ANNOTATION

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At IPS our school demonstrates a strong commitment to involving the community in the education of our students.

 

During this year, IPS implemented a program where our local CWA ladies brought in their electronic devices. Our Year 6 students taught them how to improve their skills so they could take full advantage of their technology they own. During these lessons the CWA ladies brought in a variety of devices. They ranged from laptops to tablets and smartphones and students worked one-on-one with them to upskill them.

 

Every year during education week IPS hold an open day. We invite and welcome parents and carers into our school to go into classrooms and view their child’s work. On this day the school also hosts a book sale that raises money for our school library. Along with our whole school open day, IPS has also implemented a pre-school open night that allows parents and carers to come along and learn more about the school. This open night allows parents and carers to visit a variety of stands, which provides them with information about what our school can offer their child. Parents and carers are asked to complete a survey about the night so IPS can see if it is beneficial to host these events in the future.

 

Every second year IPS runs a school fete. Teachers, parents, carers and community members come together to create a fete that has a multitude of stalls. Many local businesses set up their own pop up shop and donate their time and money to raise money for the school. Unlike other schools in our area, IPS run our fete on a Saturday. This allows IPS to involve many more community members and the school has also noticed increased numbers from holidaymakers over the years.

 

IPS takes full advantage of the use of ICT to engage its community with student learning and school events. IPS has a customised website that is consistently updated with upcoming events, news and special events. Furthermore, through the use of our Facebook page and YouTube channel we are constantly connecting with our community by posting images, videos and information about what our students are doing in and out of the classroom. Our newsletters are also available digitally through our website and Facebook page. This allows us to communicate a multitude of information to our parents. Information about  grading scales, that are used nationally within department schools can be explained to parents through these means.

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ANALYSIS

 

Under the elements of Learning, it was decided that Iluka Public School best meets the Sustaining and Growing outcomes for Wellbeing SG2.

 

The ‘tone’ at IPS reflects a school-wide commitment to purposeful and successful learning. There are very few obvious behavioural problems at IPS and behaviour management takes up very little, if any, time of school leaders and classroom teachers. There is a strong focus on quality learning and on the creation of a positive teaching and learning environment in which all students are expected to learn successfully, in their own ways and at their own pace. Individual talents are identified and valued within students, providing opportunities to connect with their peers and succeed with their academic work. Teachers ensure that all students are engaged in challenging, meaningful learning. Respectful and caring relationships are reflected in the ways in which staff, students and parents interact with each other and the language they use in both formal and informal settings. Parents and carers at IPS are encouraged to take a genuine and close interest in the work of the school and are welcomed as partners in their child’s learning. Staff morale is generally high.

 

Under the elements of Teaching, it was decided that Iluka Public School best meets the Sustaining and Growing outcomes for Professional Standards.

 

Teachers have demonstrated a responsibility for driving improvements in their teaching throughout the school with the aim of achieving the goals of the school plan. All teachers and leaders are committed to identifying and implementing better teaching methods and a high priority is given to professional learning for teachers that include evidence-based teaching strategies. This means, strategies that have been demonstrated through research and practice and are highly effective. The principal and teachers spend time working on improving teaching practices, including modelling, observing, evaluating and providing feedback on classroom teaching. The principal encourages the professional development of staff to be shared. We focus on a coherent, school-wide teaching team being paramount for improving outcomes for all students. There are documented Professional Development Framework goals held by teachers and the school has arrangements in place for mentoring and coaching beyond their classrooms. Teachers visit each other and welcome opportunities to have the principal observe and discuss their work with them. The school provides opportunities for teachers to take on leadership roles outside the classroom.

 

Under the elements of Leading, it was decided that Iluka Public School best meets the Sustaining and Growing outcomes for Leadership SG2, School Planning, Implementation and Reporting SG2 and Management Practices and Processes SG2.

 

IPS regularly survey parents and carers at the end of the year, as part of the school year’s ASR evaluation process.  Time is also set aside for parents to provide feedback using the online forum, ‘Tell Them From Me’ during Term 3.  The principal also seeks feedback from talking with many parents on a daily basis. Similarly,  at the end of the year, in-depth staff discussions about the school strengths and weaknesses occurs. Strategies for the continuous improvement of student outcomes are also discussed. The school systematically monitors other performance data, including: data relating to student attendance, school absences and other behavioural data, any parent perceptions and ideas are taken into consideration. Communication between the school and parents provide information about where students are up to with their learning, what progress they have made over time and what parents might do to support their child’s further learning goals.

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School leaders place a very high priority on the ongoing professional learning of all staff focused on improving classroom teaching.

The school, has established close partnerships with the department’s PSL and consultants, other schools, charity groups, local organisations and universities, to ensure that the learning needs and educational opportunities for individual students are being met.

 

There is a strong and optimistic commitment by all staff to the school plan and a clear belief that further improvement is possible. Teachers have taken responsibility for the changes in their practice required to achieve school targets and are using data on a regular basis to monitor, evaluate and review  the effectiveness of their own efforts to meet school milestones.

The principal is clearly committed to always finding better ways to improve and strengthen parental engagement. This is reflected by the many opportunities being offered to the community to provide constructive feedback to IPS. Currently, this includes discussions at  P&C meetings, streamlined surveys, face to face discussions and talking to parents on our Facebook site.