Kuluin State SchoolQueensland State School Reporting2015 School Annual Report

Postal address Tallow Wood Drive Kuluin 4558

Phone (07) 5477 3777

Fax (07) 5477 3700

Email principal@kuluinss.eq.edu.au

WebpagesAdditional reporting information pertaining to Queensland state schools is located on the My School website and the Queensland Government data website.

Contact person Alison Welch

Principal’s forewordIntroduction

The Kuluin School is an inclusive school which caters for the full range of learners. We are totally committed to providing a challenging, futures oriented, responsive and achievable education for each and every child who attends our school. We strive to achieve our vision of “Together We Grow”. We are a community where support, respect, effective communication and a sense of safety are the cornerstones for each individual’s emotional, social and academic growth. Our vision encapsulates the sense of ‘family’ and togetherness that permeates the Kuluin School community. Our strength in academic outcomes as well as the active teaching of social skills, values, team work and communication makes Kuluin a place “where people want to be”. We pride ourselves on educating our students with skills to allow them to fully participate in an ever changing world. This report outlines the school’s progress towards achieving goals & targets during the 2015 school year and gives an overall picture of what makes our school unique. School progress towards its goals in 2015

Every Day Counts: A school target of 94% attendance for students was set for all students during 2015. Our attendance rate for our students averaged at 93% which fell short of our school target. Students who reached the school target received a certificate at the end of each term in recognition of their achievement. 100% attendance certificates were awarded to all students who achieved this at the end of the school year. Communication to parents regarding the importance of regular attendance is ongoing.

Writing: The teaching of Writing was a major priority for our school in 2015 and will continue to be an ongoing priority in years to come. Kuluin was incorporated into the Success Team Project in Writing during 2015. Pearson & Gallagher’s Gradual Release of Responsibility was the model used to implement modelled,

shared, guided and independent writing. All teaching staff were provided with professional development, modelling, coaching and feedback sessions to ensure that consistency of practice is occurring in all classrooms.

Numeracy: All teachers have implemented “Warm Up’s” in their classrooms three times per week. Mathematics Resource trolleys were created for all year levels to support Math learning throughout the school. The teaching of Mathematics will continue to be a priority at Kuluin.

School Capability: The Developing Performance process occurred with all teaching and non-teaching staff discussing their performance needs with a reflective partner and creating a Developing Performance Plan.

Future outlook

Flying Start Initiative - Every Day Counts. Target set for 94% attendance for all students at Kuluin. Implementation of the Australian Curriculum in English, Mathematics, Geography, History, Science and The Arts through use of the C2C and school developed Unit Plans.Use KAGAN cooperative groupings as the catalyst for differentiation. Further embed our school culture of high expectations for students and staff. Continue to implement the Developing Performance Framework and data conversations for all staff. A co-ordinated approach to the facilities and resources for our school is an ongoing priority for The Kuluin School. The following areas are considered to be major priorities for our school in 2016.

• Mathematics- Number Warm Up’s / open ended questions • Reading / Writing / Spelling• ACARA and C2C Implementation • Art of Science and Teaching ASoT- Curriculum Framework / KAGAN • Upper 2 Bands

Our school at a glance

School profileCoeducational or single sex: CoeducationalIndependent Public School: NoYear levels offered in 2015: Prep Year - Year 6Student enrolments for this school:

Total Girls Boys Indigenous

Enrolment Continuity

(Feb – Nov)

2013 770 371 399 25 95%

2014 793 377 416 36 94%

2015 685 339 346 37 94%

Student counts are based on the Census (August) enrolment collection.*From 2015, data for all state high schools include Year 7 students. Prior to 2015, only state high schools offering Year 7 had these students included in their counts.

In 2015, there were no students enrolled in a Pre-Prep program.*

*Pre-Prep is a kindergarten program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, living across 35 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, in the year before school (http://deta.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/families/pre-prep-indigenous.html).

Characteristics of the student body

Students at The Kuluin School typically originate from a cross-section of the community.

The majority of parents are supportive of the school and their child’s education.

The school benefits from a mixture of cultures, although the percentage of Indigenous, Asian or European students represents less than 10% of the student population.

Average class sizes

Phase

Average Class Size

2013 2014 2015

Prep – Year 3 23 22 20

Year 4 – Year 7 Primary 26 23 19

Year 7 Secondary – Year 10

Year 11 – Year 12

*From 2015, data for all state high schools include Year 7 students. Prior to 2015, only state high schools offering Year 7 had these students included in their counts.

School disciplinary absences

Disciplinary Absences

Count of Incidents

2013 2014* 2015**

Short Suspensions - 1 to 5 days 19 24 13

Long Suspensions - 6 to 20 days 1 0 1

Exclusions 0 0 0

Cancellations of Enrolment 0 0 0

* Caution should be used when comparing post 2013 SDA data as amendments to EGPA disciplinary provisions and changes in methodology created time series breaks in 2014 and 2015.**From 2015, Exclusion represents principal decisions to exclude rather than recommendations for exclusion. From 2015 where a principal decided not to exclude, a small number of recommendations for exclusions have been counted as a long suspension. Exclusions, Cancellations and Long & Charge Suspensions may be upheld or set aside through an appeals process.

Curriculum deliveryOur approach to curriculum delivery

A variety of classroom settings exist at Kuluin to create a distinctive approach to improving learning outcomes from cooperative, composite classes and single classrooms. An emphasis is placed on classrooms to strive to be places where the teaching and learning is negotiated with the students, has high levels of intellectual rigour and is responsive to the needs of all learners. Ultimately, instilling an attitude of lifelong learning is paramount to Kuluin’s purpose.

The Kuluin School delivers curriculum in accordance with the Australian Curriculum for English, Mathematics, History, Geography and Science. All other Key Learning Areas are using the Essential Learnings as per the QCAA Queensland Curriculum Assessment Authority for teaching, assessment and reporting.

A specialist teacher teaches and assesses Health across all year levels.

There is a strong emphasis on students being literate and numerate.

Japanese is currently taught in Year 5 and Year 6.

Extra curricula activities

2015 was once again another very successful year for those gifted and talented Kuluin students who participated in the Creative Problem Solvers’ Club and the Opti-MINDS Challenge.

We expanded our Creative Problem Solvers’ Club to enable 50 students in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 the opportunity to participate.  Students who demonstrated superior academic ability, cooperative problem solving skills, creativity and commitment during these preliminary programs were selected to represent the school in the Opti-MINDS Challenge during term three. The Opti-MINDS Challenge is an interschool event, which involves teams of students solving challenging problems through creative, dramatic presentations. In 2015 Kuluin’s Social Science and Science Engineering teams won the regional final in their respective categories

and were invited to participate in the state finals held at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.  Our Social Science team received an Honours award at the state finals.

Kuluin also had a number of students attend various Days of Excellence Programs facilitated by Brainways Education.  These programs took place at a variety of locations around the coast each semester.

Music Program: Kuluin School has many extra curricula activities that are available in Performing Arts.

There are three choirs that children from Year 1 through to Year 6 can participate in.

The senior choir participated successfully in the Nambour Eisteddfod in 2015 obtaining a second place in their section. The students also sang at SingFest obtaining a silver award.

The school has a Strings and Multi Instrumental Music program. Our students are provided with opportunities to participate in music camps, eisteddfods, music workshops and school based concerts.

Private Guitar lessons are also available to our students. Kuluin has a Rock Band that performs throughout the year.

Last year the musical Mulan Jnr was performed. It was a wonderful success.

Sports Program: Kuluin has an outstanding reputation in the sporting community due to the many opportunities that are provided to our students.

The Kuluin School is competitive in the Coastal District Athletics and Cross Country each year. The school had Regional and State representation in a number of sports with many individual and team medals being won.

Our Year 1 to Year 6 students participate in the Learn to Swim Program each year.

Our Year 5 and 6 students participate in interschool sport in Term 3 each year.

The Kuluin Surf Education program is conducted for our Year 6 students during Term 4.

How Information and Communication Technologies are used to improve learning

Teachers’ pedagogy continued to transform in 2015 with access to various professional development opportunities and an excellent range of well-maintained ICT resources across the school.

Professional development opportunities included needs based “just in time” sessions, pedagogical (eLearning) sessions and 1:1 classroom support sessions.

In recent years we have developed a dedicated ICT team consisting of four classroom teachers and a member of the leadership team who facilitate the Smart Classrooms systemic initiative and provide technical support (Teacher/OC Holder).

In 2015…

OneSchool continued to be used for student information, finance, contacts, timetabling, behaviour recording and reporting.

Our OnePortal team site set as the staff homepage continued to provide staff notices, calendar, document stores and links. This continued to facilitate anytime, anywhere access to this information.

Kuluin’s ‘Website for Schools’ website continued to be maintained offering up-to-date communication to our broader community.

The QSchools App continued to be incorporated into school processes to enhance communication between the school and parent body.

Teachers were allocated a new Computers for Teachers device. The new devices allowed teachers greater productivity over the ageing devices they replaced.

Computer Lab 1 was upgraded to offer a flexible learning environment containing 15 new computers, new student furniture to allow both individual and collaborative learning and audio/visual facilities. This was completed in partnership with the school’s Out of School Hours (OSHC) facility.

The Resource Centre continued to enable teachers and students to access flexible learning experiences with the ability to integrate wireless devices, interactive whiteboards and green screen video recording technology. These facilities were again heavily used.

The Resource Centre’s Library Management System (LMS) was upgraded to Oliver. The Orbit search engine was set as the student’s homepage providing students with a range of information resources in addition to easy access to Oliver search.

Computers school-wide were migrated to the MOE 4 Windows 8.1 build providing greater support for modern applications, websites and devices.

Classroom audio/visual facilities were upgraded in Blocks A - F providing brighter, higher definition wide-screen displays making the diverse types of content displayed by teaching staff easier to read from all areas of the classroom.

Through the Smart Classrooms initiative, Information & Communication Technologies (ICTs) are becoming more integral each year to all areas at Kuluin. 

Social climate

The satisfaction levels with our social climate of The Kuluin School are high according to all of our stakeholders. Our school has a number of pastoral care programs of which complement our Positive Behaviour for Learning program. The Better Buddies program is firmly embedded in our school with older students being trained to be buddies to our Prep and Year One students.

We currently offer alternate lunch time programs in which our students can participate. These programs currently consist of: board games, gardening, choir, craft, dance, chess, yoga and art.

The School Opinion Survey from 2015 indicated that 100% of our parent population is satisfied or highly satisfied that their child is getting a good education at this school. 94% of our student population indicated that they feel safe at our school. 93% of our student population feel that they are treated fairly at this school whilst 96% of parents feel that their child is getting a good education at school.

Parent, student and staff satisfaction with the school

Performance measure

Percentage of parent/caregivers who agree# that: 2013 2014 2015

their child is getting a good education at school (S2016) 100% 89% 96%

this is a good school (S2035) 96% 89% 100%

their child likes being at this school (S2001) 96% 89% 100%

their child feels safe at this school (S2002) 96% 92% 88%

their child's learning needs are being met at this school (S2003) 96% 84% 100%

their child is making good progress at this school (S2004) 89% 84% 92%

teachers at this school expect their child to do his or her best (S2005) 100% 98% 96%

teachers at this school provide their child with useful feedback about his or her school work (S2006) 93% 83% 96%

teachers at this school motivate their child to learn (S2007) 100% 86% 96%

teachers at this school treat students fairly (S2008) 89% 87% 88%

they can talk to their child's teachers about their concerns (S2009) 100% 95% 96%

this school works with them to support their child's learning (S2010) 96% 85% 96%

this school takes parents' opinions seriously (S2011) 88% 78% 73%

student behaviour is well managed at this school (S2012) 81% 78% 69%

this school looks for ways to improve (S2013) 96% 78% 80%

this school is well maintained (S2014) 96% 91% 96%

Performance measure

Percentage of students who agree# that: 2013 2014 2015

they are getting a good education at school (S2048) 98% 97% 97%

they like being at their school (S2036) 95% 98% 97%

Performance measure

Percentage of students who agree# that: 2013 2014 2015

they feel safe at their school (S2037) 97% 94% 94%

their teachers motivate them to learn (S2038) 99% 98% 96%

their teachers expect them to do their best (S2039) 99% 100% 99%

their teachers provide them with useful feedback about their school work (S2040) 95% 95% 94%

teachers treat students fairly at their school (S2041) 97% 90% 93%

they can talk to their teachers about their concerns (S2042) 91% 96% 91%

their school takes students' opinions seriously (S2043) 96% 92% 90%

student behaviour is well managed at their school (S2044) 88% 90% 83%

their school looks for ways to improve (S2045) 98% 99% 96%

their school is well maintained (S2046) 97% 95% 96%

their school gives them opportunities to do interesting things (S2047) 94% 98% 93%

Performance measure

Percentage of school staff who agree# that: 2013 2014 2015

they enjoy working at their school (S2069) 98% 92% 96%

they feel that their school is a safe place in which to work (S2070) 100% 98% 98%

they receive useful feedback about their work at their school (S2071) 93% 91% 93%

they feel confident embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives across the learning areas (S2114) 92% 100% 100%

students are encouraged to do their best at their school (S2072) 100% 100% 100%

students are treated fairly at their school (S2073) 96% 100% 100%

student behaviour is well managed at their school (S2074) 89% 82% 95%

staff are well supported at their school (S2075) 90% 81% 93%

their school takes staff opinions seriously (S2076) 89% 78% 88%

their school looks for ways to improve (S2077) 96% 96% 98%

their school is well maintained (S2078) 88% 92% 95%

their school gives them opportunities to do interesting things (S2079) 88% 90% 93%

# ‘Agree’ represents the percentage of respondents who Somewhat Agree, Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement. DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.

Parent and community engagement

Parents are actively encouraged to be involved in their child’s education in a variety of ways. Our community are kept abreast of issues related to our school including school targets and benchmarks through Parents and Citizens’ Association Meetings, School Assemblies, School Newsletter, Q Schools App and the School Website. A number of parent and community members volunteer within our school. Our school has an active Early Years Committee which meets regularly and discusses the Early Years Curriculum and practice. Many parents are encouraged and are currently working in our school in a variety of different ways – classroom helpers, excursions, fundraising, tuckshop, Library, P&C etc.

Parent information sessions are regularly conducted for parents. Our school conducts Parent Teacher Interviews, Culminating Activities, Under 8’s Day, Musical Performances and other special activities where parents’ skills are utilised.

Reducing the school’s environmental footprint

The school has commenced awareness raising around the themes of waste and water management. Our waste plant material is mulched on our school site. All of our classrooms recycle and we use composting for all fruit scraps. Steel and materials from old school furniture has been recycled. All of our computers are recycled. The school photocopy machines have smart energy management systems incorporated. There is ongoing replacement of old fans throughout the school to minimise use of air conditioning and pump maintenance to the water tanks. Toner reduction has been a priority for our school.

Environmental footprint indicators

Years ElectricitykWh Water kL

2012-2013 221,940 24,568

2013-2014 162,586 5

2014-2015 213,389 41,824

*The consumption data is compiled from sources including ERM, Ergon reports and utilities data entered into OneSchool by each school. The data provides an indication of the consumption trend in each of the utility categories which impact on the school’s environmental footprint.

Our staff profile

Staff composition, including Indigenous staff

2015 Workforce Composition Teaching Staff* Non-teaching Staff Indigenous Staff

Headcounts 53 20 0

Full-time equivalents 44 15 0

Qualification of all teachers

*Teaching staff includes School Leaders**Graduate Diploma etc. includes Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours Degree, and Graduate Certificate.

Expenditure on and teacher participation in professional development

The total funds expended on teacher professional development in 2015 were $18,101.The major professional development initiatives are as follows:

Writing Spelling Mathematics – Number Warmup’s KAGAN Co-operative Structures – Day 2 & Day 4 ASoT – Art and Teaching of Science QSIL - Inclusive Education

The proportion of the teaching staff involved in professional development activities during 2015 was 100%..

Average staff attendance 2013 2014 2015

Staff attendance for permanent and temporary staff and school leaders. 96% 95% 95%

Proportion of staff retained from the previous school year

From the end of the previous school year, 98% of staff was retained by the school for the entire 2015 school year.

School income broken down by funding source

School income broken down by funding source is available via the My School website at http://www.myschool.edu.au/.

To access our income details, click on the My School link above. You will then be taken to the My School website with the following ‘Find a school’ text box.

Where it says ‘School name’, type in the name of the school you wish to view, select the school from the drop-down list and select <GO>. Read and follow the instructions on the next screen; you will be asked to confirm that you are not a robot then by clicking continue, you acknowledge that you have read, accepted and agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before being given access to the school’s profile webpage.

School financial information is available by selecting ‘School finances’ in the menu box in the top left corner of the school’s profile webpage. If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a paper copy of income by funding source.

Performance of our students

Key student outcomes

Student attendance 2013 2014 2015

The overall attendance rate for the students at this school (shown as a percentage). 93% 93% 93%

The attendance rate for Indigenous students at this school (shown as a percentage). 92% 90% 88%

The student attendance rate is generated by dividing the total of full-days and part-days that students attended, and comparing this to the total of all possible days for students to attend, expressed as a percentage.

The overall attendance rate in 2015 for all Queensland Primary schools was 93%.

Student attendance rate for each year level (shown as a percentage)

Prep Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Year 12

2013 94% 93% 94% 93% 94% 94% 94% 93%

2014 93% 93% 92% 94% 93% 94% 94% 93%

2015 93% 93% 93% 94% 93% 93% 93%

*From 2013, the methodology used for calculating attendance rates effectively counts attendance for every student for every day of attendance in Semester 1. The student attendance rate is generated by dividing the total of full-days and part-days that students attended, and comparing this to the total of all possible days for students to attend, expressed as a percentage.

DW = Data withheld to ensure confidentiality.

Student attendance distribution

The proportions of students by attendance range.

13

12

10

10

11

12

28

24

26

49

52

53

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2015

2014

2013

Proportion of Students

Attendance Rate: 0% to <85% 85% to <90% 90% to <95% 95% to 100%

Description of how non-attendance is managed by the school

Non-attendance is managed in state schools in line with the DET procedures, Managing Student Absences and Enforcing Enrolment and Attendance at State Schools and Roll Marking in State Schools, which outline processes for managing and recording student attendance and absenteeism.

Parents are encouraged to phone the absence line on the day a student is absent or to send a note to explain the reasons for the absence. Teachers are responsible for ringing parents when a child is regularly absent. Once a student has unexplained absences for 5 days the SMS-PR-036 is enacted. Rolls are marked electronically each morning and afternoon.

The Every Day Counts information and Policy statements are communicated to our parent body at least once per Term. Regular reminders are made to students about regular attendance on school assemblies. Attendance Certificates are distributed at the end of each Term as recognition of those students who attend school regularly.

National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results – our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7, and 9.

Our reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are available via the My School website at http://www.myschool.edu.au/.

To access our NAPLAN results, click on the My School link above. You will then be taken to the My School website with the following ‘Find a school’ text box.

Where it says ‘School name’, type in the name of the school you wish to view, select the school from the drop-down list and select <GO>. Read and follow the instructions on the next screen; you will be asked to confirm that you are not a robot then by clicking continue, you acknowledge that you have read, accepted and agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy before being given access to the school’s profile webpage.

School NAPLAN information is available by selecting ‘NAPLAN’ in the menu box in the top left corner of the school’s profile webpage. If you are unable to access the internet, please contact the school for a paper copy of our school’s NAPLAN results.

As at 16 February 2016. The above values exclude VISA students.