Developing Self and Others

When for developing an induction program for teachers who would be developing online learning but had little experience with this learning environment. The induction program was conducted online so that the teacher were using the web tools that they needed to use in their roles. The induction program started with simple information on Power Point and then hyperlinked to the web environment. Each element of the induction moved from simple and familiar to complex and less familiar.

At the Centre for Inclusive Schooling I have developed and delivered professional learning about various learning difficulties and the strategies used to support learning. In designing the program I utilized the Malcolm Knowles Adult Learning Principles to meet the needs of adult learners who often feel ill equipped to effectively teach students with persistent learning difficulties. I used instructional strategies that engaged student learning and could be used in a mixed ability class.

School attendance is a priority in the Department of Education of Western Australia who produced Better attendance: Brighter Futures to highlight the need to greater attention to attendance.  I begun working as the attendance officer at a school where teachers saw the responsibility of attendance sat with the deputy principal and not the teacher.

Teachers were concerned that learning outcomes were being affected by the high frequencies of absent days by some of their students. They were unaware of what constituted a reasonable explanation, as defined by the School Education Act (1999), and therefore teachers were hesitant to address spurious explanations by parents on their child’s frequent absences. Several teachers were marking students with a reasonable explanation even though the parent had not contacted the school. Occasionally, when parents were contacted regarding absences, they reacted angrily, believing that the school had no right to call them about attendance or, more commonly, ignored phone calls and letters from teachers. There was also a lack of appreciation by staff and parents that a student, who missed 10% of any term, could become educationally at risk. Kindergarten and Pre-Primary students’ absentees were monitored by the teachers but there were no other steps to encourage good attendance to improve learning outcomes.



My first action was to become familiar with the Department of Education’s Attendance Policy and then used the tools in Integris to analyse attendance data; noting trends and patterns. I identified students who were falling into the three “at risk” stages. I provided percentage attendances reports to the teachers and alerted them to the students that needed urgent attention. I developed a proforma for teachers send to parents whose children’s attendance had fallen below 90%. I developed and delivered professional development to teachers on how to extract useful attendance data from Integris and what was a reasonable explanations and what level of absenteeism was acceptable. At staff meetings I reminded teachers of relevant parts of the attendance policy. Concerned with the possible educational impact I triangulated NAPLAN data, students on the school’s IEP data base and those with low attendance, and discovered there was a correlation. The students with low attendance often had below average NAPLAN results and were often absent during one or more tests. Whilst the teachers had the students on IEPs they did not have them on an Attendance Plan. The effectiveness of the IEP was reduced by the low attendance. This had been an ongoing problem for several years without successful intervention. To raise the importance of attendance with parents, I wrote articles in the school’s newsletter, including excerpts from the Attendance Policy and further support from the Schools and You website. I engaged the Kindy and Pre Primary teachers in strategies to improve attendance, starting with addressing its importance at their recent information sessions for parents. For Years 1- 6, I regularly emailed teachers, who had students with absentees falling below 90%, and supported them in communicating with parents. I coached teachers in dealing with hostile reactions from parents and, where appropriate, spoke to the parents myself.

The changes I instigated lead to better communication and trust with parents, teachers feeling more confident and empowered to monitor attendance and communicate concerns with parents. The changes also mean that Arbor Grove is addressing the concerns listed in The Auditor General’s Report Every Day Counts (2009) and the more recent Better Attendance: Brighter Futures (2010). Each attendance case is clearly documented, which allows for on-going monitoring of a student and avoids the need to ‘start over’ each year. The improved attendance has begun to show an improved achievement of learning outcomes, especially for students on an IEP. It is crucial for these students and families to receive on going support and monitoring in order to maintain good attendance; without this they could easily slip back and this would negatively impact on the students’ educational outcomes again.