Questions & Answers Paper No. 158 - Parliament of New South ...

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LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
MONDAY 12 OCTOBER 2009
The revision of administrative processes has led to improved systems for the monitoring of attendance,
for referral processes to specialist support and better communication with parents. These processes
include:
• daily monitoring of rolls and by period in secondary school;
• letters home to parents each week about unexplained absences;
• personalised attendance plans developed and referrals made to Home School Liaison Officers
and⁄or the Learning Support Team where appropriate;
• Mobility Trackers submitted each term by the school to be investigated by the Home School
Liaison Officer to account for all students enrolled in the school;
• refined registration process of late arrivers including the implementation of the Late Interview
Program (LIPS); and
• reviewed processes for transition between classes with Secondary and Primary.
In Walgett for example, new processes have been developed for tracking the whereabouts of students
who fail to attend school. A Phone Intervention Program, which provides early contact with parents and
carers when students are absent from school, has been implemented in Walgett and Bourke.
These schools are implementing a range of intervention strategies to promote attendance which includes
the development of personalised attendance plans, developed with students and parents, to address the
particular needs of individual students. They continue to undertake home visits and to provide rewards
for students with excellent attendance.
In addition, school staff and police work co-operatively on Joint Attendance Strategy operations. An
Attendance Mentor position has been established to work with students with attendance difficulties at
Walgett.
Curriculum enhancements are targeted at the key success factors of literacy and numeracy skills. The
schools are implementing the Reading to Learn strategy, a research-based approach which has already
proven successful in improving student outcomes in literacy.
Aboriginal language programs have been implemented.
A new approach to teaching in ways appropriate to Aboriginal students, the "8 Ways of Knowing", is
being implemented in all three communities.
Other strategies include:
• a major curriculum restructure in Walgett where a middle school has been established to improve
the transition from primary to secondary education;
• access for students in Bourke and Brewarrina to the Girri Girri Sports Academy, a program
designed to build confidence and engagement with school through sport for secondary students
with poor attendance;
• access to a wide curriculum delivered on site or through distance technologies; and
• access to vocational education courses as part of their senior curriculum.
All schools in Walgett, Brewarrina and Bourke aim to work closely with their communities to improve
the educational outcomes for students. This includes working with other government and nongovernment
agencies and working closely with groups such as local Aboriginal Education Consultative
Groups to develop strategies which can be supported across the entire community to promote attendance
and engagement.
*7373 INDIGENOUS TO NON-INDIGENOUS RATIO—Mr Kevin Humphries asked the Minister for
Education and Training, and Minister for Women—
(1) What is the ratio of indigenous to non-indigenous students who attend the following schools:
(a) Moree East Primary;
(b) Courallie High;
(c) Mungindi Central;
(d) Moree Primary;
(e) Collarenebri Central;
(f) Walgett Primary;
(g) Walgett Secondary;
(h) Brewarrina Central;
(i) Bourke Primary;
(j) Bourke High;
(k) Coonamble Primary;
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