Brisbane Bayside gives students better after-school pathways
24 July 2017
2
min read
Brisbane Bayside State College is one of three Queensland schools that has been named a regional winner in the QSuper-sponsored Senior Years category of the Department of Education and Training’s 2017 Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools.
In 2010, Brisbane Bayside State College found itself facing a real problem: with only 71% of students graduating with a QCE, a large number of students weren’t reaching their full potential and didn’t have the direction, focus and qualifications to successfully take the next step into employment or further education.
The school knew that in order to give its students the best chance to prosper post-school they needed to shake things up with a sweeping review of the curriculum to achieve three key outcomes:
- achieve a 100% QCE attainment rate
- improve vocational education and training (VET) outcomes for students by increasing the number of students taking up and completing Certificate 111 courses
- create better pathways to students wanting an OP.
These goals have been met and more with:
- 100% QCE attainment achieved the past three years in a row
- a 43% increase in the number of students taking up VET courses from 2015 to 2016 and a corresponding 100% completion rate in 2016
- 86% of Year 12 students going for an OP achieving an OP1-15 in 2016.
In order for the school to achieve these fantastic results, it recognised the need to first bring parents on the journey to what they were trying to achieve.
‘Many of our students are the first in their family to graduate from high school, so some parents have traditionally been solely focused on having their child complete 12 years of schooling without necessarily passing subjects,’ Principal Grant Williams explained.
'It took a fair amount of work to change the mindset among parents and bring them on board to ensure each child was focused on graduating with their QCE.'
Brisbane Bayside State College started by tracking and monitoring student performance, thanks to the introduction of an electronic term ranking system that allowed the teaching cohort to monitor students in every subject.
This system allowed “at risk” or disengaged students to be identified immediately and to use targeted intervention strategies (including individual case management) to help set them on the right path to educational success.
‘Gradu8’ = better after-school pathways
Recognising that the traditional school model was failing some students in their pursuit of educational success, Brisbane Bayside identified that a different approach was needed for these students.
And so the innovative Gradu8 program was born.
Under the Gradu8 program, disengaged students who don’t “fit” the traditional school setting of attending 70-minute lessons receive a tailored pathway to suit their individual learning needs.
Instead of moving from class to class, students receive one-on-one monitoring and support from a single teacher who delivers all their English and Maths teaching. In addition they complete a school-based traineeship under this teacher’s supervision.
‘The single point of teaching truth has really boosted student engagement and attendance, and has played a big part in helping us achieve 100% QCE success,’ Mr Williams said.
‘These students are out of the classroom one day a week working at the place of business of their school-based traineeship to get on-the-job experience.
‘They’re paid for this work and it can, and often does, translate into paid employment when they graduate from school.
‘The local business community has been overwhelmingly supportive of what we’re trying to achieve here, and has really stepped up to the mark in offering school-based traineeships when they can.'
‘In fact we’ve just established a formal arrangement with the Wynnum-Manly Leagues Club, who has agreed to take on eleven Year 11 students for a school-based traineeship in Hospitality.
‘These students will graduate with a Certificate 111 in Hospitality, as well as a firm job opportunity.’
Great student engagement = higher attendance rates
‘Another area we really wanted to improve was our VET pathways, with completion rates sitting below where we wanted them,’ Mr Williams said.
‘In the past it was hard to monitor whether students were attending TAFE to complete their VET courses so we made the innovative move to set up what we call a ‘Senior Hub’ in our school library.’
‘The way it works is we bring the trainers into the school so the students don’t need to travel to TAFE and that way we can monitor their attendance.
‘There’s no denying the success of the “The Hub” – we now have a 100% VET course student completion rate and student attendance is the highest it’s ever been.’
QSuper is proud that more than 51,000 brisbane-based teachers and Department of Education and Training staff can feel good knowing their future’s in safe hands with QSuper.