Plumpton Education Community

Our successes

Our Capacity to Succeed

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?" - Robert Schuller

The capacity to improve learning outcomes for students and to creatively explore and implement innovative approaches to education is based on a strong track record of success. Some of our achievements during the past 3-5 years include:

• Best ever results in external testing, Higher School Certificate, School Certificate and literacy and numeracy testing. In the HSC and School Certificate, Bands 5 and 6 results doubled in comparison with the previous peak performance.
• The introduction of the PEC student voice team, student guidance program and PBL, positive behaviour for learning, has seen significant improvements in capacity building for our students. There has been a more responsible, proactive approach to life at school by students and a resultant dramatic reduction in inappropriate behaviours, with an emphasis on supporting students to develop skills to manage their lives at school more effectively and to engage more productively in learning. Behaviour referrals have been reduced by 30-40%, suspensions have been reduced and attendance has increased by approximately 5% during this period.
• The introduction of cutting edge technology being implemented across PEC to improve the quality of teaching and learning and to enhance connections between students, classes and school sites. This is a highly effective way to enable staff to share effective practice and to better use existing expertise.  We are currently developing the use of a range of technologies to enhance teaching and learning within and across schools. This includes the use of DER laptops, interactive whiteboards, connected classes technology, Moodle, individual electronic response systems and an integrated messaging system. Last year Plumpton High School delivered  the HSC course in Filipino to another school, St Marys Senior High School, using this technology to ensure their students are able to access the expertise we have at Plumpton High School. Students in this class secured 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^thand 5^th places in the state in this course.
• The introduction of the Ningbo Volunteers program caters for the development of Mandarin teaching across PEC.  The PEC Sports Gala Day and the PEC Creative and Performing Arts expo to provide rich learning experiences and leadership opportunities for secondary students in working with primary students, a major initiative for the Plumpton Education Community schools. The introduction of the Citizenship Continuum, including Student Portfolios supports students in achieving a range of competencies in a way which is both exciting and challenging. These competencies are based on the skills which employers have identified as being keys to employment.
• The establishment of the PEC Schools Learning Support team has ensured a more strategic approach to supporting students with high learning needs. The schools' resources for providing intensive support for students are being coordinated through this team. The Learning Centre at Plumpton High School is consistently full of students who readily access it for additional support with their learning and the achievement of improved results is providing strong evidence for the success of the centre.
• The PEC submission for a major grant from the Commonwealth Government as part of the Local Schools Working Together program has resulted in approval for a new $2.4 million state-of-the-art performing arts centre with tiered seating for 400 people. This facility will be shared by all PEC schools and also with students from the Good Shepherd Primary School and the Australian Islamic College.

As a result of the high quality work which occurs on a daily basis we received the Regional Director's Award for School Achievement for our work as the Plumpton Education Community and the Regional Director's Award for Innovation in Technology. Plumpton High School also received the Director-General's Award for Outstanding School Achievement.

These awards are recognition of a culture which has challenged existing practices to create new possibilities for education provision.

Plans, dreams and ambitions

Our Plans, Dreams and Ambitions

1.     Teaching & Learning for a New Generation

"Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous." - Confucius (551 BC -479 BC),  The Confucian Analects

Continuous improvement towards excellence of teaching and learning is at the nucleus of the PEC Plan. At present we are negotiating a pilot program through membership of the Greater Western Sydney Alliance, featuring partnerships with DET Western Sydney and South Western Sydney Regions, the University of Western Sydney and business partnerships through Telstra and Cisco. The aim of the pilot is to develop and trial a range of state-of-the-art technologies in a progressive education setting and to access outside education expertise and teaching and learning programs. As a part of our PEC Middle Years focus, we are working towards the delivery of education programs to students across school sites in innovative ways. Flexible models of delivery are being researched and generated for the more strategic use and development of teacher expertise across curriculum areas throughout PEC. The ability to develop more flexible staffing structures are being developed to further enhance our ability to align teaching and learning around the English, Mathematics, Science & Technology curriculum areas, including scope and sequence, teaching programs, assessment & data entry for STARS (our common student tracking and recording system used by all PEC schools). To coincide and maximise the impact of the Digital Education Revolution, PHS is in negotiation with external providers to develop pilot projects with regards to the use of different technologies, pioneering concepts that will connect students to information, to each other, to their learning neighbourhoods and their teachers, as well as supporting students with the important "how to  do  school". This model is designed to embed the teaching of organising and synthesising information as well reconstructing it in a variety of presentation formats. Our well established Learning Centre supporting students with learning difficulties, the gifted & talented and Aboriginal students, will also be an asset for further innovation given a flexible resourcing approach.

2.    Building the Capacity of Students

´…..Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.´  - Robert Frost

Supporting students in the creation and achievement of their goals is fundamental to enhancing learning at PEC. A newly developing student leadership initiative is marrying well with PBL structures, processes and plans that travel across PEC schools. The potential in this key area of development is for rich opportunities for student leaders to authentically make an impact upon their learning communities by working with other PEC student leaders, connecting through our pre-existing ‘connected classrooms' facilities. The success of the PEC Citizenship Continuum has developed the enthusiasm and commitment from the staff and community. The success of these projects amongst PEC schools continue to depend on the already established capacity for PEC's innovative and sophisticated structures that provide effective foundations and scaffolds that maintain and augment learning.

3.  Sharing Professional Practice

"We learn by example and by direct experience because there are real limits to the adequacy of verbal instruction."    - Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, 2005

One of our highest leverage strategies for improving student learning outcomes is "putting education back into education leadership" (Robinson 2006). Teachers are committed to developing a K-12 vision of teaching & learning and are eager participants in sharing professional practices. We are currently planning our fourth 2-day PEC conference which have to date featured an array of outstanding national and international expert guest speakers. All PEC staff meet once a term for shared, sustained and substantial professional dialogue, highlighting staff capacity to work towards the big picture for our community and best practice with regards to teaching & learning for our students. Already we have created a range of PEC planning and implementation teams with a focus on learning support, middle years, curriculum numeracy, curriculum literacy, curriculum science & technology, leadership, professional learning, citizenship leadership and student success (CLASS). These teams are a wonderful collaboration of classroom teachers, executives and senior executives, providing professional learning experiences through an array of special initiatives and the aligning of scope & sequences to create common assessment tasks for data analysis and future planning with regards to pedagogy and programming (literacy/numeracy/science & technology). The clear intention to redesign the ways and frequency in which we connect to significantly enhance student learning K-12 is at the core of our work together. There is also an obvious commitment to developing leadership across PEC schools. It is encouraging to recognise so many aspiring leaders within the PEC community. Staff are clearly very open to working as an education community, highlighting staff readiness for delving into the ‘new', as our whole PEC vision can be considered educationally avant-garde. From our perspective, it is a natural progression that we could investigate in more ‘flexible' structures to further buoy our initiatives. The success of this framework has already been concreted with a genuine partnership that exists between schools, a culture of trust, commitment and enthusiasm based on strong relationships and the steadfast belief that PEC works as one rather than as a coalition of partners.

4.  Building the Plumpton Education Community Collegiate

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Lewis Carroll(1832 - 1898), Alice in Wonderland

Within our PEC plan, it is very clear that we have developed a culture that wishes to explore, research and develop models, structures and systems to more effectively, creatively and efficiently meet the learning needs of students through a K-12 education provision. This evidences the willingness of the wider school community to embark upon a complex and rich learning journey. It is clear that we wish to ensure an inclusive culture of innovation, creativity and common purpose that is nurtured and valued through broad-based involvement in the college creation process. Opportunities for forums, discussions, research, visits to other innovative education sites are constantly pursued by key stakeholders. The futuristic vision is to develop a PEC Collegiate, obviously implying new and innovative operational systems that support teaching & learning for the ‘middle years' and beyond. The current PEC leadership group is committed to our ongoing development and meets each fortnight for this purpose. We plan to establish a Board of Management to ensure high level and objective governance, including representation from partners in TAFE, university, local council, local business and other personnel who could enhance the development of a PEC College. We believe that this ambitious vision is achievable when considering what has been achieved in terms of supporting student learning outcomes and the outstanding leadership provided by the PEC team who have pioneered an extensive range of successful strategies that have successfully developed a highly innovative education provision, K-12.

New possibilities

Towards the Realisation of New Possibilities

"To infinity and beyond" Buzz Lightyear

The Plumpton Education Community is in the midst of a highly exciting and transformative journey which has the potential to reshape education delivery. The work in progress that is PEC is clearly a model which can be applied to education settings across Australia. At the very least, it is providing vastly increased opportunities for students and families from a low socio-economic context to engage in education as never before. It offers staff members the challenge, stimulation, encouragement and inspiration to deliver teaching and learning opportunities in a new paradigm. Building the capacity of all community members is fundamental.

Designing and delivering a high quality education, cultural, sporting and service provision for the entire Plumpton community is a burning commitment. To this end an ambitious building program has been designed to provide improved facilities for students, parents and community members. This include an advanced performance, assembly and learning space for local schools, regional programs and community events; a high-tech professional learning space; offices for professional services to be delivered to parents and families including speech therapists, clinical psychologists for family counselling, etc. in partnership with other agencies; and a complex of high quality sporting facilities.

In essence, PEC combines exciting and transformational technological opportunities with a strong values platform to ensure students are receiving the best preparation possible for a rapidly changing and developing world. It is outward looking and seeks partnerships, connections and opportunities well beyond the traditional scope of schools. At the same time, it offers the local community confidence in the high quality of education being provided to its young people, as well as access to rapidly developing facilities for the benefit of all. It is becoming a community hub at one level and a window to the world at another.

The opportunity to create new modes of operating has the potential to considerably enhance the progress of PEC. A staffing model which has the freedom and flexibility to be designed to meet the ever developing needs of PEC is essential. The reshaping of leadership roles and responsibilities, the opportunities for teachers to work in powerful new ways across different sites, a more productive and enlightened approach to administrative roles, all require administrative, operational and industrial reform. The more efficient use of resources, the elimination of duplication across sites, a better fit of available resources to local needs, are further compelling reasons demanding the development of the Plumpton Education Community.

There is considerable will and capacity which has been demonstrated by the Plumpton Education Community to engage in a transformative model for education delivery. The journey has only just begun.