2018 Epping West Public School Annual Report · The Annual Report for 2018 is provided to the community of Epping West Public School as an account of the school's ... through the

Epping West Public SchoolAnnual Report

2018

1851

Printed on: 13 May, 2019Page 1 of 18 Epping West Public School 1851 (2018)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2018 is provided to the community of Epping West Public School as an account of the school'soperations and achievements throughout the year.

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

Therese Hinder

Principal

School contact details

Epping West Public School96 Carlingford RdEpping, 2121www.eppingwest-p.schools.nsw.edu.aueppingwest-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au9876 8255

Message from the Principal

2018 has been a year of growth and development. In the second year of our Strategic Plan our Learner Qualities arebeing understood and used by students, teachers and their parents. In the Principal's Cumulative Awards Program theLearner Qualities are set as goals and achievement recognised. Final school reports also record these achievements. Indeveloping these qualities students prepare for their future participation in our society and a changing workforce.

Teachers provide a wide range of activities ranging from sports to debating, singing, dancing and drama to develop theWhole Child . The Sydney Theatre Company drama program through the resident artist program showed students andteachers how to use drama techniques to better understand the themes and characterisation of literature being studied.A similar program in Dance with the Sydney Dance Company taught some classes and teachers how to use dance toincrease understanding. Parental and staff understanding of how to support the growth of the Whole Child was increasedthrough the workshops given by Dr Justin Coulson which reinforced parents' skill in their role of being responsible andcaring parents.

Four major projects under the area of Quality Pedagogy were developed in 2018. Kindergarten students in 2017 wereidentified as requiring development of their Oral Language to provide a solid basis for their academic learning. Workingwith Dr Robyn Ewing and Dr Kathy Rushton from the University of Sydney, Kindergarten teachers (2018) developed aprogram to increase vocabulary and speaking in the classroom and to focus on the structures and functions of language.This program was taught in the early part of the year to supplement literacy learning. As is our practice, student progresswas mapped and additional support provided for those with slower progress.

Information sessions and workshops were held this year to increase staff skills in the Science and Technology syllabusand prepare units to be taught next year. A group of teachers took part in a STEM (Science, Technology Engineeringand Mathematics) Project run by the University of Sydney which provided access to specialists to enrich our curriculum.

2018 was the first year of the Bring Your Own Device (iPads) program which commenced in Year 3. Each studentbrought a device which increased use of Technology in classrooms. Professional Learning for the grade 3 teachersinvolved in the program spilled over to other interested teachers, increasing confidence and ability to use new apps. In2019 these students in Year 4 will continue this program.

Our Community was a focus with our Community Liaison Officer organising courses and our Language Network leadersinvolving their members in school activities and welcoming new members.

2018 has seen many achievements and I look forward to another successful year in 2019.

Therese Hinder


School background

School vision statement

Epping West Public School has a rich tradition of excellence in academic, sporting and cultural programs. Quality schoolprinciples of Choice Theory, Reality Therapy and Lead Management guide all curriculum, programs and procedures andunderpin respectful relationships between students, staff and parents.

The school is committed to the development of Creative Successful Learners building an attitude of innovation andcollaboration soundly based on core skills. A sense of belonging and excellence in academic performance, performingarts and sport, develop our students as everyday champions and to shine on every stage. Our professional innovativeteaching team is highly experienced and dedicated to achieving quality educational outcomes.

A wide range of extracurricular activities is available to develop excellence and encourage participation. Inclusion andparticipation are the basis of caring for all stakeholders – children, parents and staff – ensuring that needs are met,opinions are heard and valued and issues are resolved.

Our school community includes students from diverse cultural backgrounds and three support classes for students with adisability.

Our vision is to develop our students with the qualities of being: • Playful and Innovative • Collaborative • Passionate and Caring • Curious • Resilient and persistent

as they develop academically, socially, physically, aesthetically and emotionally.

School context

Epping West Public School has a population of 1280 students, including three support classes. 93 percent of ourstudents are from a Language Background Other than English. Our school community is characterised by caring parents,a high level of interest in education and a willingness to be involved in the life of the school.

Integral to our school environment are our community partnerships and support networks including our P&C, SchoolCouncil and Student Representative Council. We have established a tradition of effective professional partnerships withacademics from Sydney University, the Sydney Theatre Company, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) andMacquarie University.

Initiatives include: • participation in the Drama in Schools project with Sydney Theatre Company and My Science with Dr Anne Forbes,

Macquarie University and scientist mentors • networks of local stakeholders such as Parramatta Council, Bambara Bushcare, Eastwood Christian Community

Aid, Relationships Australia and Epping Rotary provide opportunities for students and families to make personalconnections within the local school area

• a community liaison officer facilitates open communication and understanding between different groups within theschool community.

• participation of a team in a STEM initiative with the University of Sydney • development of an oral language development program for Kindergarten with Sydney University.

Self-assessment and school achievement

Self-assessment using the School Excellence Framework

This section of the Annual Report outlines the findings from self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework,school achievements and the next steps to be pursued.

This year, our school undertook self–assessment using the School Excellence Framework. The framework supportspublic 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.

Learning

The progress achieved in the domain of Learning included embedding our school goal of the Creativity Learner Qualitiesinto all areas of the school including class programs, Principal Awards and Reporting to Parents. Collaborative, Curious,Playful and Innovative, Passionate and Caring, Resilient and Persistent are the five main qualities. A socialskills/language program was introduced into Kindergarten to support the importance of verbal skills and play. EAL/D staffcontinued to support students, including our increasing (NAP) New Arrivals Students, in English language, reading andwriting skills. Choice Theory continued to underpin our whole school ethos of students taking responsibility for their ownchoices and behaviour contributing to our goal of the whole child. Our LaST (Learning and Support Team) continued tolook after the well being of our students through our referral process, parent consultation, feedback, continuousmonitoring and adjustments to programs. Staff learnt the new teacher accreditation process and how to log teacheridentified hours into NESA/eTAMS for their maintenance records.

The next steps to be pursued in the domain of Learning include continuing with our Visible Learning across the school.Staff will take part in Professional Learning in early 2019 from pilot groups in 2018 to explain and demonstrate LearningSprints, Learning Intentions, Success Criteria and Reflective Feedback to improve student learning.

Teaching

The progress achieved in the domain of Teaching includes continued mentoring for beginning teachers, QTSS ( QualityTeaching, Successful Students) initiative with teachers being given opportunities to plan, collaborate, teach, assess,modify programs and reflect together. School and personal goals continued for staff using the PDP (Performance andDevelopment Plan) process. Leaders in their field including Dr Justin Coulson, Rob Stones, Toni Falusi, Judy Hatswell,Phil Duncan, Dr Kristy Goodwin, Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Dance Company contributed to the learning,teaching and leading at Epping West Public School for our whole school community. Staff undertook professionaldevelopment in the new Science and Technology Syllabus including embedding digital technologies and new resourceseg. Bee–Bots, Spheros, Ozobots into programs in preparation for 2019. Internal and external data continued to drive thefocus for teaching and learning programs and assessments for student's best outcomes.

The next steps to be pursued in the domain of Teaching include improving our reporting to parents process. The newmandatory Science and Technology syllabus will be implemented into Teaching and Learning Programs incorporatingdigital technologies – coding and robotics. The new BYOD ( Bring Your Own Device) project will be introduced to includeYear 4 in 2019.

Leading

The progress achieved in the domain of Leading included clear goals from our leadership team and continued trainingand support for professional development for staff. The use of effective technology across all areas of the schoolcontinued including the successful introduction of BYOD for Year 3. Communication with the school community saw theintroduction of our new website and more people connecting to Seesaw and receiving Enews. Our community liaisonofficer continued to improve communications with her parent language leaders in welcoming new families into our schoolwith increasing enrolments. The continual growth in our student population saw resources and accommodation ofnecessary items through our flexible processes to cater for our changing local population.

The next steps to be pursued in the domain of Leading include professional development for staff in the PD/H/PE(Personal Development, Health and Physical Education) syllabus. Communication via a Google Doc collation system forclass parents, class helpers and contact lists will be introduced to streamline our process. Community relations will growwith a school fete planned for September 2019.

Our self–assessment process will assist the school to refine our school plan, leading to further improvements in thedelivery of education to our students.

For more information about the School Excellence Framework:

https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching–and–learning/school–excellence–and–accountability/sef–evidence–guide


Strategic Direction 1

WHOLE CHILD: Enabling creativity, mindfulness and self–management.

Purpose

To develop the whole child to be creative, mindful and self–managing.

Overall summary of progress

In 2018, we continued to promote the Creative Learner Qualities wheel to our whole school community. This wheel of thefive qualities: Curious, Collaborative, Passionate and Caring, Resilient and Persistent, Playful and Innovative wasdisplayed in all classrooms. The qualities were embedded into school learning and discipline programs with students andteachers using the language of the qualities including setting goals for the Principal Awards. Each quality had a colouredsymbol allocated and a chart of these was also displayed, discussed and referred to in classrooms. The qualities werethen displayed in the newsletter for parents and they were included in students' reports that went home to parents inSemester 1 and 2. These qualities complement the school's Choice Theory program where students are responsible forthe choices they make in learning and behaviour.

Mindfulness was a focus in 2018 where staff attended Teacher Professional Learning sessions such as Peaceful Kidsand were given a number of resources and strategies to use in the classroom such as Smiling Minds, Reach–out andCircle Time to help students cope with stress and anxieties. Executive staff are continuing to plan to familiarise classteachers with the new PD/H /PE syllabus to be taught in 2020. Reflective practice was introduced into pilot classroomswhere students have the opportunity to self–reflect on their learning with teacher support. Student feedback was used inclassrooms in a variety of ways to improve students' learning and set goals for future learning.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Funds Expended(Resources)

Progress achieved this year

Mindfulness is embedded inwhole school practice

More students involved in a widevariety of creative, physical,social and extra curriculaactivities

Students self reflect on theirbehaviour and goals using thelanguage of choice theory andthe zones of regulation

Students use the actions andlanguage of the learner qualities

Parents and staff willcommunicate and interact using acommon language of the LearnerQualities

Reports

ASR

Music, iTunes or YouTube

Syllabus – PD/H/PE

Units of work K–6

Survey

Report comments reflecting the Learner Qualitylanguage

Students demonstrating strengths in CreativeLearner Qualities on report front page.

ASR – yearly

Staff observe students using techniques and copingbetter in stressful situations.

Units being formed across stages

Evaluation on School Rules and Playground Rules

Next Steps

The next steps will include: • the focus on the Creative Learner Qualities and language will continue with goal setting and links to whole school

Principal Awards and reporting to parents; • mindfulness will continue to be used and consolidated in all classrooms and lessons will be embedded into the

new P/D units of work; • the Physical Literacy Continuum K–10 will be introduced to staff as part of the mandatory new PD/H/PE Syllabus; • the concept of self–reflection and self–managing of student behaviour and learning will be a focus in 2019.



QUALITY PEDAGOGY: Creating High Possibilty Classrooms

Purpose

To provide every student with future focused quality learning and teaching that is embedded in curriculum, assessmentand teacher practice.


In 2018, QTSS funding provided the opportunity for EWPS to introduce Simon Breakspear's Learning Sprints approachto monitor and improve students' writing. The process developed involved three school executive staff workingcollaboratively with teachers K–6 to review and refine their teaching practice. Literacy Learning Progressions and JohnHattie's Visible Learning elements of Learning Intentions and Success Criteria were also integrated into the LearningSprints model.

In a reflective process, teachers met weekly with mentors, using the Sprint Canvas tool to analyse writing samples,identify and reset specific goals for improvement ('grains of sand') for individual students, evaluate teaching effectivenessand design teaching strategies for future learning. Students evaluated their own and peers' writing using the SuccessCriteria. Team Drives were established for teachers to collaboratively share writing samples, reference material andteaching resources. Teachers judged that the Learning Sprints model had been successful in building the collectivecapacity of staff and students to continuously monitor and improve elements of writing.

In 2018, eighteen teachers completed the Primary English Teachers' Association of Australia Grammar and Teachingcourse conducted by Dr Kathy Rushton (Sydney University), expanding understanding of how to teach grammaticalconcepts in context, including the metalanguage for students to identify different grammatical elements in their ownwriting. A kindergarten oral language program was also designed in collaboration with Dr Rushton and Professor RobynEwing of Sydney University, to develop young students' oral skills and confidence through rhymes, songs and games.This program will be implemented, evaluated and refined in 2019.





Language of 5 Learner Qualitiesis used in unit planning,classroom practice, schoolcommunication and publicperformance.

Begun to embed language into public performance,classroom interaction, goal setting and publicdisplays. Stage 3 have embedded symbols intoprograms. Experimenting with digital platforms toshowcase student learning.

Teachers to apply futurefocussed quality learningstrategies.

Release for teachers toattend professional learning

Stage 2 STEM project

Professional learning around future focusedlearning, robotics, BYOD program, flexibleclassroom layouts, My Science – MacquarieUniversity

NAPLAN Numeracy scoresimproved by 5% Year 5 Band 6 toBand 7: Year 3 Band 4 to Band 5

Implementing in 2019

75% of Kindergarten studentsattain the Epping West ReadingGoal or more by December

Additional teacheremployed in Term 2 and 3to support students notachieving benchmarks insounds, sight words andreading levels

83.8% of all Kindergarten students achieved byDecember, at or beyond the benchmark of ReadingRecovery 10. This is 8.8% above the targetpercentage.

All K–2 classes use the LiteracyProgressions to map growth andplan.

Introduced literacy progression to staff. LearningSprints team have used progressions to mapgrowth, differentiate and inform planning.

Learning intentions and success Learning intentions and success criteria have beenPrinted on: 13 May, 2019Page 6 of 18 Epping West Public School 1851 (2018)





criteria are understood andpresent in all learning.

implemented as part of the Learning Sprintsprogram. All teachers involved have used these forwriting. Stage 3 have embedded learning intentionsand success criteria into mathematics programsand there is evidence of a proportion of staff usinglearning intentions and success criteria acrossKLAs.

High percentage in top 3 bands ofNAPLAN maintained.

Yr 3 showed increase percentages in top 3 bandsacross all strands of English and numeracy, withmore than 92% of students performing in the top 3bands. In Yr 5 more than 85% of studentsperformed in the top 3 bands in reading, spelling,grammar and numeracy. 75% of Yr 5 studentsperformed in the top 3 bands in writing.

To improve NAPLAN scores inyears 3 and 5 Writing by 5% – Yr5 Band 5 to 6: Yr 3 Band 4 toBand 5

Implementing in 2019

Next Steps

The next steps will be: • embed Learner Qualities into programs across Key Learning Areas (KLAs) • expand use of digital platforms to showcase student learning; • whole school training and evaluation of staff progress on understanding of Visible Learning principles and practical

application; • for 2019 to embed Learning Intentions and Success Criteria into writing programs through annotated work

samples; • consolidate implementation of formative assessment strategies in mathematics; • use learning progressions to record student progress in reading K–2; • explore the application of the Learning Sprints process to other KLAs and school contexts.



CONNECTED LEARNING COMMUNITY: Students, parents and school community with a shared vision.

Purpose

Involvement and participation of all community members in the vision and life of the school.


In 2018 Epping West Public School has made significant progress towards Connected Learning Community: Students,parents and school community with a shared vision. The overall purpose of this direction was to have our communitymembers participating and involved in the vision and life of the school. In 2018 our school has grown in the number ofstudents and complexity in school operations. Epping West continues to provide many opportunities for parents tocontribute to the life of the school, support their children and help enable the vision of the school. Parents have had theopportunity to get involved in the life of the school in areas such as the P&C and other auxiliary bodies, literacy groups,volunteers for sports carnivals, fundraising activities, surveys and other questionnaires.

All parent information sessions and school activities have seen a greater level of attendance and active participation. Inparticular, our Community Engagement/Liaison Officer Yvonne Daymond has successfully organised multiple communityactivities to support our parents in supporting their children.

A partnership with Christian Community Aid and Relationships Australia. has been developed where they have delivereda program, Ready for Life, Ready For Success..

In term one our Kindergarten parents were able to attend a 5 week program on Achieving School Success. It was avaluable opportunity to discuss school expectations and strategies to help parents support their children in transitioningto school. Topics included understanding the school system, child development, relationships and behaviours and theimportance of play. In addition, RFLRFS presented Cultural Awareness workshops to our staff where they gained insightinto Chinese and Korean lifestyles, custom, traditions and education systems.

This was followed by Kindergarten Connection sessions in term two where parents and grandparents were invited toclass to experience how our children learn through inquiry, exploration and play.

In term three, we ran two programs: Tuning into Kids is a parenting program, which was delivered in Korean to ourparents. One of their outcomes was for parents to build up their social connections in the community and increase parentengagement in the school. The second program was for parents and grandparents. It was a 6–week Basic Englishcourse covering themes such as daily routines, shopping for food and clothing, asking and giving directions, visiting thedoctor and feeling unwell.

During the course of the year, useful information was placed in the school's newsletter:– • Following the Cancer Council's visit to the school to promote healthy lunchboxes, recipes to inspire our parents

were placed in our newsletter. • Parents who wanted to re–join the workforce or upgrade their skills had requested some direction. Each semester

TAFE supplies details of courses in developing core skills to be able to get a job or for further study. • The school community was informed of holiday activities that are free to children and community based activities

that are suitable for our grandparents and different cultural groups ( Parramatta Council).

The Community Language Network, which is a group of our parents representing the various languages spoken in ourschool, has expanded and includes 14 cultural groups. The Network attended the Tissues and Tears and SKIP eventsand offered their help to new parents. Some members work behind the scenes due to work commitments and translateinformation when needed.

Every new family at Epping West Public School is sent a welcome email from the Community Liaison Officer offeringthem to be linked to a Community Language Network member who will support and welcome them into our schoolcommunity.

2018 has been a productive and an exciting year.










More diverse networks used forcommunication.

n/a Successfully established language and culturalnetworks to provide support and a contact person.The school has also used key personnel to act as'go–to' people to moderate communication and helpparents better understand school matters via onlineapps such as Facebook and WeChat. We arecontinuing to promote greater involvement andimproved communication across the wider schoolcommunity and will continue to explore apps andfunctions within current software platforms such asSentral to focus and improve communicationsystems. This is ongoing and will actively continuein 2019 and beyond.

Language group networksincrease access and participationby families in the school.

Salary for CommunityEngagement Officer.

Successfully established language and culturalnetworks to provide a support and contact person toassist new families at EWPS. We are continuing topromote greater involvement and improvedcommunication across the wider school community.All new enrolments and their families are put intocontact with our Community Engagement Officerwho connects the family with a language andcultural group as a source of support and schoolinformation. This is ongoing and will activelycontinue in 2019 and beyond.

Increased participation in schoolevents.

n/a With improved communication and provision of arange of events/activities offered at EWPS we haveseen a steady increase in parent participation andinvolvement in all school activities, including theP&C and other parent committees within the schoolcommunity. With increased parent involvementEWPS has had the opportunity to communicate andstrengthen the partnership and shared vision of theschool about supporting the needs of the wholechild. This will continue in 2019 and beyond.

Next Steps

In 2019 and beyond Epping West PS will continue to explore ways in which we can involve our school community morefully to achieve a shared vision. The next steps are to explore how we can best get our message across utilising variousapps, digital technologies and software programs we can use to make communication more accessible and easier forparents to act upon.


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

Aboriginal background loading $642 In 2018 no students identified as being ofAboriginal or Torres Strait background.

English language proficiency $624,678 During 2018, the EAL/D team of 10 specialistteachers supported 92.8% of K–6 studentswho were learning English as an AdditionalLanguage or Dialect (EAL/D). EAL/D teachersworked collegially and collaboratively withclassroom teachers to make relevantlanguage adjustments to the core curriculum.Every child who presented as EAL/D wasassessed and placed on the EAL/D LearningProgressions and subsequently hadscaffolded access to the curriculum, based ontheir individual language learning needs.Students were supported within classrooms,in small withdrawal groups and individually.The EAL/D team also administers theReading Eggs program to provide selectedstudents support in their English languagelearning at home and within classrooms.Some very experienced EAL/D teachersprovided a mentoring role for a number ofearly career teachers to provide in–classsupport, assist with programming andcontribute to the their wellbeing in a dynamic,fluid work environment. Within the EAL/Droom, there is a substantial library wherestudents are welcome to borrow and enjoybooks, separate from the school library.

This year, the EAL/D team collaborated withthe Music department to source and procurea wonderful Indonesian Dance troupe toperform on Harmony Day. The studentsthoroughly enjoyed being immersed in theculture of one of our closest neighbours. TheEAL/D team provided resources and stimulusfor all students across K–6 to engagecreatively in a craft activity related to LivingHarmoniously. These decorative pieces of artwere displayed proudly in every window ordoor of every classroom. Once again, theMulticultural Public Speaking competition tookplace early in Term 2. This valuableexperience allows all Year 3–6 students theopportunity to publicly speak in front of theirpeers on many multicultural issues. Four ofour clever orators moved onto the next roundand proudly spoke about multicultural issueswhich related to themselves. During term 4,the EAL/D team organised the VolunteersThank You Morning Tea to thank ourwonderful parents and caregivers who do somuch for all of the children at EWPS.

On–site and off–site professionaldevelopment for the EAL/D teachers wasprovided to improve their practice. The wholeteam of EAL/D teachers, undertook arigorous, 20 hour online course to becomefamiliar with the new EAL/D LearningProgressions. Two teachers went to aregional EAL/D Network Leaders' Conferenceand two EAL/D teachers gained their post


English language proficiency $624,678 graduate qualifications in TESOL fromMacquarie University during the year,meaning that 70% of the team is TESOLqualified. The Epping West EAL/D teamplanned and hosted two Network Meetings tosupport and provide relevant professionallearning for teachers in the Northern Sydneyregion. Victoria Campbell (Sydney University)presented on Drama with EAL/D students andAbby Saleh provided many invaluable lessonideas for working with New Arrival students.Various resources were purchased fordelivery of programs to allow EAL/D studentsto access the curriculum in the classroom.Parent/ teacher meetings were arranged toinform and consult throughout the year asrequired. Interpreters were utilised forindividual meetings with parents and studentsas well as for large group parent meetings.The EAL/D demountable was replaced with anew, modern room at the start of Term 4 andmore student–friendly work spaces werecreated within, to better cater for withdrawalgroups.

Low level adjustment for disability $121,893 In 2018 a permanent Learning and SupportTeacher (LaST) was employed 3 days aweek. An additional LaST was employed 4days a week. Through collaborative planning,the LaST teachers worked with class teachersto differentiate the curriculum andassessments to meet the learning needs of allstudents. Whole School Professional learningwas provided to the staff with continued focuson the importance of programming using theDoE Syllabus Flowcharts. This identified theneed for differentiation and backwardmapping .The LaST gathered data for theNational Consistent Collection of Data(NCCD) and organised parental consultation.117 students were included in the NCCD.Support was provided to Kindergarten, Year 1and Year 2 teachers for children whodemonstrated need for learning andbehaviour support.

Three students in mainstream classesreceived Integration Funding Support in 2018for the whole year and a further 3 studentsreceived Integration Funding for Semester 2in 2018. The LaST teachers provided afurther 106 students with in class and smallgroup intervention during 2018. EarlyIntervention was a focus and a Peer BuddyReading Scheme was developed, involvingKindergarten and Year 5 students readingtogether 3 times per week from Term 2. Thisprogram catered for 48 Kindergartenstudents.

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

$192,609 In 2018 our focus was on developing anevidence–based approach for improvingstudent learning outcomes andevidence–based teaching practice usingSimon Breakspear's Learning Sprints model.QTSS funding supported initial research andtraining into Learning Sprints as a way todevelop collaborative, reflective practice and


Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

$192,609 based on explicit learning intentions andsuccess criteria.

Through the establishment of learningcommunities, teachers have identified specifictargets and implemented a range of strategiesto help individual students achieve these.Collegial discussion, planning andprofessional reading fostered teachers'understanding and awareness of the LiteracyLearning progressions as a tool to informteaching and learning.

Results: • high levels of teacher and studentengagement. • 90% of teachers actively engaging inlearning sprints and professional learning inteams whilst maximising student teachingthrough visible learning and building teacherefficacy • improved student outcomes in the area ofwritingNext steps: • continue Professional Learning anddialogue to build capacity. • use Learning Sprints to facilitate theLearning and Support Team process • embed learning intentions and successcriteria across curriculum areas • Visible learning to have a commonlanguage across the school.

Socio–economic background $10,255 Funding was provided for 71 students. Thesefunds supported participation in schoolincursions and excursions includingexpensive camps and overnight excursions.All students were supported to be part of ourinclusive school culture.

Support for beginning teachers $45,522 In 2018 Beginning Teacher Support fundingwas provided for three permanent first yeargraduates and 2 permanent teachers in theirsecond year. Three mentors managed theprogram with the assistance of the Deputyand Principal. One mentor was anexperienced LaST teacher and the other twoteachers were experienced ReadingRecovery teachers. All three mentors werelong term permanent members of staff. Thisapproach to management of the mentorprogram provided relevant support for thebeginning teachers in the form of ongoingfeedback and discussion, demonstrationlessons, assistance with programming andstudent diversity. All the beginning teacherswere given the opportunity to attendprofessional learning courses aligned withtheir professional goals. Time was provided towork independently and collaboratively onplanning and reports alongside of theirsupervisor.

Targeted student support forrefugees and new arrivals

$365 Two students received refugee funding inSemester 1. School Learning SupportOfficers provided some in–class support forthese students to increase their access to thecurriculum.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2015 2016 2017 2018

Boys 507 562 606 647

Girls 450 479 521 575

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

K 96.6 96.7 96.1 96.9

1 96.4 96.5 96.4 96.3

2 96.8 96.7 96.1 96.3

3 97.3 96.4 96.5 96.9

4 97.2 96.8 96.4 97.2

5 96.8 96.8 97.3 96.9

6 95.6 95.1 96 95.4

All Years 96.7 96.5 96.4 96.6

State DoE

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

K 94.4 94.4 94.4 93.8

1 93.8 93.9 93.8 93.4

2 94 94.1 94 93.5

3 94.1 94.2 94.1 93.6

4 94 93.9 93.9 93.4

5 94 93.9 93.8 93.2

6 93.5 93.4 93.3 92.5

All Years 94 94 93.9 93.4

Management of non-attendance

Student attendance rates continue to be above those ofthe State DoE. Unexplained absences or frequentabsences are followed up initially by the teacher, theExecutive and School Counsellor. If necessary theHome School Liaison Officer is involved.

Of concern is the large number of children missingschool due to families taking children on overseasholidays during the school term thus missing essentiallearnings.

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal(s) 1

Deputy Principal(s) 2

Assistant Principal(s) 7

Classroom Teacher(s) 48.1

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.63

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.6

Teacher Librarian 1.8

Teacher ESL 5.4

School Counsellor 1

School Administration and SupportStaff

9.67

*Full Time Equivalent

The school has no staff who identify as being ofAboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Thisstaffing reflects the beginning of 2018. The SchoolCounsellor is shared with a high school and a couple ofdays an additional counsellor attends. The threeSpecial Education classes each have a permanentSchool Learning Support Officer. The Department ofEducation supplies one Reading Recovery teacherposition and the school supplies an additional twopositions to support children in Year 1 experiencingdifficulty in reading. Through the Principals SupportPackage a School Administration Officer is employed toprovide financial reports, keep Working with Childrenand mandatory training reports, the National Collectionof Data on Disability and other requirements of thePrincipal and Deputy Principals. A CommunicationsOfficer is also employed.

Workforce retention

Epping West has a large number of teachers who havechosen to stay at the school. 28 teachers have been atthe school more than 6 years, 14 3–5 years and 14 upto 2 years. 68 teachers have been teaching more than6 years with 28 teaching for 2 or less years.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirementsfor teaching in NSW public schools.

Teacher qualifications

Qualifications % of staff

Undergraduate degree or diploma 100

Postgraduate degree 19.5


Professional learning and teacher accreditation

66 teachers are permanent and 32 are temporary. 75teachers are classified Proficient in the accreditationsystem and 18 are Conditional.

In the Focus on Teaching survey 68 teachers felt thatschool leaders were leading improvement and changeand that they were explicitly detailing the StrategicVision.

$85,000 was spent on Professional Learning includingcourse fees, teacher relief to attend courses and daysto work on improving teaching units.

5 teachers undertook the 27 hours of the Basic Week inChoice Theory.

School Development days focused on: Science andTechnology syllabus, Maths, History and Geography,Robotics, Anxious Kids, STEM activities, AboriginalKorean and Chinese cultural perspective, Peacefulkids, Mindfulness with Dr Justin Coulson and DigitalSafety with Dr Kristy Goodwin, CPR and Anaphylaxistraining and Child Protection and Code of Conduct..Individual staff members attended courses for:Beginning teachers, teaching music, Visible Learningand Learning Sprints, Literacy in the Early Years,

Financial information

Financial summary

The information provided in the financial summaryincludes reporting from 1 January 2018 to 31December 2018.

2018 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 1,100,986

Revenue 10,626,441

Appropriation 9,567,286

Sale of Goods and Services 63,727

Grants and Contributions 976,477

Gain and Loss 0

Other Revenue 4,056

Investment Income 14,896

Expenses -10,003,079

Recurrent Expenses -10,003,079

Employee Related -8,728,565

Operating Expenses -1,274,515

Capital Expenses 0

Employee Related 0

Operating Expenses 0

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

623,362

Balance Carried Forward 1,724,348

The School Budget is developed by School Committeesand assessed in relation to the School Plan by theschool executive. When discussed by the SchoolCouncil the budget is presented to Parent organisationsand adjustments made with regard to the PlannedSBAR and anticipated School Community funds. TheBudget is further adjusted following the census andwhen the final SBAR is received.

Monitoring of the Budget is done on a monthly basis byProgram managers and the school executive using theSchools Overview Report. Approval for expenditurefrom Budget lines comes through Program managersand the Principal.

An increase in student enrolments and teachersresulted in greater expenditure per head and costs ofdemountables to be set up for 2018 and in anticipationof 2019.

An amount of $500,000 is designated for extending thestaffroom with meeting space and a few offices. Thisproject will take place in 2019. Utilities costs werehigher by around a quarter due to the increase indemountables. Replacement of the ride on mower, anew bell system, a new sandpit and tree services were2018 expenses. Introduction of the new leavereimbursement system and December reimbursementsfor a number of programs increased the anticipatedincome.

Intended use of funds include: Reading Recoveryteacher, new awnings, awning from new staff roomextension, shade for the Cre8 Studio, a set of iPads for


Kindergarten, Hall stage lights, canteen upgrade and anew water cooler near the hall.

Financial summary equity funding

The equity funding data is the main component of the'Appropriation' section of the financial summary above.

2018 Actual ($)

Base Total 7,448,462

Base Per Capita 222,251

Base Location 0

Other Base 7,226,211

Equity Total 757,468

Equity Aboriginal 642

Equity Socio economic 10,255

Equity Language 624,678

Equity Disability 121,893

Targeted Total 629,058

Other Total 364,951

Grand Total 9,199,939

Figures presented in this report may be subject torounding so may not reconcile exactly with the bottomline totals, which are calculated without any rounding.

A full copy of the school's financial statement is tabledat the annual general meetings of the parent and/orcommunity groups. Further details concerning thestatement can be obtained by contacting the school.

School performance

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, the results acrossthe Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy andnumeracy assessments are reported on a scale fromBand 1 to Band 10. The achievement scalerepresents increasing levels of skillsand understandings demonstrated in theseassessments.

From 2018 to 2020 NAPLAN is moving from a papertest to an online test. Individual schools are migrating tothe online test, with some schools attempting NAPLANon paper and others online.

Results for both online and paper formats are reportedon the same NAPLAN assessment scale. Anycomparison of NAPLAN results – such as comparisonsto previous NAPLAN results or to results for studentswho did the assessment in a different format – should

take into consideration the different test formats andare discouraged during these transition years.

The high percentage of students scoring in the topthree bands in literacy has been maintained over thepast three years. In 2018, 93% of year 3 studentsperformed within the top 3 bands for reading and 96%of year 3 students performed within the top 3 bands forwriting. In spelling 98% of year 3 students performedwithin the top 3 bands and 96% of year 3 studentsperformed within the top 3 bands for grammar andpunctuation.

85% of year 5 students performed within the top 3bands for reading and 75% of year 5 studentsperformed within the top 3 bands for writing. In spelling86% of year 5 students performed within the top 3bands and 86% of year 5 students performed within thetop 3 bands for grammar and punctuation.


Our school has continued to maintain a significantpercentage of students scoring in the top three bandsfor numeracy over the past three years. In 2018, 93%of our year 3 students and 86% of our year 5 studentsperformed in the top three bands for overall numeracy.


The Premier's Priority Goal is to increase thepercentage of students in the two top bands forReading and Numeracy across the State by 8% in2019. In 2014 the state average was 34.7, in 201732.4, with the target being 35.2 in 2019.

In 2018 at Epping West Public School in year 3 thepercentages of students in the top two bands forReading was 81.55% and in Numeracy: 82.74%. Inyear 5 the percentages in the top two bands wereReading: 64.29% and in Numeracy: 75%.

Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

Epping West Public School continues to enjoy apositive relationship with parents and the broadercommunity. Ongoing feedback from parents,community members, staff and students highlight thatthere are high levels of satisfaction within our school.According to the results of the survey, 94% of studentssaid that they enjoyed coming to school. 78% ofstudents feel informed about their learning progressand found feedback from teachers helpful. 85% ofstudents agreed that school events and activities werewell communicated through their class teacher and atassemblies. 98% of students have developedfriendships with their peers.

91% of parents feel the school environment is a warmand inviting place, where their child enjoys being atschool. 85% of parents feel well informed about howtheir child is progressing at school. 90% of parentswere satisfied with how school events and activities arecommunicated. A high majority of parents indicated thatthe school newsletter and speaking with their child were

the most effective ways which they heard informationmost effectively. 100% of parents surveyed agreed thattheir child has good friends at school.

89% of teachers enjoy coming to school. 96% ofteachers know their students and how they learn.These teachers feel confident differentiating theirprograms to meet student needs and develop futurelearning goals. Teachers feel most informed aboutschool events through meetings and speaking withcolleagues. 98% of teachers believe their studentshave positive relationships with other peers at school.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

In 2018 there were no students who identified asAboriginal or Torres Strait Islander enrolled in theschool.

Students in all grades across the school experiencedthe Acknowledgement of Country on all formaloccasions and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderflags are flown systematically to acknowledge thecontribution of these indigenous peoples to modernAustralia.

Grade 3 students visited Muogamarra Reserve andthrough the Discovery Indigenous Heritage walk learntabout Aboriginal engraving sites and how people livedin that area. The history of the Epping Area was learntabout in grade 4.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

Epping West Public School has 93% of the populationcoming from a Language Background other thanEnglish. There are over 40 different languages spokenat home. Respect for these various cultures is part ofevery day life at school with students being encouragedto share this diversity and incorporate them into schoolcurriculum and events.

Students are taught to appreciate the differencesbetween people and to include people without regard torace, sex, background or belief. There is explicitinstruction in how to positively interact with otherstudents and to take personal responsibility for theirown behaviour in the playground and classroom. Eachgrade has a Wellbeing teacher who works with childrenhaving difficulty with their relationships in theplayground.

A Community Engagement Officer is employed to buildcapacity within Language groups and parents. Sheorganises parenting and English classes, invitations tothe leaders of Language networks to help out atdifferent functions and welcomes new families to theschool putting them in touch with other families fromtheir background.

The Anti–Racism Officer is trained and assists all staffby organising interpreters and information to explainschool procedures and functions. Events such as


Harmony Day are organised by the EAL/D teachers tobuild an inclusive school climate and recognise thecontribution of the various groups to the school culture.

Other school programs

Epping West offers a wide range of academic, culturaland sporting opportunities for students. The schoolYearbook provides a snapshot of these.

Reading Recovery: This program provides individualsupport to four Year 1 students in each program cyclewho need early intervention for reading. Currently(2018) 3 Reading Recovery Teachers teach 10students daily for each program cycle. 22 Studentsparticipated in the Reading Recovery Program during2018.


Documents

2018 Epping West Public School Annual Report · The Annual Report for 2018 is provided to the community of Epping West Public School as an account of the school's ... through the