upper brookfield sar 2012€¦ · upper brookfield state school has continued to implement a range...

T

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT

Upper Brookfield State School (1501)

Queensland State School Reporting

2012 School Annual Report

YPEOVER TO INSERT SCHOOL NAME

Postal address 496 Upper Brookfield Road Upper Brookfield 4069

Phone (07) 3374 1068

Fax (07) 3374 1580

Email [email protected]

Webpages Additional reporting information pertaining to Queensland state schools is located on the My School website and the Queensland Government data website.

Contact Person Miss Ailsa Bell

Principal’s foreword

Introduction

Upper Brookfield State School is a small school with three multi-age classrooms. We offer a unique approach to state school education in Brisbane by providing multi-age pedagogy within an individually attentive environment. Our small class sizes, proactive school community and semi-rural setting are all appealing attributes of our school.

Upper Brookfield State School is committed to providing quality educational experiences to meet the needs of all students to pursue higher levels of educational attainment. Our vision is for all students to become active and informed citizens who are well prepared for the challenges of a changing global society (lifelong learners). We acknowledge the role of the school within its broader community context as a place of learning and educational leadership.

Upper Brookfield State School is committed to providing an inclusive curriculum that differentiates through academic extension and support in order for all students to achieve learning outcomes that meet their potential.

The School Annual Report is prepared each year to detail the various aspects of school life.

This report provides parents and members of the school community information about the school’s activities and performance over the past year. It highlights the strengths of teaching and learning programs at our school and identifies areas for development and improvement during 2012.




School progress towards its goals in 2012

Upper Brookfield State School has continued to implement a range of initiatives to support the goals identified in the 2012 Annual Implementation Plan. The goals for 2012 were centred around implementing the Australian Curriculum and aligning the classroom practices with the whole school curriculum framework and assessment schedule.

The goals for 2012 included:

Continuing to provide differentiated learning oppor tunities that promote individual student improvemen t – The school’s success in this area was recognised in the Teaching and Learning Audit and in our excellent NAPLAN results and strong individual improvement as measured through the collection of their assessment data.

Implementing delivery of the Australian Curriculum in English, Mathematics and Science and preparing f or the implementation of the History syllabus – The school implemented the minimum time allocations for subjects and aligned planning and pedagogy to the Australian Curriculum by using the C2C resources.

Providing support and learning opportunities to tea chers to ensure confident and effective delivery of the new curriculum – Teachers were given in-house professional development on the Australian Curriculum, C2C resources and oneschool curriculum planning and assessment tracking as well as planning and reflection days to assess class progress and pedagogy.

Aligning the whole school curriculum framework and assessment schedule with the Australian Curriculum and Queensland Essential Learnings – The school assessment framework was updated to reflect the expectations of the Australian Curriculum and teachers began implementing the assessment tools and analysing the results. The whole school curriculum framework is continuing to be updated to reflect the whole school pedagogical framework in 2013.

Providing regular, accessible and consistent commun ication to the school community informing them of s chool and student achievements and priorities – The creation of email distribution lists, a new school website, school social media accounts, online surveys, and sign ups last year, have all contributed towards improving school communication. The school newsletter has been revised and is now weekly instead of fortnightly with greater emphasis on what is happening in the school, the school’s priorities and the students’ achievements.

Utilising parent involvement for the benefit of imp roving student learning cross the curriculum and in the delivery of extra curricula activities – Parents have been strongly encouraged to be involved in the school through extra curricula involvement and volunteering as helpers in school activities. We were able to offer two extra curricula clubs a term in 2012 thanks to parent volunteers and have continued to foster the involvement of parents.

Developing professional learning plans with staff b ased around their own and their student’s needs – Professional learning plans were created for all full time staff in 2012. In 2013 these have been combined with the staff performance development plans and are discussed and created in term 1, in alignment with the AIP priorities.




Future outlook

The 2013 School Implementation Plan is aligned with the school improvement plan set out in our Quadrennial School Review. The key priorities for 2013 include:

Continuing to implement the Australian Curriculum

Developing a whole school pedagogical framework and implementing consistent pedagogical practices across the school

Extending the use of student performance data to inform teaching practice

Developing instructional leadership with a focus on workforce performance

Developing productive partnerships with students, staff, parents, and the community

Improving school performance

Planning for student transition to high school

Our school at a glance

School Profile

Coeducational or single sex: Coeducational

Year levels offered in 2012: Prep - Year 7

Total student enrolments for this school:

Total Girls Boys

Enrolment Continuity

(Feb – Nov)

2010 51 21 30 92%

2011 52 22 30 89%

2012 53 24 29 87%

Student counts are based on the Census (August) enrolment collection.

Characteristics of the student body:

Upper Brookfield State School is unique in Brisbane because it is a small state school with multi-age classrooms. Families who attend our school see the benefits of education in a multi-age context and like the individually attentive approach we are able to offer each child and their family. Our small class sizes, proactive school community and semi-rural setting are all appealing attributes of our school. Our school attracts families from well beyond the immediate suburbs of Brookfield and Upper Brookfield because of our unique school offerings. Many of our students have specific academic needs that aren’t met by following their straight year level curriculum. We provide a high level of differentiation in our classrooms which allows our teachers to give academic extension or support depending on the individual. Often these students have experienced high levels of anxiety towards schooling in other settings. Upper Brookfield State School provides a supportive social and emotional framework that allows students to develop their confidence and resilience. Parents at our school want to be involved in their child’s education and to have a supportive school community that values their contributions. They place great value on student mental and physical health, social equity and inclusion as well as having an expectation that their child will be academically challenged to their level of ability.


Average Class sizes

Phase

Average Class Size

2010 2011 2012

Prep – Year 3 27 17 19

Year 4 – Year 10 NA 22 8

Year 11 – Year 12 NA NA NA

School Disciplinary Absences

Disciplinary Absences

Count of Incidents

2010 2011 2012

Short Suspensions - 1 to 5 days 0 0 0

Long Suspensions - 6 to 20 days 0 0 0

Exclusions 0 0 0

Cancellations of Enrolment 0 0 0


Curriculum offerings

Our distinctive curriculum offerings

Literacy and Numeracy - Instruction is undertaken by the classroom teacher. In both the Years P-2 and the Years 3-7, instruction is undertaken within the structure of a multi-age philosophy. All students have opportunities to participate in flexible groupings that incorporate ability groupings, personal interest groupings, single-sex groupings and mixed age groupings with the emphasis on maintaining and improving high literacy and numeracy outcomes.

Spelling and Reading Program – Students across the school are streamed into ability grouping for spelling and reading for 30 minutes of reading and 30 minutes of spelling every day. Teaching is specifically targeted towards the needs of the individuals in that group.

Science – Our specialist science teacher visits the school once a week to provide an engaging and investigative approach to science across all the classes.

LOTE - Our visiting LOTE teacher delivers Japanese to all students from Prep to Year 7. A school intranet site facilitates their learning, with opportunities for students to engage in practice games and activities throughout the school week. There are regular opportunities for children to demonstrate their learning through song are incorporated into school events.

Visual Art and Performing Arts - Artist in residence programs are run in collaboration with the Pullenvale Environmental Education Centre and visiting specialists. Students have participated in drawing, clay, painting, drama, dance and music workshops.

Music - The school enjoys a vibrant and well-supported music focus. Our visiting music specialist offers music lessons to all students from Prep to Year 7.

Instrumental Music - Upper Brookfield State School has the additional input of an instrumental music teacher. Students have the opportunity to learn a strings instrument (violin or cello) beginning in Year 3. Opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning occur through participation in a strings ensemble. The strings ensemble performs in the same capacity as the regular music program with the additional opportunity for high achieving students to attend district music camps.

Physical Education - Our visiting Physical Education specialist runs a specially developed program catering to the needs of a multi-age setting focusing on; fitness and skills development and preparation for athletics events such as the Small Schools Athletics Carnival, cross country and the school swimming program.

Environmental Education - A multi-faceted approach to environmental and sustainability education is offered through close partnerships with groups such as The Moggill Creek Catchment Group, Pullenvale Environmental Education Centre and volunteers.

Values Education - We have several values education programs that promote social and emotional learning as well as generate environmental and sustainability awareness. These are taught through variety of delivery methods at a class and whole school level.

School Camp – We have two school camps, one for the 2-4 class that focusses on building confidence and resilience in an outdoor educational setting, and one for the 5-7 class that extends student’s life experiences and develops leadership and resilience.

Extra curricula activities

Religious Instruction - The school offers Religious Instruction to students in Years 1 to 7. These lessons are conducted by approved Religious Instructors. Those students who choose not to attend in Religious Instruction participate in values education projects.

Garden Club – We have a garden club that is run by a parent of the school in partnership with the Brookfield Garden Centre.

Active After School Communities – Each term the children have the opportunity to participate in 2 different sports, 2 afternoons a week.

WiseOnes – This is a fee for service program for students who qualify as fast paced learners. Each term the children have the opportunity to develop their higher order thinking skills in an environment tailored for gifted and talented students.

Parent Run Clubs – We encourage parents to run extra curricula clubs during lunchtimes or outside school hours. Some of the clubs run last year included: Origami, scrapbooking, chess, debating, drama and jewellery making.

Student Representative Council – Student representatives from each year level are involved student council meetings coordinated by the student leaders in year 6 & 7.

How Information and Communication Technologies are used to assist learning

The school enjoys a high computer-student ratio. We have an established fleet of laptop computers and a recently purchased fleet of ipads for classroom use. These mobile devices allow for ICTs to be used across all the classrooms and subjects in a variety of contexts. This allows for the students to have regular opportunities for online learning and explicit instruction in ICTs. Computers are used as part of an active learning curriculum as well as for instruction in literacy and numeracy. Keyboarding skills are incorporated into the ICT program.


Social climate

A variety of student-focused programs contribute to our positive school climate.

Social and emotional resilience is taught through play and experience using the Games Factory resources from Wilson McCaskill.

Behaviour and expectations are aligned with the P&C approved, school Responsible Behaviour Plan. These values and expectations are taught and reinforced through weekly assemblies and daily classroom debriefs. The classrooms have access to a variety of resources

A student council provides a forum for student issues to be raised and discussed. The student council also have ‘gotcha awards’ as a chance for students to recognise their peers which are presented on assembly.

Student leaders run the student council meeting as well as the assembly each Wednesday afternoon. They also conduct school tours, help in the delivery of Friday Fun Food and participate in leadership development meetings.

Students in year 5-7 take on the responsibility of caring for all the sports equipment and organise the distribution of the equipment during lunch breaks.

Parent, student and staff satisfaction with the sch ool

The school enjoys high levels of student, parent and staff satisfaction. Based on the School Opinion Survey results, the following observations can be made:

Parents – Improved results from last year’s survey. Satisfaction levels are consistently above the satisfaction levels reported on by other like schools. The majority of responses showed 100% satisfaction.

Students – Improved results from last year’s survey. An area identified as a concern for students, was that they felt they didn’t understand how they were assessed and would like more feedback on their work. This was identified as a school priority in the Quadrennial School Review and the 2013 AIP, with the creation of student data and assessment folders to be used in the classroom with students to create goals for improvement.

Staff – Improved results from last year’s survey. 100% satisfaction in the areas of relationships and work value and recognition. The main area of concern perceived by staff was in the area of support, resources and training. Given we are a small school with limited resources, this is understandable.


Performance measure (Nationally agreed items shown*)

Percentage of parents/caregivers who agree that: 2012#

their child is getting a good education at school 95.0%

this is a good school 100.0%

their child likes being at this school* 100.0%

their child feels safe at this school* 100.0%

their child's learning needs are being met at this school* 100.0%

their child is making good progress at this school* 95.0%

teachers at this school expect their child to do his or her best* 100.0%

teachers at this school provide their child with useful feedback about his or her school work* 100.0%

teachers at this school motivate their child to learn* 100.0%

teachers at this school treat students fairly* 100.0%

they can talk to their child's teachers about their concerns* 100.0%

this school works with them to support their child's learning* 95.0%

this school takes parents' opinions seriously* 100.0%

student behaviour is well managed at this school* 100.0%

this school looks for ways to improve* 100.0%

this school is well maintained* 100.0%


Percentage of students who agree that: 2012#

they are getting a good education at school 100.0%

they like being at their school* 100.0%

they feel safe at their school* 100.0%

their teachers motivate them to learn* 100.0%

their teachers expect them to do their best* 100.0%

their teachers provide them with useful feedback about their school work* 92.9%

teachers treat students fairly at their school* 100.0%

they can talk to their teachers about their concerns* 100.0%


their school takes students' opinions seriously* 92.9%

student behaviour is well managed at their school* 85.7%

their school looks for ways to improve* 100.0%

their school is well maintained* 100.0%

their school gives them opportunities to do interesting things* 92.9%


Percentage of school staff who agree: 2012#

that they have good access to quality professional development 87.5%

with the individual staff morale items 95.0%

* Nationally agreed student and parent/caregiver items were incorporated in the School Opinion Survey in 2012.

# Percentage of respondents who Somewhat Agree, Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement. Due to changes to the School Opinion Surveys in 2012, comparisons with results for previous years are not recommended.

DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.


Involving parents in their child’s education

Upper Brookfield State School respects and values the role of parents in their child’s education and offer a variety of forums for parents to be involved in the school.

Teachers are accessible for unscheduled visits from parents at the beginning and end of each school day. Parents are encouraged to arrange meetings with their child’s teacher if they need to discuss an issue at length. There are parent teacher conferences held in term 1 and 3 to report on students’ progress and formal reports sent out in Term 2 and Term 3. In addition to this, Upper Brookfield is implementing a weekly update and individual student report, through class email distribution lists and a template to be used in conjunction with the homework sheet. The newsletter publishes what classrooms have been working on each week and the student awards for the week.

Parents are invited to attend weekly assemblies, classroom and school events. Upcoming events are published in the weekly newsletter, on the website and through social media channels. The school seeks parent feedback through the establishment of email distribution lists, online surveys, annual opinion surveys and through the QSR process. Parents of the school run Friday Fun Food as a weekly tuckshop alternative for students, scholastic book club and the school banking program. In addition to this, parents are encouraged to volunteer in the school. Parents volunteer in the classroom with individuals and small groups or as helpers on school camps, music programs, art programs and environmental education. Parents are also encouraged to organise and run an extra curricula activity.

The Parents and Citizens Committee (P&C) holds monthly meetings and hold fundraising events to support the school. The P&C hold working bees at the school and are responsible for the maintenance of the school house for outside hours school care. They write and manage grants for school improvements. P&C fundraising typically goes towards the school camps and swimming program.

The 2012 School Opinion Survey indicated that parents had 100% satisfaction with school/community relations. Results were at 45% and 50% in the strongly agree category for ‘encouraged to take an active role in my child’s education’ and ‘encouraged to participate in school activities.


Reducing the school’s environmental footprint

Data is sourced from school's annual utilities return and is reliant on the accuracy of these returns.

Environmental sustainability is a major focus at Upper Brookfield State School. The school’s environmental management plan is focused around lowering our environmental footprint. The school relies on rain water for its water supply.

Environmental footprint indicators, 2011-2012.

Environmental footprint indicators

Electricity kWh Water kL

2009-2010 13,488 0

2010-2011 14,814 0

2011-2012 18,075 0

Our staff profile

Staff composition, including Indigenous staff

2012 Workforce Composition

Teaching Staff

Non-teaching Staff

Indigenous Staff

Headcounts 9 5 0

Full-time equivalents 3.9 2.9 0

Qualifications of all teachers

Doctorate 0

Masters 0

Bachelor degree 7

Diploma 2

Certif icate 0

01234567

0 0

7

2

0

Doctorate Masters

Bachelor degree Diploma

Cert if icate

Expenditure on and teacher participation in profess ional development

The total funds expended on teacher professional development in 2012 were $14 500.

The major professional development initiatives are as follows:

Teacher and Principal Planning and Reflection Days – data analysis and mentoring to match student data with pedagogy and planning.

Professional Development Workshops – with John Flemming on explicit teaching and raising expectations

Professional Development Workshops – spelling programs and resources such as Spelling for Life and Letterland.

Our staff profile

Administration meetings – learning about oneschool administration and finance

Instructional Leadership and School Improvement – Professional development for the Principal.

The proportion of the teaching staff involved in professional development activities during 2012 was 100%.

Average staff attendance 2010 2011 2012

Staff attendance for permanent and temporary staff and school leaders. 97.9% 96.8% 96.3%

Proportion of staff retained from the previous scho ol year

From the end of the previous school year, 43.2% of staff was retained by the school for the entire 2012 school year.

School income broken down by funding source

School income broken down by funding source is available via the My School website at http://www.myschool.edu.au/.

To access our income details, click on the My School link above. You will then be taken to the My School website with the following ‘Find a school’ text box.

Where it says ‘Search by school name’ , type in the name of the school you wish to view, and select <GO>. Read and follow the instructions on the next screen; you will be asked to accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before being given access to the school’s My School entry web page.

School financial information is available by selecting ‘School finances’ in the menu box in the top left corner of the school’s entry web page. If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a paper copy of income by funding source.

Performance of our students

Key student outcomes

Student attendance 2010 2011 2012

The overall attendance rate for the students at this school (shown as a percentage). 91% 95% 92%

The overall attendance rate in 2012 for all Queensland state Primary schools was 93%.

Student attendance rate for each year level (shown as a percentage)

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Year 12

2010 89% 91% 89% 93% 93% 84% 96% NA NA NA NA NA

2011 94% 94% 95% 95% 95% 97% 89% NA NA NA NA NA

2012 94% 90% 89% 96% 93% DW 91% NA NA NA NA NA

DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.

Student Attendance Distribution

The proportions of students by attendance range.

19

4

10

9

12

19

34

27

29

38

58

42

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2010

2011

2012

Proportion of Students

0% to <85% 85% to <90% 90% to <95% 95% to 100%Attendance:

Description of how non-attendance is managed by the school

Non-attendance is managed in state schools in line with the DET policies, SMS-PR-029: Managing Student Absences and SMS-PR-036: Roll Marking in State Schools, which outline processes for managing and recording student attendance and absenteeism.

Class rolls are marked twice each day. The roll is marked shortly after 9am and then again at 1:45pm, immediately following second break. Unexplained absences are followed up by phoning parents and caregivers to check on the welfare of students. Late arrivals are recorded on a sheet accompanying the school rolls. Frequently arriving at school late leads to a discussion with parents/caregivers about the importance of students being at school on time in order to orient their learning for the day. Absenteeism is also monitored closely. If a student is absent for more than three days straight without explanation the parents/carers are called to seek an explanation and establish the timing of a students’ return to school. Repeated short periods of absence for whatever reason are discussed with parents by the class teacher or the Principal. Prolonged periods of non-attendance without a satisfactory explanation are dealt with according to EQ policy by the Principal.

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results – our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy res ults for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are available via the My School website at http://www.myschool.edu.au/.

Performance of our students

To access our NAPLAN results, click on the My School link above. You will then be taken to the My School website with the following ‘Find a school’ text box.

Where it says ‘Search by school name’ , type in the name of the school whose NAPLAN results you wish to view, and select <GO>.

Read and follow the instructions on the next screen; you will be asked to accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before being able to access NAPLAN data.

If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a paper copy of our school’s NAPLAN results.

Achievement – Closing the Gap

There were no indigenous children attending Upper Brookfield State School in 2011. The school is working on embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives throughout our school.

upper brookfield sar 2012€¦ · upper brookfield state school has continued to implement a range...

Documents