From the Principal's Desk

Dear Parents and Carers, 

As we reflect on another busy and rewarding term at Epsom Primary School, I’d like to share some key highlights and important messages with our school community.

NAPLAN 2025 – Celebrating Strong Student Growth and Achievement

We are proud to share the results of the 2025 NAPLAN assessments, which have highlighted significant progress and achievement—particularly in Numeracy, where our students have shone brightly.

Our Year 5 Numeracy results are a standout. A large number of students achieved in the strong and exceeding proficiency bands, and importantly, many have shown remarkable growth from their Year 3 results. This level of improvement doesn’t happen by chance—it reflects the consistent, high-quality teaching happening in our classrooms, the strength of our instructional model, and the deliberate, data-informed approach we’re taking as a school.

It is clear that our focus on targeted teaching, collaborative planning, and student confidence in mathematical thinking is paying off. This is a moment to celebrate—not just the results themselves, but what they represent: engaged learners, empowered teachers, and a school culture that values growth.

Our Year 3 Reading data shows us there is still work to be done - and we welcome that challenge. We are already adjusting our strategies to increase consistency across classrooms, strengthen the fidelity of the Sounds Write Program and lift every learner. 

What makes this year's results so encouraging is not just the achievement—it’s the trajectory. 

We are on the right path. 

Listening to Our Community – Parent Opinion Survey

A big thank you to all families who have completed the Parent Opinion Survey so far. We are now sitting at a 19% response rate, and while we’re very grateful for this progress, we’d love to hear from more of our families.

This survey, conducted annually by the Department of Education, helps us gather feedback on what’s working well at Epsom PS and identify areas for further improvement. It’s not just about challenges—it’s also about the strengths in our school that we need to keep nurturing.

We encourage everyone who hasn’t completed the survey yet to please take a few minutes to have your say: https://research.orima.com/parent  - all log in details can be found on Compass.

 The more responses we receive, the more accurately the data represents the voice of our school community—and the better placed we are to make informed, meaningful improvements.

Online Safety and Digital Wellbeing

We also want to take a moment to raise awareness around online safety, which remains a growing concern in schools across the country. At Epsom PS, we’ve been supporting students with responsible digital use, but we are also managing some challenges stemming from after-hours use of social media and devices.

We strongly encourage families to:

• Keep devices out of bedrooms, particularly at night
• Supervise online activity and talk regularly with children about who they interact with

• Use privacy settings and parental controls on apps and games

   

Unfortunately, even well-meaning platforms and games with chat functions can pose risks, including exposure to inappropriate content and, in rare but serious cases, online grooming.

Another area of concern is the growing use of AI chatbots and companions. These are designed to simulate personal relationships and are growing in popularity. They pose some very serious risks – especially to children and young people.

I highly recommend the short webinars developed by the eSafety Commissioner, specifically designed to support parents in navigating online safety. 

 The link for these webinars can be found here:  Webinars for parents and carers | eSafety Commissioner

Some of the Term 4 topics being covered include:

• Algorithms and adolescents: The rewards and risks of recommender systems for young people (45 minutes). Suitable for parents and carers of young people in upper primary and secondary school. 

• The changing face of cyberbullying: Protecting your child in 2025 (45 minutes). Suitable for parents and carers of children in primary and secondary school. 

• AI-assisted image-based abuse: Navigating the deepfake threat (45 minutes). Suitable for parents and carers of young people in upper primary and secondary school

• Supporting healthy tech use as your child transitions into secondary school (45 minutes). Suitable for parents and carers of children in upper primary school (ages 11 to 12) and Year 7.

• Understanding and using parental controls to help protect your child online (45 minutes). Suitable for parents and carers of children in primary and secondary school.

Open communication between families and the school is one of our best tools in keeping students safe and supported.

Student Voice and Community Partnerships

This term, we were incredibly proud of our student leaders who represented Epsom PS on Phoenix FM 106.7. They spoke about life at our school with maturity and confidence, covering topics such as sustainability, student leadership, and wellbeing initiatives. It was a fantastic example of student voice in action, and the feedback from families was glowing.

We’ve also been nurturing community partnerships, including a new collaboration with the Huntly Men’s Shed. This intergenerational project will see students working alongside older community members to build the guinea pig 'houses' that were designed by the preps.  It’s a powerful way to build confidence, teamwork, and real-world skills while strengthening ties between generations.

Learning, Camps & Special Events

We’ve had a number of exciting experiences across the term, including:

• Our Grade 3/4 students attending camp at Sunnystones, where they built independence, resilience and friendships through a range of outdoor activities.
• Participation in the FEAST Program, with students learning about sustainability and healthy eating—complete with a burrito-making session!
• The annual Book Week Parade, where students dressed up as their favourite book characters. The creativity and effort from families was fantastic!
• Our Father’s and Special People’s Afternoon, which brought families together for outdoor games and connection.

Looking Ahead

As we prepare for the final stretch of Term 3 and begin planning for Term 4, we’re reminded of the importance of working together as a school community. Whether it’s through providing feedback, attending events, or simply supporting learning at home, your involvement makes a big difference.

Thank you once again for being an active and valued part of Epsom Primary School.

Warm regards,

Julie Ladd

Principal