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Introduction to the Annual Report 2020

Due to COVID-19 interruptions and restrictions in 2020, many school programs, assessments and

initiatives could not be continued as normal. The School Business Plan was reviewed at the end of

2020 and goals and targets for 2021 were updated.

The school was thanked by the Department of Education for its contribution the Connected

Learning Hub which enabled students to work from home during the pandemic. The school also

participated in the DETECT Schools research. Students were tested for COVID-19 and parents, staff

and students completed surveys.

To ease the burden on schools it was determined by the Director General, Lisa Rodgers, that

Annual Reports for the year 2019 would not be required. The Annual Report for 2020 therefore,

will be a summary of progress over 2019 and 2020 and a statement of future directions.

PROGRESS AGAINST IDENTIFIED PRIORITIES AND TARGETS AND CONTEXTUALISED

INFORMATION ABOUT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Quality Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction:

All students engage in a curriculum that is underpinned by evidence based pedagogy

1. Communication

60% of staff will be self-reporting consistently at Tier 1 Knowledge Level of the Augmentative

Alternative Communication (AAC) for Educators competencies.

15% of teachers will be self-reporting consistently at Tier 2 Knowledge Level of the

Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) for Educators competencies.

75% of students will access robust AAC systems in their classroom.

50% of students will access robust AAC systems in all school environments.

2. Literacy

Assessment data on Reading and Writing for targeted cohorts in each Phase of Schooling will

show gains for at least 95% of students.

3. Mathematics

Assessment data on Mathematics for targeted cohorts in each Phase of Schooling will show

gains for at least 95% of students.

The disruptions caused by COVID-19 to the school’s assessment cycles were exacerbated by an

upgrade of the ABLEWA assessment tool. Eight teachers were invited by the School Curriculum

and Assessment Authority to participate in a trial of the updated version of the tool, the Ruby

Platform. The trial was a great success. The reports generated by the Ruby Platform greatly

enhance their readability and ease of analysis. Unfortunately however the ABLEWA assessment

tool was unavailable for most of Term 4 which prevented some teachers from completing their

assessments, and whole school data for 2020 could not be obtained.

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We took the opportunity to evaluate the appropriateness and usefulness of a variety of school-

wide assessments with a view to refining our assessment cycle for 2021. Each teacher was

required to compare the performance of three of their students in Speaking and Listening, Reading

and Writing across three assessment tools: ABLEWA, SENAT and the IEP/Report.

It was found that there was a strong correlation in student scores for ABLEWA and SENAT. IEP

goals, which are based on achievement levels in the Western Australian Curriculum, were found to

be pitched slightly higher than the students’ performance levels in the assessments. It was

determined that SENAT would no longer be used as an assessment tool as the ABLEWA produces

whole school data and individual student reports are of a high quality which are linked to the

curriculum.

A review of the DAGG-2 assessment was conducted by speech pathologist, Amy Litton. While the

information produced by the DAGG-2 is extremely useful, when looking at an individual student’s

performance, there are limitations to the DAGG-2 long-term usefulness in the school. Amy

recommended that the school use the ROCC assessment in the future. The benefits of using the

ROCC are:

Data can be gathered on all students regardless of ability (emerging, transitional and

conventional).

Assessment results are presented in graph form for individual students, classes and the

whole school.

Teachers can complete the assessments.

Teacher moderators can be trained to assist their colleagues in ensuring accuracy.

The 2021 Annual Report will present whole school data in relation to the Targets for

Communication, Literacy and Mathematics.

Thriving, Resilient Learners and Leaders:

All students are provided with a safe learning environment, with opportunities to build social

and emotional connections, and cognitive skills that will enable them to participate in learning

activities.

Teachers use reflective and collaborative teaching practice to engage and support students.

4. Trauma Aware Schooling and Positive Education

Assessment data on Personal and Social Capability for targeted cohorts in each Phase of

Schooling will show gains for at least 95% of students.

Trauma Aware Schooling

Trauma aware specialist support was provided in curriculum delivery: Yoga, Dance, Art, Drumbeat,

and Play. All secondary students and 8 primary students attended Hip Hop in Term One. Five

classes participated in Drumbeat conducted by two teachers. All secondary students participated

in Yoga sessions in Term Four. The level of engagement and participation increased throughout

the program. Students showed visible enjoyment as they attended each program.

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Whole school data was not available as the ABLEWA system closed for redevelopment. A review of

whole school data from 2019 to 2021 will be conducted this year.

Positive Education

We implemented Positive Education across the school through the Be You program.

All staff were introduced to the Be You program and website in Term One and completed the Be

You Educators Survey. The data indicated that staff shared an agreed confidence in the

subsections: building resilience, family support and responding together. In consultation with staff,

the mentally healthy communities subsection was an agreed area to be addressed either face to

face or online. All staff completed two modules in this sections with 14 staff continuing to

complete modules in other sections. As staff felt confident in supporting mental wellbeing in

schools, further training was discontinued and this priority was moved to standard practice.

5. Staff Leadership

80% of Teacher and Education Assistant meetings will employ the Professional Learning

Collaborative model to facilitate ongoing improvement in teaching and learning in each

Phase of Schooling.

The school aims to develop a Leadership Structure that takes advantage of staff strengths and

skills, to achieve the targets of the Business Plan.

Professional Learning Communities (PLC) were established in late 2019 as an impetus of ongoing

cycles of improvement in school priority areas. The communities were:

Tier 2/3 Committee (Positive Behaviour Support)

Wellbeing Interest Group

Literacy Interest Group

Communication Interest Group

The Arts Interest Group

Numeracy Interest Group

Play Interest Group

Future Pathways Interest Group

The communities and their purpose were introduced to all staff in term one. Every staff member

committed to a group and attended the initial meetings towards building improvements. School

based PLC Team Leaders were to assist Line Managers at teacher and EA meetings. Senior teachers

and Lead EAs were allocated to lead each of the PLCs in relation to the school priorities.

Discussions and feedback occurred at the initial teacher and EA meetings. Due to COVID-19 school

closure and the shift to preparations for online learning and resources this role ceased.

This strategy continues into 2021 as follows:

Term One – administration team training, whole staff professional learning on PLC effective

meeting model, implementation of PLC structure to all meetings. Shoulder to shoulder

mentoring for administration, teachers and lead EAs. PLC professional learning will be

provided throughout the year.

Term Two – re-establish Professional Learning Communities

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Strong Partnerships and Collaboration:

The school works with external agencies and organisations to maximise opportunities for

students.

6. Future Pathways

The school-based Pathways Team assists at least 70% of year 10 -12 students, and their

families, to implement their Pathways Plan.

All families of students in secondary classes were invited to discuss their child’s education and

potential pathways for life after school.

The options that exist to support the identified pathways within the school were identified and,

where possible, integrated into the student’s program. These programs were given increased

emphasis in Upper Secondary where students are almost ready to leave school.

ASDAN is a major component of the educational program for each student. It targets key skills that

increase opportunities for life after school. 68 students completed a total of 117 ASDAN Modules.

Additionally, 11 students successfully completed Certificate 1 courses:

2 completed Certificate 1 in Agri Foods, at Kiara College 9 completed a Certificate 1 in Leadership, at Durham Road School

Throughout 2020, 12 students attended 8 workplaces whilst undertaking workplace learning. The program was impacted by Covid-19 restrictions. Most work environments, e.g. ACTIV and Westcare suspended school based work experience. This impacted the number of student placements and also the hours of work attended. In 2020 a new school based pre workplace learning skills group commenced. 21 students accessed

this program. The key aim of the program is to help teach students the key workplace behaviours

and functional skills required for work.

Key strategies for meeting improvement goals were:

The Pathways Team: Deputy Principals, Teachers, Work Place Learning (WPL) Coordinator, and Family Liaison Officers (FLO).

The Team is running effectively. Each area has been allocated key responsibilities and is working to ensure the students have the opportunity to have a clearly defined pathway moving forward.

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Teachers are involved in the planning process and work with the WPL Coordinator to identify supports and skills required for undertaking workplace learning.

The FLOs are meeting with and assisting parents with NDIS planning and review meetings. They are also liaising with parents in the last year of school to ascertain what pathways remain valid and to assist with helping the school transition the student to life after school.

Pathways themed Parent and Carers’ Information events and Parent Meetings will be held (IEP,

ITP and Transition).

All of the classes in the Secondary Phase are using Parent Meeting Templates that provide

information that contributes to an understanding of goal/pathways for life after school.

These are then used to inform educational plans including workplace learning

opportunities.

The planned parent event of 2020 did not go ahead due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Family Liaison Officers (FLO) will provide support and information to parents and carers for NDIS

planning, reviews and meetings.

7. Transition to School for pre-kindergarten students

A transition to school program will be provided for pre-kindy students in Semester 2.

43 parents of children in the early childhood years (kindergarten to year 2) responded to the

telephone survey question “Was our pre-kindergarten transition to school program helpful”? Of

these 42 responded “yes”. Parents were invited to three sessions at the new kindergarten where

they met with their child’s teachers and familiarised themselves with school processes. The

success of this program is reflected in the 2021 kindergarten enrolment. Of the 25 kindergarten

students 18 attend the Early Years Learning Centre and 7 are in specialist classrooms.

In 2020 the transition to kindergarten program included the official opening of the new

kindergarten building. After consultation with Aboriginal Elders we included a smoking ceremony

at the official opening. The Mayor, Dan Bull attended the opening. We were delighted to dual

name the building:

Early Years Learning Centre - Koolangka Kaadadjiny Miya.

Outcomes attached to Funded Targeted Initiatives

Graduate Teacher Program and Graduate Curriculum Materials: Graduate teacher funds

expended appropriately as required.

Level 3 Classroom Teachers Additional Teacher Time: Level 3 Teacher provided with

additional time for targetted programs.

School Psychologist IPS Flexibility: School Psychologist employed by the school.

Schools with a Low Proportion of Level 3 Classroom Teachers: Teachers have been

encouraged to engage in Level 3 Classroom Teacher training programs.

National Partnership on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education: All kindergarten

students have access to 15 hours of schooling.

VET Delivery to Secondary Students: VET funding overview in #6 Future Pathway target.

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PARENT SATISFACTION SURVEY

To get the best response possible our Family Liaison Officers phoned all our parents to

discuss the parent survey. They were able to speak with more than 112 different families.

The responses were overwhelmingly positive with more than 100 people ‘agreeing’ or

‘strongly agreeing’ to 11/12 of the survey statements. Statement #8 received 86 positive

responses with 25 responses of ‘not sure’.

STATEMENTS POSITIVE RESPONSES

1. I can talk to my child’s teacher about concerns. 109

2. My child likes being at this school. 103

3. The school looks for ways to improve. 102

4. This school takes parents opinions seriously 102

5. My child is making good progress at this school. ` 107

6. My child’s learning needs are being met at this school 103

7. This school works with me to support my child’s learning 106

8. The school has a strong relationship with the local community 86 & 25 ‘not sure’

9. I am satisfied with the standard of education at this school 105

10. I would recommend this school to others. 110

11. My child’s teachers are good teachers. 110

12. Teachers at this school care about my child. 109

Additional Questions

DO YOU NEED TO ACCESS THE NDIS FUNDING OR THERAPY SUPPORTS Yes 32. 20 parents requested assistance with organising therapy for 2021 and more than half of them requested help from our Family Liaison Officers to organise therapy for their children. Not sure 1 No 76 WHICH COMMUNICATION METHOD WORKS BEST FOR YOU On-Line Newsletter 41 Hard Copy Newsletter 22 Facebook Page 26 Website 20 Communication Book 63 Phone Calls 73 Emails 10

CONNECT 1 Online Diary 1 Text Message 1 Schoolzine App 1 Face to Face 1 Class DOJO 2

WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES FOR YOUR CHILD WHEN THEY FINISH SCHOOL Community Involvement 82 Friendship 93 Recreation 85 Independent Employment 53 Independent Living 74 Supported Employment 75

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I need help to sort this out 38 WAS OUR EARLY YEARS TRANSITION TO SCHOOL PROGRAM HELPFUL? Yes 42 No 1 N/A 70 GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT SCHOOL Excellent school Very happy with school WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN BEING THE PARENT LIASON FOR YOUR CHILDS CLASS 2021 Yes 40 Not sure 31 No 41 SHOULD WE HOLD A PARENT INFORMATION NIGHT Yes 97 Not sure 0 No 15 The School Review, conducted in February 2020, recommended:

Increase parent engagement and cultural responsiveness through partnerships with

the EDAC and Aboriginal consultation groups.

Further expand collaborative partnerships with the local council and industry

partners that enhance learning opportunities and pathway options.

The school is actively working on both these recommendations. In 2020 several parents and

staff members participated in a Values Incubator which examined the values that the school

represents and some of the examples of how we live and exemplify those values. It was

determined that while continued progress is our goal, the school overall is seen to:

Support Growth

Embrace CommUNITY

Lead in Communication and

Continually Improve

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