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Welcome to Bold Park Community School

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Limited Vacancies 2010

Please contact us asap to secure your new enrolment for 2010.

We still have some places in our 4 year old program and Primary program for next year, although they are filling up fast!

 

Welcome to 2010 at Bold Park Community
 
School

Welcome to all new and existing families to the 2010 school year. We are looking forward to an exciting year ahead. The teaching staff has been planning programs that will inspire and motivate the children to learn through listening, taking heed of the world around them. This focus will support the ongoing development of knowledge and skills, which will help them to understand and communicate in the world they live in.

My School Website

Many of you will have heard extensive media coverage last week about the recent launch of the Federal Government’s My School Website. Some of you may have looked up Bold Park Community School’s page. In order to appreciate the data represented, it is necessary to have an understanding of the BPCS context in relation to this data.

Background

The data collected to represent all schools is taken from the national testing (NAPLAN) results of students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Since its inception as a one-room kindergarten in 1998, BPCS has grown into a school catering for children aged 3-16 years. During that growth, the numbers of students in the relevant testing years has been minimal as the school has established itself in the community. This is a significant factor when interpreting the results, and in turn comparing the “like schools” on the website.

BPCS Data

The BPCS data presented on the My School website positions our students as achieving a variety of levels when compared with other schools. This is because the numbers of students taking the tests are way below any statistically valid sample size.

In the two-year data reported, BPCS had between 8 and 11 students participating in the testing. The My School website does not provide this detail, although it does provide a table of indicative error, which can be accessed through the TELL ME MORE button in the HOW TO INTERPRET THIS CHART box. When this page is accessed, it shows how unreliable the data for small sample sizes is. For example, when applying the indicative margin for error data provided, the range of average scores for BPCS Year 3 Reading is in the range of 429.2 and 480.8. This huge range makes drawing any conclusions about the school performance impossible and we caution parents to consider all the tables with this in mind.

Having said this, a better feel for the spread of scores is possible by visiting the data presented in bands which shows that for the most part the students test scores were in the top three bands with no students at any stage scoring in the bottom band. The My School website explains this statistical issue in the HELP TO INTERPRET THE DATA brochure under the RESOURCES TAB on the website’s homepage.

How reliable is the data?

We note that there is a culture of “Teaching to the Test” that has emerged in Australian schools in relation to NAPLAN. We anticipate that this will become more prevalent with the launching of this My School website. Many schools are spending large amounts of time and resources teaching test specific content for the months before the testing week in May. There is a huge industry of worksheet data that trains students to perform in this narrow testing context.

At BPCS we do not engage in this practise, as it does not align with our belief that in order for skills to be useful and retained, they need to be presented and practised in authentic learning contexts. We do acquaint the children with the language of testing prior to the NAPLAN. This is necessary, as BPCS does not use narrow testing on a regular basis. As such, there is a need to support the children to feel comfortable in the unfamiliar situation of testing. However, this involves taking one practise test, rather than spending the entire first term repeatedly practicing and refining the children’s testing capabilities.

What is the purpose of the My School website?

The stated purpose of the website implies that there is a correlation between NAPLAN results and success in education and life. To our knowledge there has been no study undertaken to confirm or deny this assumption.

We urge parents to consider the narrow nature of the data that is included in a NAPLAN testing. NAPLAN only covers Literacy and Numeracy skills and even then, only the scores of tests taken on one day in May each year. Although these tests can provide the school with useful information in terms of broad areas that can be worked on, they do not provide information on all other aspects of a school environment.

The website points out that parents need to consider the development of their own child in respect to individual family priorities and beliefs. We believe that as a school, we need to make similar considerations within our unique context.

How does the BPCS Philosophy reconcile with the My School website?

Our BPCS philosophy statement clearly details our school position regarding this type of testing and its value in the overall education journey and its role in our context. We respect the data that the website presents, but only as a very small part of a much larger picture and in the full knowledge that for BPCS the data included in the tables is unreliable.

Significantly, the My School website details our population as educated and able to support their children through their learning journey. We are grateful that our parents understand that learning is a complex matrix of influences, attitudes, values and skills.

We look forward to the My School website developing over the years and providing context for small, community schools such as ours. We trust that future data will reflect an overview of the whole school experience including enthusiasm and engagement for learning, respect for each other, concern for community and the environment, creativity, innovation and parental involvement. Perhaps then the site will be a useful tool and accurately reflect the educational value of a particular school.

For an interesting perspective on test taking –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dAujuqCo7s&feature=related

Gillian McAuliffe Amanda Winnett
Director of Teaching & Learning Director of Business & Administration



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Bold Park Community School is an independent co-educational school in Perth, Western Australia, catering for children aged three to fifteen years.

Bold Park CS views children as strong and powerful contributors to their own learning, and gears the curriculum to suit the individual child whilst maintaining government standards.The philosophy and teaching style of the school takes inspiration from many educational philosophers and current research including Social Constructivist philosophers/ educators John Dewey and Lev Vygotsky, nature / place based and brain research and the work of the schools of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy,

The “Reggio” approach to learning has excited interest and admiration throughout the world and has become renowned for providing high quality education for young children. The “Reggio approach" is just that, an approach. We do not aim to copy Reggio as our culture is different from that of an Italian community. The key principles of Reggio are adapted to our own community and culture.

A unique and desirable feature of the school is the classroom structure and student to adult ratio. Small groups of children are taught by teams of teachers and teaching interns with the support of a literacy specialist, language, music, and Bluearth accredited teachers.
We have limited vacancies for students in Pre-Kindy, some primary and middle school classes. Our school offers an educational choice which values every student and provides a safe and supportive learning environment. Our students love to come to school and never want to leave.

Contact Bold Park Community School

 


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