Annual Report 2023
CONTEXT
Liberty College has been providing quality Christian Education in Tamworth since 1999. 2023 was the 25th year of operation. The College serves as a ministry of Liberty Church Inc. Liberty College is fully registered and accredited as a primary school. The school is registered with NESA and successfully completed its renewal in 2023 for another five-year period.
The school is located on the southern edge of Tamworth, just minutes from the city centre. The school property is surrounded by small farms with picturesque views of the Tamworth hills. Regional development is expanding towards the school including retail, industrial, sporting, tourism, aged care facilities and housing. This development has contributed to the growing population in the Tamworth Regional area which was 65,246 as of June 30, 2023, an increase of 1.13%.
The school caters for a diverse range of families and cultures. In 2023, the year finished with 43 families, with a FTE of 61 students. The student population includes students from Australia, the Philippines and some African countries. 46% of the students identified as First Nations people. The students interact well and enjoy the opportunities and challenges of learning together in a multigrade learning environment. The year started with three classes, all multistage, however with student enrolments increasing, a new classroom teacher was employed and a fourth class was created, moving to four stage-based classes during Term 3.
The school has an SES index of 81. Substantial support is needed and provided to families to access quality Christian education and for the students to receive high quality teaching and learning experiences to meet their needs. Addressing the barriers to education for this group of the community is a vital component of Liberty’s enrolment process and the support programs that are offered by the school.
Liberty offers a unique schooling option for many students that do not ‘fit’ into other schools. The school caters for a range of student needs and currently supports students presenting with vision impairment, autism spectrum disorder, speech and language delay, poor motor-coordination, anxiety disorders, ADHD and other social-emotional disorders. In 2023, 11% of the students fell into one or more of these categories.
Liberty College has a well-stocked library including a large selection of modern teaching resources in each subject area. An additional 664 books were added to the library for student borrowing, including decodable readers and an additional 103 to the teaching resource collection in 2023.
Liberty College provides a family atmosphere in which parents and caregivers are welcome to be involved as partners in their children’s education through in-school volunteer work, home support and attendance at school events.
The school staff understand the importance of their role as facilitators for learning and models of Christian values to the children in their care. As committed Christians, all staff undertake the privilege of supporting parents in their responsibility to bring up their children “in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). With this as our foundation, all subjects are taught from a biblical perspective, allowing the values of the Bible to form the basis of teaching and learning experiences.
Messages from Key Bodies
Principal
2023 was a year of growth for the school. Three additional teaching staff were welcomed into the school, full time support was available in almost every class and many new learners were enrolled. An additional office position was filled later in the year and the school was humming along nicely.
A growing staff adds to the ability to share the load and I would like to thank the staff for their commitment to providing such a rich Christian education for the students. Our students are very blessed to have staff that genuinely care about them and want to see them reach their full potential.
With an increasing student population, I commend our students on the way they embrace new friends and make them feel they ‘belong’. It is always encouraging to hear a student say to a peer, “we don’t do it that way at Liberty’’. They are champions for teaching each other about school culture.
My role as a guest speaker at Liberty’s mainly music ministry continued throughout 2023. It is a great opportunity to support the ministry, promote the school and provide practical advice to families who are raising a new generation of young people in challenging times.
Presentation Night at the conclusion of the year was very well attended. Students performed some musical items and five grade 6 students were farewelled who will commence High School in 2024. They are heading off to three different high schools in Tamworth and Newcastle. The 2024 School Leaders were announced with the surprise of two school captains – for the first time in the school’s history. We congratulate Joshua Battese, Lahtiri Grennan, Lachlan Hartley, Angus Hickey, Coby Player and Amelia Pollard as they take on leadership roles in the school in the coming year.
I wish to thank the school and church community for their concerted efforts throughout the year as we partner with families to teach and nurture our young people. I particularly thank the Incorporated Board for their support of me in my role as Principal and the Liberty Prayer Team for upholding the school in prayer throughout 2023.
Mrs Susan West
Principal
School Council
Liberty Christian Primary School had a strong 2023 with stable enrolments giving us a solid financial base for the year. The Board offered teaching positions to two people, one FTE for Kindergarten and one PT for the Literacy position.
I continue to be very thankful for the incredibly hard work by all the school staff for all their extra time, effort and dedication. All our staff go beyond the norm in ensuring that our students get the very best education, but most of all, to develop each and every one into the mighty people they were meant to be.
The school purchased extra laptops and other IT hardware to enable each student access to their own computer, which along with better access to educational programmes online, will further enhance the learning of our students. Funds were also spent on LSL provisions and other reserves for future expansion of the school.
Our Principal Susan West continues to provide great leadership and support to the school. Our teachers are well connected and focused, with a willingness to innovate and team build over and above the expectations of the School Council Chairman. The scarcity of teachers in general and with Christian faith in particular looms as a huge problem for us and the wider education sector as we proceed into 2024 and beyond.
Finally, we will not forget our vision for our school community: to acknowledge Jesus as Lord in our lives, to strengthen each and every family and most importantly, to enable every student to fulfil their God-given destiny; to become the most amazing person they have been designed to be. There is nothing better than seeing our students develop into mighty young men and women of God!
A big thank you to all the school community, our families and students, along with the staff and church family for the fabulous work everyone puts in to make Liberty Christian Primary School the very best school in Tamworth.
Mr James Ardill
School Council Chairman
Characteristics of Student Body
The 2023 school cohort of 56 students came from 40 families as at Census date.
Achievement of Priority Areas from 2023
| Priority Area | Desired Aim | Progress |
| Enrolments | To increase student numbers so that each class has solid enrolments allowing the Board to consider establishing a fourth class by 2024. | Student numbers increased from 50 at the start of the year to 61 by the conclusion. In Term 3 a new teacher was employed to cater for the growing enrolments and reduce student numbers in the Stage 2/3 class. |
| Student Achievement | Provide Literacy intervention so that all students achieve to a level of ‘needs monitoring’ or within ‘expected range’ according to the ESTA-L Screening Tool for Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness and Phonics. | With funding available through the COVID Intensive Learning Program and a suitable Literacy Support Teacher employed, the school was able to recommence the Literacy intervention programs of Multilit and Minilit. 8 small group sessions ran four days each week providing Literacy support to 24 students. This position will continue into 2024. |
| Curriculum | Review and update the school’s Scope and Sequence documents to reflect new resources available and the New NSW K-2 English and Mathematics curriculum. | Numeracy Scope & Sequence documents were reviewed and updated to reflect the new K-2 curriculum. A new mathematics resource will be trialed in 2024. Work continues to be required in Literacy. |
| Community Action | Increase the involvement of students and caregivers in the annual Bonfire & Fireworks night as an opportunity to serve the local community. | The school’s role in packing show bags, manning the entry gate and welcoming people for the annual bonfire night ran successfully. All the Stage 3 students packed the show bags. Several senior students volunteered to help at the event and greet visitors. |
| Technology | Increase laptop numbers to provide 1 to 1 device access across the school, utilizing older models as back-up machines. | Every student now has access to a laptop. Laptops are numbered and allocated for individual use. Laptops remain at school in purpose built charging stations in each classroom. A small number of extra laptops are available as back-up machines. |
| School Environment | Re-establish the school vegetable garden with parent volunteer and student help so it can be used to produce food items for the Crunch & Sip® program. | The school vegetable garden was not re-established however with increased staff, this is anticipated for 2024. Interest has been growing among the staff, student and parent population to have input in this area. |
| Student Wellbeing | Engage with local agencies to provide support and resources to improve well-being for students and families within the school. | The school partnered with Centrecare New England to implement a program called ‘Resilient Kids’. This was presented to the students in year 3 & 4. The program ran for 5 consecutive weeks, with one lesson each week. The presenter was excellent, and students learnt about communication skills, feelings, resilience and support people. |
| Communication | Increase the information provided to families about individual class matters, including photos of events and student achievement. | During 2023, the frequency of Compass News feed posts with upcoming events, reminders and follow-up photos to families increased. Compass is the main tool used for regular communication with the school community. The School newsletter continues to be published each term. |
| Staff | To upgrade the staffroom to be a more user-friendly and resourced area for school staff to come together. | The staffroom has had further upgrades. Following some rearrangement of furniture, room was made to install a kitchen area, including sink, microwave, fridge/freezer and sideboard. |
| Governance | Develop a Strategic Plan to guide the direction of the school that reflects the direction of the Liberty Incorporated Board. | This remains a pending strategy. |
Priority Areas for Improvement in 2024
| Priority Area | Desired Aim |
| Enrolments | To increase student numbers in the lower grades so that each year level has approximately ten students in it. |
| Student Achievement | To improve student writing skills with a recognized improvement in the school’s NAPLAN results in this domain. |
| Curriculum | Review and update the school’s Scope and Sequence documents to reflect new resources available and the new NSW 3-6 English and Mathematics curriculum. |
| Community Action | Actively engage students in fundraising efforts to support the work of Joy School in Uganda. |
| Technology | Upgrade technological services to the school to increase internet speed, access to teaching and learning materials and monitor online safety. |
| School Environment | Re-establish the school vegetable garden with parent volunteers and student help so it can be used to produce food items for the Crunch & Sip® program. |
| Student Wellbeing | Increase the involvement of senior students in leadership tasks within the school and to create a Year 6 Commemorative shirt with student input. |
| Communication | Increase the information provided to families by the teaching staff about individual class matters, including photos of events and student achievement. |
| Staff | To build a cohesive and collaborative team among staff as staffing numbers increase. |
| Governance | Have all Board Members complete the required hours of Board Governance Training. |
Respect and Responsibility
The school has taken action to promote respect and responsibility between all members of the school community. The discipline policy’s underlying principles are based on responsibility and therefore this is already an integral part of the ethos of the school. The school is committed to encouraging a high level of respect among students, parents and carers and staff.
Strategies include:
- There is a set of School Rules comprising 5 areas of responsibility for students. The rules were formed with a Biblical foundation of to Love, Honour and Serve others. These have been integrated into the life of the school and well-known by students. Staff refer to these when discussing student behaviour expectations.
- The school implements the “Bucket Filler” program. This program is a character development program that is based on the premise that everyone carries an invisible bucket that holds their good thoughts and feelings. When our buckets are full, we feel happy and when our buckets are empty, we feel sad. Children quickly understand that they can fill buckets when they do and say things that are kind, considerate, caring, and respectful. They also learn that when they are mean, inconsiderate, uncaring, or disrespectful, they dip into buckets and remove those good feelings. During this school year we are encouraging, reminding, and recognizing everyone’s efforts to be bucket fillers at home, at school, and everywhere they go.
- Class-based teaching and learning activities – what is respect?, how do we show respect?, respecting others, gaining respect, taking responsibility for our actions and personal responsibilities. Such values are readily displayed in the multi-grade classroom as students interact and respond to each other, regardless of a student’s age. Issues of respect and responsibility are reflected in many of the Key Learning Areas.
- The WorryWoos program presented to Kindergarten promotes respect of others, acknowledgement of differences and responsibility in regards of personal behaviour and how students respond to their peers.
- A list of responsibilities for staff, students and parents are published in the school handbook.
- Year 5 and 6 students attend a leadership training day run by the GRIP Leadership Team. This event provides student leaders the opportunity to liaise with peers from other schools, learn and practice leadership skills, learn the importance of showing respect for those around them and develop confidence in their ability as leaders to take on this responsibility at a school level. This has proven to be a worthwhile strategy towards promoting respect and responsibility within the school. In a small school, the value of senior students in modelling and mentoring younger students has a profound impact and building capacity in senior students to take on this responsibility is a key to success in this area.
- Students are rostered to collect the mail from the letterbox. It is the students’ responsibility to collect the mail daily and return it to the office for the duration of one week. Other duties include raising and lowering the flag and collecting the clipboard at the end of the day with messages for staff and students.
- A ‘Student of the Week’ award is presented to a student each Friday. The criteria to achieve this award includes demonstrating behaviour that shows respect to peers and school staff, responsibility in various areas, ability to follow directions and represent the school with pride.
- Student leaders take on leading the sport teams with responsibilities including mobilising and encouraging their team, organising and setting up activities and supporting staff during daily fitness activities.
- The school participates in the Aussie of the Month program. Aussie of the Month is a primary school civics recognition program, delivered by the same network that presents the prestigious Australian of the Year Awards. Aussie of the Month recognises and celebrates personal endeavour, achievement, and contribution to the community and reflects the universal values we share as Australians, such as fair go, mateship, respect and inclusion. This is a worthwhile way to encourage and celebrate respect and responsibility at Liberty.
- A new initiative to develop respect and responsibility is anticipated to commence in the new year. Year 6 students will take on the responsibility to lead morning assembly, welcoming students and staff, giving necessary reminders and information and inviting staff to speak. This will provide opportunity to highlight senior leaders for the younger students.
OUTCOMES AND RESULTS
Standardised National Testing
NAPLAN testing in grades 3 and 5 is used to assess student learning and to compare performance against National averages. Literacy and Numeracy are taught in accordance with the NSW National Education Standards Authority syllabi and amount to approximately half of the school timetable subject allocations. The table below shows the average score in each of the domains for students at Liberty.
| Year 3 NAPLAN
2023 Cohort = 10 students |
Year 5 NAPLAN
2023 Cohort = 9 students |
For additional information, click here to visit the My School website.
STAFFING
Curriculum Delivery
All of the teaching staff have teaching qualifications from a higher education institution within Australia or as recognised within the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (AEINOOSR).
Teaching Qualifications
| Surname | Name | FTE | Accreditation | Years of Teaching Experience | Subjects Taught | Year/Role | Qualifications | ||
| Qualification | Location | Obtained | |||||||
| West | Susan | 1.0 | Proficient | 27 | Primary KLA’s | K-6 Casual | B. Education (Primary)
Masters in Leadership |
Sydney University
Morling College |
1997
2020 |
| Campbell | Karen | 1.0 | Proficient | 42 | Primary KLA’s | 4/5/6 | Diploma of Teaching
Bachelor of Education |
Armidale College of Advanced Education
Australian Catholic University |
1982
1994 |
| Haworth | Julie | 0.8 | Proficient | 46 | Primary KLA’s | 2/3/4 | Diploma in Teaching | Armidale College of Advanced Education | 1977 |
| Simpson | Heather | 0.4 | Proficient | 37 | Primary KLA’s | K-6
RFF |
Diploma in Teaching
Bachelor of Education |
Armidale College of Advanced Education
Armidale College of Advanced Education |
1994
1988 |
| Pyke | Bellinda | 1.0 | Proficient | 2 | Primary KLA’s | K/1 | Bachelor of Education (Primary)/Early Childhood Studies | University of Newcastle | 2016 |
| Kelly | Cecilia | 0.6 | Proficient | 1 | Literacy | K-6 Literacy Support | Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood) | Macquarie University | 1997 |
| Dillon | Jessica | 1.0 | Provisional | 0.5 | Primary KLA’s | 1/2 | Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) | University of Southern Queensland | 2023 |
Workforce Composition
All staff at Liberty College are committed Christians and are linked in with a local church. All staff subscribe to the school’s Statement of Faith outlined in staff contracts and are committed to teaching from a Christian worldview perspective.
All staff continued in their previous capacity into the 2023 school year. Two staff members identify as Indigenous and three staff members are from other countries. Three additional teaching staff were employed during the course of 2023 to meet the growing needs of the school in addition to a part-time office worker. Support people are utilised both in the classroom and playground. The focus of support staff time in the classroom is for students with disabilities and general classroom and teacher support. Additional staff are also employed to work in ancillary roles, including office roles and finance, cleaning and maintenance. Liberty Church Incorporated employs 19 people, 11 of which are employed in a part-time capacity.
ATTENDANCE
The attendance rates per grade for 2023 are outlined in the table below.
| Year Level | All | Indigenous | Proportion with Attendance Rates >90% | |
| K | 82.61% | 77.00% | ||
| 1 | 73.64% | 73.64% | Non-Indigenous
60.5% |
|
| 2 | 88.36% | 79.27% | ||
| 3 | 84.94% | 76.60% | ||
| 4 | 88.02% | 83.40% | Indigenous
37% |
|
| 5 | 85.20% | 88.41% | ||
| 6 | 81.72% | 76.48% | ||
| TOTAL | 85% | 79% |
SCHOOL POLICIES
A full text of the school’s policies can be found on the school’s website. Click on the direct link to the policies below.
| Child Protection |
| Discipline
(including Anti-Bullying) |
| Managing Complaints |
Click here to visit the Policy Section of the Liberty Christian Primary School Website.
STAKEHOLDER SATISFACTION
|
Responses 5 |
The annual School Community Survey encourages reflection across 6 domains: School Values, Community, Communication, Teaching and Learning, Student Welfare and School Facilities. Each focus area had a series of statements and the opportunity to make additional comments was provided. Respondents graded the list of statements in each area using a five-point grading scale from fair (1) to excellent (5).
| Components | Average Response | Comments |
| School Values | 4.8 | Liberty College provides a loving and caring environment for school families that supports families and align with Christian family values. The staff model this behaviour and students are encouraged to do the same with each other. Parent feedback indicates that the values at school have a positive impact on the students at home. |
| Community | 4.9 | This domain had the greatest improvement during this last year and received the highest score of all domains. Liberty prides itself on providing a friendly and supportive community. There is a high sense of belonging between students, staff and parents. Having approachable staff who are able to manage the day-to-day enquiries of families and point them in the right direction is important as well as connecting families with each other. Students readily embrace new friends and make them feel part of the community. |
| Communication | 4.8 | The use of Compass as the main vehicle to communicate with families is well-developed. Every family has at least one caregiver accessing the platform. Providing regular updates to families about what is happening through the week is a beneficial way to inform them of what is happening in the school. |
| Teaching
and Learning |
4.7 | Teaching and learning was enhanced through the year by creating a fourth class to maintain small class numbers. This provided more opportunities for teachers to plan and prepare lessons suited to one stage level, although accommodations and adjustments are regularly in place for students that are working outside their stage level. Teaching staff were particularly pleased as their teaching loads were reduced with this change and they could see the impact it made to their teaching and on student learning outcomes. |
| Student Welfare | 4.6 | There are many systems in place at Liberty to meet student welfare needs. As concerns are raised, there are increased incidences of student mental health concerns and the impacts of this is evident in the interactions of students at school. Students can sometimes be reluctant to share their concerns, however each student has at least one staff member they connect well with, providing opportunities for support and encouragement. |
| School Facilities | 4.8 | The school facilities and surrounds provide a lovely environment for learners as well as a pleasant atmosphere for visitors coming to the school. Visitors comment that the school has a nice feel and that the children appear happy. Students have a variety of environments throughout the school that are welcoming and engaging. The most popular playground spaces are the sandpit and grassed areas. The classrooms are open and welcoming. In 2023, blinds were installed on the northern windows to block out glare on the classroom interactive boards. These have been beneficial in allowing students to more readily access displayed learning materials. Staff are keen to see continued upgrades to the staffroom, particularly a hot water facility added. |
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
| Recurrent Income | |
| School Fees | 66560 |
| Excursions | 0 |
| Other Private Income | 15695 |
| State Government Grants | 289931 |
| Commonwealth Government Grants | 1134125 |
| Other Recurrent Grants | 23364 |
| TOTAL RECURRENT INCOME | 1529675 |
| Capital Income | |
| Other Capital Income | NIL |
| TOTAL CAPITAL INCOME | NIL |
| Recurrent Expenditure | |
| Salaries and Allowances | |
| General Teaching Staff | 438136 |
| Salaries – all other staff | 434136 |
| Workers Compensation and other salary related expenses, LSL provision | 12751 |
| Superannuation | 104798 |
| Teaching expenses and materials, administrative and clerical expenses and sundry administrative expenses | 100098 |
| Buildings and grounds operations, rent building and equipment – maintenance | 10329 |
| Interest – bank overdraft and recurrent loans | NIL |
| Depreciation | 26000 |
| TOTAL RECURRENT EXPENDITURE | 1226248 |
| Capital Expenditure | |
| Land, Buildings and improvements | NIL |
| Plant and machinery | NIL |
| Other capital expenditure | NIL |
| TOTAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURE | NIL |
| Loans | |
| Refundable Enrolment Deposits | |
| Opening Balance | NIL |
| Closing Balance | NIL |
| Recurrent Loans | |
| Opening Balance | NIL |
| Closing Balance | NIL |