‘We haven't looked back': How these eight schools are turning around results

Sydney Morning Herald

23-07-2025

Two Central Coast schools – The Entrance Public and Budgewoi Public – were highlighted in a new report by The Grattan Institute, The Maths Guarantee, on how to boost maths performance in primary schools.
Stitt credits teaching consistency and 'door-to-floor' class routines for the dramatic turnaround in behaviour. The school recorded 80 suspensions in 2020, last year that fell to 20. Just three suspensions have been issued in the first two terms of this year, he says.
He recalls starting at the school in 2019, when 'classrooms would be trashed, we had violence. I was constantly at rooms getting turned over. We would have to evacuate the classrooms,' he says. Teachers became afraid to teach, he says. 'We had to draw a line.'
'Open plan learning didn't really work here. That free-range approach, the students didn't cope well. Kids were disengaged, we had kids facing all different ways. It can add to cognitive load too, so we did away with that and kids can focus on learning.'
The change in teaching approach meant lessons became fast-paced and students were engaged. Teachers check for students' understanding as the lesson progresses, data is monitored carefully. Vocabulary classes were introduced to help students learn up to 400 'tier two' words a year.
This year, for the first time, the school's year 3 reading, spelling and numeracy NAPLAN results are above the Australian average. The school is in the top 10 per cent of public schools for value-add data, the contribution a school makes to student learning.
Five years ago, about 60 per cent of year 1 students at the school needed extra support with phonics, or identifying letter-sound combinations. Last year, it was 16 per cent.
The eight Central Coast schools are also part of a grassroots group known as the Effective and Systematic Teaching Network (EAST) which writes lessons plans schools can use with the kindergarten to year 6 maths curriculum.
Sam Higgins, a year 4 teacher at The Entrance who helped write the EAST maths resources, says providing lesson plans is especially useful for new teachers.
'When I started teaching I felt like I was really struggling. You're just left to your own devices, which can lead to a lead to a haphazard approach to teaching. Having shared resources gives you something to lean on,' Higgins said.
But Stitt said while there is a high level of structure to the school day, 'there is a lot of room for individualism, warmth, and for the teachers to put their twist on things.'
Jesmond Zammit, principal at Gorokan Public, said having a network of schools to share knowledge has helped improve student outcomes.
'We were all doing our own things within each individual school. Now we have a collective where the primary pedagogy is explicit teaching, and we have a laser focus on it,' Zammit said. 'We work together, we visit each other's schools.'
At The Entrance and Gorokan Public, about 60 per cent of students come from the lowest socio-educational quartile.
'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students make up 25 per cent of our 610 students. This year their year 5 NAPLAN reading results were off the charts, and well above statistically similar schools,' he said.
'It's been a real game changer for our students in terms of life opportunities. And if they go to another school in this area, then the learning is consistent.'
Stitt said one of the major changes is that parents have confidence in the school.
'We get about 60 or 65 per cent at parent teacher interviews. Our aim over the next year is to increase that, really get more parent engagement because we know what a difference that can make.'