Dear Bellfield College Community,
As the new My Schools data is uploaded today, we are pleased to share some good news with you.
Bellfield College has been identified by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) as a school achieving high gains, significantly above expectations, in students’ NAPLAN scores in the 2018 National assessments.
In his letter dated 29th March 2019, the CEO of ACARA, Mr De Carvalho stated:
“On behalf of ACARA, I would like to extend my congratulations to you and your school community on this achievement. Improvement in student literacy and/or numeracy of this magnitude, as measured by NAPLAN, is significant and worthy of highlighting and acknowledging.”
Bellfield College, an independent school in Sydney’s west, began in 2008 with 8 students in K-2. In 2019 we are a K-12 school with over 630 enrolments, the majority being from a range of non-English speaking and cultural backgrounds (NESB). The College strategic plan for learning and teaching places great emphasis on the early development of literacy and numeracy in our student cohort and invests in the continual development and upskilling of our staff based on the latest research to ensure that our teaching and learning are of the highest standard.
Bellfield College has been actively engaged in the NSW Government funded Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan (LNAP) that is focused on lifting the literacy and numeracy performance of their students. The Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW) education consultants work closely with the leadership team at the College. The aim is to identify, then implement ‘school specific’ approaches to improving the literacy and numeracy outcomes for K-2 students. This, in turn, has had a positive impact on the outcomes for students in Years 3-6.
AISNSW presents a series of ‘Instructional Leadership Masterclasses’ for our school executive team that provide effective, evidence-based literacy and numeracy practices. The consultants work with school leadership teams to provide professional learning for teachers on explicit and systematic instruction in literacy and numeracy.
The Head of Student Services at AISNSW, Lisa Ridings explains “Bellfield College school leaders guide teachers to analyse student data, identify areas of need, and then support them to implement swift and targeted intervention in response. It’s a way to ensure that the teachers can better address each child’s learning needs, in the early years of schooling. We know literacy and numeracy cannot be left to chance in the hope that every child will acquire the necessary skills – eventually. Many do not.”
Bellfield College has implemented a ‘whole community’ approach to ensuring all students make strong progress in literacy and numeracy. Parent workshops have been held to communicate the ways they too can positively support the development of their child’s literacy and numeracy skills at home.
The outcomes are pleasing and our dedicated team of teachers and learning support staff have continued this diligence when it comes to the important focus on literacy and numeracy outcomes. We continue to expect high levels of growth in 2019.
Dr Sam Jebeile,
CEO/Principal
Bellfield College