Palmerston District Primary School

Annual School Board Report

2018

This page is intentionally left blank.

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

Accessibility

The ACT Government is committed to making its information services, events and venues accessible to as many people as possible.

If you have difficulty reading a standard document and would like to receive this publication in an alternate format, such as large print and audio, please telephone (02) 6247 4580.

If English is not your first language and you require the translating and interpreting service, please telephone 13 14 50.

If you are deaf or hearing impaired and require the National Relay Service, please telephone 13 36 77.

© 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	1

Student enrolment	1

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

NAPLAN	6

Outcomes for College Students	7

Post School Destination	7

Financial Summary	9

Voluntary Contributions	10

Reserves	10

Endorsement Page	11

Members of the School Board	11

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

School Context

Palmerston District Primary School is situated at the entrance of the Gungahlin District and was opened in 1995. The school is a harmonious mixture of families from different backgrounds and cultures. We have welcomed the residents of Crace to the school in recent years. We have 550 students in over 27 classes from preschool to year 6. We comprise of 4 preschool classes, 20 mainstream classes, 1 Learning Support Unit, 2 Introductory English Centre classes and 4 of our classes are for students who are identified as intellectually gifted.

We are an established school that sets high expectations for all and upholds positive values that reflect our community. We model our school values of Palmerston PRIDE - Participation, Respect, Integrity, Determination, Empathy. Parents and teachers work together to be role models for our community through being lifelong learners and creating a harmonious environment that supports respect for all.

Palmerston District Primary School redeveloped the whole school vision in 2015 - Engage, Empower, Achieve. Our redeveloped mission is: Empower all students to be successful leaners and valuable citizens.

Palmerston District Primary School strives to provide for all our students. We are a school on the move. We provide a band program with three bands, lunchtime clubs, singing across the school, student leadership opportunities, additional external and internal academic opportunities and host sporting clinics. We provide a written report to families in terms 1, 2 & 4 with an offer of parent/teacher interviews in terms 2 & 4. As part of our reporting to parents, we provide Learning Journeys and a Science Fair in term 3 each year. This is an opportunity for our students to showcase their learning to family and friends. We offer Indonesian as our language for years 3-6 and provide an Environmental Science program with outstanding gardens and a chicken coop. Our library is open every day from 8.30am and provides exciting learning opportunities at lunchtimes. A Before and After School Care program is on site for years Kindergarten to 6.

Palmerston District Primary School has a preschool for up to 100 preschool children. Our statement of philosophy is: At Palmerston Preschool we believe in the importance of developing strong family and community connections. These connections should ensure that students feel as though they belong in our wider school community. We embrace the Early Years Learning Framework 'Belonging, Being and Becoming'. We aim to extend and enrich children's learning while in our care.

As a whole school community we facilitate an environment which fosters contributions by students, teachers and parents. The Palmerston District Primary School community lives by its motto of: Together, we learn from each other.

Student Information

Student enrolment

In 2018 there were a total of 567 students enrolled at this school.

Table: 2018 Student enrolment

Student type	Number of students
Male	280
Female	287
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	16
LBOTE*	279

*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	90.0
3	92.0
4	91.0
5	91.0
6	92.0

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	41.30
Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent Temporary	4.00
Non Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent	9.91

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 2022. 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, 88% of parents and carers, 98% of staff, and 90% 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 51 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.	98
Teachers at this school treat students fairly.	96
This school is well maintained.	100
Students feel safe at this school.	98
Students at this school can talk to their teachers about their concerns.	96
Parents at this school can talk to teachers about their concerns.	98
Student behaviour is well managed at this school.	86
Students like being at this school.	98
This school looks for ways to improve.	100
This school takes staff opinions seriously.	86
Teachers at this school motivate students to learn.	98
Students’ learning needs are being met at this school.	96
This school works with parents to support students' learning.	100
Staff get quality feedback on their performance	82
Staff are well supported at this school.	88

Source: 2018 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2018

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

A total of 167 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.	89
Teachers give useful feedback.	85
Teachers at this school treat students fairly.	91
This school is well maintained.	92
My child feels safe at this school.	93
I can talk to my child’s teachers about my concerns.	94
Student behaviour is well managed at this school.	79
My child likes being at this school.	95
This school looks for ways to improve.	88
This school takes parents’ opinions seriously.	83
Teachers at this school motivate my child to learn.	89
My child is making good progress at this school.	86
My child's learning needs are being met at this school.	85
This school works with me to support my child's learning.	85

Source: 2018 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2018

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

A total of 105 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.	100
Teachers give useful feedback.	83
Teachers at my school treat students fairly.	82
My school is well maintained.	84
I feel safe at this school.	83
I can talk to my teachers about my concerns.	74
Student behaviour is well managed at my school.	65
I like being at my school.	86
My school looks for ways to improve.	93
Staff take students’ opinions seriously.	77
My teachers motivate me to learn.	89
My school gives me opportunities to do interesting things.	96

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: Palmerston Primary School PIPS 2018 mean raw scores

Agency	Reading start	Reading end	Mathematics start	Mathematics end
School	56	157	41	58
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: Palmerston Primary School 2018 NAPLAN Mean Scores

Test Domain	Year 3 School	Year 3 ACT	Year 5 School	Year 5 ACT
Reading	433	441	535	518
Writing	432	411	480	460
Spelling	418	410	507	494
Grammar & Punctuation	445	438	537	510
Numeracy	418	416	497	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	282625.85	209608.83	492234.68
Voluntary contributions	0.00	0.00	0.00
Contributions & donations	10410.89	-9347.00	1063.89
External income (including community use)	31118.52	33140.94	64259.46
Proceeds from sale of assets	4000.00	0.00	4000.00
Bank Interest	3118.80	3628.46	6747.26
TOTAL INCOME	331274.06	237031.23	568305.29
EXPENDITURE
Utilities and general overheads	57291.49	69990.32	127281.81
Cleaning	55847.84	59533.36	115381.20
Security	1907.30	-5476.60	-3569.30
Maintenance	39944.24	53558.46	93502.70
Administration	38594.50	37355.50	75950.00
Staffing	0.00	0.00	0.00
Communication	8261.82	3742.45	12004.27
Assets	-19210.43	41282.32	22071.89
Leases	0.00	0.00	0.00
General office expenditure	38513.11	25370.22	63883.33
Educational	18475.67	30151.54	48627.21
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	239625.54	315507.57	555133.11
OPERATING RESULT	91648.52	-78476.34	13172.18
Actual Accumulated Funds	88958.24	92958.24	102958.24
Outstanding commitments (minus)	-38137.12	0.00	-38137.12
BALANCE	142469.64	14481.90	77993.30

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

Endorsement Page

Members of the School Board

Parent Representative(s):	[INSERT NAME],	[INSERT NAME],	[INSERT NAME].
Community Representative(s):	[INSERT NAME],	[INSERT NAME],	[INSERT NAME].
Teacher Representative(s):	[INSERT NAME],	[INSERT NAME],	[INSERT NAME].
Student Representative(s):	[INSERT NAME],	[INSERT NAME],	[INSERT NAME].
Board Chair:	[INSERT NAME]
Principal:	[INSERT NAME]

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

Board Chair Signature:	[TYPE SIGNATURE]	Date:	DD / MM / YYYY

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:	[TYPE SIGNATURE]	Date:	DD / MM / YYYY