Boosting writing results at Lismore Heights Public School

Consistent, supportive and strategic leadership have been critical components of Lismore Heights Public School’s unique approach to embedding Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR). And it’s delivering results.

The school launched into a sustainable process of conducting QTR in 2023 and, in just one year, all 17 teachers at Lismore Heights have had the opportunity to participate in a set of Rounds. Alex Schmidt, Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction (APCI), participated in most of them – she estimates she’s done more than 30 days of Rounds.

There were multiple benefits to taking this approach, according to Alex. Because she doesn’t have a class of her own, it reduced the need for casual backfill. It meant that Alex, who had participated in a two-day QTR online workshop, could translate the knowledge from the workshop directly to teachers during their Rounds. And, by going first in each professional learning community, Alex modelled the necessary vulnerability of being observed teaching, which she said boosted the confidence of the other teachers.

Lismore Heights employed two other implementation adaptation strategies, making theirs a particularly unique approach to embedding QTR.

The first was reducing professional learning community (PLC) sizes to three teachers. This meant that, along with school leaders participating in Rounds or covering classes, they could do regular Rounds without the need for casual relief teachers. Casuals are in very short supply in the Lismore area, as in many other parts of the country.

The second strategy was to structure Rounds so everyone taught and observed lessons with a focus on boosting writing results.

The results of this approach have been staggering. When Alex compared the results of writing assessment tasks between 2022 (pre-QTR) and 2023, she found the whole-school average had increased by almost 40 per cent.

“When we measured punctuation, spelling, and grammar from their creating texts focus, we saw immediate growth in learning last year compared to the previous year when we weren’t doing QTR,” Alex said.

“It showed a huge increase. It also reinforced how we need to engage our kids with learning, and [the data] backed up what teachers were feeling in the classroom.”

Alex has also been surveying staff regularly (and anonymously) to understand their experiences of doing QTR.

“Some of the feedback includes, ‘It has really boosted our morale, not just in my Stage, but across the school’,” Alex read.

“‘I feel like when I’ve been learning the new curriculum, having QT has been able to support me with curriculum implementation’; ‘I feel like we are all really dedicated to achieving the best for all our students’; ‘Staff collaboration is so strong’; ‘I feel like [QT] has allowed me to have a holistic approach to improving my teaching pedagogy and student outcomes’; ‘I love that it’s all evidence-informed good teaching and assessment practice’.”

Embedding QT in their Strategic Plan – more than boosting writing results

From the beginning of their QTR journey, Lismore Heights PS has had a grand vision for improving teaching and learning. After she attended a QTR workshop, Alex presented a proposal to her principal, Mark Scotton, on how they could roll it out. He replied, “We could do something bigger.”

Mark and another school leader then attended a QTR workshop in Ballina, after which all three leaders came together to deliver a whole staff professional development day on QTR. At the end of that day, Mark proposed to staff two options in an anonymous survey: they could continue with principal walk-through observations or go all in on QTR.

“There was 100 per cent opt-in to QTR,” said Alex.

“The biggest reason given by staff was they never get the opportunity to see their colleagues teach. They wanted to hear from their colleagues and have the professional discussions in-house.”

Lismore Heights PS has now published a new School Improvement Plan for 2024-2027, with QTR featuring as a key improvement mechanism. Their approach now goes beyond a focus on boosting writing results, having developed the capacity of other middle leaders to lead the Rounds, Alex won’t be participating in as many, but says she still loves the chance to get in front of a classroom.

“Everyone’s done three or four Rounds and they’re feeling a lot more comfortable with the feedback that they’re giving and receiving,” Alex said.

“Now we’re mixing and matching classes and Stages. It’s that gradual release of responsibility, and now QT is part of our culture.”

Lismore Heights PS has ambitions beyond its school gates and is exploring opportunities to work with another local primary school and their local high school to create consistent, high-quality teaching and learning opportunities across the whole community.