D19/0576872
Baldivis
Primary School
Public School Review
December 2019
PUBLIC SCHOOL REVIEW
Purpose
All Western Australian public schools are reviewed every three years by the Department of
Education’s Public School Accountability directorate. A review gives assurance to the local
community, the Minister for Education and Training and the Director General that a school is
operating effectively and delivering high quality education to its students. The review
acknowledges the achievements of the school and gives feedback to support the principal and
staff with their improvement planning.
The principal provides the review team with a self-assessment of the school’s performance based
on evidence gathered by the principal and staff. Information validated by the review team is
considered before and during the school visit. This forms the basis for the school review report.
The report is provided to the principal, the chair of the school board/council and the Regional
Executive Director.
Expectations of schools
For all Western Australian public schools, expectations are set out in either: the Delivery and
Performance Agreement, which is an agreement between the Department (represented by the
Director General), school (represented by the principal) and school board (represented by the
school board chair); or, the Principals’ Statement of Expectations and the Funding Agreement for
Schools.
School performance rating
This performance rating is based on information gained from the self-assessment submission and
the validation process. It is focused on a review of the following areas of school performance:
relationships and partnerships; learning environment; leadership; use of resources; teaching
quality; and student achievement and progress.
The school’s performance rating is:
Effective

The school demonstrates effective practice in creating the
conditions required for student success.
Needs Improvement
The school has aspects of its practice below expectations and
needs supported action to improve student success.
© Department of Education WA 2019
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Context
Baldivis Primary School is located 45 kilometres south of Perth within the South Metropolitan
Education Region. Established in 1924, the school relocated to the current site in 1979 and
became an Independent Public School in 2012. The area has changed over the last decade due
to urban development and more intensive land use, however, a country community feel continues
to epitomise the culture of the school.
There are currently 754 students enrolled from Kindergarten to Year 6, which is a decline from
previous years owing to other primary schools opening in the local area. The school has an Index
of Community Socio-Educational Advantage rating of 996 (decile 5).
A dynamic Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C) is involved in many aspects of the school and
parent engagement is actively encouraged. The School Board is strategic in planning for
improvement of student outcomes and works in partnership with the P&C to support school
initiatives.
School self-assessment validation
The principal submitted a comprehensive and rigorous school self-assessment.
The following aspects are confirmed:

The school’s systematic review cycle, reflecting upon targets identified in the business plan,
informed the self-assessment submitted via the Electronic School Assessment Tool (ESAT).

Reflections on the school’s journey were honest and transparent.

A broad representation of staff and key parent and community representatives provided
insights that added value to the review process during the validation visit.

The school acknowledged the value of Public School Review as an opportunity to reflect
upon all aspects of its operations as identified in the School Improvement and Accountability
Framework domains and student achievement and progress.
The following recommendations are made:

Given the point-in-time nature of the review process, provide the most recent evidence,
observations and analyses.

Annotate supporting evidence to draw the reviewers’ attention to the reason for its inclusion
in the ESAT.
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Public School Review
Relationships and partnerships
The school motto of ‘We Care’ signifies a strong sense of connection that permeates
throughout the school community. Considered by parents as the social hub of the local area,
the school hosts events and clubs, including the Baldivis Fair, which is in its 44th year of
operation, thus fostering quality, sustained relationships.
Effectiveness
The review team validate the following:
 Strategic partnerships with local businesses support the Stephanie
Alexander Kitchen Garden and breakfast club.
 The P&C fundraises extensively and provides an impressive level of
support to the school through provision of a functioning canteen, breakfast
club, uniform shop, school discos and more.
 A highly functional School Board fulfils its governance roles and
responsibilities and is eager to support the strategic direction of the school.
 Highly collegiate and community minded, staff give of their personal time to
engage actively with parents. The Fathering Project and Logical Ladies, a
mother/daughter coding club, attract sizeable numbers.
Improvements The review team support the following actions:
 Establish a robust communication strategy that embeds the Connect
platform as the main communication tool, uses Facebook for promotional
purposes, and the school website as a central source of information.
 Increase the profile of the School Board and engage new members in
formal induction, using the online training modules.
Learning environment
A strong sense of mutual trust and good rapport, where staff go out of their way to know and
appreciate every student, results in a safe, friendly and inclusive school.
Effectiveness
The review team validate the following:
 Early childhood teachers establish relationships with new families during
the pre-Kindergarten engagement program. Intervention strategies are then
prepared prior to commencement, thus offering a smoother transition into
formal education.
 A Kindergarten to Year 6 transition initiative, including for new enrolments
from the Peel Language Development School, allays concerns and allows
for issues to be addressed prior to the start of each school year.
 2019 marks the first year as a Positive Behaviour Support school. A
proactive working party is driving a whole-school approach premised on a
shared belief that positive relationships sit at the core of quality social and
academic outcomes for students.
 A comprehensive SAER1 policy employs SEN2 planning and reporting for
all students likely to achieve an E grade. SMART goals, with an 80 per cent
achievement target, are reviewed regularly to track progress.
 A wide range of engagement opportunities, including clubs for running,
coding, Lego, and gardening, provide authentic opportunities for students
to belong and grow friendships.
© Department of Education WA 2019
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Leadership
The principal is recognised as a transformational and instructional leader, who has empowered
staff through a distributed leadership model. United in their commitment to harnessing the
expertise within the school, the leadership team is driving the cultural shift towards a shared
vision focused on school-wide delivery of quality curriculum.
Effectiveness
The review team validate the following:
 Staff engaged actively in creating the business plan, which serves as a
conduit to a unified approach to curriculum delivery. It provides structure
and direction to guide operational and classroom planning.
 Instructional leaders work with small teams of teachers to model, coach
and observe a shared pedagogical approach, focused on explicit
instruction and an agreed upon lesson design.
 There is a strong sense of efficacy amongst staff members. Collaborative
time is allocated to professional learning communities to support staff
growth and development.
 A detailed operational plan aligned to the Aboriginal Cultural Standards
Framework (ACSF) foregrounds a strong sense of student pride and family
engagement in catering for the needs of Aboriginal students.
 A wide range of student leadership opportunities exist. Robust protocols
and practices reflect an authentic student voice.
Improvements The review team support the following actions:
 Increase the transparent alignment between the business plan and actual
classroom practice to meet set targets.
 Pursue the status of a culturally responsive school by integrating the ACSF
into the curriculum across all years and learning areas.
Use of resources
The highly respected manager corporate services (MCS) works in partnership with the principal
to manage human, physical and financial resources to best effect.
Effectiveness
The review team validate the following:
 Financial practices are sound. The MCS held out-of-session meetings with
School Board members to improve their awareness of school financial
practices and to determine the most suitable documentation to be provided
at formal meetings.
 A fair and transparent process for the allocation of P&C fundraising
ensures that spending is strategic and targeted.
 A comprehensive workforce plan aligns staff needs to curriculum priorities.
In particular, it is noted that the effective deployment of education
assistants impacts directly on improved student outcomes.
 An onsite out-of-hours care business provides a valued service and
enhances the financial capacity of the school.
Improvements The review team support the following action:
 Increase the transparent alignment between resource allocation and
operational planning.
© Department of Education WA 2019
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Teaching quality
A growing culture of aligned pedagogy and low variance instructional practice has been
developed through data collation, analysis, and the subsequent use of evidence-based
strategies, to lead to improved student outcomes.
Effectiveness
The review team validate the following:
 Clear lesson intentions and success criteria, coupled with a common
assessment schedule, have been identified as the ‘non-negotiables’ to
which all staff adhere.
 An explicit instruction model has been embraced to good effect by the
teams of teachers working with their instructional leaders.
 ORIGIO Stepping Stones mathematics program and Sound Waves spelling
strategies have been introduced school-wide, with Promoting Leadership
Development resources supplementing the early years’ literacy
development.
 The data literacy of staff is sound. A range of data are accessed to monitor
student achievement and progress, including On-entry Assessment
Program data, Kindergarten Assessment Tools, NAPLAN3, Progressive
Achievement Tests, Brightpath, Oxford Reading and the Westwood Maths
assessment.
Improvements The review team support the following actions:
 Expand upon the explicit instruction lesson design strategy, extending the
support offered by instructional leaders to all staff over time.
 Embed the ORIGIO Stepping Stones mathematics program and the
Baldivis Primary School spelling program in common usage school-wide.
Student achievement and progress
Early indications that student achievement and progress is on an upward trajectory is attributed by
teachers to the fostering of a data-informed culture underpinned by whole-school practices.
Effectiveness
The review team validate the following:
 Tasks are devised using the School Curriculum and Standards Authority
Judging Standards and grade alignment is reviewed during scheduled
moderation meetings.
 On-entry Assessment Program data analysis and the impact of subsequent
interventions are mapped on a data wall in early childhood, showing
considerable improvement in student achievement.
 Longitudinal student performance indicates that students are making higher
progress than like schools in most of the NAPLAN testing areas.
 Evidence of value adding to students’ capacity in spelling from Year 3 to
Year 5 is impressive, with an improvement of 1.7 standard deviations.
Improvements The review team support the following actions:
 Ensure that the data collation schedule is strategic and targeted with
designated points in time set for reviewing data to inform planning.
 Continue to create scope and sequence documents, identifying strategies
and activities to ensure quality differentiation that meets individual student
needs.
© Department of Education WA 2019
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Reviewers
Kath Ward
Director, Public School Review
Brian Davies
Principal, Illawarra Primary School
Peer Reviewer
Endorsement
Based on this report, I endorse your school performance rating of ‘Effective’.
Your next school review is scheduled for 2022.
Stephen Baxter
Deputy Director General, Schools
References
1 Students at educational risk
2 Special educational need
3 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy
© Department of Education WA 2019
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