Wadalba Schools Learning Community

Mr DAVID HARRIS (Wyong) [5.39 p.m.]: On 17August it gave me great pleasure to officially launch the Wadalba Schools Learning Community and to sign the No Dole Charter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Training, John Della Bosca. The development of strong local networks through school collaboration has been an exciting innovation in the Hunter-Central Coast region. These local networks have been coined local management groups, and 26 local management groups cover the 302 schools in the region. Local management groups were initially developed to assist schools in making more effective use of school and regional resources. A spin-off from the local management groups has been the creation of learning communities of schools.

Learning communities of schools generally aim to develop more innovative and responsive learning environments, to better support teacher professional learning, and to foster stronger partnerships between schools and their families. The first of the learning communities was the Tuggerah Lakes Learning Community. The Wadalba Schools Learning Community is a formal collaboration between Wadalba Community School, a large comprehensive kindergarten to year 12 school, and its four partner primary schools—Warnervale Public School, Woongarrah Public School, Tacoma Public School and Tuggerawong Public School. All those schools are located in the north Wyong area of the Central Coast.

The Wadalba Schools Learning Community was an initiative of the five school principals and the concept was built under the vision of vibrant schools promoting learning and success. Since its inception earlier this year the Wadalba Schools Learning Community has already achieved some significant outcomes for students. In particular, teachers in all participating schools have collaborated on a boys education project, a curriculum planning process for literacy, the development of teacher skills in the systematic and explicit teaching of mathematics, and the development of quality assessment tasks for students. It is clear that students from Wadalba Community School, Warnervale Public School, Woongarrah Public School, Tacoma Public School and Tuggerawong Public School will continue to benefit greatly from the initiatives that will underpin the Wadalba Schools Learning Community into the future.

The recent announcement at Wadalba comes roughly a year after the creation of the Tuggerah Lakes Learning Community. The Tuggerah Lakes Learning Community involves the three campuses from Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College, based at The Entrance, Berkeley Vale and Tumbi Umbi and their partner primary schools located at Bateau Bay, Brook Avenue, The Entrance, Wamberal, Berkeley Vale, Chittaway Bay, which is in my electorate, and Killarney Vale. The schools in the Tuggerah Lakes Learning Community share knowledge, expertise and resources to ensure continuity of learning from preschool all the way through to year 12.

Over the last 12 months, under the banner of "United in Excellence, Equity and Opportunity", the Tuggerah Lakes Learning Community has developed an excellent community profile and significantly added to the learning outcomes of all students, particularly through innovative middle years programs. Both the Wadalba Schools Learning Community and Tuggerah Lakes Learning Community have also used their collaborations to host highly successful values forums. Those forums have enabled students, parents and their teachers to discuss and explore the values that they believe should underpin their school, public education and the world in which they live.

It is clear since the incorporation of local management groups and the subsequent creation of learning communities, that schools in the Hunter-Central Coast are maximising their effectiveness from both a student learning and resource perspective through collaboration and effective partnerships. It is through those partnerships and networks that schools in the Hunter-Central Coast region are positioning public schools as the schools of choice. Congratulations must go to the principals of the schools involved in the Wadalba Learning Community—Nigel Brito of Wadalba Community School, Leonie Clarkson at Woongarrah Public School, Jill Carter at Warnervale Public School, Alan Sharpe at Tacoma Public School and Lesley Burch at Tuggerawong Public School—as well as their students, staff and communities for this fantastic initiative.

The second part of the ceremony was the signing by students of the No Dole Charter. The Beacon No Dole Program, which originated in Tasmania in 1995, to combat youth unemployment is now operating in 80 schools across Australia. Schools running the program report significant positive benefits for the school, the community and, most importantly, all students. Students, parents and teachers report that through this program leaving students have developed a greater understanding and confidence about their career decisions following year 10, whether it be further education, training or employment. The conscious and public commitment of students to pursue further education, training or employment, coupled with active support and involvement from local businesses and a focus on individual career planning have proved to be key ingredients in assisting young people to make a positive transition from their school years.