2015 Annual Report Draft 1 2270316 - Home - Wauchope ...andachievements!throughout!the!year.! Itprovidesadetailedaccountoftheprogresstheschoolhasmadetoprovidehighqualityeducational

Wauchope High School Annual Report

8173

2015

Introduction The Annual Report for 2015 is provided to the community of Wauchope High School as an account of the school’s operations and achievements throughout the year.

It provides a detailed account of the progress the school has made to provide high quality educational opportunities for all students, as set out in the school plan. It outlines the findings from self-‐assessment that reflect the impact of key school strategies for improved learning and the benefit to all students from the expenditure of resources, including equity funding.

Glen Sawle Principal

School contact details:

Wauchope High School

Nelson Street

Wauchope, 2446

Website: http://www.wauchope-‐h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Email: wauchope-‐[email protected]

PH: 02 6585 1400

Message from the Principal The focus of work at Wauchope High School in 2015 has been on the provision of the highest standards and quality of education possible for all students. Two key areas of work have been in the provision of focussed and strategic support for students in need and at risk, as well as the continued professional development of all staff to build their capacity to deliver the highest quality of educational experiences possible. Significant work has been undertaken in the area of literacy support to build the capacity of staff to deliver the highest quality of literacy education and on the skills necessary for students to be able to effectively demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.

In 2015 the school placed significant emphasis on Literacy Across the School as a key area for continued development. Through the use of RAM funding the school has been able to support the employment of a full time literacy consultant to work with all staff to improve their capacity to deliver the highest quality literacy strategies to all students. The consultant has also worked with individual classes and students where significant need has been identified. The focus of the school’s literacy strategy is on building the capacity of all students to express their thoughts, knowledge and ideas in the best way possible. In semester two, with the aid of federal funding, the school employed a full-‐time, school based literacy consultant to work with staff. Our goal is to ensure that across the school the standards of literacy learning delivered to all students is second to none. This work will continue over coming years to ensure that our students leave school with the highest level of literacy and communication skills possible.

The school continued to display its strengths in the sporting arena in 2015 with our students achieving outstanding success at a local, regional and state level. We also saw a number of students excelling at a national level during 2015 and showing their ability to be able to perform on a larger stage. For some students it was the opportunity to participate in a range of social sports that captured their interest in 2015. The school also regained the Jack Parsons Memorial Trophy on the 40th anniversary of our annual sporting challenge with Cumberland High School.

I certify that the information in this report is the result of a rigorous school self-‐evaluation process and is a balanced and genuine account of the school’s achievements and areas for development.

Glen Sawle

School background

School vision statement

Wauchope High School being a comprehensive, co-‐educational school and a member of the Bago Community of Schools is focussed on providing outstanding opportunities and educational experiences for all students irrespective of the diverse educational pathway they may choose.

Students are able to pursue, with equal ease and quality, an academic, vocational or multifaceted pathway to future success and employment.

The school provides opportunity for students to develop their sporting, cultural and social skills in an environment that provides excellent student wellbeing support, and builds creative, resilient and productive individuals.

School context

Wauchope High School is a rural school located in the Hastings Valley, west of Port Macquarie. The school has, up until 2015, seen a gradual decline in student numbers due to pressure from the breadth of schooling options available within the area.

Wauchope High School has always demonstrated strength in the sporting arena and continues to provide a diverse and rich sports program. It also has a strong link to TAFE and provides a wide range of vocational pathways for its students.

A significant number of students are achieving educational success at a level that was not realised by their parents or can be readily supported by family members. At the same time many of our students suffer from the tyranny of rural isolation, poor literacy skills and all the benefits and challenges that come with being part of a small, close-‐knit rural community.

Self-‐assessment and school achievements

Self-‐assessment using the School Excellence Framework This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self-‐assessment using the School Excellence Framework, our school achievements and the next steps to be pursued. The Framework supports public schools throughout NSW in the pursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

This year, our school undertook self-‐assessment using the elements of the School Excellence Framework. During 2015 the staff at Wauchope High School discussed the School Excellence Framework and its implications for informing, monitoring and validating our progress. Time was given at each of our School Development Days throughout the year to reflect on and refine the implementation and outcomes of our strategies within our school plan against the elements of the School Excellence Framework. Reflection on the progress being made across the school as a whole based on the expectations identified in the Framework provides an important overview to ensure our improvement efforts align with these high level expectations. The validation of self-‐assessment is a critical aspect of improvement and to aid the school in this process the school has utilised the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) Survey instrument as a key source of this validation. This will hopefully ensure that the school continues to move in the right direction and that our self-‐assessment caries validity and reliability. The school is also using this data as a key, benchmarking and tracking tool into the future. In the domain of Learning, our efforts have primarily focussed on developing literate and engaged learners: The work undertaken in 2015 has created a foundation and a direction for the school well into the future. As a result of this work there is a clear emphasis on the explicit and systematic teaching of literacy skills across the Key Learning Areas (KLA). All teachers recognise the importance of students being able to use the metalanguage associated with their subject areas in order to be able to demonstrate deep understanding of the content. All students are

experiencing the teaching of literacy as an integral part of their learning and are beginning to value and acknowledge the power of language across the curriculum. The increased expectation on students to attend school every-‐day and to be in and engaged in every lesson is also one that is constantly being reinforced. Extra-‐curricular activities are being used as a means of encouraging students to lift their attendance and students are beginning to realise that they can pursue an academic and sporting school life at the same time. Our major focus in the domain of Teaching has been on building capacity of staff to deliver high quality literacy strategies across the curriculum: An important opportunity has been provided to staff members in providing full time access to a school based literacy consultant. Every staff member is engaged in regular, high quality professional development in relation to the delivery of quality literacy strategies within their specific KLA. Within the school there is a continually developing culture of shared conversation about literacy and all staff are developing a common language in having these conversations. Staff are engaging with the literacy continuum and are undertaking individualised action research projects focussed on their teaching. The school has seen a cultural shift in the way we as teachers engage in and support one another in our professional development. This changing culture is creating quality teaching and learning within the school with a clear focus on improved student outcomes. There is also a stronger emphasis on validating success and measuring change, which has come about because of every teacher’s involvement in an action research project with their work as the focus, resulting in evidence based practice through reflection and evaluation of their work. In the domain of Leading, our priorities have been to progress leadership and management practices and processes: The consistency and effectiveness of implementation of our key strategic directions throughout the year has been due to a strong foundation of leadership capacity building across the school. A model of shared responsibility and a flatter leadership model approach has enabled teams of people to build the capacity necessary to drive change at either a faculty or whole school level. The school recognises that leadership development is central to the achievement of school excellence and that all teachers can play a leadership role in realising continual improvement. The ongoing process of building the capabilities of staff to create a dynamic school learning culture is critical in driving change and school improvement well into the future. The new approach to school planning, supported by the new funding model to schools, is making a major difference to our progress as a school. The achievements and identification of our next steps are outlined in the following pages of this report. Our self-‐assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School Plan leading to further improvements in the delivery of education to our students.

Our self-‐assessment process will further assist the school to refine the strategic priorities in our School Plan leading to further improvements in the delivery of education to our students.

Strategic Direction 1

Student Engagement

Purpose

In order for students to be successful 21st Century learners they need to attend school regularly, and be fully engaged in the teaching and learning taking place in every lesson.

For students to achieve academic success in high school, they need to master content knowledge in a wide variety of subjects. To achieve this students in secondary school must be able to: read and understand large amounts of text, often on unfamiliar topics; learn specialised and technical vocabulary; master knowledge of the various text structures that are used to organise subject material; and make meaning from the texts that are used by teachers as the basis of instruction.

Overall summary of progress

This section describes the school’s ongoing self-‐assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 1 of the School Plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievements.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures Resources (annual)

Improvement measure (to be achieved over 3 years)

Progress achieved this year <$>

• A 5% reduction in the number of students in Year 7 and Year 9 at or below national minimum standards (NMS) based on NAPLAN data.

The key focus of work in 2015 has been the employment of a school based literacy consultant to work with all staff to build capacity to deliver quality literacy lessons across the school and in all Key Learning Areas. Notable achievements to date have been:

• Increased ability of staff to discuss student progress against the Literacy Continuum.

• Increased classroom use of the Super-‐Six Strategies and a range of KLA specific literacy strategies.

$130,000

• A 5% increase in the number of students in Year 7 and Year 9 achieving at the proficient level based on NAPLAN data.

The key focus of work in 2015 has been the employment of a school based literacy consultant to work with all staff to build capacity to deliver quality literacy lessons across the school and in all Key Learning Areas. Notable achievements to date have been.

• Increased ability of staff to discuss student progress against the Literacy Continuum.

• Increased classroom use of the Super-‐Six Strategies and a range of KLA specific literacy strategies.

See above

• An increase in average attendance rates to greater than the state average.

• Improved strategies were put in place to monitor student attendance on a whole day and period-‐by-‐period basis. This enabled the collection of benchmark data upon which to base improvements over the remainder of the 3 year plan.

• In Term 4 2015 the school trialled the establishment of a Student Engagement and Attendance Officer. The success of the work with students achieved during this trial has encouraged the school to continue the position in 2016.

$25,000

• A 25% decrease in the number of N-Award warning letters issued to students in Years 11 and 12.

• The implementation of the Senior Preparation Room and Provision of a qualified teacher to monitor and support students in the progress of and satisfactory completion of assessment tasks was achieved.

• A detailed monitoring system was introduced and all senior students are now regularly counselled in relation to progress and completion of all tasks in their learning program.

• An average 5% decrease in N-‐Award notifications was recorded across Years 11 and 12.

$130, 000

Next steps

The school’s three year plan is on track, with significant work in 2015 being completed in the initial capacity building of staff, and clear identification of valid and reliable benchmarks for future evaluation of progress and success.

During 2016 the key goals around literacy and student engagement will continue to be the focus and provide the drivers of our work over the coming two years.

The success of the school’s three year plan will be dependent upon the ability of the school to consolidate the work done so far through:

• The continued development of staff to deliver quality literacy learning strategies through staff working with the school based literacy consultant

• Engaging staff in further action research of their own practice and its impact on student learning

• Building improved student interest and motivation in their learning, as suggested in the Student TTFM survey results around this domain (shown below)

• Continuing to address concerns around student attendance and participation rates below the state average for DEC schools. (it is important to note the scale used for attendance rate)


Quality Teaching

Purpose

It is critical that all teaching staff have the capacity to expertly address the literacy demands of their subject and to ensure that students have the literacy skills necessary to engage fully and be successful users of language to learn across the stages of schooling and within all domains.

Building strong relationships based on high expectations and high levels of support and feedback is critical to students realising their full potential and to maximise their outcomes from their time at Wauchope High School.


This section describes the school’s ongoing self-‐assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 2 of the school plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievement.




• Within individual teacher Performance and Development Plans, each staff member has completed and evaluated a Literacy Action Research Project linked to the LLS outlined in the school plan.

Under the guidance of and with support from the school’s Literacy Consultant all staff engaged in an action research project focused on a literacy strategy they trailed in 2015. This has resulted in:

• A significant increase in professional dialogue about the teaching of Literacy within KLA’s

• Several staff sharing their research and findings to the whole staff – creating further interest and opportunity for 2016.

• Capacity to expand on the action research model in 2016.

Funded under the Literacy Consultancy Strategy ($130,000)

• All staff have undertaken professional learning to build capacity to develop strong, positive relationships with students.

All staff have been involved in extensive school based professional learning throughout the year. With respect to the building of positive relationships with students this work has included:

• The whole school review of our Wellbeing policy and framework

• The embedding of PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning) strategies into teaching and learning practice across the school

• Professional development of the changing nature of teenagers and their view of the world through a workshop with Michael Matthews.

$25,000

• All teaching and learning programs and assessment programs explicitly articulate high expectations of students.

In 2015 the focus of this work was on building capacity of a core staff in delivery of the school GAT (Gifted and Talented) program. • All staff involved in teaching the GAT class in 2015 and into

2016 undertook a two day mini COGE course through GERRIC – University of NSW

$30,000

Next steps

The school’s three year plan is on track with significant work in 2015 being completed in the initial capacity building of staff and clear identification of valid and reliable benchmarks for future evaluation of progress and success.

During 2016 the key goals around teacher capacity to deliver high quality literacy strategies will continue to be a key focus and provide the drivers of our work over the coming two years.

The emphasis on student engagement in 2016 will focus on building positive relationships with all students. The data below suggests that this is still an area where considerable growth is possible. The data provided is from the Student TTFM Survey in 2015. (Note – data for Years 11 and 12 has not been included due to the small number of students completing the survey)

Students are interested and motivated in their learning.

Students try hard to succeed in their learning.

School-‐levels factors associated with student engagement at Wauchope High School

The success of the school’s three year plan will be dependent upon the ability of the school to consolidate the work done so far through:

• Further work to build the capacity of staff to build strong and positive relationships with students

• A continued focus on building and communicating high expectations of students and consistently providing encouragement

• Supporting students to aim high, to set long and short-‐term goals and challenge student expectations of themselves and in some cases their family.

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Productive Partnerships

Purpose

The school provides ongoing support for the welfare of all students and provides engaging and motivating educational experiences, however, we can only achieve the high levels of student engagement required for success in partnership with students, parents and community.

The development of an agreed and shared vision for student engagement and success will produce a creative, inclusive school environment reflecting a safe, positive and productive culture of learning.


This section describes the school’s ongoing self-‐assessment, reflection processes and progress for Strategic Direction 3 of the school plan. It draws on a comprehensive range of evidence to demonstrate school achievements.




• Increased levels of parent engagement and involvement in school – community activities and events.

During 2015 the school has introduced an extensive communications program. This has included:

• Increased use of technology to communicate with parents via sms and email and an online booking system for Parent/Teacher Nights

• Exploring and trialing the implementation of the SENTRAL student/parent portal

• Trialing different opportunities for parents and community to be involved in the school through events and celebrations.

• A number of strategies were trailed in 2015 to increase the levels of engagement and involvement of the Aboriginal Community in the decision making process in the school. Some of these were:

o Expanded NAIDOC Celebrations and community involvement

o The initiation of the Yarning Circle Project (to be completed Semester 1 2016)

o Trialing of the Indigenous “Success2Success” Project

o Employment of an Aboriginal SLSO/AEW to work directly with students and parents

$30,000

$100,000

• High levels of satisfaction as measured through TTFM and school based surveys and consultation.

In 2015 the key focus was on establishing valid and reliable base line data.

The school has strongly promoted the opportunity for parents and students to have a voice in our school community and to use the TTFM Survey instrument as an opportunity to comment on the work and perceived performance of the school.

$5,000

• Assessment for learning strategies are clearly articulated and embedded into all teaching and learning programs across the school.

This work will begin in 2016 and was not an intended focus for the school in 2015.

Next steps

The schools three year plan is on track with significant work in 2015 being completed in the initial identification of valid and reliable benchmarks for future evaluation of progress and success. There has also been significant work carried out in the identification and evaluation of existing strategies that might contribute to the achievement of the schools goals into the future.

During 2016 the key goals around building strong relationships with parents will be a key focus and provide the drivers of our work over the coming two years. Improved outcomes for students will be achieved when the school, its students, parents and community work in partnership.

Using the TTFM Parent Survey data we see that parent satisfaction in the work of the school is relatively high for those parents that have children in Years 11 and 12. However the levels of parent satisfaction for those with students in Yeats 7 -‐10 appears to be much lower in comparison to the rest of the state.

This anomaly will provide a focus for our work in 2016 and help guide the school in ensuring we are meeting the needs of our students and parents into the future and achieving a key goal of the school, which is its aim to position itself as the preferred destination for all future students in the Bago Educational Community.

Next Steps

Key initiatives and other school focus areas

This section includes: § Key initiatives (from School planning template B). § Policy requirements such as Aboriginal Education, Multicultural Education and Anti-‐Racism Education. § Initiatives and other school focus areas which may not have been included in the school plan such as Early

Action for Success, student leadership, partnerships and projects.

Key initiatives (annual) Impact achieved this year Resources (annual)

Aboriginal background funding

All students have an individual learning plan (ILP) and are making progress across the literacy and numeracy continuums. Strategic Direction 1 & 3 Aboriginal students are demonstrating higher average levels of engagement to previous years and a major focus on attendance patterns is targeting improved outcomes. Aboriginal students are provided with one on one and small group support on a regular basis from the Aboriginal SLSO. Senior students also receive support through the Senior Preparation Room.

$100,000

English language proficiency funding

Strategic Direction 1 & 2

All students were catered for through the Whole School Literacy Learners Initiative.

$130,000

Socio-‐economic funding


Reduced class sizes in Years 8 and 9 provided improved opportunity for student – teacher engagement

The Senior Preparation Room in part addressed the disadvantage senior students in a rural setting experience in relation to their counterpart’s metropolitan and larger country areas. Feedback from the TTFM Parent Survey suggests that the work of the school was recognised and appreciated with significantly higher levels of parent’s satisfaction with the school for students in Years 11 and 12 than for those with children in Years 7 – 10.

$180,000

Low level adjustment for disability funding

Strategic Direction 1 All students requiring adjustments and learning support are catered for within class programs and other whole school strategies – including the provision of SLSO support. The Learning Support Team and LaST provide extensive support for students with learning needs.

$150,000

Next Steps

Support for beginning teachers

During 2015 the school provided support to 5 beginning teachers on staff.


This support included additional release time where required, extensive internal professional development and extensive access to relevant external professional development.

Other school focus areas Impact achieved this year Resources (annual) School Promotion and Communication Strategy


Through the public promotion of the work of the school and celebrating the success of the students the school aims to position itself as the preferred destination for future students in the Bago Educational Community.

In 2015 this work has included extensive collaboration with the schools feeder primary schools and extensive promotion in the wider community of what the school can offer. This work is aimed at arresting the gradual decline in school numbers of the past years due to the increased competition, without increased quality, from outside the government sector.

$25,000

Mandatory and optional reporting requirements

Student information It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all students be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

Student enrolment profile

The school has seen a gradual decline in enrolments over the past seven years. This can be attributed in part to an increase in alternative providers of education moving into the area.

The school has seen a halt to this trend in 2015. A key focus for the continued success of Wauchope High School has been in the repositioning of the school as the preferred destination for students in the area.

The school provides a quality and diversity of service second to none in the area and in many cases provides a level of support that cannot be matched by other providers.

It is important, in coming years, to ensure that the school clearly articulates to the local community, the fine work being done at the school and the many successes that students are achieving.

Student attendance profile

The school’s student attendance data suggests there is very little change from year to year in the average rates of attendance across the school.

The data clearly shows that the school attendance rate has remained below the state average for the past seven years and is below what would be considered desirable (95% or higher) to ensure that

students are able to maximize their learning potential.

The table above compares school data to average data for all DEC schools in NSW.

This data has informed decisions about changes in school policy and practice in 2015. The school has also undertaken a program of working with parents to raise awareness of issues related to excessive absences from school.

These initiatives and changes to practice form part of a key strategic direction in the schools 2015-‐17 Strategic Plan.

Retention Year 10 to Year 12

In 2015 the school had the number of students entering Year 11 from Year 10 (2014) as being slightly higher than expected.

While there are a number of pressures on students to either seek employment, or look at other education providers for their senior studies, there was a shift back to students staying on at the school.

Projections in 2016 appear to suggest a further and significant increase in the number of students staying on at Wauchope High School in 2016 to complete their studies.

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2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Stud

ents

Year

Enrolments

Male Female

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2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 A]

enda

nce rate

Year

Student a]endance rates

School State DoE

Post-‐school destinations

Proportion of students moving into post-‐school education, training or employment

Year 10

%

Year 11

%

Year 12

%

seeking employment 0 2 12

employment 0 3 34

TAFE entry 2 3 18

university entry 0 0 31

other 0 0 4

unknown 0 1 1

Students undertaking TAFE entry at Year 10 were predominately moving into the Year 10 Equivalent Course at TAFE.

Year 12 students undertaking vocational or trade training

Of the 74 Wauchope High School students who undertook the HSC in 2015, 74% studied a vocational (VET) course. Within the 2015 cohort 19 students studied a VET course at Wauchope High, with 14 students completing a VET course at TAFE (TVET). A further 22 students studied VET courses at both

school and TAFE.

Of this group 25 students studied more than one VET course, with 8 students undertaking 3 VET courses.

Students studying a VET course were equally divided by gender and 8 indigenous students completed a VET course in 2015. This resulted in the vast majority achieving Certificate 2 qualifications.

Within the cohort 4 students completed School Based Traineeships (SBAT’s) in Business, Aged Care and Hospitality. One indigenous student completed an SBAT gaining Certificate 2 qualifications in Business.

Year 12 students attaining HSC or equivalent vocational educational qualification (mandatory)

Of the 74 students who undertook their HSC in 2015, 72 achieved a HSC qualification. A further 2 students received a Record of Achievement.

An additional 2 part-‐time students completed Primary Industries as part of their HSC program.

Workforce information The staff at Wauchope High School is composed of a mix of experienced staff and teachers new to the profession. The staff brings a diverse range of interests and skills to the school which they use to enhance the learning opportunities and environment provided to the students.

Reporting of information for all staff must be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

Workforce composition

Position Number

Principal 1

Deputy Principal(s) 1

Head Teacher(s) 8

Classroom Teacher(s) 37.9

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 1.5

Teacher Librarian 1

Teacher of ESL 0

School Counsellor 0.8

School Administrative & Support Staff 12.5

Other positions 0

Total 63.7

The Australian Education Regulation, 2014 requires schools to report on Aboriginal composition of their workforce.

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60.0

70.0

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90.0

100.0

SC07-‐HSC09 SC09-‐HSC11 SC11-‐HSC13 NAPLAN 12-‐HSC15

Reten`on to Year 12 (SC to HSC / Year 9 NAPLAN to HSC)

School State

In 2015 Wauchope High School had one 0.8 Student Learning Support Officer who has identified as being of Aboriginal heritage.

The school also employed a number of temporary workers of Aboriginal heritage throughout the year.

Teacher qualifications All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools.

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 76

Postgraduate degree 24

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

During 2015 the school supported the professional development of 10 new scheme teachers working towards Board of Studies Teaching and Education Standards BoSTES accreditation.

The school also supported 6 new scheme teachers in maintaining their accreditation at the proficient standard of accreditation.

Beginning Teachers

During 2015 the school provided support to 5 beginning teachers on staff.

Financial information Financial summary

This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance.

A full copy of the school’s 2015 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meetings of the parent and/or community groups. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school.

Date of financial summary 30/11/2015

Income $ Balance brought forward 469171.15 Global funds 561501.66 Tied funds 829610.05 School & community sources 171137.29 Interest 15561.87 Trust receipts 152438.00 Canteen 0.00 Total income 2199420.02 Expenditure Teaching & learning

Key learning areas 164691.20 Excursions 14196.70 Extracurricular dissections 59778.91

Library 13750.03 Training & development 6025.06 Tied funds 875570.45 Casual relief teachers 270426.92 Administration & office 95164.54 School-‐operated canteen 0.00 Utilities 82559.36 Maintenance 46660.01 Trust accounts 142700.61 Capital programs 13945.45 Total expenditure 1785469.24 Balance carried forward 413950.78

School performance NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results across the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10. The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understandings demonstrated in these assessments.

The My School website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and numeracy testing. Click on the link My School and insert the school name in the Find a school and select GO to access the school data.

NAPLAN -‐ Literacy (including Reading, Writing, Spelling and Grammar and Punctuation)

The NAPLAN Literacy and Numeracy data below shows there are a number of areas where we can work towards making gains on the skills level that students have when they enter High School.

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Percen

tage of stude

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Percentage in bands:Year 7 Reading

Percentage in BandsSchool Average 2010-‐2015SSG % in Band 2015State DoE % in Band 2015

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4 5 6 7 8 9

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tage of stude

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Bands

Percentage in bands: Year 7 Wri`ng

Percentage in Bands School Average 2011-‐2015 SSG % in Band 2015 State DoE % in Band 2015

As we work with students from Years 7 – 9 we are continuing to look at what gains in literacy can be achieved and how best to realize those gains.

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Percentage in bands:Year 7 Spelling


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Percentage in bands:Year 7 Grammar & Punctuation


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Percentage in bands: Year 9 Reading


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tage of stude

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Percentage in bands: Year 9 Wri`ng


Achieving gains in the literacy skills of our students represents the key focus of the intensive work undertaken during 2015 and that will continue throughout 2016 – 17

NAPLAN -‐ Numeracy

As we work with students from Years 7 – 9 we are continuing to look at what gains in numeracy can be achieved and how best to realize those gains.

We are working to ensure that a larger number of students are able to demonstrate performance at the higher band levels as they progress through their High School years.

Higher School Certificate (HSC) In the Higher School Certificate, the performance of students is reported in bands ranging from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest).

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Percentage in bands: Year 9 Spelling


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tage of stude

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Percentage in bands: Year 9 Grammar & Punctua`on


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tage of stude

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Percentage in bands: Year 7 Numeracy


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Percentage in bands: Year 9 Numeracy


Parent/caregiver, student, teacher satisfaction Each year schools are required to seek the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school. Their responses are presented below.

Partners in Learning – Parent Satisfaction:

In 2015 the school utilised the data from the ‘Tell Them From Me’ survey project, which examined the perspectives of parents in relation to parents and school being partners in learning.

The Partners in Learning Parent Survey is based on a comprehensive questionnaire covering several aspects of parents' perceptions of their children's experiences at home and school.

It is based on the assumption that successful schools foster greater communication with parents, encourage parental involvement in their child's schoolwork, and enlist parents to volunteer at the school and participate in school governance.

The survey includes eight separate measures, which were scored on a ten-‐point scale (i.e., strongly agree to strongly disagree). A score of 0 indicates strong disagreement; 10 indicates strong agreement; 5 is a neutral position (neither agree nor disagree).

The results for Wauchope High School are compared with those of other NSW government schools in the radar chart below.

The graphs for Wauchope High School indicate that the parents of Year 11 and 12 students at this school are very comfortable with interaction and cooperation between parents and schools. The school performs better than the average for all schools participating in the survey across the state.

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This data would suggest that the school is perceived by parents’ as performing quite strongly for students in Years 11 and 12.

Student Engagement:

The bar charts below show the results by year level across a range of questions linked to student engagement. The results for Wauchope High School are compared with NSW DEC norms, which are based on the results for all students who participated in the TTFM survey in 2015.

Students with a positive sense of belonging: Students feel accepted and valued by their peers and by others at their school.

• 54% of students in this school had a high sense of belonging; the NSW DEC norm for these years is 66%.

• 50% of the girls and 58% of the boys in this school had a high sense of belonging. The NSW DEC norm for girls is 62% and for boys is 69%.

Students that value schooling outcomes:

Students believe that education will benefit them personally and economically, and will have a strong bearing on their future.

• 66% of students in this school valued School Outcomes; the NSW DEC norm for these years is 72%.

• 65% of the girls and 68% of the boys in this school valued School Outcomes. The NSW DEC norm for girls is 72% and for boys is 73%.

Students that regularly truant:

Students skip classes or miss days at school without a reason, or arrive late for school or classes.

• In this school, the Student Truancy Rate was 11%; the NSW DEC norm for these years is 10%

• In this school, the Truancy Rate for girls was 9% and for boys, 12%. The NSW DEC norm for girls is 9% and for boys is 10%.

Policy requirements Aboriginal education

During 2015 the school provided significant opportunity for students from an Aboriginal background to access and participate in educational experiences beyond the those normally available to students.

The school has employed and Aboriginal SLSO to work with junior students in supporting success in the classroom. They also provided significant individualised support for students in completing work and following up on attendance concerns.

The school initiated the development of the Yarning Circle project which resulted in a small grant that is being supplemented by the school to construct a Yarning Circle on school grounds. Once complete,

this space will provide a culturally relevant place for people to meet and celebrate Aboriginal Culture.

The attendance pattern of Aboriginal students was a significant focus for the school in 2015. Extensive work and communication with the community was undertaken to raise awareness of the impact of low attendance on success. The school worked closely with parents and community to encourage and support improved attendance rates.

During 2015 the school provided funds to enable a number of staff to undertake ‘8 Ways Learning’ training. This has helped staff develop a deeper understanding of Aboriginal culture and to develop more culturally inclusive teaching and learning strategies. This is an important imitative as indicated by the results of the following TTFM survey question.

Students were asked: "I feel good about my culture when I am at school.” SA – strongly agree/SD – strongly disagree

The Junior AECG initiated a number of activities for their peers and represented the school at numerous functions during the year. This group also played a key role in the schools NAIDOC celebrations. The students led a special assembly at which parents and local elders were official guests.

Students with an Aboriginal background played a key role in attending the Annual Luminosity Leadership Conference.

Multicultural Education and Anti-‐racism

In line with the Department policy, the school continually reviews its teaching and learning programs to ensure that culturally inclusive classroom and school practices are embedded.

Further to this our programs foster student’s understandings of culture, cultural diversity, racism and active citizenship within a democratic, multicultural society. A key program in the school continues to be the Wauchope, Cumberland High School Interschool visit which happens each year. This provides students with an opportunity to meet with and compete against a cohort of students from a significantly different cultural background to their own. The school also celebrated diversity through Harmony Day and a range of culturally diverse activities often coordinated through the SRC. The school introduced African Drumming as an activity within the school and provided an opportunity for a number of students to become immersed in the cultural heritage of this country. The drum group performed during the Wauchope – Cumberland High School Interschool visit and a second different group performed for the Annual Presentation Awards Night.

The Anti-‐Racism Contact Officer (ARCO) was available throughout the year to work with parents, teachers and students to build understanding of cultural diversity in the school community or to assist if any issues or concerns were raised.

Documents

2015 Annual Report Draft 1 2270316 - Home - Wauchope ...andachievements!throughout!the!year.! Itprovidesadetailedaccountoftheprogresstheschoolhasmadetoprovidehighqualityeducational