school name: doncaster secondary college (7776)

2019 Annual Report to The School Community School Name: Doncaster Secondary College (7776)

• All teachers at the school meet the registration requirements of the Victorian Institute of Teaching (www.vit.vic.edu.au). • The school meets prescribed minimum standards for registration as regulated by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications

Authority (VRQA) in accordance with the Education and Training Reform (ETR) Act 2006. This includes schools granted an exemption by the VRQA until 31 December 2019 from the minimum standards for student enrolment numbers and/or curriculum framework for school language program.

• The school is compliant with the Child Safe Standards prescribed in Ministerial Order No. 870 – Child Safe Standards, Managing Risk of Child Abuse in School.

Attested on 13 May 2020 at 02:55 PM by Eva McMaster (Principal)

The 2019 Annual Report to the school community: • has been tabled and endorsed at a meeting of the school council • will be publicly shared with the school community.

Attested on 20 May 2020 at 06:14 PM by Sofia Georgiou (School Council President)

https://www.vit.vic.edu.au/

Doncaster Secondary College (7776)


About Our School

School context

Doncaster Secondary College's vision is to enable all students to achieve their potential and become confident, effective learners who contribute productively to society. Our core purpose is underpinned by the following shared values: Respect: for ourselves, each other and our environment; Responsibility: for our own actions; Resilience: to embrace challenges with optimism and perseverance and Teamwork; working co-operatively with others. Our College has a student population of approximately 1520 students, including around 100 full fee-paying international students enrolling each year. The International Program adds diversity and supports the provision of a broader academic curriculum. There are 46 nationalities represented in the culturally diverse student population and approximately one third of our students speak a language other than English at home. The English as an Additional Language (EAL) Program is vibrant and extensive. We have two multi-cultural aides (Farsi and Mandarin) as well as two new International Student Program assistants (Vietnamese and Cambodian) to assist our communication with the nearly 20% of families where English is not spoken at home. In 2019, the College had 140 staff including 113.8 equivalent full-time teaching staff (5 Principal Class, 9 Leading Teachers/Learning Specialists, 99.8 Classroom Teachers) and 28.56 Education Support Staff. The College regularly performs above State in its academic outcomes. This is reflected in strong VCE outcomes that open a variety of pathways for students beyond school. Approximately 90% of students enrol in tertiary studies at the end of VCE, with approximately 92% of students securing one of their first three university course preferences. We have increasing numbers of students undertaking a School Based Apprenticeship/Traineeship who graduate with a Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) qualification, accounting for the number of students not seeking a tertiary study pathway. Doncaster Secondary College students regularly participate in national and international academic competitions and programs achieving success at the highest level. The College also offers a comprehensive sports program, achieving ‘State Champion’ status in a number of sports.

Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO)

The FISO improvement initiatives that were the focus of our 2019 Improvement Plan were: ‘Building practice excellence’ and ‘Empowering students and building school pride’. This framework was put into practice through our work with seven State Secondary Schools: Auburn High School, Ashwood High School, Box Hill High School, Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College, South Oakleigh Secondary College, Templestowe College and Warrandyte High School. Together we focused on student learning in our schools and successfully built teacher capability beyond our individual settings. Our goal is to build consistency and the quality of teaching practice across our schools to lower instances of in-school variation in student performance. Consistency is being achieved through the development, ongoing evaluation and refinement of the Doncaster Secondary College Instructional Model that outlines the framework for teaching practice at our school. The Instructional Model promotes excellence in teaching and learning and utilises high-impact pedagogical strategies to improve student learning. In 2019, we began to shift our focus to Student Voice and Agency in their learning. We are planning to expand our classroom observation and learning walks and talks in 2020 to extend Student Voice and Angency's reach beyond our own schools.

Achievement

The achievement data for 2019 indicates consistently strong outcomes with all areas of performance above the State Median. VCE completion rate was an excellent 100 per cent while the Mean Study Score of 29 is slightly below our 4 year average of 29.3. The VET & VCAL completion rate was lower than what was expected and on investigation it was found to be due to a clerical error where some outcomes were not uploaded before the data collection deadline. This data has now been corrected. In 2019 the percentage of students achieving in the top three bands of NAPLAN Reading was above with the 4 Year Average (Year 9 Reading 71.0% compared to a 4 year average of 66.5% and Year 9 Reading 61.0% compared to a four year average of 56.3%). The NAPLAN Numeracy figures at Year 7 were higher in 2019 than the four year average (75.9% compared to 69.7% four year average) though for Year 9 Numeracy in 2019 the percentage was lower (61.0 compared to 64.2). Leadership teams have already taken steps to address this by improving teacher capacity to extend highly able students. Whilst it is pleasing that NAPLAN learning gains in some



areas of Literacy and Numeracy indicate that the rates of growth in ‘high’ is greater than 25%, we continue to strive to decrease the ‘low’ growth rates to below 25% in all areas of NAPLAN. In addition to the QuickSmart Program targeted at our students at risk with their literacy and or numeracy achievement, we are targeting all students through whole year level Literacy and Numeracy activities delivered across the curriculum (not limited to English and Maths classes).

Engagement

In 2019 the average number of student absence days in 2019 was 16.7 which is pleasingly lower than the State Median of 21.3 days. Whilst we celebrate the excellent attendance rates of our Year 7, Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students (all >90%), the percentage attendance rates for Year 8 and Year 9 students has dropped to 89%. In 2020, there is a renewed focus on building the culture of ‘it is not okay to be away’ including enhanced practices for absence response from our student management and wellbeing staff. Students who are at risk of developing high absence rates, for a range of reasons, are identified early and intervention strategies are promptly implemented. The retention of students who remain at the school from Year 7 to Year 10 for 2019 is 81.3% which is an increase on the previous 4 year average of 80.5%. This excellent outcome is at odds with the Student Attitudes to School Survey in which 52.6% of students reported strong connection to the school as compared to the State Median of 52% across the state. We have set a goal to remain above the State Figure as well as exceed the similar school comparison. In 2020 we continue to have student voice, leadership and agency feature on all our agendas. Students have developed high expectations relating to all elements of school life and are now able to have authentic input into decisions that affect them through the new student leadership structure and the introduction of student membership in the School Improvement Team. Doncaster Secondary College has very strong outcomes for students who exit the school with 96.2% of students going on to further studies or full-time employment (compared to a State Median of 90.1%). Careers education is supported through the appointment of additional careers practitioners so the aspirational recommended rate of a careers practitioner to student of 1:500 students is met. Career education has been enhanced through the engagement with the school alumni to share their career journeys with our students.

Wellbeing

Doncaster Secondary College provides an integrated and comprehensive curriculum approach to wellbeing that enables students to enhance their own and others' wellbeing through their daily learning experiences. We are a ‘Respectful Relationship’ lead school supporting the delivery of resilience, rights and respectful relationships teaching materials in our own and neighboring government schools. Our whole school approach to wellbeing is embedded and is enhanced through our engagement with universities that deliver social work / counselling degrees. We welcome large numbers of final year university students in the placement phase of their degrees to add value to our wellbeing programs. The Social Work Field Education Placement team works to assist us in identifying areas where focused support or intervention is required to improve each child's learning and development. Our bullying intervention program has students calling out student behaviours that make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe. This may account for the decrease in positive responses relating to the management of bullying (52.5% compared to the State Median of 56.2%) as students are better equipped to identify and discuss unacceptable behaviours exhibited by peers. All staff completed the Cultural Understanding and Safety Training in 2019.

Financial performance and position

Doncaster Secondary College continues to operate a financial model whereby a significant proportion of College income is generated from funds raised by the hire of College facilities and our International Student Program. Through effective management of this income, the College continues to enhance its financial position, allowing for the purchase of additional equipment and resources to increase and support all student learning and engagement. In 2019, the College received $112,002 of Equity Funding enabling the school to employ staff to provide additional support to our students, in particular the areas of Literacy and Numeracy, Inclusion and Multicultural Aides. The Middle Years Literacy and Numeracy Support Initiative funding was fully expended on the release of existing teachers to take on the roles of Literacy Improvement Teachers and a Numeracy Improvement Teacher. We are in the fortunate position where the parent community supports the College in our financial goals. In 2019 the College was given approval for a self-funded building project to address the shortfall in appropriate teaching spaces. Approval was granted for the construction of a two storey, 12 classroom Junior School building (construction commenced on 13 January 2020). The cost of this



building and it's fit out will see a big reduction in the funds available when our financial position is reviewed at the end of 2020.

For more detailed information regarding our school please visit our website at

https://www.doncastersc.vic.edu.au/

https://www.doncastersc.vic.edu.au/

Doncaster Secondary College

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Performance Summary

The Government School Performance Summary provides an overview of how this school is contributing to the objectives of the Education State and how it compares to other Victorian Government schools. All schools work in partnership with their school community to improve outcomes for children and young people. Sharing this information with parents and the wider school community helps to support community engagement in student learning, a key priority of the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes. Members of the community can contact the school for an accessible version of these data tables if required.

School Profile

Enrolment Profile A total of 1483 students were enrolled at this school in 2019, 724 female and 759 male. 18 percent were EAL (English as an Additional Language) students and ND ATSI (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) students.

Overall Socio-Economic Profile Based on the school's Student Family Occupation and Education index which takes into account parents' occupations and education.

Parent Satisfaction Summary Measures the percent endorsement by parents on their school satisfaction level, as reported in the annual Parent Opinion Survey. The percent endorsement indicates the percent of positive responses (agree or strongly agree). Data is suppressed for schools with three or less respondents to the survey for confidentiality reasons.

School Staff Survey Measures the percent endorsement by staff on School Climate, as reported in the annual School Staff Survey. The percent endorsement indicates the percent of positive responses (agree or strongly agree). Data is suppressed for schools with three or less respondents to the survey for confidentiality reasons.


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Performance Summary

Achievement

Student Outcomes

Similar School Comparison

Teacher Judgement of student achievement Percentage of students in Years 7 to 10 working at or above age expected standards in: • English • Mathematics

For further details refer to How to read the Annual Report.


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Performance Summary

Achievement

Student Outcomes


NAPLAN Year 7 The percentage of students in the top 3 bands of testing in NAPLAN at Year 7. Year 7 assessments are reported on a scale from Bands 4 - 9.

Being the first year of secondary school, Year 7 NAPLAN is not used for the School

Comparison.

NAPLAN Year 9 The percentage of students in the top 3 bands of testing in NAPLAN at Year 9. Year 9 assessments are reported on a scale from Bands 5 - 10.


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Performance Summary

Achievement

Student Outcomes


NAPLAN Learning Gain Year 5 - Year 7 Learning gain of students from Year 5 to Year 7 in the following domains: Reading, Numeracy, Writing, Spelling & Grammar and Punctuation. NAPLAN learning gain is determined by comparing a student's current year result to the results of all ‘similar’ Victorian students (i.e. students in all sectors in the same year level who had the same score two year prior). If the current year result is in the Top 25 percent, their gain level is categorised as ‘High’. Middle 50 percent, is ‘Medium’. Bottom 25 percent, is ‘Low’.

There are no Similar School Comparisons for Learning Gain. The statewide distribution of Learning Gain for all domains is 25% Low Gain, 50% Medium Gain, 25% High Gain.

Statewide Distribution of Learning Gain (all domains)

NAPLAN Learning Gain Year 7 - Year 9 Learning gain of students from Year 7 to Year 9 in the following domains: Reading, Numeracy, Writing, Spelling & Grammar and Punctuation. NAPLAN learning gain is determined by comparing a student's current year result to the results of all ‘similar’ Victorian students (i.e. students in all sectors in the same year level who had the same score two years prior). If the current year result is in the Top 25 percent, their gain level is categorised as ‘High’. Middle 50 percent, is ‘Medium’. Bottom 25 percent, is ‘Low’.

There are no Similar School Comparisons for Learning Gain. The statewide distribution of Learning Gain for all domains is 25% Low Gain, 50% Medium Gain, 25% High Gain.

Statewide Distribution of Learning Gain (all domains)

Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Mean study score from all VCE subjects undertaken by students at this school. This includes all Unit 3 and 4 studies (including those completed in Year 11) and any VCE VET studies awarded a study score. The maximum student study score is 50 and the state-wide mean (including government and non-government schools) is set at 30.

Students in 2019 who satisfactorily completed their VCE: 100% Year 12 students in 2019 undertaking at least one Vocational Education and Training (VET) unit of competence: 9% VET units of competence satisfactorily completed in 2019: 75% Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) credits satisfactorily completed in 2019: 77%


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Performance Summary

Engagement

Student Outcomes


Average Number of Student Absence Days Average days absent per full time equivalent (FTE) student per year. Common reasons for non-attendance include illness and extended family holidays. Absence from school can impact on students’ learning Similar School Comparison A similar school comparison rating of ‘Above’ indicates this school records ‘less’ absences than expected, relative to the similar schools group with similar characteristics. A rating of ‘Below’ indicates this school records ‘more’ absences than expected.

Few absences <------> Many absences

Few absences <------> Many absences

Yr7

Yr8

Yr9

Yr10

Yr11

Yr12

92 %

89 %

89 %

92 %

93 %

95 %

Average 2019 attendance rate by year level:

Similar school comparison not available

Student Retention Percentage of Year 7 students who remain at the school through to Year 10.

Exit Destinations Percentage of students from Years 10 to 12 going on to further studies or full-time employment. Note: This measure uses data from the previous year. Data excludes exit destinations recorded as 'Unknown'.


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Performance Summary

Wellbeing

Student Outcomes


Students Attitudes to School - Sense of Connectedness Measures the percent endorsement on Sense of Connectedness factor, as reported in the Attitudes to School Survey completed annually by Victorian Government school students in Years 4 to 12. The percent endorsement indicates the percent of positive responses (agree or strongly agree).

Students Attitudes to School - Management of Bullying Measures the percent endorsement on Management of Bullying factor, as reported in the Attitudes to School Survey completed annually by Victorian Government school students in Years 4 to 12. The percent endorsement indicates the percent of positive responses (agree or strongly agree).


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Financial Performance and Position

Commentary on the financial performance and position is included in the About Our School section at the start of this report

Financial Performance - Operating Statement Summary for the year ending 31 December, 2019

Financial Position as at 31 December, 2019

Revenue

Actual

Funds Available Actual High Yield Investment Account $7,418,961

Official Account $52,339

Other Accounts $28,198

Total Funds Available $7,499,497

Student Resource Package

$12,427,577

Government Provided DET Grants $2,415,010

Government Grants Commonwealth $38,442

Government Grants State $26,262

Revenue Other $179,539

Locally Raised Funds $1,904,248

Total Operating Revenue

$16,991,077

Equity¹

Equity (Social Disadvantage) $70,649

Equity (Catch Up) $41,353

Equity Total

$112,002

Expenditure

Financial Commitments

Operating Reserve $479,947

Provision Accounts $4,674

Funds Received in Advance $398,290

School Based Programs $186,966

Repayable to the Department $410,000

Asset/Equipment Replacement < 12 months $56,000

Capital - Buildings/Grounds < 12 months $297,000

Maintenance - Buildings/Grounds < 12 months

$466,567

Capital - Buildings/Grounds > 12 months $5,680,000

Total Financial Commitments $7,979,444

Student Resource Package²

$12,838,041

Books & Publications $31,295

Communication Costs $54,877

Consumables $338,444

Miscellaneous Expense³ $1,384,698

Professional Development $47,071

Property and Equipment Services $456,482

Salaries & Allowances⁴ $630,932

Trading & Fundraising $11,721

Travel & Subsistence $12,004

Utilities $122,151

Total Operating Expenditure

$15,927,714

Net Operating Surplus/-Deficit

$1,063,363

Asset Acquisitions

$386,240

(1) The Equity funding reported above is a subset of overall revenue reported by the school (2) Student Resource Package Expenditure figures are as of 20 March 2020 and are subject to change during the reconciliation process. (3) Misc Expenses may include bank charges, health and personal development, administration charges, camp/excursion costs and taxation charges. (4) Salaries and Allowances refers to school-level payroll.

All funds received from the Department, or raised by the school, have been expended, or committed to subsequent years, to support the achievement of educational outcomes and other operational needs of the school, consistent with Department policies, School Council approvals and the intent/purposes for which funding was provided or raised.


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How to read the Annual Report

What does School Comparison refer to? The School Comparison is a way of comparing this school’s performance to similar schools in Victoria. The comparison measure takes into account the school’s socio-economic background of students, the number of non-English speaking students and the size and location of the school. The Similar School Comparison will identify if a school’s result is ‘Similar’, ‘Above’, or ‘Below’ relative to the similar schools group with similar characteristics and is available for latest year data only.

What does ‘Data not available’ or 'ND' mean? Some schools have too few students enrolled to provide data. There may be no students enrolled in some year levels so school comparisons are not possible. New schools have only the latest year of data and no comparative data from previous years. The Department also recognises unique circumstances in Specialist, Select Entry, English Language and Community Schools where school-to-school comparisons are not appropriate.

What is the Victorian Curriculum?

The Victorian Curriculum F–10 sets out what every student should learn during their first 11 years of schooling. The curriculum is the common set of knowledge and skills required by students for life-long learning, social development and active and informed citizenship. The curriculum has been developed to ensure that school subjects and their achievement standards enable continuous learning for all students, including students with disabilities. The ‘Towards Foundation Level Victorian Curriculum’ is integrated directly into the curriculum and is referred to as ‘Levels A to D’. ‘Levels A to D’ may be used for students with a disability or students who may have additional learning needs. ‘Levels A to D’ are not associated with any set age or year level that links chronological age to cognitive progress (i.e. there is no age expected standard of achievement for ‘Levels A to D’).

What does the About Our School section refer to? The About Our School page provides a brief background on the school, an outline of the school’s performance over the year and plans for the future. The ‘School Context’ describes the school’s vision, values and purpose. Details include the school’s geographic location, size and structure, social characteristics, enrolment characteristics and special programs. The ‘Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO)’ section includes the improvement initiatives the school has selected and the progress they have made towards achieving them.

What does the Performance Summary section of this report refer to? The Performance Summary reports on data in three key areas: Achievement - student achievements in:

- English and Mathematics for National Literacy and Numeracy tests (NAPLAN) - English and Mathematics for teacher judgements against the curriculum - all subjects for Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) examinations (secondary schools)

Engagement - student attendance and engagement at school

- how many students leaving school go on to further studies or full-time work (secondary, P-12 and specialist schools)

Wellbeing - Attitudes to School Survey (ATOSS)

- Sense of connectedness - Management of Bullying

Results are displayed for the latest year, as well as the average of the last four years (where available).

school name: doncaster secondary college (7776)

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