Craigmore High School

Location: Outer northern suburbs, Adelaide SA

Craigmore High School, in outer northern Adelaide, has around 950 students, including 62 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and 84 students from non-English-speaking backgrounds, together with 150 students with identified disabilities. Almost 2/3 of students are from low-income backgrounds, with about 1/3 eligible for SA’s School Card scheme for low-income families.

How Craigmore High School has used Gonski funding

Over the period 2014-2016, Craigmore HS has received about $1m in Gonski funding, following on from funding received under the previous National Partnerships Program (NPP). The major focus to which these fud have been directed is improvement in student engagement and achievement. Numeracy coordinator and literacy coordinator positions have been established together with additional support in classrooms for both students and teachers, and two Quicksmart literacy and numeracy support officers to support the school’s literacy and numeracy support program. Funding has also been directed to programs and positions that support the development of “student voice”, and additional support for students identified as at-risk.

How Gonski funding has made a difference for students

Principal Graham Jennings says the benefits to Craigmore have been the ability to create leadership positions and support projects focussed on engaging teachers and students in co-designing new assessment tasks and feedback processes to improve student outcomes. The same strategy has been applied to improving student attendance, with positive results. Many students have also benefitted from the development of a student support team that uses a case management approach to identify, respond and support students experiencing issues that may negatively impact on their ability to attend school, engage with the curriculum, and form positive, productive relationships with teachers and peers. The Quicksmart programs in literacy and numeracy were also successful, with students achieving significant improvement in speed, accuracy and understanding.

What the continuation of Gonski funding means to Craigmore High School

Mr Jennings says that the continuation of Gonski funding would allow the school to provide equity of access for all students, to achieve “… focussed intervention for targeted students to build literacy and numeracy skills … that give them the confidence to successfully engage in the learning process.”