Introduction
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Our school has a primary role
in supporting the intellectual, social, emotional and physical development
of all our children within a fair, safe, socially cohesive and
intellectually engaging environment.
Charlton State School aims for provide a
well balanced, individualized education catering for the needs of
every student from prep to year 7, striving for best practice in a
small school family environment utilizing the advantages of a
multi-age educational setting. Individual programs (with one on one
attention as needed) are designed for children utilising both physical and
human resources to meet their needs. Children are grouped according to
their learning needs rather than their year level in English and
Mathematics.
At Charlton the children’s disposition
for learning and the pursuit of excellence in all undertakings are
the highest priorities. Effort is rewarded and individualism and
success celebrated. An investigative approach to learning is a key
feature of the programmes we provide. Skills and knowledge are taught and
then the children are required to use this learning in a purposeful way to
complete a real life or life-like task. Children find this approach more
meaningful and motivating.
School programs and activities are
underpinned by the school values chosen to meet these priorities:
RESPECT
for everyone
RESPONSIBILITY
for behaviour, learning and property
CO-OPERATION
in work, play and learning
PARTICIPATION
to the best of your ability in school and
community life
SAFETY
for all |
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Future Outlook
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Charlton State School has identified
literacy, mathematics, values education and health and fitness as our major
focus for 2009.
Review and alignment of our mathematics teaching and
learning with the Essentials Curriculum using an investigative approach
ensures the purpose for learning knowledge and skills is clear to the
children and the ‘project like’ tasks set incorporate these acquired
skills.
Student’s progress in literacy and
numeracy have been monitored and reviewed to target specific areas and
individuals to improve both the overall school performance and the outcomes
for our children.
Behaviour and social skilling is our 9th key learning area and is
specifically taught, modelled and celebrated as part of our daily learning
program.
Issues around diet, exercise and
hygiene are addressed on a daily basis both to educate the children and
develop good habits and to give our students the best conditions for
learning and participating. |
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School Profile
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Charlton State School is a small co-educational state school on the outskirts of Toowoomba catering for
boys and girls from Prep to Year 7. It is situated on the busy Warrego Highway
which is the primary thoroughfare to the west.
It had rapid growth from 2003 to 2006 with the
enrolment peaking at 53 with the introduction of Prep in 2006. The population is reasonably transient but
has stabilized in 2009 with 41 students and 2 teachers.
The diversity of our student mix is influenced by
both social and cultural differences. Our children come from a variety
of home settings including semi-rural, small communities like Kingsthorpe, Gowrie and Oakey
and from the fringe of Toowoomba.
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Curriculum Offerings
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Our distinctive
curriculum offerings
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Instrumental Music
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Integrated Health and
Physical Movement Program
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Extra curricula
activities
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Active After School
Activities – 2 afternoons a week professionally trained sports providers
are employed using a The Australian Sports Commission grant to allow our
children to participate in 2 hours per week of organised sport.
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Instrumental
music is provided via a teleconference arrangement. The cost for
weekly lessons is covered by the families.
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“Charltones” –
Any interested children can join our music group “The Charltones”
co-ordinated by one of our teacher aides.
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Inter-school
sport – competitive interschool sport is organised on a rotational basis
with a nearby small school.
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Curriculum-based
Excursions:
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“Spirits
in Bare Feet” Performance and art workshop at USQ
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Amaroo Environmental Education Centre |
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How Computers are used to
Assist Learning
Computers
are used in our classrooms to assist learning:
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using 16 desktop PCs
and 2 mobile laptops all networked with internet access
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individually
or in groups as needed
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As part of
Curriculum delivery in all key learning areas
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in a
purposeful way
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with
computer skills embedded in the process
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including accessing
information, communication, presentation of work and learning and skill
development through the use of software, games and activities.
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with
immediate and regular access to a computer at any time every day
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using the Learning Place
as a site for communicating with people outside the school on topics
related to learning eg. chatting with a soldier
about Anzac Day
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School Climate
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Every child at this school
is known to all staff and we work together to nurture and educate them.
Parental involvement and input is welcomed and encouraged. Pastoral care is undertaken on a needs
basis to assist children with specific concerns or problems in the school
environment. This process is run alongside a proactive values and
social skilling program.
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Involving Parents in their Child's Education
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Our parents actively participate in the school
through:
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attendance at monthly
Parents and Citizens meetings
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volunteering
support in the up-keep of grounds and garden beds
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attendance
at “Culmination Days” and special events
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participation
in school excursions
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active
participation in the school review process
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volunteering
to help with reading, group work and other learning in the classrooms
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consultation
and collaboration with parents to help children with learning, social and
behavioural needs
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We keep our community
and parents informed through:
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newsletters
published each fortnight to keep the community informed of school happenings
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twice
yearly reports on children’s progress
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twice yearly
interviews
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phone or personal
contact as needed or requested by parents
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Staff Profile
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Our whole staff is
dedicated to providing an enthusiastic and supportive environment for
children to learn and grow. We have:
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2 full time teachers
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1 part time teacher working with the
Prep – 2 class on Thursday
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3 classroom teacher aides
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1 special education teacher aide
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1 administrative assistant
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1 cleaner
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Specialist and Visiting Staff
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Physical Education
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Classroom Music
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Instrumental Music (private lessons
via teleconference facilities)
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Learning support
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Languages other than English –
French
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Guidance Officer
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Speech Language Pathologist
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Advisory Visiting Teachers –
Intellectual Impairment, Aspergers Spectrum
Disorder
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| Qualifications of all teachers
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Expenditure on and Teacher
participation in Professional Development
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The
total funds expended on teacher professional development in 2008 was
$1,594. The major professional development
initiatives are as follows:
In accordance with our Annual Operational Plan,
our major professional development initiatives have addressed Strategic
Curriculum issues, the development of our school Mathematics program and
ICT skills for staff.
The involvement of the teaching staff in
professional development activities during 2007 was 100%.
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Average Staff Attendance
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For
permanent and temporary staff and school leaders, the staff attendance
rate was 96% in 2008. |
Proportion of Staff Retained
from the Previous School Year
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From the end of the 2007
school year, 100% of staff was retained by the school for the entire 2008
school year.
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Student Attendance
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The average attendance rate as a percentage in 2008 was
92%.
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Key Outcomes
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National Assessment Program –
Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) results - our reading, writing, spelling,
grammar and punctuation, and numeracy results for the Years 3, 5, and 7.
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Domain |
Measures |
Yr 3 |
Yr 5 |
Yr 7 |
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Reading |
Average score for the
school |
362 |
447 |
512 |
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Average score for
Queensland |
371.1 |
466.1 |
528.1 |
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For the school the
percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard. |
2008 |
100% |
100% |
100% |
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Writing |
Average score for the
school |
304 |
478 |
531 |
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Average score for
Queensland |
391.8 |
468.9 |
522.7 |
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For the school the
percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard. |
2008 |
50% |
71% |
80% |
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Spelling |
Average score for the
school |
300 |
437 |
505 |
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Average score for
Queensland |
366.7 |
462.0 |
528.0 |
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For the school the
percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard. |
2008 |
50% |
71% |
100% |
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Grammar and Punctuation |
Average score for the
school |
365 |
467 |
506 |
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Average score for
Queensland |
370.4 |
476.6 |
518.0 |
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For the school the
percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard. |
2008 |
75% |
100% |
100% |
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Numeracy |
Average score for the
school |
388 |
421 |
504 |
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Average score for
Queensland |
367.9 |
458.2 |
539.0 |
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For the school the
percentage of students at or above the national minimum standard. |
2008 |
100% |
86% |
100% |
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Results
in the Year 2 Diagnostic Net
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Percentage of students not requiring additional support
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Reading
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82%
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Writing
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82%
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Number
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82%
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Value Added
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Charlton strives to improve outcomes for
individual students rather that cohorts or year levels. This year we
have concentrated on designing work programs to meet the needs of individuals
and where appropriate access specialist support to facilitate growth and
development intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally. We
have designed specific programs for those children identified as needing
support, giving them both individual tutoring (including Support-a-Reader)
and in class
support.
This year we have concentrated on the
teaching and learning of Mathematics essentials and numeracy, ensuring the
essentials are covered and a variety of contexts for learning are included in
planning, including a focus on investigations and teaching specifically the
ways of working mathematically. This
approach has seen an increase in the children’s disposition for learning
mathematics and learning activities have been presented to children in a more
purposeful format. |
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Parent, Student and Teacher Satisfaction
with the School
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Over the past three years parents have
rated our school performance at the very satisfied or above range for
curriculum delivery, student outcomes, learning climate, school climate,
school community relations and teaching. Parents rated our level of resources as just
below the very satisfied line but the level of satisfaction with resources
has slightly increased over the three years. The children’s satisfaction level has fallen
between the satisfied and very satisfied range for the past three years. In 2008 they reported they were very
satisfied with the learning climate and curriculum being offered at this
school. 100% of our staff is satisfied
with the morale within the school staff and consider Charlton a great place
to work. This is well above the state
mark of 80%.
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Charlton is
Family
Charlton is
Community
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