Torrens Primary School

Annual School Board Report

2018

Torrens Primary School Wellbeing Courtyard

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This report supports the work being done in the ACT Education Directorate, as outlined in Strategic Plan 2018-21: A Leading Learning Organisation.

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© Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, 2018

Material in this publication may be reproduced provided due acknowledgement is made.

Contents

Reporting to the community	1

School Context	1

Student Information	2

Student enrolment	2

Student attendance	2

Supporting attendance and managing non-attendance	3

Staff Information	3

Teacher qualifications	3

Workforce composition	3

School Review and Development	4

School Satisfaction	4

Overall Satisfaction	4

Learning and Assessment	6

Performance in Literacy and Numeracy	6

Early years assessment	6

Financial Summary	8

Voluntary Contributions	9

Reserves	9

Endorsement Page	10

Members of the School Board	10

Reporting to the community

School report to communities in a range of ways, including through:

Annual School Board Reports

a (5-year) School Improvement Plan (formerly School Strategic Plan)

annual Impact Reports/ Annual Action Plan Reports

newsletters

other sources such as My School.

School Context

Torrens Primary School opened in 1968 and is located in the suburb of Torrens in central Canberra. The suburb is named after a former Governor of South Australia Sir Robert Torrens. Three preschools located in the suburbs of Pearce, Chifley and Torrens are attached to Torrens Primary School. Torrens has an enrolment of about 500 students - 64 students in the preschools and around 440 in the primary school.

The school's motto 'Teamwork and Tolerance' reflects the aims of the school to encourage a spirit of co-operation and community while fostering respect and understanding for all. The school aims to provide quality experiences that empower students to live in and contribute to a changing society.

Torrens Primary School is proud of the rich educational environment and rigorous programs provided for all students. Torrens Primary School strives to develop in students the ability to work as members of a team in cooperative learning environments and to appreciate the worth of individual differences. The capacity to act as responsible, independent citizens who care about themselves and their environment is key.

The school's mission is to provide a purposeful productive and comprehensive education of the highest quality. Academic areas of focus include literacy and numeracy with special emphasis on explicit and guided teaching, inquiry units of work from P-6 with a school wide focus on quality teaching and learning. Specialist programs offered at Torrens include Mandarin language, leadership, an extremely comprehensive early intervention program, Information Communication Technology, Arts and library.

Students at Torrens benefit from a broad variety of programs designed to promote pride and excellence such as Jolly Phonics in Kindergarten and Year 1 providing a sensory approach to learning sounds, restorative practices providing a basis to build relationships and focus on learning and teaching social processes, Instrumental Music Program brass bands in years 5 and 6, clubs, challenges and competitions, and leadership opportunities throughout the school such as Student Representative Council, School Captains, Sports Captains, Recycling Programs, and Buddy Programs. Notable inclusions to the activities offered at Torrens include a Chaplaincy program providing extra support for students, staff and families within the community, years 4 and 5 enter the Wakakirri Story/Dance competition where we have been finalists, and robotics.

Our preschools create and maintain a warm learning environment where staff, children and parents are engaged in developing cooperative relationships, and the abilities and skills of children to the fullest extent of their capabilities. The planned program introduces children to the world around them by learning through play, participation, exploration and experimentation.

The school is committed to work in partnership with parents, striving to ensure that all students are given every opportunity to achieve their full potential. We believe the partnership between school and home is extremely important to develop and foster high academic achievement and an enduring love of learning. Torrens Primary School enjoys strong community involvement and support in all aspects of school life.

Student Information

Student enrolment

In 2018 there were a total of 445 students enrolled at this school.

Table: 2018 Student enrolment

Student type	Number of students
Male	220
Female	225
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	10
LBOTE*	139

*Language Background Other Than English

Source: Analytics and Evaluation, December 2018

Student attendance

The following table identifies the attendance rate of students by year level during 2018. Student attendance rate is the percentage of school days attended by students in each year level at the school. Student attendance is measured over two school terms; that is from the first day of the school year for students in term 1 to the last day of term 2.

Table: 2018 Attendance rates in percentages*

Year level	Attendance rate
1	92.0
2	94.0
3	91.0
4	94.0
5	93.0
6	93.0

Source: Analytics and Evaluation, December 2018

* Attendance data for 2018 have been derived from a school administration system in the process of implementation. Care should be taken when comparing these data with data from previous years and from other jurisdictions.

Supporting attendance and managing non-attendance

All ACT public schools put into effect the education participation requirements in the Education Act 2004 and the responsibilities of schools in relation to compulsory education. The Education Directorate’s Education Participation (Enrolment and Attendance) Policy describes its position with regard to supporting attendance and managing non-attendance. A suite of procedures supports the implementation of the policy. Please refer to https://www.education.act.gov.au/ for further details.

Staff Information

Teacher qualifications

All teachers at this school meet the professional requirements for teaching in an ACT public school. The ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) specifies two main types of provision for teachers at different stages of their career, these are detailed below.

Full registration is for teachers with experience working in a registered school in Australia or New Zealand who have been assessed as meeting the Proficient level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Provisional registration is for newly qualified teachers or teachers who do not have recent experience teaching in a school in Australia and New Zealand. Many teachers moving to Australia from another country apply for Provisional registration.

Workforce composition

Workforce composition for the year of reporting is highlighted in the following table. The data is taken from the school’s verified August staffing report. For reporting purposes it incorporates all school staff including preschools, staff absent for a period of less than four consecutive weeks and staff replacing staff absent for more than four consecutive weeks. It does not include casuals and staff absent for a period of four consecutive weeks or longer.

The Education Directorate is required to report Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff figures. As of June 2018, 101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff members were employed across the Directorate.

Table: 2018 Workforce composition numbers

Staff employment category	TOTAL
Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent Permanent	29.54
Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent Temporary	0.00
Non Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent	8.80

Source: This data is from the 2018 August census date and is calculated using the parameters provided by the ABS.

School Review and Development

The ACT Education Directorate’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 provides the framework and strategic direction for School Improvement Plans (formerly School Strategic Plans). This is supported by the school performance and accountability framework, ‘People, Practice and Performance: School Improvement in Canberra Public Schools, A Framework for Performance and Accountability’. This framework has school improvement at its centre, with the National School Improvement Tool (NSIT) as its core feature, providing support to achieve high standards in student learning, innovation and best practice in ACT public schools.

Prior to 2016 all ACT public schools participated in a four-year cycle of school review and development. In the fourth year schools underwent an external validation process. In 2016 this changed to a five-year cycle with an External School Review at the end.

Our school was reviewed in 2018. A copy of the Review Report Summary can be found on our school website.

School Satisfaction

Schools use a range of evidence to gain an understanding of the satisfaction levels of their parents and carers, staff and students. In August/ September of this reporting period ACT schools undertook a survey to gain an understanding of school satisfaction at that time. This information was collected from Staff, parents and students from year 5 and above (with the exception of students in special schools) through an online survey.

Overall Satisfaction

In 2018, 91% of parents and carers, 100% of staff, and 87% of students at this school indicated they were satisfied with the education provided by the school.

Included in the survey were 16 staff, 14 parent, and 12 student items which are described as the national opinion items. These items were approved by the then Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC) for use from 2015. The following tables show the percentage of parents and carers, students and staff who agreed with each of the national opinion items at this school.

A total of 35 staff responded to the survey. Please note that not all responders answered every question.

Table: Proportion of staff in agreement with each national opinion item

National opinion item	Proportion of staff
Teachers at this school expect students to do their best.	100
Teachers give useful feedback.	97
Teachers at this school treat students fairly.	100
This school is well maintained.	94
Students feel safe at this school.	100
Students at this school can talk to their teachers about their concerns.	100
Parents at this school can talk to teachers about their concerns.	100
Student behaviour is well managed at this school.	91
Students like being at this school.	100
This school looks for ways to improve.	100
This school takes staff opinions seriously.	100
Teachers at this school motivate students to learn.	100
Students’ learning needs are being met at this school.	100
This school works with parents to support students' learning.	97
Staff get quality feedback on their performance	82
Staff are well supported at this school.	97

Source: 2018 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2018

*Prior to 2018, the item wording and placement was slightly different.

A total of 236 parents responded to the survey. Please note that not all responders answered every question.

Table: Proportion of parents and carers in agreement with each national opinion item

National opinion item	Proportion of parents and carers
Teachers at this school expect my child to do his or her best.	93
Teachers give useful feedback.	85
Teachers at this school treat students fairly.	93
This school is well maintained.	91
My child feels safe at this school.	93
I can talk to my child’s teachers about my concerns.	95
Student behaviour is well managed at this school.	84
My child likes being at this school.	95
This school looks for ways to improve.	91
This school takes parents’ opinions seriously.	81
Teachers at this school motivate my child to learn.	91
My child is making good progress at this school.	89
My child's learning needs are being met at this school.	85
This school works with me to support my child's learning.	81

Source: 2018 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2018

*Prior to 2018, the item wording and placement was slightly different.

A total of 121 students responded to the survey. Please note that not all responders answered every question.

Table: Proportion of students in years 5 to 6 in agreement with each national opinion item

National opinion item	Proportion of students
My teachers expect me to do my best.	97
Teachers give useful feedback.	75
Teachers at my school treat students fairly.	68
My school is well maintained.	78
I feel safe at this school.	75
I can talk to my teachers about my concerns.	63
Student behaviour is well managed at my school.	62
I like being at my school.	76
My school looks for ways to improve.	89
Staff take students’ opinions seriously.	69
My teachers motivate me to learn.	81
My school gives me opportunities to do interesting things.	86

Source: 2018 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2018

*Prior to 2018, the item wording and placement was slightly different.

These results, as well as the continual review of school performance, contributed to the evaluation of our Strategic Plan and the development of Annual Action Plans. The Strategic Plan (or School Improvement Plan) is available on the school website.

Learning and Assessment

Performance in Literacy and Numeracy

Early years assessment

Students in kindergarten undertake an on-entry assessment of their early reading and numeracy skills using the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) program. Student results are reported against five performance bands at the end of semester 1 and 2. Below are the results for this school.

Table: Torrens Primary School PIPS 2018 mean raw scores

Agency	Reading start	Reading end	Mathematics start	Mathematics end
School	52	133	39	55
ACT	49	124	39	54

Source: Analytics and Evaluation

Results are not reported when there are fewer than five students with results. This rule is applied for reasons of statistical reliability, as well as to protect the privacy of students in small schools.

The following table shows the mean scores achieved by students at this school compared to the ACT for this reporting period.

Table: Torrens Primary School 2018 NAPLAN Mean Scores

Test Domain	Year 3 School	Year 3 ACT	Year 5 School	Year 5 ACT
Reading	442	441	542	518
Writing	427	411	463	460
Spelling	437	410	492	494
Grammar & Punctuation	448	438	520	510
Numeracy	425	416	508	494

Source: Analytics and Evaluation

Financial Summary

The school has provided the Directorate with an end of year financial statement that was approved by the school board. Further details concerning the statement can be obtained by contacting the school. The following summary covers use of funds for operating costs and does not include expenditure in areas such as permanent salaries, buildings and major maintenance.

Table: Financial Summary

INCOME	January-June	July-December	January-December
Self-management funds	227611.17	193796.94	421408.11
Voluntary contributions	24715.00	5250.00	29965.00
Contributions & donations	621.95	415.00	1036.95
Subject contributions	5455.00	2200.00	7655.00
External income (including community use)	12559.05	12336.36	24895.41
Bank Interest	6640.11	6809.10	13449.21
TOTAL INCOME	277602.28	220807.40	498409.68
EXPENDITURE
Utilities and general overheads	70471.65	79546.93	150018.58
Cleaning	67529.62	54316.38	121846.00
Maintenance	30737.08	36408.74	67145.82
Administration	1914.85	2826.07	4740.92
Communication	2588.94	1081.43	3670.37
Assets	7029.04	6806.37	13835.41
General office expenditure	4645.88	19974.05	24619.93
Educational	17987.55	11098.38	29085.93
Subject consumables	6445.68	487.28	6932.96
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	209350.29	212545.63	421895.92
OPERATING RESULT	68251.99	8261.77	76513.76
Actual Accumulated Funds	120162.29	400489.72	153900.53
Outstanding commitments (minus)	-62196.08	0.00	-62196.08
BALANCE	126218.20	408751.49	168218.21

Voluntary Contributions

The funds listed were used to support the general operations of the school. The spending of voluntary contributions is in line with the approved budget for 2018.

Reserves

Name and Purpose	Amount	Expected Completion
Preschool maintenance & furniture – update preschool furniture across all 3 preschools	$10,000	2019
Air conditioning – not every classroom has air conditioning	$27,000	2020
Kitchen upgrade – building a cooking kitchen in conjunction with the Directorate to replace unused canteen	$205,000	2019
Sound System – replace outdated sound system to one which can be used for assemblies, concerts, carnivals and talent quest	$50,000	2019

Endorsement Page

Members of the School Board

Parent Representative(s):	Kristen Delaney	Sian Hicks	Joanne Halliday
Community Representative(s):	Wayne Willimott
Teacher Representative(s):	Louise Zeitlhofer	Emma Thomas
Board Chair:	Kristen Delaney
Principal:	Rachel Matthews

I approve the report, prepared in accordance with the provision of the ACT Education Act 2004, section 52.

Board Chair Signature:	Kristen Delaney	Date:	28/05/2019

I certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief the evidence and information reported in this Annual School Board Report represents an accurate record of the Board’s operations during this reporting period.

Principal Signature:	Rachel Matthews	Date:	28/05/2019