claremont College adopted a range of strategies across several areas. Through this multi-tiered approach, students with special needs are effectively integrated across the school resulting in a striking improvement in satisfaction levels among staff and parents.

Delany College, New South Wales

Whole school improvement in literacy

Delany College has achieved remarkable success in improving literacy levels in an economically and socially disadvantaged area. This success has been realised through the creation and implementation of the Literacy Plan and Policy, which offers a whole school approach to learning and the professional development of teachers.

Great Lakes College, Forster Campus, New South Wales

Transforming the school culture though the Chill Out Program

Great Lakes College has achieved the considerable goal of revitalising school culture and improving student achievement and well-being through the Chill Out program. This program achieved change by providing leadership and vocational training for all students, bringing community mentors into the school and promoting a healthy diet for students.

Jabiru Area School, Northern Territory

Indigenous students’ participation and success

Jabiru Area School has achieved improved results in the attendance, participation and academic achievements of Indigenous students. This improvement has been reached through the establishment of a holistic well-being program that focuses not only on the academic and pastoral needs of students and their families, but also on strengthening community ties.

Kangaroo Island Community Education, South Australia

Marine and environmental education

The Marine and Environmental Education program is a successful initiative that enables students on Kangaroo Island to gain ‘in the field’ experience of the local marine environment. By encouraging direct interaction between students and scientists, this program has vastly improved students’ understanding and appreciation of scientific methods and biodiversity.

Lake Ginninderra College, Australian Capital Territory

Re-engaging students in life-long learning

The Fast Track program at Lake Ginninderra College has successfully re-engaged students in the learning process by offering a flexible and personalised educational pathway. Students participating in this innovative program have graduated with a year 12 certificate, an achievement they may not have otherwise attained.

Maitland Area School, South Australia

Improving engagement of Indigenous Students

To improve the engagement of Indigenous students, Maitland Area School has successfully put into action culture. The plan focused on rewarding achievement and managing individual students. To date, the initiative has resulted in much improved attendance levels, better behaviour and greater pride in the school.

Miles Franklin Primary School, Australian Capital Territory

Developing numeracy skills through a differentiated mathematics curriculum

Teachers at Miles Franklin Primary School have dramatically improved the numeracy results and mathematical learning of their students through the introduction of a differentiated curriculum. This curriculum has delivered dynamic and collaborative teaching that responds directly to the learning needs of individual students.

Ocean Grove Primary School, Victoria

Improving student outcomes through teacher reward and recognition

By using a targeted teacher reward and recognition plan, Ocean Grove Primary School has improved student engagement in the classroom and achieved high levels of satisfaction and enthusiasm amongst staff. All teachers participated in this reward and recognition scheme, resulting in a unified approach that motivated staff towards more effective teaching.

Red Earth Cluster, Victoria:

Mooroolbark College, Bimbadeen Heights Primary School, Mooroolbark East Primary School, Manchester Primary School, Kilsyth Primary School

Developing collaborative action research

With an aim of encouraging teachers to try new approaches in the classroom, the Red Earth Cluster of schools in Victoria embarked on an extensive community-based action research and exhibition program. This program enabled teachers to share their professionalism and commitment to student learning with colleagues, parents, students and local businesses.

Rutherglen Primary School, Victoria

Creating a sustainable school

Students, staff and parents at Rutherglen Primary School have worked in partnership with the community to create a sustainable school in which children act as responsible individuals. The success of this project is multifaceted and ranges from a reduction in school waste to a greater awareness amongst students of environmental issues, conservation and biodiversity.

Snowtown Area School, South Australia

Positive outcomes for student well-being

Snowtown Area School has successfully adopted an inter-agency approach to improving student wellbeing. In setting up the Interagency Consultative Group, the school has strengthened partnerships with parents and the community and created a sustainable means to address the needs of students and their families through a system of coordinated support.

Springfield Primary School, Western Australia

Supporting students’ learning through improved pastoral care

Springfield Primary School has made pastoral care an indispensable part of its culture, believing that a supportive environment for students fosters inspired learning and encourages self-esteem. The success of the school’s pastoral care program is reflected in better student behaviour and high levels of parent satisfaction with the way the school cares for their children.

St Jerome’s Primary School, Western Australia

Speech and language intervention in early childhood education

The literacy skills of students at St Jerome’s Primary School have noticeably improved through a new speech and language development program. This program is centred on early language development and includes a local speech pathologist who works with teachers to ensure students receive personalised and appropriate attention.

St Joseph’s School, New South Wales

Improving outcomes for Indigenous students

With an aim of improving Indigenous education and reconciliation, St Joseph’s School developed the Yuwaalaraay Language Program. This visionary program introduced an Indigenous language into the curriculum and has proven to be highly successful, with Indigenous students at St Joseph’s engaged in their learning and taking pride in their education.

St Mary’s Hampton, Victoria

Increasing student and parent involvement in assessment and reporting

With the intention of better involving parents and students in the reporting process, staff at St Mary’s worked with the whole school community to introduce new assessment procedures based on goal setting and reflective learning. This project has proved immensely successful, with parents, staff and students all reporting feeling more engaged in the learning process.

St Michael’s Grammar School, Victoria

Authentic assessment and reporting

With the intention of providing timely and constructive feedback to students and parents, St Michael’s Grammar School introduced a new online model of assessment and reporting that allows parents to regularly check the progress of their children. This new system of assessment has been welcomed with enthusiasm by the whole school community.

St Monica’s Primary School, Australian Capital Territory

Creating researchers of the future

St Monica’s Primary School has demonstrated how a culture of school wide change and improvement can be not only embraced, but sustained. Using the school’s improvement framework, Innovative Design for Enhancing Achievements in Schools (IDEAS), staff have undertaken significant pedagogical change that has resulted in improved literacy results, and students developing and practising the skills to be creative researchers of the future.

 

St Paul’s Primary School, Northern Territory

Growing a positive learning environment

To improve enrolments, enhance professional relationships between staff, and encourage positive attitudes to learning among students, St Paul’s Primary School embarked on a= project to revitalise the school and curriculum. This initiative has proved successful and the school can report higher enrolments, better attendance and increased engagement in learning by students.

Tambo State School, Queensland

Developing positive change

Tambo State School, a P–10 school, has successfully increased levels of satisfaction and enthusiasm in the school community through the Developing Positive Change project. This project focused on creating a school identity for secondary students, building community relationships, improving literacy confidence and delivering alternative learning pathways for students.

Upper Coomera State College, Queensland

Middle phase core skills

Staff at Upper Coomera State College have used their experience, passion and professional knowledge to significantly improve the literacy and numeracy results of their students. This has been achieved through the development and implementation of the Year 7 Core Skills Project, which emphasises deep analysis of data and collaborative planning.

Wodonga High School Cluster,

Victoria: Wodonga High School, Wodonga West Primary School, Bandiana Primary School, Barnawartha Primary School

Authentic learning with rich tasks

To improve student learning and expand the professional knowledge of teachers, the Wodonga cluster of schools worked together to develop a contemporary curriculum based on professional dialogue and the creation of rich learning opportunities. As a result of this reform, students across the cluster have performed better in the classroom and have reported feeling more connected to their school.