School plan 2018-2020Whalan Public School 4378

Printed on: 1 April, 2018Page 1 of 6 Whalan Public School 4378 (2018-2020)

School background 2018–2020

School vision statement School context School planning process

At Whalan Public School we have a commitment to buildinga school–wide culture of high expectations and a sharedpurpose for student engagement, learning, and success.

We value inquiry, creativity and self expression.

With a strong focus on high quality teaching practices wework to develop leading learners, who continuallychallenge themselves to higher standards and becomeconfident, capable, global citizens.

Whalan Public School is built on Darug land. It is a vibrantschool that serves a diverse community with a currentenrolment of 384 students , including 60 preschool childrenwho attend on a part–time basis, and children in 4 supportclasses. Aboriginal students make up 21% the studentpopulation and 32% students come from languagebackgrounds other than English.

The school is involved in the Early Action for Successstrategy. Literacy and Numeracy are significant priorities.

The school applies principles of Positive Behaviour forLearning, with high expectations for student behaviour andacademic achievement. Our core expectation ‘We are saferespectful learners’ is reflected in our daily work.

As a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden school ourstudents grow, harvest and cook nutritious food. Whalanhas a successful biennial art show with all studentsproducing artworks that show sustained effort and theimplementation of the Visual Arts syllabus. On alternateyears we produce a concert to highlight studentperformance skills and talents. Our school programsaddress and celebrate the Aboriginal and multiculturalheritage of our community.

Staff, students and community participated in a range ofsurveys and workshops to evaluate the 2015–2017 schoolplan targets, and to develop the 2018 – 2020 school vision,strategic directions and improvement measures.

The strategic planning process at Whalan took into accountthe successes of the previous plan with a collectivecommitment to building on those successes.

Consultation was informed by key educational researchincluding:

• Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals forYoung Australians

• Great Teaching, Inspired Learning: A Blueprint forAction

• NSW Department of Education Strategic Plan 2018 –2022. 

• School Excellence Framework

• Quality Teaching Framework

• What works best: Evidence–based practices to helpimprove NSW student performance

• Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2017–2020

The 2018–2020 targets were also informed by the analysisof a range of data including:

• PLAN and NAPLAN data

• Student report outcomes English and Mathematics

• Learning Walks findings

• Strengths and needs analysis by stage teams

• Tell Them From Me teacher, student and parentsurvey results

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School strategic directions 2018–2020

STRATEGICDIRECTION 1

Inspired Learning

STRATEGICDIRECTION 2

Great Teaching

STRATEGICDIRECTION 3

Engagement andEmpowerment

Purpose:

Our students will be leaders of their own learningthrough:

• engagement in high quality literacy and numeracyexperiences

• immersion of goal–driven learning experiencesand effective feedback

• development of 'expert learner' skills andunderstandings to inspire growth in learning

Purpose:

Teachers will grow as professionals:

• by embedding research based practices

• by engaging in the collaborative practice of peercoaching and goal setting

• through deep knowledge, understanding andimplementation of syllabus documents, NationalQuality Framework and Early Years LearningFramework

Purpose:

We will engage and empower our school communityby:

• growing student leadership, identity and esteem

• providing innovative learning experiences

• providing inclusive enrichment programs

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Strategic Direction 1: Inspired Learning

Purpose

Our students will be leaders of their ownlearning through:

• engagement in high quality literacyand numeracy experiences

• immersion of goal–driven learningexperiences and effective feedback

• development of 'expert learner' skillsand understandings to inspiregrowth in learning

Improvement Measures

Increase the percentage of year 3 and year5 students in the top 2 bands in NAPLANby 100%

Increase by 30% year 4–6 students thatexperience flow in their learning asmeasured by the Tell Them From Mestudent survey 'high skill, high challengequadrant for literacy and numeracy'

• 80% Kindergarten reach reading L9

• 80% year 1 reach reading L16

• 80% year 2 reach reading L26

• 80% year 3 reach band 3+ in NAPLANfor reading

• 80% year 3 reach band 3+ in NAPLANfor Number, Patterns & Algebra

People

Students

Articulate how and why they learn anddevelop their critical thinking, problemsolving, collaborative and communicationskills to achieve their learning goals.

Staff

Differentiate their teaching to meetstudents' learning needs by providingtargeted intervention in the area of literacyand numeracy. Explicitly teach students toset and achieve their learning goals.

Parents/Carers

Support students in growing their learneridentities and achieving their goals.

Community Partners

Work collaboratively with school staff tosupport student achievement in learning,engagement and wellbeing.

Leaders

Establish structures and processes toidentify, address and monitor studentlearning needs.

Ensure all teams use formative assessmentstrategies to inform their planning.

Develop and model a strong commitment toand buy–in for staff and students towardsachieving this strategic direction.

Processes

STRONG LEARNING CULTURE

Build a culture of goal setting and feedbackfor continuous student growth

EXPERT LEARNER SKILLS

Develop students' collaborative,communication, critical and creativethinking capabilities

STRONG LEARNER IDENTITIES

Grow students' identities as life–longlearners

Evaluation Plan

Student TTFM survey

Ongoing review of NAPLAN and PLAN2data

Internal student performance data

Classroom observations

Learning Walks data

Pre and post Classroom feedback audit

Practices and Products

Practices

Learning is focussed, differentiated andallows students to  self–regulate  through acontinued cycle of goal setting, receivingand giving effective feedback.

Learning involves authentic, rich tasks thatdevelop students' capacity to communicate,collaborate and think critically andcreatively.

Students will know, understandand assume responsibility for their learninginformed by learning achievement acrossthe curriculum and see themselves aslife–long learners who can succeed beyondschool.

Products

Learning environments support highexpectations, higher order thinking anddeep engagement

Goal focussed learning environment existswhere all students are supported andchallenged and they are receiving timelyand meaningful feedback on their learning

Preschool Quality Improvement Plandocumented in line with departmentalguidelines and a preschool rating ofExcellent.

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Strategic Direction 2: Great Teaching

Purpose

Teachers will grow as professionals:

• by embedding research basedpractices

• by engaging in the collaborativepractice of peer coaching and goalsetting

• through deep knowledge,understanding and implementation ofsyllabus documents, National QualityFramework and Early Years LearningFramework

Improvement Measures

Improved levels of research–basedpractices specifically, use of data, feedbackand explicit teaching

The average score for the QT dimension of'Intellectual Quality' will increase to anaverage of 4

All school leaders trained in andimplementing peer coaching to promotelearning growth of all teachers.

People

Students

Provide timely and respectful feedback toteachers on their learning experiences.

Staff

Maintain accurate records, documentationand assessment data in order to evaluateand adjust their teaching strategies tomaximise impact on student learning.

Work collaboratively to ensure that theirpedagogy aligns with practices that areshown through research to have a highprobability of success.

Parents/Carers

Engage in literacy and numeracyinformation activities around assessmentand teaching strategies.

Leaders

Establish and improve processes whichbuild the capacity of the school communityto use data and engage in evidence–basedconversations about school improvement(particularly relating to teaching practices).

Develop and model a strong commitment toand buy–in for staff and students towardsachieving this strategic direction.

Use comprehensive knowledge of currentresearch to lead and expand professionallearning opportunities for all staff inimproved student learning.

Processes

EVIDENCE–BASED PRACTICE

Embed research based practices forimproved learning specificallyincorporating  use of data, feedbackand explicit teaching.

COACHING and GOAL SETTING

Develop implement and evaluate systemsof instructional practice to promote learninggrowth through effective feedback.

HIGH QUALITY TEACHING PRACTICES

Grow teacher capacity to implementsyllabus documents, National QualityFramework, Early Years LearningFramework, understand learningprogressions and develop rich, authenticlearning experiences.

Evaluation Plan

'What Works Best in Practice' survey

QT coding protocol

Peer coaching collaboration logs

Teacher and student TTFM surveys

Teacher observation data

Preschool self assessment: ECERS–E& SSTEW

Practices and Products

Practices

The use of data collection and collaborativeevaluation is an embedded practice thatinforms decisions, interventions andinitiatives in literacy and numeracy

Teachers actively participate in ongoingpeer coaching, goal setting andprofessional dialogue

Products

Structures are in place to enable allteachers to collaboratively, plan, reflect,improve and deliver evidence–informedpedagogy

Visible learning is evident in all classroomsspecifically, learning intentions, successcriteria, goal setting and effective feedback.

Systems are embedded where teachersmake informed and consistent judgementsabout student progress based on deepknowledge and understanding of thesyllabus, Early Years Learning Frameworkand learning progressions.

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Strategic Direction 3: Engagement and Empowerment

Purpose

We will engage and empower our schoolcommunity by:

• growing student leadership, identityand esteem

• providing innovative learningexperiences

• providing inclusive enrichmentprograms

Improvement Measures

Increased engagement of students inutilisation of the capabilities.

Improved satisfaction of parents withenrichment programs, STEM opportunitiesand improvement projects.

Increase school's attendance rate to 94%.

People

Students

Actively engage in leadership andimprovement projects; developtheir collaboration and communication capabilities and increase in esteem andidentity to influence their school andcommunity.

Staff

Model, value and embed leadership andinnovative pedagogical practices includingSTEM.

Parents/Carers

Engage in STEM information activities.

Community Partners

Provide opportunities to strengthen studentleadership and engagement.

Leaders

Establish and develop that support studentleadership initiatives and opportunities forcollaboration, communication, creative andcritical thinking capabilities to be developedthrough STEM.

Processes

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Develop and implement school andcommunity improvement projects to buildstudent esteem and identity.

INNOVATIVE LEARNING

Develop collaboration, communication,creative and critical thinkingcapabilities through Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) programs.

Evaluation Plan

All data will be analysed collaboratively:

*TTFM open–ended questions

*Parent satisfaction survey

* Attendance and behaviour data

* Teaching programs

* Work samples

* Pre and post student STEM survey

* Preschool Learning Journals

Practices and Products

Practices

Students will demonstrate confidence  andcommitment to the service of others.

Students demonstrate critical and creativethinking, collaboration and communicationskills as they engage in a wide range ofSTEM programs.

Products

Systems are embedded to build leadershipcapacity in students.

STEM embedded across the school P–6.

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