School News
External Review
Late last year LNPS went through the rigorous Department for Education External Review process. The review is an evidence-informed external evaluation of an individual school’s capacity to improve student learning. The purpose of external school review is to support schools to raise student achievement and sustain high performance. Schools are externally reviewed over a three year cycle to evaluate performance and effectiveness.
The review had three lines of inquiry that were identified by our Review Officer. Each area investigated has a recommendation for us to work towards for continued improvement. Lines of inquiry and recommendations included:
- How effectively does the school monitor and enhance its improvement strategies and actions based on their impact on student learning?
Recommendation
Strengthen staff understanding of the Challenges of Practice within the SIP and clearly link them to success criteria thus measuring the impact of associated actions and outcomes for student learning.
- How effectively are teachers using evidence-based pedagogical practices that engage and challenge all learners?
Recommendation
Strengthen teacher capacity in effective task design through critical collaboration, to challenge and stretch all learners.
- To what extent do teachers ensure that students have authentic influence in their learning?
Recommendation
Strengthen student agency by building capacity of staff to provide students with the skills and knowledge to effectively assess, monitor and regulate their own learning.
These recommendations will drive our improvement approach over the next three years to ensure we continue to strengthen approaches that improve learning outcomes for all students.
The Review Team identified a range of key strengths that drive our improvement agenda
- It is evident that there is a collective focus and culture of improvement in building capacity of staff and outcomes for students.
- Decisions taken by leadership and staff are informed by a range of evidence-based datasets and staff have ownership of the strategic directions of the plan.
- It was clear from leadership that Lockleys North Primary School is working to strengthen effective and consistent pedagogy across the school.
- The school has developed clear agreements in literacy and numeracy and together with a strategic approach to implementation has led to more effective learning.
- The information in student reports are valued by parents. They commented that teachers are approachable providing information about their child’s progress.
- Many students could articulate the importance of ‘struggle’ and being challenged in their learning. Some students said their teachers provided them with scaffolds to support them to be more confident to tackle a range of tasks.
- Student goal setting is an embedded practice across Lockleys North Primary School. There are clear expectations from leadership about the setting of individual learning goals and the focus of the goals on learning dispositions.
- Students could talk about these goals generally and knew that these are shared with parents through the interview process and followed up through regular written reports.
Final Outcome from the Review Team
The building of teacher capacity and quality teams are clearly evident across the school. There is a high level of commitment by staff who are focussed on collaborative practices which support improving outcomes for students. There is mutual respect evident across all stakeholders.
The findings from the Review Team is very reaffirming and confirms the exceptional work undertaken over the past 3 years. Based on the school’s current performance, we will be externally reviewed again in 2022.
A copy of the full report is available on the school website. If you have any questions please contact tyson.grinham428@schools.sa.edu.au
Tyson