ⓒ The Sydney Morning Herald
Fairfield West Public School, a school where over 90% of students have a non-English speaking background and a third are refugees, has defied expectations by achieving well-above-average NAPLAN results in 2024. Principal Genelle Goldfinch attributes this success to a multifaceted approach, including a unique “building background knowledge” program that involves regular excursions to enrich students’ learning experiences. These excursions, which include trips to beaches and museums, aim to broaden students’ understanding of the world and improve their comprehension skills.
This program, implemented in a school where two-thirds of students are from the lowest socio-educational quartile, highlights the importance of contextual learning and experiential education. Goldfinch emphasizes the school’s commitment to explicit teaching, rigorous teacher evaluation, and a supportive school environment that prioritizes behaviour management and provides breakfast daily.
Other high-achieving schools, such as John the Baptist Catholic Primary School and St Catherine’s School, also demonstrate successful strategies. John the Baptist Catholic Primary School’s success is attributed to intensive teacher training, high-quality formative assessment, and daily content review. The school also actively engages parents, inviting them into the classroom and providing explanations of teaching methods.
St Catherine’s School, an all-girls private school, credits its improved NAPLAN scores to a systematic approach that includes a daily 10-minute maths review, explicit instruction, and the implementation of evidence-based literacy and spelling programs. The school also focuses on building student confidence, particularly in mathematics, to help ensure a smooth transition to high school.
These schools’ successes underscore the importance of various strategies, from enriching students’ life experiences to explicit teaching and robust teacher training and engagement with parents. The 2024 NAPLAN results, released on the MySchool website, contrast sharply with the national statistics, which revealed that one in three NSW students performed below expectations in literacy and numeracy.
