​Berrinba East State School

Location: Logan, Queensland

How Berrinba East State School has used Gonski funding

The ‘Investing for Success’ funding has allowed the Berrinba East State School to be responsive to the needs of the students, staff and the community. This funding has allowed the school to be responsive to historical Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data, particularly in the area of Language and Cognitive Skills. In response to the 2015 data that indicated that 21.6% of students were developmentally at risk and a further 29.7% of students were developmentally venerable in the area of language and cognitive skills, the school was able to invest in a Speech Pathologist and a Head of Curriculum to upskill staff as well as provide targeted and universal intervention in oral language development through the school’s PrepStart program.

How Gonski funding has made a difference for students

Since 2015 the average PM Reading Level upon exiting Prep has continued to improve. Starting with an average PM Reading Level of 3.5 in 2014, there has been sustained grow as the intervention has been strengthened and embedded. With average reading levels of 6.2 (2015) and 6.8 (2016), the foundations of long term academic success at Berrinba East State School have been laid.

The school’s PrepStart program has also received widespread recognition and was a State Finalist in Education Queensland’s Showcase Awards.

What Berrinba East State School could do with Gonski funding in the future

Future Gonski Funding will enable Berrinba East State School to respond to the ever changing needs that surface within the Logan community. Challenges such as the increasing number of students with English as an Additional Dialect (EALD) as well as empowering staff with the skills and knowledge to work effectively with students from trauma backgrounds are two areas that could be addressed with appropriate funding.