The whole school focuses on literacy and numeracy in this major Newcastle school

Glendale Technology High School is a large 7-12 co-educational school near Newcastle in the Lake Macquarie region. It has approximately 800 students with around 15% identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Its strong links with TAFE ensure that it provides comprehensive effective Vocational Education and Training programs with a focus on utilisation of technology across the school.

COVID ILSP is a priority program with a designated Head Teacher (Student Improvement) position created to coordinate and oversee the program. Several dedicated teachers have been employed to form the COVID ILSP delivery team.

The COVID ILSP team leveraged off the existing school Learning and Support processes for referrals and identification of students suitable for inclusion in the program.

Tuition is delivered during school hours and is timetabled in collaboration with classroom teachers to ensure students do not miss out on key learning areas. Literacy students are withdrawn from class and Numeracy students are offered in-class support.

The school developed 28 groups and 27 Areas of Focus to track student progress using Literacy and Numeracy Progressions. This information is analysed regularly and used to develop progression indicators as areas of focus for each tuition cycle.

Before, during and after data is displayed on a data wall to track growth and improvement and to celebrate success. An individual student profile is developed for each student based on identified strengths and needs and this is clearly communicated to all teachers.

Improvements in both Literacy and Numeracy for all students in the program and increased student engagement and behaviour have been highlighted as strengths of the program.