Byfield State School

Acknowledgment of Country

The Department of Education acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands from across . We pay our respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the state.

A better understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures develops an enriched appreciation of Australia’s cultural heritage and can lead to reconciliation. This is essential to the maturity of Australia as a nation and fundamental to the development of an Australian identity.

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Contents

1. Introduction ...... 4 1.1 Review team ...... 4 1.2 School context ...... 5 1.3 Contributing stakeholders ...... 6 1.4 Supporting documentary evidence...... 6 2. Executive summary ...... 7 2.1 Key findings ...... 7 2.2 Key improvement strategies ...... 9

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1. Introduction

This report is a product of a review carried out by a review team from the School Improvement Unit (SIU) at Byfield State School from 28 to 29 October 2019.

The report presents an evaluation of the school’s performance against the nine domains of the National School Improvement Tool. It also recommends improvement strategies for the school to implement in consultation with its regional office and school community.

The report’s executive summary outlines key findings from the review and key improvement strategies that prioritise future directions for improvement.

Schools will publish the executive summary on the school website within two weeks of receiving the report.

The principal will meet with their Assistant Regional Director (ARD) to discuss the review findings and improvement strategies.

For more information regarding the SIU and reviews for Queensland state schools please visit the SIU website.

1.1 Review team

Robert Van den Heuvel Internal reviewer, SIU (review chair)

Andrea Moy Peer reviewer

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1.2 School context

Location: Byfield Road, Byfield

Education region: Region

Year opened: 1948 – current site

Year levels: Prep to Year 6

Enrolment: 30

Indigenous enrolment 10 per cent percentage:

Students with disability nil enrolment percentage:

Index of Community Socio- Educational Advantage 979 (ICSEA) value:

Year principal appointed: 2009

Day 8 staffing teacher full- 2.66 time equivalent (FTE):

Keppel Coast Small Schools cluster – Keppel Sands State School, Coowonga State School, State School

Significant partner cluster – State School, schools: Farnborough State School, State School, Emu Park State School, Keppel Sands State School, Coowonga State School, Cawarral State School, Yeppoon State High School

Byfield Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C), Byfield Significant community Café, Byfield and District Historical Society, Byfield Hall partnerships: Committee, Fantastic Woodworking

Reading – The Byfield Way, Writing – The Byfield Way, Significant school Reading Rocketeers, student leadership, chaplaincy, programs: A-Ha’s initiative, end of term attendance and bookwork awards

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1.3 Contributing stakeholders

The following stakeholders contributed to the review:

School community:

 Principal, teacher, four teacher aides, 28 students and 10 parents.

Community and business groups:

 P&C vice president, secretary, treasurer and book club convenor.

Partner schools and other educational providers:

 Deputy principal of Yeppoon State High School.

Government and departmental representatives:

 State Member for Keppel and ARD.

1.4 Supporting documentary evidence

Annual Implementation Plan 2019 Explicit Improvement Agenda 2019

Investing for Success 2019 Strategic Plan 2016-2019

OneSchool School budget overview

Professional learning plan 2019 Curriculum planning documents

School improvement targets School differentiation plan or flowchart

School pedagogical framework Professional development plans

School data plan School newsletters and website

School Opinion Survey Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students

Headline Indicators (April 2019 release) School Data Profile (Semester 1 2019)

Report card and NAPLAN update School based curriculum, assessment and Semester 1 2019 reporting framework

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2. Executive summary

2.1 Key findings

The school is an important hub for the broader Byfield community.

The school services the needs of a small rural community through a multi-age setting for Prep to Year 6 students. It is located north of Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast within a tranquil and picturesque physical setting, surrounded by natural rainforest. Student success is exemplified in the school’s mission to have students ‘grow from challenges, engage through actions, and be happy in oneself’. The motto of ‘Reaching beyond’ prominently reinforces an ethos of individuals developing their personal capabilities to build self-worth and future success.

A school-wide culture of care is apparent amongst all staff members.

Classrooms are orderly and well managed with students focused on the learning activities they are involved in. The school maintains a caring and supportive culture that is nurtured by staff members, students and families. Trust exists between the principal, staff members, students and families. Stakeholders report this is promoting respectful and positive relationships across the school and community.

Teacher aides play a vital role in teaching teams to promote student learning.

Teacher aides are valued members of the teaching team and support student learning in small groups and through one-to-one support for students. Teacher aides report feeling highly valued and supported by teachers. They attend weekly staff meetings and appreciate being informed of key programs and major curriculum directions.

The school maintains a clear and sequenced curriculum plan based on the Australian Curriculum (AC).

The school curriculum plan clearly articulates what is to be taught and the key timelines for units. Staff members report a range of methods to work directly with the AC when considering achievement standards, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities. This includes direct reference to Curriculum into the Classroom (C2C) resources. Staff members identify that the inclusion of the general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities within the school’s curriculum plan will allow further direct use of the AC and capacity to contextualise units to meet local needs.

Staff members recognise that highly effective teaching improves student learning.

Staff members are united and committed to continuous improvement of teaching practices. Learning walls are apparent in the school. Upper school students use a range of explanations to describe the assessment task, marking guide and core learning to be understood to complete set tasks. Students demonstrate a range of capabilities in explaining their personal learning using learning walls. Students are beginning to use shared feedback to assist in identifying their next steps for learning.

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The school is committed to developing the capabilities of all staff members.

All staff members express a genuine desire to improve their professional capabilities. The principal articulates that involvement in the cluster initiatives provides leadership benefits including strengthening strategic knowledge and sharing of ideas. A school-wide feedback and coaching program is emerging with a formal schedule of observations and feedback to be enacted in the future. Staff members report valuing constructive feedback linked to the Explicit Improvement Agenda (EIA).

Teaching practices reflect the belief that differentiation enables students to learn successfully.

Teachers describe adjusting the learning environment, pedagogy, assessment methods and content to remove barriers to student learning. Some staff members express an interest in further developing their knowledge of differentiated learning to meet the learning and social needs of students, including better understanding research-evidenced practice.

Staff members value the school-wide analysis and discussion of data to support improved student outcomes.

The school uses a range of data to track and monitor student learning outcomes. Early Start and literacy continuum data are directly stored in OneSchool with other data being recorded at a school level. OneSchool records indicate a proportion of available data to track student progress, with other records being managed locally. Teachers express interest in understanding the available OneSchool tools and reports that support data analysis.

Students articulate that they highly value learning and leadership roles.

Students articulate that they are appropriately challenged and enjoy the interesting lessons they are involved in at school. Students report being appreciative of the ongoing support and encouragement provided during the learning process. Students speak positively of special events such as the Variety Bash visit to the school and Year 6 leadership camp to North Keppel Island Environmental Education Centre. They identify friendships and supportive teachers as key features of their school.

The principal and key community members actively seek ways to develop deep and productive community partnerships.

Long-established staff members and families within the community, work together using reciprocal arrangements to maintain a strong and close-knit rural community. A range of networks and interrelated relationships flourish between key organisations within the Byfield township. The Byfield and District Historical Society Incorporated, Byfield Hall Committee, Byfield National Park and Byfield Rural Fire Brigade maintain ongoing links via community events, working together on educational programs and assisting each other with resources and services.

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2.2 Key improvement strategies

Further develop the school’s curriculum plan through opportunities to work directly with the AC to incorporate locally relevant learning activities addressing achievement standards, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priority areas.

Extend the use of learning walls to create assessment literate learners that use ongoing feedback and reflection to personally identify their next steps for learning.

Further develop a school-wide feedback and coaching approach to provide formal scheduled observations and feedback to align agreed practices and maximise student outcomes.

Build upon existing staff members’ capability to use targeted plans, support provisions, differentiated instruction and assessment for the full range of learners.

Analyse the use of OneSchool for the full range of school data collected and provide professional learning about data tools such as class dashboard and analytical reports.

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