Evatt Primary School

Annual School Board Report

2017

Photo: Evatt Primary School’s front entrance

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This report supports the work being done in the ACT Education Directorate, as outlined in the ‘Education Capital: Leading the Nation Strategic Plan 2014-17’.

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© Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, 2017

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Contents

School Board Chair Report	1

School Context	1

Student Information	2

Student enrolment	2

Student attendance	2

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

NAPLAN	7

Performance in Other Areas of the Curriculum	8

Financial Summary	9

Professional Learning	10

Voluntary Contributions	10

Reserves	10

Endorsement Page	11

Members of the School Board	11

School Board Chair Report

Evatt School was reviewed by an External Review Panel in 2017. Our school received several affirmations and commendations, demonstrating positive results from our strategic planning over recent years. Strong collaboration and teamwork is evident among the leadership team and staff at Evatt and this has led to continued improvement in student progress. Four of our staff are to be congratulated for being nominated for the 2017 ACT Public Education awards.

The school is using the review recommendations to develop a new Strategic Plan for the next five years. One area the school will be focusing on is STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. We have a new executive teacher, Nicole Zimmer, leading STEM implementation in the school.

In August we opened our new sensory space, Wotama, a resource for our whole school community. Through our Social and Emotional learning program, students are taught to manage emotions such as anger, sadness and worry, and the sensory space provides a safe space for students to work through their feelings. The school also had its major front office renovation completed in Term 2. This has made a fantastic difference to our heating and cooling, made it a safer place for our staff to work and provides a welcoming entrance for our families and visitors.

The Board developed a BYOT policy for the school, ready to be implemented at the start of 2018. We decided to ask all students in years 3 and 4 to bring their own Chromebook to school, and to encourage students in years 5 and 6 to do the same, keeping in mind they will receive a new Chromebook when they start year 7. The school has Chromebooks available for students who are unable to bring their own, so no student misses out. Teachers are further enhancing everyday use of Google apps for education and using Seesaw to communicate with parents and create electronic portfolios to demonstrate student learning.

We continue to be supported by a dedicated P&C, running the canteen and the breakfast club, holding a successful fete, trivia night, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day stalls and school discos. Funds have been donated to buy new tablets for students in kindergarten and year 1 and plans are in train to add cooling to our hall.

School Context

The current enrolment at Evatt Primary School includes three preschool classes and three learning support units. Currently, many of the students within the learning support classes live in our PEA which has evolved over time. For the second year running, we operated an overflow preschool group for the Belconnen area with many of those students returning to their local school for Kindergarten in 2018. The three sessions were at capacity by the end of term one. The school’s priority enrolment area encompasses the suburbs of Evatt and McKellar. The school also attracts students from over thirty surrounding suburbs in Belconnen. In 2017, it was decided that Evatt would be one of the priority enrolment areas for NSW schools north of the Barton Highway. Our numbers of indigenous students stayed about the same as in past years, with several families not identifying themselves as indigenous. We had two new students arrive from overseas and spend 20 weeks in the Introductory English Centre at Charnwood Dunlop School.

Student Information

Student enrolment

In 2017 there were a total of 264 students enrolled at this school.

Table: 2017 Student enrolment

Student type	Number of students
Male	138
Female	126
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	15
LBOTE*	56

*Language Background Other Than English

Source: Planning and Analytics, December 2017

Student attendance

The following table identifies the attendance rate of students by year level during 2017. 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: 2017 Attendance rates in percentages

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

Source: Planning and Analytics, December 2017

There were some families in 2017, who struggled to get their children to school regularly. Classroom teachers are the first port of call to discuss this with parents. In some cases, attendance did not improve so we followed the procedures set out by the Network Student Engagement Team (NSET). This was addressed with the individual families and in most cases attendance improved. Some parents were sent an initial letter from the Deputy Principal, and follow up letters were sent by the Principal when there was no improvement in attendance. As always, we attempt to work closely with the families in order to support them in getting their child to school.

Staff Information

Teacher qualifications

All teachers meet the professional requirements for teaching in an ACT public school. The ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) has provided the following data based on teachers registered as at 16 December 2017.

The proportion of teaching staff with certificates/degrees/diplomas and a postgraduate qualification is shown below.

Table: 2017 Qualification of teaching staff in percentages

Qualifications	Proportion of staff
Certificate/ Diploma/ Degree	100
Postgraduate	30

Source: Teacher Quality Institute, 16 December 2017

Workforce composition

The 2017 workforce composition of Evatt Primary School is highlighted in the following table. The data is taken from the school’s term 4 staff report. For reporting purposes it incorporates all school-based staff

Table: 2017 Workforce composition numbers

Staff employment category	TOTAL
Teaching Staff: Head Count	28
Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent Permanent	22.40
Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent Temporary	1.60
Non-Teaching Staff: Head Count	12
Non-Teaching Staff: Full Time Equivalent	9.62

Source: This data is from the school’s term 4 2017 staff report. Data provided in previous years was sourced from the August census date and was calculated using the parameters provided by the ABS. As such, pre-2017 staffing figures may differ significantly from the above.

There are no Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff members at this school.

School Review and Development

In 2017, the ACT Education Directorate’s Strategic Plan 2014-2017 provided the framework and strategic direction for the school’s Strategic Plan. 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.

Evatt School was reviewed in 2017. A copy of the Review Report can be found on the school website.

School Satisfaction

Schools use a range of data collection tools to gain an understanding of the satisfaction levels of their parents and carers, staff and students. In August/ September 2017 the school undertook a survey to gain an understanding of school satisfaction at that time. Staff, parents and students from year 5 and above (with the exception of students in special schools) took part in an online survey.

Overall Satisfaction

In 2017, 85% of parents and carers, 91% of staff, and 82% of students at this school indicated they were satisfied with the education provided by the school.

Included in the survey were 14 national parent survey items and 12 national student survey 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 and students who agreed with each of the national items at this school.

A total of 45 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 at this school provide students with useful feedback about their school work.	96
Teachers at this school treat students fairly.	93
This school is well maintained.	82
Students feel safe at this school.	91
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.	76
Students like being at this school.	93
This school looks for ways to improve.	93
This school takes staff opinions seriously.	80
Teachers at this school motivate students to learn.	100
Students’ learning needs are being met at this school.	96
This school works with parents to support students' learning.	95
I receive useful feedback about my work at this school.	86
Staff are well supported at this school.	84

Source: 2017 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2017

A total of 35 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.	97
Teachers at this school provide my child with useful feedback about his/her school work.	85
Teachers at this school treat students fairly.	88
This school is well maintained.	77
My child feels safe at this school.	89
I can talk to my child’s teachers about my concerns.	91
Student behaviour is well managed at this school.	79
My child likes being at this school.	89
This school looks for ways to improve.	83
This school takes parents’ opinions seriously.	74
Teachers at this school motivate my child to learn.	88
My child is making good progress at this school.	80
My child's learning needs are being met at this school.	76
This school works with me to support my child's learning.	82

Source: 2017 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2017

A total of 80 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.	99
My teachers provide me with useful feedback about my school work.	80
Teachers at my school treat students fairly.	69
My school is well maintained.	73
I feel safe at my school.	90
I can talk to my teachers about my concerns.	67
Student behaviour is well managed at my school.	65
I like being at my school.	67
My school looks for ways to improve.	88
My school takes students’ opinions seriously.	62
My teachers motivate me to learn.	86
My school gives me opportunities to do interesting things.	71

Source: 2017 School Satisfaction Surveys, August/September 2017

This information can be considered alongside information available on the My School website (http://www.myschool.edu.au).

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 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.

Table: Evatt Primary School PIPS 2017 mean raw scores

Agency	Reading start	Reading end	Mathematics start	Mathematics end
School	53	126	39	55
ACT	51	124	39	55

Source: Planning and Analytics

Table: Evatt Primary School Reading 2017 scores by percentage

Year	Below Benchmark	At Benchmark	Above Benchmark	At and Above
Kinder	14% ( PM 1 – 4)	66% ( PM 5- 9)	20% ( PM 10 + )	86%
Year 1	36%	24%	40%	64%
Year 2	15%	25%	60%	85%
Year 3	32%	43%	25%	68%
Year 4	23%	42%	35%	77%
Year 5	23% (PM 27 or below)	24% (PM 28 & 29)	53% (PM 30 and above)	77%
Year 6	24%	48%	27%	75
Average	23%	39%	38%	77%

Table : Effect Size from year 5 to year 6 2017-2018 Mental Computation

Average	29.03	50.62	1.16
Standard Deviation	16.01	21.18
Average Standard Deviation	18.60

Table: Effect Size from year 4 to year 5 2017-2018 Mental Computration

Average	21.82	38.75	0.90
Standard Deviation	18.23	19.56
Average Standard Deviation	18.90

When measuring effect size, any effect reported higher than 0.4 means that students have achieved 12 months learning in twelve months. An effect size of 1.16 means that students in the year 5 cohort made two and a half years progress in one school year. This is excellent progress.

An effect size of 0.9 means that students have made two years progress in one school year. We believe that this is a direct resuklt of the impact coaching of teachers by Mrs Steward.

NAPLAN

Students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in all ACT schools participate in the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). This program assesses skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.

In 2017, 3.00 % of year 3 students and 5.00 % of year 5 students were exempt from testing based on nationally agreed criteria.

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 2017 mean scores achieved by our students compared to the ACT.

Table: Evatt Primary School 2017 NAPLAN Mean Scores

Test Domain	Year 3 School	Year 3 ACT	Year 5 School	Year 5 ACT
Reading	372	442	499	517
Writing	385	412	457	475
Spelling	370	411	461	494
Grammar & Punctuation	373	441	479	503
Numeracy	395	417	466	496

Source: Planning and Analytics

An analysis of our NAPLAN results can be found when reporting against our priorities.

Performance in Other Areas of the Curriculum

Students in Kindergarten to year 6 are taught other areas of the curriculum in an integrated fashion. The units of work are aligned with the Australian Curriculum. Each semester there is a focus on either Geography or History in order for all units of work to be covered. For students in year 1 – 6 there is an explicit process of mapping od the curroicum7um to ensure that over the life of two year in a multi age classroom that there is a clear record of content that has been taught to ensure a consistent approach.

Additionally students participate in Japanese language and culture lessons weekly. This taught by an experienced teacher of Japanese who lived in Japan for a number of numbers. Some of our students have such a talent for this language, that they are now reading stories in Japanese independently. In 2017, we were lucky enough to employ a Japanese Language Assistant for the second year running. Many families across the school hosted Yoshi in their home for up to six weeks at a time. We celebrated our love of learning Japanese in term 4 with Japanese day. Our canteen made sushi for our students to purchase and students rotated around a number of Japanese activities.

Evatt School maintains its focus on teaching a sustainable approach to looking after our environment. Students have one session per week of sustainable education and one further session on Science taught by a specialist science teacher. We were awarded the Actsmart Schools Five Star accreditation. Resources for the project were funded by the savings made from reducing our landfill bin pickups and money from the feed- in – tariff of our 10kw solar panel system.

We continue to maintain focus on The Performing Arts – we have a choir, two recorder groups and performed a musical at the end of the year. We again performed at Limelight in term 3 and Bandstrav in term 4. We continue to nurture our relationship with Melba Copland College through their dance and performance program with other cluster schools, the Magellan project, ANZAC Day assembly, and our usual Christmas concert. In 2017, we presented Mystery at Magpie Manor which was fun and engaging and some of our students learnt to do the Charleston.

We ran our usual athletic events starting with swimming carnival in term 1 and cross country carnivals and athletics carnivals in term 2. Many students successfully represented our school at both district and ACT level. One of our students represented the ACT in touch football. Our year 2 students participated in the Aquasafe program in term 2. Some of our 3-6 students participated in the Jamie Perlman basketball competition in term 3.

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	181611.93	172810.52	354422.45
Voluntary contributions	4935.00	5550.00	10485.00
Contributions & donations	70.00	13025.31	13095.31
Subject contributions	7531.13	5760.00	13291.13
External income (including community use)	9133.64	8260.91	17394.55
Proceeds from sale of assets	105.60	0.00	105.60
Bank Interest	2589.73	2395.23	4984.96
TOTAL INCOME	205977.03	207801.97	413779.00
EXPENDITURE
Utilities and general overheads	24340.49	62526.14	86866.63
Cleaning	42254.90	47881.15	90136.05
Security	637.00	342.00	979.00
Maintenance	40791.11	57721.82	98512.93
Administration	2628.32	1432.11	4060.43
Staffing	514.23	1545.50	2059.73
Communication	7249.95	2534.87	9784.82
Assets	17968.95	21108.35	39077.30
Leases	0.00	0.00	0.00
General office expenditure	6797.24	17025.90	23823.14
Educational	26480.95	28486.72	54967.67
Subject consumables	3525.58	3867.18	7392.76
TOTAL EXPENDITURE	173188.72	244471.74	417660.46
OPERATING RESULT	32788.31	-36669.77	-3881.46
Actual Accumulated Funds	123449.34	93449.34	123449.34
Outstanding commitments (minus)	-10084.25	0.00	-10084.25
BALANCE	146153.40	56779.57	109483.63

Professional Learning

The average professional learning expenditure at the school level per full time equivalent teacher was $471.93

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 2017.

Reserves

Name and Purpose	Amount	Expected Completion
N/A	NIL	N/A

Endorsement Page

Members of the School Board

Parent Representative(s):	Belinda Muller	Erica Harris
Community Representative(s):	Michelle Armstrong
Teacher Representative(s):	Kathryn Fleming	Glynis Steward
Student Representative(s):	N/A	N/A
Board Chair:	Karen Mobbs
Principal:	Susan Skinner

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

Board Chair Signature:	___________________________	Date:	_____ / _____ / _____

I certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief the data and information reported in this Annual School Board Report represents an accurate record of the school’s operations in 2017.

Principal Signature:	___________________________	Date:	_____ / _____ / _____