2018 Toongabbie West Public School Annual Report

Toongabbie West Public SchoolAnnual Report

2018

4364

Printed on: 24 May, 2019Page 1 of 24 Toongabbie West Public School 4364 (2018)

Introduction

The Annual Report for 2018 is provided to the community of Toongabbie West Public School as an account of theschool'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 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.

Our front cover shows, Anshita , Elise and Chelise performing at our Showcase in 2018. A day when every studentparticipates and demonstrates the skills and quality of the Creative and Performing Arts program in our School.

Brian Firth

Principal

School contact details

Toongabbie West Public SchoolBallandella RdToongabbie, 2146www.toongabwst-p.schools.nsw.edu.autoongabwst-p.school@det.nsw.edu.au9631 3610

Message from the Principal

I am so proud to be the principal of Toongabbie West Public School where our focus on personal best student learningdrives our desire to improve and progress as an exemplary school learning community.

Over the last ten years I have seen the school continue to flourish and grow in many important areas, 2018demonstrated through its successes that we are achieving our best in learning and now during a period of importantgrowth and high expectation from government, our local community and stakeholders we can see the results becomingconsistent.

Toongabbie West Public School enjoys unprecedented support from our Parents' and Citizens' Association and ourparent community in general. The teaching and administrative staff are extraordinary. They harness a range of expertiseand passion for all that they do on behalf of our students. Our students are motivated to learn and participate in a widerange of educational opportunities provided for them at the school.

The school's success is underpinned by the quality teaching and learning programs that our students, staff andparents/carers value and appreciate. Our annual self–assessment and annual milestone monitoring processes involving,staff, the executive of the Parents' and Citizens' Association and student leaders, analysed evidence and identified thefollowing key features of our achievements for Toongabbie West Public School in 2018:

In 2018, our Years 3 and 5 students sat for the NAPLAN. Our school results were outstanding with students achievingabove average growth in all areas. Our Year 5 results in all areas were excellent, and our Year 3 results showed anincreasing improvement. This indicates that our strategies to improve student learning in literacy and numeracy in ourschool are having a great impact. Growth from Year 3 to Year 5 shows how this improvement in student performancecan be measured, Writing where the growth was better than state by almost double.

The school has invested significant and ongoing resources in 21st Century Learning for all. All relevant teachers havebeen trained in Robotics, Coding happens at lunch or recess groups. Many of our students engage with these activitiesin school and also through Junior Lego League activities and competitions outside of sachool. These intensiveapproaches ensure all that we do is building a learning culture that is underpinned by the 4Cs: creativity, communication,collaboration and critical thinking. The Library has continued its transformation with Computer Pods allowing betteraccess to IT and the environment being modernised in look and furniture.

Toongabbie West Public School is becoming recognised as a school where innovation and student centred investigationand problem solving are central to all learning. Our wonderful mathematicians excelled in a competition where they


placed 4 out of a number of highly performing school.

All staff participated in rigorous and ongoing training in Focus on Reading (FOR) and Language, Learning and Literacy inK–2. These rich, exemplary professional development for staff has allowed teachers to improve their knowledge of theNSW Literacy Continuum and National Syllabus materials. It has led to teachers developing detailed units of work inComprehension that meet the specific needs of their individual students. The Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)program was further developed after our relaunch to improve school–wide processes for student wellbeing and qualitylearning in all classrooms. Tassies Retreat is now complete and students use this area as a peaceful retreat with boardgames, drawing and activities, where all students can access a quiet area. This promoted student enthusiasm in theprogram and encouraged a vibrant school learning culture.

The school continues to broaden the horizons of our students with an absolute dedication to teach each child as a"whole person." We continue to explore and deliver programs that enhance our students' capacity to live and grow well.The SRC raised funds for the Buy A Bale of hay for our farmers which allowed our school population to support theremote communities.

Excellent programs in music, sport, the arts, self–defence and leadership/citizenship combine to deliver for all.

I certify that the information provided in this report is the result of a rigorous school self–assessment and review processundertaken with staff, parent and student leaders and provides a balanced and genuine account of the school'sachievements and areas for development.


Message from the school community

Toongabbie West Public–School P&C

2018 P&C President's Annual Report

Thank you to everyone on the P&C for all your hard work this past year. This has been my first year in the P and C andalso my first year in the Role as President. It has been a pleasure and honour to lead the committee. Everyone's support,experience and advice have been invaluable.

Thank you to the Executive team, Alison Wall (Vice President), Shylee Green (Secretary and Uniform Shop Coordinator)and Julia Leahy (Treasurer and Uniform Shop Coordinator). Also to our School Banking expert Terry Harris, KylieStanton and Mouna Carrasco in Fundraising, and Mary Byrnes who organises Book Club.

We have a fantastic canteen. Thank you to Michelle Gage and Susan Wyatt and our many canteen volunteers for all thatyou do to keep tummies fed and children happy.

Once again, the P&C's major event was the Halloween Carnival. A special thank you to Jean Parker who stepped up tothe role and worked so hard as our Carnival Coordinator and to our Carnival Committee and all our helpers before,during and after the Halloween Carnival. The day would not have been as great a success without you.

Thank you also to the office staff Tracey and Shannon, for their expert office support especially at Carnival time. Mr Firthand the Toongabbie West teachers continue to be regular guests at P&C meetings keeping us informed about the schooland discussing a wide range of topics each month. I would like to thank them and the parents and career's who regularlyattend our monthly meetings for their dedication.

2018 Summary

This past year has seen us involved in many activities including:

Incorporation of our P and C with the P and C Federation, which allows us to apply for government grants and funding.

Continued financial support of the school. Including obtaining government grants of $2,500 for Library Resources and$3,000 Musical Instruments.

Donation of $9554 for new electronic white boards and assembly hall projector.

Donation of $1300 to the school for new Readers.

Pledge by the P & C to match the school Dollar for Dollar up to $10,000 for new infrastructure projects like walkwaycovers. We currently have two grant applications being processed and pending with NSW State Government.

Donation of the Presentation day awards and trophies, valued at $1700

Mother's Day and Father's Day stalls

Easter Raffle Fund Raiser

Special food day events such as Tacos on Tasty Tuesday

Fundraising for Draught relief.

Completion of payment of our 2017 pledge of $5000 for new home readers

Completion of payment of our 2017 pledge of $10,000 for Tassies retreat.

An amazing Halloween Carnival. Overwhelming community support where the whole school and local community pulledtogether for a successful event, earning us over $18,000 in profit.

In 2016 the P and C pledged $23,000 dollars towards a new multipurpose court at the school. It now appears that theconstruction of the court is finally approved by department of education and that construction may commence during the2018 / 2019 summer holidays. The P and C will arrange payment of the pledged money to the school once constructionhas been commenced.

Next year we hope to address the covers for the K–2and Before & After school care areas.


It has been a great experience and privilege to be a part of the decision–making process in the school and to have ourinput as a P&C heard.

Thank you for your support of our P&C, our school, our students and our teachers.

Matthew Chalmers

P&C President 2018


School background

School vision statement

We as a collaborative learning community seek to promote a safe, compassionate and stimulating school environment inwhich everyone is inspired to think critically, while developing the necessary skills to become empowered to achieve totheir potential as a caring, resilient and productive citizen in the twenty first century.

School context

Toongabbie West Public School serves a diverse community with regular, strong support from an active parent body.There are over 260 students from a diverse population with 50% LBOTE from 35 language speaking backgrounds, thefour highest being Arabic, Guajarati, Tamil and Hindi. Projected school growth of school–age children is expected tocontinue in Toongabbie West in the next few years. While this is a positive trend, it brings challenges. Currently there isan increasing mobility rate with the construction of large numbers of medium density housing.

Toongabbie West Public School has a highly dedicated staff that focuses on providing quality educational programs.Staff work in three teams to develop teaching and learning programs led by teaching Assistant Principals. Excellence ispromoted across all areas of the curriculum and an emphasis is placed on providing abroad range of learningopportunities to meet the needs of all students. The school is committed to continuous improvement in teaching andlearning and accordingly has identified several strategic priority areas for the basis of the 2018–20 school plan. Schoolimprovement goals are identified as a direct result of extensive evaluations. This is developed through staff, parent andstudent consultation. There is an active P & C Association which meets on a regular basis

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 practiceacross the three domains of Learning, Teaching and Leading.

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. The framework supports public schools throughout NSW in thepursuit of excellence by providing a clear description of high quality practice across the three domains of Learning,Teaching and Leading. .Our staff used the School Excellence Framework to inform, monitor and validate the progressand impact of our teaching and learning strategies throughout the year. We thoroughly examined the school plan todetermine the elements of the School Excellence Framework that the plan most strongly addressed. Staff, school leadersand parents reflected on the progress being made across the school based on the expectations identified in theFramework. This provides an important overview to ensure our improvement efforts align with these high levelexpectations. In the domain of Learning, our efforts have primarily focused on wellbeing, curriculum and learning. Theschool is growing through its strong performance in delivering an integrated approach to quality teaching, curriculumplanning and delivery, and assessment promoting learning excellence. A more focussed approach to link our Wellbeingframework with measurable improvement for our students is an important future direction. We also aim for our studentsto build overall self–awareness, positive relationship with and actively contribute to the school and our broadercommunity. We acknowledge that our learning culture is strong with all stakeholders agreeing that we performoutstandingly here. Our students take responsibility for their learning and our staff and community hold collaborativelyhigh expectations and aspirations for all. We see opportunities for all students to increasingly contribute authentically byreflecting explicitly on their performance both in the classroom and during formal and informal conversations about theirlearning achievements and goals. Our school performances in NAPLAN support high–level value added results with ourstudents consistently out performing "like schools". We do, however, reflect our parent community expectation that85%–90% of all students will meet NSW literacy and numeracy benchmarks and that we will increase studentperformance in the highest two bands of NAPLAN performance over the next three years. Our major focus in the domainof Teaching has been on collaborative practice for staff members. An important opportunity has been provided to staff inrelation to planning, teaching and growing as a team in each of our Stages. The use of technology for learning, theimportance of data analysis to inform decision– making, the growing of teaching practice through classroomobservations, reflections and feedback, and the development of expertise in vital literacy and numeracy programs and innew syllabuses, all highlight a teaching culture that is moving student learning to a new level. Importantly, staff aredeveloping evidence–based practice through their reflections and evaluations of our collective work. We are investingsignificantly in developing leaders and teaching and learning throughout our fine school. We will strive to ensure that our


build the collective capacity of the staff and school community to use student learning data to inform strategic schoolimprovement efforts. The school is developing and embedding explicit systems to ensure excellent curriculum delivery,including strategies for differentiation and consistent teacher judgement. Strong processes are being designed to supportthis goal via collaboration, classroom observation and modelling of best teaching practice. In the domain of Leading, ourpriorities have been to administer and lead this school towards excellence in an era of great change. With the additionalresources that are currently available to the school, through careful financial management and appropriate funding oncomplexity, we have an enormous responsibility to all in leading well! Our 2018–20 School Plan is currently being refinedand being built upon through considered and detailed milestones and improvement measures, thereby robustly providinga strong framework of measurable expectations. This approach recognises that leadership development is central to theachievement of school excellence. The leadership team has been successful in leading the initiatives outlined in thisreport, building the capabilities of staff to create a dynamic school learning culture. There are streamlined, flexibleprocesses in place to deliver services and information and strengthen parental engagement. We have as an importantaspiration that the school is recognised as excellent and responsive by its community as a result of its effectiveengagement with members of the local community such as parents, families, local media and business.

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

Students are engaged learners. Inspire, challenge and empower students.

Purpose

Students are literate and numerate and are creative and productive users of technology. Students who can think deeplyand logically. Students who can obtain and evaluate evidence in a disciplined way. Students who can be innovative andresourceful and plan activities independently. Students that collaborate, work in teams and communicate ideas to makesense of their world.

Overall summary of progress

Toongabbie West Public School has endeavoured to create a cohesive and more effective leadership system throughthe School Strategic Directions 2018–2020 by enabling a strong collegial culture that will enhance the capacity of allstakeholders within the Toongabbie West community to develop their leadership potential. This includes students,teachers, school leaders and parents. Regular reporting against the milestones by our leadership group has given us aninsight into our progress in achieving desired outcomes and achievements. Feedback from project teams; focus groupsessions and surveys (P& C Survey) have added to this evaluation as well as an analysis of data pertaining to studentattainment of leadership credentials in their quest for school leadership positions have been considered. We establisheda communication platform with key community personnel and through P&C meetings ( with staff representatives givingregular reports regarding developments at school ) to inform, verify and consult before implementing fundamentaldecision making actions.

Progress towards achieving improvement measures

Improvement measures(to be achieved over 3 years)

Funds Expended(Resources)

Progress achieved this year

IMPROVEMENT MEASURE/S

5% p.a. increase in students whoachieve proficiency in literacy(writing) and numeracy

State targets for literacy andnumeracy are met

Students report a satisfactionlevel of over 85% for creativeactivities provided

10% p.a. increase in level ofparent engagement withdiscussion opportunitiesprovided.

100% of teachers collect dataand use it to inform learningprograms.

100% of teachers are supportedto improve practice.

$11,200 Literacy andNumeracy Funding

$43,727 Literacy andNumeracy InterventionFunding

Targeted Professional Development in L3 and FOR.

Literacy and Numeracy Funding to support Phonicsprogram in Stage 1 – teacher support for 2 days perweek and costs associated with L3 and FORtraining.

Early identification of students with additionalidentified needs to provide support.

Increased participation is being monitored todevelop data and trends of time, location, purpose.

Surveys are used to collect student data onparticipation and satisfaction levels.

Next Steps

Further development of specific learning programs aimed at improving comprehension will continue across the wholeschool. Further evaluations of their impact will be completed using NAPLAN and school data. Continued use ofIntervention funds to provide specialist trained staff in Literacy in Stage 1. Early involvement through the LearningSupport Team to coordinate support.

These initiatives have had a significant impact on student learning, particularly for equity groups in the early years of


schooling. In 2018 the Learning and Support team in conjunction with stages will continue programs to improve skills inreading and comprehension to develop enhance student's' phonetic knowledge.



School & Community Learning. Excellence in leadership, teaching and learning.

Purpose

•Teachers and the support staff have the capacity to provide a curriculum that is sufficiently flexible to meet the diverseneeds of our students. Teachers engage in individualised, team and shared professional learning for the21st Century.Teachers with the capacity to implement the new and developing curriculums. Develop the capacity and understandingfor learning within our wider school community.


In 2018 teachers continued to develop their understanding of how to use differentiated learning to engage all students.Teachers further established their use of Learning Intentions and Success Criteria (LISC) in their classrooms andestablished programs, including L3 ( Language Literacy and Learning ) and Focus on Reading.





Improvement Measures

All student leaders are consultedabout, and have input into,significant school activities.

90% of students are satisfied thatthey are being consulted onsignificant learning opportunities

100% of teachers develop,monitor and evaluate theirpersonalised professionallearning plan

100% of teachers review andredevelop learning programsevery five weeks

20% reduction in executivetimeout conversations

.

School funds $3000Resources $5500

Involvement of Student Representative Council toprovide engagement in school areas ofdevelopment.

Teaching and Learning impacts can be measuredand improvements demonstrated.

Use of PBL data to give evidence to directions.

Student Survey

Parent Opinion Survey

Teacher Survey and use of PDPs to demonstrateengagement in school 3 year plan.

Reduction in executive intervention throughdiscipline reports has reduced by 45%

Next Steps

The further development and monitored implementation of KLA curriculum areas and increased use of LearningIntentions, Success Criteria, with professional development on their use and added implementation of L3, will increasethe engagement of students in learning to improve student outcomes. A new initiative to improve engagement usingcreative thinking components and technology is being used and skills being developed. Science and creative Art areintegral parts of this and will continue to be maintained. NAPLAN as a focus is continuing to demonstrate our success ingrowth from year 3 to year 5 where we are considerably ahead of both State and similar schools. Students have theenthusiasm and energy to engage in learning, our next 3 year plan will have student wellbeing and improvements inengagement and improved learning outcomes as a priority.




Culture and Values. Authentic and inclusive partnerships for learning.

Purpose

To work across the school community to embed a positive culture and set of values based on the expectations of beingan active and engaged learner supported by our community members. Using PBL to achieve a culture where success isvalued and a strong social conscience is developed.


2018 continued to ensure our school community felt included, involved and engaged. We held a range of parentinformation sessions during P&C meetings where staff presented feedback on issues at school. kept parents informedthrough parent teacher conferences and student progress reports. The involvement of the student and parent bodies atthe school – The Student Representative Council and the Parents and Citizens Association have continued to contributeideas and to have input on school directions and decision making. PBL has continued to develop its schoolimplementation across all areas with Resilience becoming a major factor in its implementation. The Tassies RetreatPassive Play area is now complete and students are using it during breaks from class. The Performing Arts groups havecontinued to progress with new students joining, a great instructor is a great resource and the school has a number ofstaff dedicated to this area of dance, singing and music. In 2018 the showcase performance was incredibly well receivedwith parents and visitors very complimentary and supportive. Success in Wakakirri and gaining state awards was furtherdemonstration of the dedication, ability and team spirit which is evident in this talented group of students and staff.





IMPROVEMENT MEASURE/S

Student learning products reflectparent/community input.

Case study demonstrates thecontribution of parents/communityto learning improvements.

Increased numbers of communitypartners in classrooms overbaseline data.

Increased levels ofparent/community participation inschool governance and events.

Increased effectiveness of theschool calendar, density ofinclusions and length of leadtime.

$2800 from School funding Use of surveys and demonstrated data to showengagement in school activities and learningdiscussions.

Meting and parental attendance at meetings andparent/teacher interviews.

Events/opportunities are timed and organised toavoid conflict in meetings.

Next Steps

To ensure we are leading a culture of high expectations and community engagement in 2019 we will;

* Plan ongoing professional learning for teachers to implement the school plan

* Further develop the use of technology in classrooms to prepare students for study and work in the 21st century, lunchgroups on robotics and coding will continue and increasing numbers may require two groups to be formed


* Plan regular workshops and parent involvement activities to promote a culture of high expectations

* Through the survey ' Tell Them From Me", information and attitudes will be evaluated from Staff, Students andParents/Carers to determine success and changing attitudes.


Key Initiatives Resources (annual) Impact achieved this year

Aboriginal background loading * Aboriginal backgroundloading

$23,500

* NAIDOC grant fromParramatta Council toprovide funding for nAIDOCcelebrations.

$1000

Aboriginal students were supported throughthe implementation of Personalised LearningPlans, developed in consultation with thestudent, teacher and parent and focused onthe individual learning needs of each student.Students were provided with support in theclassroom by Learning and Support Officers(LSOs).

Teachers implemented Indigenousperspectives throughout the curriculum.Aboriginal students have been encouraged toengage with cultural perspectives andNAIDOC / cultural events.

English language proficiency * English languageproficiency

($62 468.00)

The impact is differentiated, individualisedprogramming to better cater for this group ofstudents.

This has improved students' generalwellbeing and adjustment to school throughthe provision of equipment and materialsrequired to participate in school life as well asaccess to the school swimming scheme, etc.Toongabbie West Public School has alsoseen improved students' literacy, numeracyand study skills through English as anAdditional Language/ Dialect (EAL/D) teachersupport in both withdrawal groups andin–class support.

Low level adjustment for disability * Low level adjustment fordisability ($69 227.00)

As of July 2018, the percentage of studentswith a Personalised Learning Plan (PLP) was27%. Toongabbie West Public Schoolensures that relevant data is collected andmaintained as part of the National ConsistentCollection of Data on school students withdisability and students' individual learningneeds are met.

Quality Teaching, SuccessfulStudents (QTSS)

Funding was used toprovide release time fornine executive teachers.

* Quality Teaching,Successful Students(QTSS)

$51, 224.00

Executive teachers were able to coach,mentor and support teachers in classroomsand provide professional leadership tosupervised teachers in each grade K–6 andsupport teachers.

PDPS Increase in staff capacity in identifiedtargeted areas

Staff surveys

Socio–economic background Student Assistance–$2500.00

Staffing– SLSO

*$37, 618

SLSO Student data

LST, welfare, engagement, academic, IEP,PLP data and progress

Support for beginning teachers Funds provided release forteachers to prepare lessonsand complete accreditationdocumentation in their earlycareer years. * Support forbeginning teachers ($60000.00)

Teachers were supported with a teachermentor. Lesson observations, classroom walkthroughs and collaborative planning sessionsassisted teachers in the early years of theircareer.


Targeted student support forrefugees and new arrivals

* Targeted student supportfor refugees and newarrivals

$27,208.00

Students receive intensive withdrawal supportplus in–class support which together enablesthem to participate in whole class learningand access the curriculum much sooner thanthey would be able to if they were onlyreceiving withdrawal support. Newly arrivedstudents can access stage appropriatelearning outcomes when their learning isscaffolded by the classroom and EAL/Dteacher and learning tasks are individualised.A significant impact of these interventions israpid improvement in the English languageproficiency as evidenced by school basedformative and summative assessment.

CAPA and Wellbeing connections $5000 school fundedsupport.

$2000 – wellbeinginitiatives.

$2400 – Social equityfunding.

Performances – Wakakirri and CelebratingThe Arts, school performances andproductions.

Student programs through social skillsgroups.

Student support and resources to providegroups with activities and supervision throughlunch breaks.


Student information

Student enrolment profile

Enrolments

Students 2015 2016 2017 2018

Boys 138 145 135 144

Girls 100 102 112 125

Mainstream student enrolment was up from 247 in2017 to 269 in 2018, due largely to a bigger cohort ofKindergarten students. This growth has beenconsistently maintained over a number of years. Thereare also 3 classes of hearing support classes.

Student attendance profile

School

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018

K 94.7 94.3 94.5 93.4

1 95.8 94.5 94.9 92.9

2 91.6 94.6 94.5 95.2

3 94.9 92.3 96.6 92.9

4 92.4 96.1 92.6 93

5 94.6 95.3 96.2 90.6

6 96 94.6 94.5 93.7

All Years 94.3 94.5 94.8 93.2

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 and partial attendance arerecorded on a daily basis. Teachers monitor attendanceconcerns and notes are sent home where necessary. Ifstudents have attended at less than 80%, the LearningSupport Team work with families to improveattendance. If attendance continues to be a concern, areferral is made to the Home School Liaison Officer. Inmost cases regular attendance resumes quickly as

support structures are put into place to assist withattendance. If the issue of non–attendance continuesthe HSLO is invited to work with the school and familyto develop an attendance plan to assist with attendanceguidelines.

Under the new policy, parents are required to seekextended leave for their child(ren). This is appropriatewhere students may be travelling overseas forextended times notifiable in advance. The best policythat Toongabbie West Public School employs in orderto maintain our high attendance rates is to continue toprovide an engaging learning

Class sizes

Class Total

CLASS 01 20

CLASS 02 21

CLASS 06 22

CLASS 05 22

CLASS 03 22

CLASS 04 26

CLASS 08 32

CLASS 07 33

CLASS 10 27

CLASS 09 29

Workforce information

Workforce composition

Position FTE*

Principal(s) 1

Assistant Principal(s) 4

Classroom Teacher(s) 11.75

Teacher of Reading Recovery 0.42

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 0.8

Teacher Librarian 0.6

Teacher ESL 0.4

School Administration and SupportStaff

5.52

*Full Time Equivalent

In 2018, Toongabbie West Public School had two staffmembers who identify as Aboriginal/Torres StraightIslander.

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 20

Professional learning and teacher accreditation

In 2018 all staff at Toongabbie West Public Schoolparticipated in professional learning funded by schoolfunds for Professional Learning of $19.881 and QTSSfunding of $51,224. All staff participate in regularprofessional learning activities that focus on improvingstudent outcomes. In addition to regular team and staffmeetings, teachers are given the opportunity to developthe quality of their teaching through demonstrationlessons, structured observation lessons, team teachingand individualised professional learning plans.Individual staff identified and completed training thatwere relevant to their personal goals set out in theirPersonal Develop Plan. All staff continued to deepentheir understanding of the school's model for VisibleLearning with a continued focus on Learning Intentionsand Success Criteria, quality feedback and exploringthe model of learning. All teachers have continued totrain and update their skills in literacy pedagogy andbalanced mathematics sessions including the school'supdated mathematics assessment processes. Similarly,all staff completed Focus on Reading 2 training, aimedat developing their capacity to deliver quality literacysessions. The school's continued push to developfuture focused educators ensured a broad range ofprofessional learning for staff around coding,computational thinking and problem solving, as well asthe use of online collaboration tools such as One Note.

All staff members were updated on the timeline forchanges to the teacher accreditation process.Increasing familiarity with the Australian ProfessionalStandards for Teachers was a focus of school–basedprofessional learning during 2018. Five teachers aremaintaining accreditation at Proficient standard. Noteachers are seeking voluntary accreditation at HighlyAccomplished and/or Lead standard. ProfessionalLearning for our staff members is a high priority atToongabbie West Public School. We have a wealth ofexpertise within the school and we also invite guestspeakers from various agencies who are experts intheir field. An approximate amount of $36,383 wasspent on staff professional learning including coursefees and replacement staff to cover classes. Staff atToongabbie West Public School undertookconsiderable professional learning in 2018. Our SchoolDevelopment Days were highly informative anddesigned to improve student learningoutcomes.Professional learning at Toongabbie WestPublic School is determined by the school plan. Thefocus in 2017 being External Validation, PBL,Language Learning and Literacy ( L3 )Visible Learning,and

Budgeting. Staff also participated in AnaphylaxisTraining, Child Protection, Asthma, CPR, PCardtraining and Professional Code of ConductTraining.Staff consolidated their knowledge ofsuccessfully implementing the NSW Science andHistory/Geography syllabuses for the AustralianCurriculum in 2017. Staff professional learning sessionwere held to further embed teacher's understandingand skill to implement this new syllabus into theclassroom. Staff also met weekly for PL sessions.Topics covered in 2018 included school planning, firstaid, PDP development and reflections, FutureFocussed classroom (practice and furniture), ExternalValidation and Assessment &Reporting. Networkmeetings were valuable learning activities for theteacher–librarian, learning support teachers, AssistantPrincipal and Principal. The School AdministrationManager and School Administration Officer attended avariety of professional learning courses on FinancialLiteracy in preparation for the Learning, Managementand Business Reform . Development of leadership andmanagement skills was addressed in course andconferences attended by the Assistant Principals and

Financial information

Financial summary

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

2018 Actual ($)

Opening Balance 161,579

Revenue 3,202,426

Appropriation 3,067,178

Sale of Goods and Services 0

Grants and Contributions 132,271

Gain and Loss 0

Other Revenue 200

Investment Income 2,777

Expenses -3,136,513

Recurrent Expenses -3,136,513

Employee Related -2,893,059

Operating Expenses -243,454

Capital Expenses 0

Employee Related 0

Operating Expenses 0

SURPLUS / DEFICIT FOR THEYEAR

65,913

Balance Carried Forward 227,492


The Opening balance for the 2018 school financial yearis displayed in the OASIS table as Balance broughtforward. The amount displayed in the Appropriationcategory of the financial summary table is drawn fromthe Balance carried forward shown in the OASIS tableand includes any financial transactions in SAP, theschool has undertaken since migration from OASIS toSAP/SALM. For this reason the amount shown forAppropriation may not equal the OASIS Balancecarried forward amount. Figures presented in this reportmay be subject to rounding so may not reconcileexactly with the bottom line totals, which are calculatedwithout any rounding. • An allocation of school generated fundraising

totalling $100,000 has been set aside for theconstruction of a netball / Newcom ball weathercourt to be constructed in 2019

• The school has a network at the school and it isnow made up of out of date cabling and needs tobe replaced/renewed. An allocation of $35,000has been set aside for this process to begin in2019.

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 2,007,710

Base Per Capita 49,924

Base Location 0

Other Base 1,957,786

Equity Total 245,980

Equity Aboriginal 24,074

Equity Socio economic 40,118

Equity Language 70,792

Equity Disability 110,997

Targeted Total 592,188

Other Total 97,636

Grand Total 2,943,515

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

In the National Assessment Program, the results acrossthe Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 literacy and numeracyassessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 toBand 10. The achievement scale represents increasinglevels of skills and understandings demonstrated inthese assessments. Year 3 Highlights, of the 6NAPLAN Bands:

Reading – 47.5% of students were in the top 3 bandscompared to 69.4% in the state

Writing – 50.5% of students were in the top 3 bandscompared to 67.9% in the state

Spelling – 67.6% of students were in the top 3 bandscompared to 71.4% in the state

Grammar and Punctuation – 57.3% of students were inthe top 3 bands compared to 63.5%.

This demonstrates that Toongabbie West students inYear 3 are meeting a target of approximately 50% ormore in the top 3 bands out of 6.

In the state Year 5 Highlights, of the 6 NAPLAN Bands:

Reading – 30.3% of students were in the top 2 bandscompared to 34.6% in the state

Writing – 30.7% of students were in the top 2 bandscompared to 14.5% in the state

Spelling – 69.3% of students were in the top 3 bandscompared to 64.1% in the state

Grammar and Punctuation – 46.1% of students were inthe top 2 bands compared to 32.8% in the state.

These demonstrate that Toongabbie West is at orabove the performance in NSW in all areas asmeasured in NAPLAN scores.

In growth from year 3 to year 5 as measured inNAPLAN scores Toongabbie is well ahead of stategrowth;


Reading Toongabbie West P.S growth of 76.9compared to the state growth of 82.7

Writing Toongabbie West P.S growth of 76.2 comparedto the state growth of 47.6

Spelling Toongabbie West P.S growth of 98.6compared to the state growth of 79.7

Grammar and Punctuation Toongabbie West P.Sgrowth of 98 compared to the state growth of 68.3

Overall some very good results, years 3 and 5 areequivalent to, or better than state scores in mostsubjects and well above in growth from years 3 to year5 ahead in all areas.



Year 3 Highlights: of the Numeracy NAPLAN Bands:

Numeracy – 67.9% of students were in the top 3 bandscompared to 73.9% in the state.

Year 5 Highlights: of the Numeracy NAPLAN Bands

Numeracy – 51.8% of students were in the top 3 bands

compared to 53.6% in the state.

In growth from year 3 to year 5 as measured inNumeracy NAPLAN scores Toongabbie isapproximately level with state growth

Numeracy – Toongabbie West P.S growth of 83.7compared to the state growth of 92.1


The My School website provides detailed informationand data for national literacy and numeracy testing. Goto http://www.myschool.edu.au to access the schooldata.>

Premier's Priorities: Improving education results andState Priorities: Better services – Improving Aboriginaleducation outcomes for students in the top two bandsindicate that of the students at Toongabbie West, over50% of students score in the top 2 bands..

Parent/caregiver, student, teachersatisfaction

Teacher satisfaction

Each year schools are required to seek the opinions ofparents, students and teachers about the school. Theirresponses are presented below.

*'Easter Hat Parade was the best one I have everattended'

*'Parent/teacher process is informative and theteachers are approachable'

*Parents are grateful for the opportunity to talk face toface with staff regularly

*'Good news phone calls are great'

*'Need to provide more excursions and opportunities forkids, including sport'

*'I am happy with the Music activities'

*'SLSOs in each room is very beneficial'

"Music lessons are great and it makes me feel sorelaxed"

Parents/carers, staff and students responded tosurveys, parents/carers received phone calls , spokewith staff informally and provided feedback at IndividualEducation Plan meetings and Personalised LearningPlan meetings and Parent/Teacher interviews in Term 2and when necessary to support student learningregularly throughout the year.

Policy requirements

Aboriginal education

Toongabbie West Public School has a small butimportant number of indigenous students. All studentshave active and explicit Personalised Learning Pathwayplans that are co–written, included in teacher programsand reviewed with parents and caregivers. We arecommitted to bridging the performance gap forAboriginal Students and weave Aboriginal historiesacross all aspects of the curriculum.

Multicultural and anti-racism education

In line with the school plan, Toongabbie West PublicSchool has reviewed its teaching and learningprograms this year to ensure that culturally inclusiveclassroom and school practices are embedded for allstudents. Further to this our programs foster students'understandings of culture, cultural diversity, racism andactive citizenship within a democratic, multiculturalsociety. Teachers articipated in professional learningand included strategies for embedding multicultural andanti–racism education into their teaching and learningprograms.The school's diverse range of extra–curricularactivities,including Aboriginal and Bollywood DanceGroups,provided an opportunity for all students tobecome immersed in cultural activities. NAIDOCcelebratation Day was held in Term 3 and wascelebrated through a range of in class and wholeschool activities including a school performance andassembly. A range of strategies have beenincorporated in the school's communication withparents/carers and community members from culturallydiverse backgrounds. As a result, these strategies arestrengthening parent and community engagement inschool activities. The Anti–Racism ContactOfficer(ARCO) collaborated with parents/carers,teachers and students during the year to buildunderstanding of cultural diversity and Anti–racisminitiatives in the school community.

Other school programs

Language Learning Literacy (L3)

In 2015, Early Stage One teachers at Toongabbie WestPublic School commenced the Language, LearningLiteracy (L3) program. L3 is a classroom–based, earlyintervention for students in their first year of school,which targets text reading and writing. Its aim, toreduce the risk of students not achieving expectedliteracy levels at the end of their first year of school.

Early Stage One teachers participated in ongoingprofessional learning both inside and outside theclassroom. We joined as a community of learners todevelop our theories and rationales related to the L3implementation. Classroom observations and training,as well as professional workshops with our partnerschools, developed a collaborative network ofprofessional dialogue amongst teachers and enabledus to share ideas, resources and experiences tosupport our implementation of L3.

During the L3 program, students received detailed andpersonalised instruction in reading and writing, in smallgroups of three select students. L3 students who werenot receiving personalised instruction, engaged inindependent tasks, specifically related to literacy, topractise and consolidate their learning, takeresponsibility for aspects of their learning and work withtheir peers as responsible learners.

One of the most valuable strategies of the L3 coursewas the implementation of students working in flexiblegroups limited to three for guided reading and writing.The use of P.M. Readers to facilitate the effective


implementation of L3, encouraged us to purchase thesetargeted texts. Our successful use of these readers wasenhanced by the study of skill development at thedifferent levels, coupled with appropriate teachingstrategies and understanding of teacher expectations,with emphasis on explicit teaching, student promptingand observation of students' learning proved invaluableto us all. Supplementary whiteboards and supplies ofmagnetic letters were also quickly obtained in order toimplement effective word work which became a vitalteaching component of each lesson.

As a team, we are very pleased with our results thisyear, and are keen to continue adding to our effectiveteaching strategies and upgrading our resources. Welook forward to implementing L3 strategies in 2018through the effective skills and resources acquired .

PBL

In 2018, Toongabbie West PS continued to build on thework of previous years In Positive Behaviour forLearning. Having relaunched in 2017 with new schoolwide expectations, we sought to establish classroomrules.

Our passive play area "Tassie's Retreat" continues tobe a very successful initiative allowing students theoption to play in a quiet, outdoor place and practisetheir social skills in a supervised way. We have giventhe year 6 students opportunities to support studentshere, while developing their own leadership skills.

Our expanding PBL committee has continued to haveregular scheduled meetings, allowing us to review thedata collected on unwanted behaviours and decide ona whole school focus for the coming fortnight. This inturn has given all teachers a direction for teaching PBLlessons. We continue to improve our PBL lessons withevaluations and reflections, as well as staff meetingsaddressing how to teach PBL in the classroom.

Toongabbie West Public School took part in 'GOT IT', atargeted NSW Health initiative that aimed to helpstudents, their families and teachers work together forbetter outcomes at school and home. Staff attended a'GOT IT' Showcase at another local school to betterunderstand how we can make this learning sustainable.In 2018, we started Social Skills – a 5 week programwith small groups of students who either required socialsupport or could be social role models. By having twoteachers lead each group, we were able to begin to upskill and build sustainable capacity in our teaching staff.The team teaching approach meant that we could passon our skills to another teacher, then have that teachercontinue with a new group of students and anotherteacher for the next 5 weeks.

We continued and expanded our Lunch Group offeringsin 2018 to better cater to our students. These includeperforming arts, such as choir, band, Bollywood danceand boys dance, as well as coding and robotics. Webegan to open our library for both first and second halfof lunch to allow more students to use the facility.

In 2018, PBL leaders conducted audits of allclassrooms and teaching and learning spaces. All

teaching staff were given success criteria so they knewhow to be successful. We looked at specific elementsincluding displays and behaviour management andwere able to feed this data back to the executive staffand finally to the whole staff with strengths andweaknesses including what individual teachers neededto work on going forward. Teachers took part in aformal 'roam around' session to see colleague'sclassrooms. This ongoing practice helps to supportteachers to consider Quality Learning Environmentsand reflect on their own teaching spaces.

Choir

Primary choir consisted of thirty students from years 3to 6. During the year they rehearsed weekly to learnnumerous songs for the combined schools choir andperformed at Riverside Theatre as part of theCelebrating the Arts. Later in the year choir and bandcollaborated to work on three songs for the end of yearschool CAPA night.

K–2 Choir began 3 years ago. We started with about 10students and had grown to over 30 students in 2018.We met every Wednesday to practice and sing. Eachyear students practice 2 songs which they performed atthe end of year Showcase. Our songs are modern andvary from fast based song to gentle songs with amessage. Last year students performed 'Thunder' byImagine Dragons and Kylie Minogue's 'Dancing' toperform at the evening performance. They wereoutstanding! Well done K–2 choir!

Dance

In Semester 1 2018, all students participated in onegymnastics lesson per week. This program aims todevelop students' flexibility, strength, co–ordination,spatial awareness and balance. It involves lessons onbody shapes, leaping, hopping, jumping, tumbling,rolling, stretching, balancing and core strength. InSemester 2, students from kindergarten to year 6participated in dance lessons where they were taught aroutine to perform at the annual showcase at the end ofterm 4. Teachers, parents and the community werehighly impressed with the enthusiasm and quality of theperformances.

Students in years 2 to 6 had the opportunity to auditionto be a part of the Wakakirri team for 2018. There were44 students involved which consisted of 34 dancersand 10 backstage crew. The team performed atRiverside Theatre Parramatta where they wereawarded the Spirit of Wakakirri award for the night.They were then invited to perform at the awards night(State finals) at Quay centre Homebush. Our Wakakirriteam won the teamwork award at this level. Thesupport of the school community was much appreciatedand will be remembered. The dedication andcommitment of the students was displayed through theoutstanding performances on both evenings.

In 2018 the 3–6 dance group consisted of 30 students.They rehearsed their contemporary piece one lunchtime per week until the Celebrating the Arts festival heldin September. They performed to 'This is Me' from theGreatest Showman at Riverside Theatre Parramatta.


Students enjoyed learning and rehearsing a differentstyle of dance to expand their knowledge and ability.They looked fantastic on the night and the level ofenergy they presented resonated through the quality oftheir performance. Congratulations to all the studentswho represented our school; you were wonderful.

In 2018 we introduced a new group combining boysdancing and drumming. The boys in the dance groupranged from years 2 to 6 and the drumming group fromkindergarten to year 3. The boys had to learn the dancein a small amount of time and did a fantastic job.Students had to listen for rhythm and beat to dance anddrum to the song 'We Will Rock You'. It was amazing tosee so many boys who were enthusiastic to participatein this group. They set the standard for the next year.Well done boys!

Last year's boys drumming group was made up ofstudents from K–4. We practised Tuesday afternoons inTerm 4 for five weeks as well as joining in with the Boysdance group rehearsals for the end of yearperformance. The boys drummed to the Queen classic,"We Will Rock You" while the boys dance groupstrutted out their moves. At the end of year Showcase,the boys performed exceptionally well, keeping inrhythm with the rock anthem backing track and finishedto crowds thundering applause.

Our Bollywood group consisted of 25 students fromkindergarten to year 6. Their enthusiasm andcommitment to learn a new dance form wastremendous. We rehearsed twice every week andperformed in the performance night at school. All theparticipants were super excited to perform in front ofthe school community. They looked gorgeous in theircolourful outfits and they did an awesome job toremember all the dance steps with big smiles, singingalong and most importantly having fun. I am very proudof them as the Bollywood dance form is a bit fast andsometimes can be tricky for young students toremember.

It is essential to showcase the talents andachievements of students to celebrate their success.Students were involved in a variety of performancesranging from school to festivals outside of school. In2018 we held an evening performance to showcase theextra curricular creative arts groups we had at theschool. Parents, friends and teachers were invited toattend to support all children involved. We had an extraspecial performance from Mr Lavercombe, Iain and hisdance partner from another school. The theme of theperformance showcase was 'dance craze' where eachclass had learnt a different routine to a hit song duringdance lessons in semester 2. All classes did anoutstanding job. It was our best showcase yet.

PDHPE

Firstly, Toongabbie West Public School would like tocongratulate our students and staff on another verysuccessful year of sporting achievement. We are veryproud of the fact that all of our students, regardless oftheir ability, have been given opportunities to bechallenged and to achieve their level of sportingsuccess in our school.

Our PDHPE curriculum provides the foundation fordeveloping sporting skills amongst students duringcurriculum time. The school's PDHPE programme isplanned and structured to provide students withopportunities to participate in a wide variety of physicalactivities.

Some highlights of our year in sport include:

PSSA

Toongabbie West participated in a number of sportsthis year. During the summer season, the schoolcompeted in T–ball, softball and Newcomb ball. Duringthe winter season, the school competed in netball andsoccer. Many of our students represented our school,Zone and also at state level throughout the year. Ourmost outstanding teams this year included the juniornetball team and boys T–ball team who completed bothseasons as undefeated champions, a remarkable andunprecedented achievement for the school.

NSW Premier's Sporting Challenge

To encourage more participation in our students insport and outdoor activities, this year we continued withthe Premiers Sporting Challenge. This was held duringTerm 3 where all students were encouraged toparticipate in some form of physical activity on a dailybasis. The majority of the students at Toongabbie Westreceived Gold Awards. This means that for the tenweek period the Premier's Sporting Challenge washeld, our students participated at a moderatelyphysically active level in some form of physical activityevery day.


Documents

2018 Toongabbie West Public School Annual Report