Belmore Boys High School
Key features
The main outcomes achieved from 2003-6 have been:
- improved student learning environment leading to increased student participation and engagement
- teachers demonstrating enhanced teaching learning practices by establishing school based teaching learning standards in literacy, numeracy, information and communication technologies (ICT), pedagogy and assessment leading to students demonstrating improved numeracy and literacy outcomes.
- the interdependence of these twin foci is seen as key to the school’s success.
School context
Belmore Boys High School is a significantly socio-culturally diverse secondary boys school located in the inner west of Sydney. The decline in enrolments to 242 was arrested in 1996 with a shift in emphasis from welfare to learning with the simultaneous attention to school climate.
The school continues to increase its enrolment with a current population of approximately 440. Ninety nine per cent of the school population is from a non-English speaking background (NESB).
Belmore Boys has approximately 32 different cultural groups with 45% of the population Arabic and 28% of the population being from Pacific Islander background.
What was the school aiming to achieve?
The decision to work towards the achievement of these outcomes came as a result of a number of factors. In terms of behaviour management and administration it was clear that there were significant levels of student whole day and fractional absences.
External results in Secondary Numeracy Assessment Program (SNAP), English Language and Literacy Assessment (ELLA), School Certificate (SC) and Higher School Certificate (HSC) were analysed using the School Measurement Assessment and Reporting Toolkit (SMART) data and clearly demonstrated significant levels of value adding, which were below state average or in some cases negative.
Classroom observations revealed that a typical lesson had extended periods of teacher-centred pedagogy lacking the explicit teaching of literacy, numeracy and ICT in most curriculum areas. Student learning outcomes were hampered by low teacher expectation being translated into below age activities and typified by student disengagement both passive and active. Inadequate literacy pedagogy between Years 7 and 10 limited the progression of students in the final years of schooling. This limited progression had a direct effect on HSC outcomes and hence both tertiary and work choices.
It was hoped to achieve long term whole school change which would result in an environment more conducive to learning. The school simultaneously wanted to achieve a change in staff pedagogical practices to explicit and systematic quality teaching while being inclusive of ICT, literacy and numeracy.
The improvement process
The PAS program funds were used to amplify the learning and environmental shifts which were already underway. It was clear that having a staff member responsible for implementing teaching and learning changes was having an impact on staff practices. It was also clear that the learning environment would benefit from the increased capacity to be more proactive and responsive in dealing with student management issues.
Most importantly the creation of an ordered environment was not expected to produce improved learning outcomes in the absence of professional development. Similarly having a single focus of curriculum change was not seen to be possible in the absence of a stable learning environment. The decision to move in this dual direction was also predicated on the existence of key school personnel to fill the new roles.
To achieve these outcomes several structural changes were made in 2003 and maintained to the present day. The first structural change was the establishment of two Deputy Principal positions, one administration and the other curriculum.
The Administrative Deputy was responsible for the improved management of students and the Curriculum Deputy was responsible for curriculum and pedagogical change. These joint initiatives aimed to improve educational outcomes.
A second structural change involved the creation of seven timetabled individual faculty meeting slots to facilitate training of each faculty group as required. This was in addition to the timetabled weekly faculty or staff meeting.
A third structural change was to reduce the number of teaching periods per cycle from 42 to 41 by the employment of additional staff. In return for this released time staff members were required to undertake timetabled faculty professional development sessions, which were led by the Deputy Principal Curriculum once per fortnight.
In addition to the structural changes a critical friend was employed from the University of Western Sydney. Considerable input occurred into both areas. Processes for the tracking and reporting of fractional truants and whole day absence were strengthened. The increased number of deputies meant a more rapid response to classroom issues.
The curriculum was expanded to include literacy, ICT and numeracy in everyday teaching and learning. This dovetailed with the input into pedagogy to introduce staff to explicit systematic quality teaching (ESQT).
The ESQT pedagogy was a product of combining the recent departmental Quality Teaching elements and the 1997 Literacy Strategy pedagogy of explicit and systematic teaching, which had the stages of field building, modelling, joint construction and independent construction.
The school’s model of grammar was based on systemic functional linguistics which is completely consistent with the K-6 English syllabus. It was found to be a very useful classroom tool.
What were the results?
Both aspects of the project were outcomes based and considerable data were collected to monitor the change process. Graphs and tables related to student attendance and behaviour were regularly presented. The curriculum aspect of the project worked in an action research paradigm to explore the question:
Does explicit and systematic quality teaching (ESQT) produce improved learning outcomes?
This aspect of the project collected student work samples as evidence, interviewed students and teachers and relied on external data such as ELLA, SNAP and SC results to monitor change in outcomes. The soft data were very positive, however the hard data were most pleasing.
The rapid change in writing outcomes between 2003 and 2005 as measured by ELLA resulted in Belmore being selected as the NSW winner of the National Literacy and Numeracy Week Award for Excellence. The improvement in writing for the 2004 cohort is shown below.
Reflections
The project worked extremely well, however recent staff changes have meant that the previous reflective practices have not been able to be fore grounded in the last 12 months.
These practices involved fortnightly evaluation of evidence of change and adjusting of strategies and targets by those leading the project. This kept the project clearly in focus at a whole school level. In hindsight this lack of focus has slowed the rate of progress. Processes to return to more reflective practices are already underway.
Future directions
The future directions must include the continued embedding of the change into programs, policy documents and accountability structures.
Contact:
Murat Dizdar, Senior Principal Punchbowl Belmore Boys High Schools
Sandra Robinson, Site Principal Belmore Boys High School.
