Assistant Principal's Report

Wellbeing and Learning and Whitehorse Primary 

Education Support 

We are fortunate to have a great Education Support team (ES) at Whitehorse Primary School. Our ES have important and diverse roles within our school supporting our staff, students and families by working in classrooms, the Library, our Kitchen, Garden and our school office. 

I would like to highlight the important role our ES team plays in supporting student learning and wellbeing within the classroom. At Whitehorse, ES staff are allocated to each classroom at specific times within the school week to work either 1:1 or in small groups with students requiring additional support.

A key part of their work is supporting students through personalised assistance, learning adjustments and strategies that help students engage confidently in the classroom. Our Education Support staff also work with individual students and small groups to reinforce learning and build important academic, social and emotional skills. 

Selected students also receive targeted intervention programs, including MiniLit and MultiLit, supporting students to strengthen their literacy skills and build confidence in reading and writing. A range of student learning data is used to determine which students will benefit from this level of support.

Beyond the classroom, our ES also provides supervision and support in the playground, helping students build positive relationships, navigate challenges and use strategies to enjoy safe and successful play. They are often a familiar and reassuring presence for our students throughout the day.

Our ES team meets once a week with myself or one of our Learning Specialists to review Individual Education Plans, Behaviour Plans and adjustments in the classroom. These meetings are a great opportunity for collaborative learning through the sharing of strategies, celebration of successes and opportunities for feedback to continually improve. These ES meetings help support consistency of learning for our students. 

We are continually working to strengthen our approach to intervention and extension at Whitehorse Primary School to ensure all students grow and flourish in their learning. 

ES team working in the classroom to support learning 

Cathie, Zahabiya, Daphne, Ashley, Deb 

Our ES team continues to grow! 

Setting Expectations for Behaviour

SWPBS is an evidence-based, whole-school framework that supports a positive, safe and inclusive learning environment at Whitehorse Primary School. It establishes clear expectations and shared values across our school community and recognises that like reading, writing or maths, expected behaviours need to be explicitly taught.

Our school values (respect for ourselves, others and our school) are at the heart of our behaviour matrix.

Our Behaviour Management Flowchart details both minor and major behaviours and a list of and consequences and ways our staff will respond. Based on recent staff and parent feedback we will review and update this document in response to the needs of our students, staff and school community. 

As a leadership team this is one of the ways we are currently working to strengthen our documentation and approach on how we support students across our school and meet the needs of our community. 

Another document I would like to highlight is our school’s Wellbeing Multi-Tiered Systems of Support approach. A Key Improvement Strategy within our school’s Annual Implementation Plan is to Build school knowledge and capabilities to effectively implement multi tiered systems of support. In parent friendly language, this means providing different levels of support dependent on student need. The image below shows the levels of support that is provided across the school in the area of Wellbeing. 

Raising Wellbeing or Learning Concerns 

If you have a concern about your child’s learning or wellbeing:

1. Speak with your child’s classroom teacher. As the adult who works most closely with your child each day, the classroom teacher has the strongest understanding of their learning progress, areas for growth, as well as their social and emotional wellbeing. This means the classroom teacher is the most appropriate first connection point for families. 
2. Speak with a member of leadership (Andrew, Megan). While the classroom teacher is the first point of contact, there are times when additional support is needed. Leadership may become involved when concerns are ongoing, more complex, or require additional resources, specialised support, or whole-school processes. Leadership works closely with teachers and families to coordinate support plans, access external services where needed, and ensure the right strategies are in place to support students. 

We truly value our wonderful school community and our staff love working together to ensure your children enjoy learning in a safe, inclusive and supportive environment. 

If you have any feedback or would like to discuss anything at any time please reach out via email, pop in to have a chat, catch us in the yard or attend one of our Principal Forums.

Enjoy the rest of the week and thank you for your ongoing support. 

Megan Goldenberg

Assistant Principal