Amaroo School

Annual School Board Report

2018

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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

Summary of School Board activity	1

School Context	1

Student Information	2

Student enrolment	2

Student attendance	2

Supporting attendance and managing non-attendance	2

Staff Information	3

Teacher qualifications	3

Workforce composition	3

School Review and Development	3

School Satisfaction	4

Overall Satisfaction	4

Learning and Assessment	6

Performance in Literacy and Numeracy	6

Early years assessment	6

Financial Summary	7

Voluntary Contributions	8

Reserves	8

Endorsement Page	9

Members of the School Board	9

Reporting to the community

School report to communities in 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.

Summary of School Board activity

Amaroo School has experienced another wonderful year:

New Gym extension and Marble Terrace were opened for the start of the school year, providing state of the art collaborative teaching spaces,

LEADAS and PEARLS programs for year 9 and 10 girls and boys, have developed significantly promoting leadership and self-development,

The DIAMOND Program was reviewed and expanded for our Special Needs groups.

School Band program expanded across Primary and Secondary

The 2018 School Fete raised $28,000 towards the year 3-6 playground which was built on the hill ready for the 2019 school year.

Amaroo School is well positioned to continue to meet the needs of its growing community and remain as not just the largest school in the ACT, but also the best. Our focus on excellence, inclusion and helping students reach their potential will see our school community continue to thrive.

School Context

Amaroo School is located in the Gungahlin region and is the largest ACT public school. Our student enrolment in February 2018 was 1832 in Kindergarten to Year 10 plus an additional 176 student enrolled in our preschool. Our student profile represents a highly diverse and multicultural background. We have 771 students with a language background other than English. There are 37 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students currently enrolled and we provide for over 100 students with diagnosed special needs including four learning support classrooms for students with autism (LSUAs). We also boast a high Defence Force population with 158 students from Australian Defence Force families. We highly value our diversity as it represents the unique nature of the people in our school.

The establishment of Moncrieff as a new suburb within our priority enrolment area, led to a significant increase in student population as families moved into the new suburb. In 2018 we also had an increased student population enrol into our Year 7 from Neville Bonner Primary compared to 2017 and we expect the numbers to steadily increase.

In 2018 the school opened the expanded school gym and the Marble Terrace accommodating an additional 300 secondary students for 2018.

Student Information

Student enrolment

In 2018 there were a total of 1,832 students enrolled at this school in Kindergarten to Year 10.

Table: 2018 Student enrolment

Student type	Number of students
Male	956
Female	876
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	37
LBOTE*	771

*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	90.0
2	90.0
3	91.0
4	91.0
5	91.0
6	90.0
7	90.0
8	89.0
9	87.0
10	83.0

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	122.12
Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent Temporary	10.80
Non Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent	43.70

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 will be reviewed in 2021. A copy of the most recent validation report can be found on our school website.

School Satisfaction

Schools use a range 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, 84% of parents and carers, 90% of staff, and 71% 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 137 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.	95
Teachers give useful feedback.	84
Teachers at this school treat students fairly.	93
This school is well maintained.	88
Students feel safe at this school.	89
Students at this school can talk to their teachers about their concerns.	94
Parents at this school can talk to teachers about their concerns.	95
Student behaviour is well managed at this school.	64
Students like being at this school.	89
This school looks for ways to improve.	96
This school takes staff opinions seriously.	73
Teachers at this school motivate students to learn.	92
Students’ learning needs are being met at this school.	84
This school works with parents to support students' learning.	93
Staff get quality feedback on their performance	76
Staff are well supported at this school.	71

Source: 2018 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2018

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

A total of 474 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.	91
Teachers give useful feedback.	80
Teachers at this school treat students fairly.	85
This school is well maintained.	89
My child feels safe at this school.	84
I can talk to my child’s teachers about my concerns.	91
Student behaviour is well managed at this school.	69
My child likes being at this school.	85
This school looks for ways to improve.	85
This school takes parents’ opinions seriously.	78
Teachers at this school motivate my child to learn.	83
My child is making good progress at this school.	79
My child's learning needs are being met at this school.	80
This school works with me to support my child's learning.	82

Source: 2018 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2018

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

A total of 790 students responded to the survey. Please note that not all responders answered every question.

Table: Proportion of students in years 5 to 10 in agreement with each national opinion item

National opinion item	Proportion of students
My teachers expect me to do my best.	93
Teachers give useful feedback.	59
Teachers at my school treat students fairly.	52
My school is well maintained.	49
I feel safe at this school.	56
I can talk to my teachers about my concerns.	51
Student behaviour is well managed at my school.	23
I like being at my school.	61
My school looks for ways to improve.	74
Staff take students’ opinions seriously.	57
My teachers motivate me to learn.	69
My school gives me opportunities to do interesting things.	71

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: Amaroo School PIPS 2018 mean raw scores

Agency	Reading start	Reading end	Mathematics start	Mathematics end
School	54	123	40	54
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: Amaroo School 2018 NAPLAN Mean Scores

Test Domain	Year 3 School	Year 3 ACT	Year 5 School	Year 5 ACT	Year 7 School	Year 7 ACT	Year 9 School	Year 9 ACT
Reading	443	441	519	518	535	549	593	593
Writing	418	411	478	460	506	501	537	539
Spelling	427	410	509	494	540	540	576	582
Grammar & Punctuation	442	438	506	510	538	549	584	592
Numeracy	416	416	491	494	541	554	590	596

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	786507.35	651773.34	1438280.69
Voluntary contributions	24239.50	20136.00	44375.50
Contributions & donations	3152.00	-1712.00	1440.00
Subject contributions	11724.00	7042.00	18766.00
External income (including community use)	34353.01	34009.55	68362.56
Proceeds from sale of assets	0.00	0.00	0.00
Bank Interest	6398.54	6780.52	13179.06
TOTAL INCOME	866374.40	718029.41	1584403.81
EXPENDITURE
Utilities and general overheads	151223.82	238027.78	389251.60
Cleaning	154421.66	163590.73	318012.39
Security	7635.19	4240.45	11875.64
Maintenance	195242.40	117479.62	312722.02
Administration	14707.10	23105.07	37812.17
Staffing	30794.45	-1486.47	29307.98
Communication	21239.70	9559.16	30798.86
Assets	78208.76	41140.04	119348.80
Leases	12558.06	11642.85	24200.91
General office expenditure	83158.86	41242.37	124401.23
Educational	220733.38	63705.04	284438.42
Subject consumables	5108.53	20153.94	25262.47
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	975031.91	732400.58	1707432.49
OPERATING RESULT	-108657.51	-14371.17	-123028.68
Actual Accumulated Funds	191328.64	298345.64	313345.64
Outstanding commitments (minus)	-51888.64	0.00	-51888.64
BALANCE	30782.49	283974.47	138428.32

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
Site enhancement Buildings and Grounds To update or create spaces within the school & grounds to compliment student learning	$15,000.00	01/2019
Gardens To regenerate the existing garden beds	$ 5,000.00	2020
ICT Teachers Devices To purchase extra devices so all teachers can be allocated a device	$ 20,000.00	02/2019
Literacy This is a goal from school plan to increase Literacy	$ 16,750.00	06/2020
Numeracy This is a goal from school plan to increase Numeracy	$ 15,555.74	06/2020
Staffing To cover excess staffing costs	$ 15,000.00	02/2019
Pear Deck Teacher resource	$ 5,000.00	06/2019

Endorsement Page

Members of the School Board

Parent Representative(s):	Ian Phillips	Penny Freestone	David Smith
Community Representative(s):
Teacher Representative(s):	Garth Jurd	Raye Down
Student Representative(s):	Michaela Dawe	Gemma Steele
Board Chair:	David Smith
Executive Principal:	Gai Beecher

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

Board Chair Signature:	David Smith	Date:	14 / 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:	Gai Beecher	Date:	14 / 05 / 2019