Doonside students reap benefits from positive approach

A western Sydney school has worked hard to address high absentee rates, and its efforts are paying off.

Doonside Public School principal David Galea with students Talara Bell, 10, Jenelle Wright, 7, Kayleb Holman, 8, and Braedyn Tangye-Komorowski, 6. Picture: John Feder

High expectations apply to everyone at Doonside Public School in Sydney’s west.

The students — most of them from non-English-speaking and indigenous backgrounds — are expected to attend school, be on time, to behave appropriately and to work hard to achieve good academic results.

“We believe all our students can go on to graduate, attend university, become a teacher or a doctor — whatever they choose,” principal David Galea said.

When Mr Galea stepped into the job nine years ago, discipline and a lack of ­engagement among students and their families were an issue. The attendance rate was hovering around 88 per cent, well below the then state average of about 94 per cent.

One of the first things he did was scrap the school’s “chill-out room”. It was a place where children would be sent if they were misbehaving in class, or if they were not interested in being in class, they could take themselves there and hang about until the end of the day.

In its place now is the “VIK Room” — a space where “Very ­Important Kids” are permitted to spend time as a reward for positive behaviour.

Designed by the students themselves, it is decked out with fun (but also educational) games and special activities, such as informal cooking classes and art ­lessons. And not surprisingly, it is in high demand.

“We’ve put the responsibility back on the kids and they now know that for everything there is a consequence,” Mr Galea said.

“For negative behaviour there’s a negative consequence, for positive behaviour there’s positive consequence.”

Analysis of absentee rates in the past identified 7 per cent of families whose children had very high absentee rates, accounting for more than 35 per cent of ­student absences. In almost every situation the absences were condoned by parents.

The school has worked hard to tackle the issue. The assistant principal and a home school liaison ­officer work closely with parents to support them in getting their children to attend school. While the reasons for non-attendance are varied, in many cases they can be overcome.

The school found cases where ageing grandparents were caring for children while battling their own poor health. And for many families, poverty is an issue. Unable to provide food for a packed lunch for their child, some families opt to keep them at home.

“It’s not about being authoritarian; its about working with the family, not over them,” Mr Galea said.

“Because we’ve been able to ­engage with these families they have become comfortable in working with us and being open with us about these things.

“So if they haven’t got food for the day they let us know and we make sure they get a sandwich when they come to school.”

The approach appears to be working. The overall attendance rate had risen to 91 per cent last year, but there remains room for improvement among the school’s 20 per cent indigenous ­cohort, which recorded an 83 per cent attendance rate.

NAPLAN results in most categories have also improved.

Mr Galea said engagement, ­attendance and results went hand-in-hand. “Just one day off a week, that’s 24 hours or so of learning a month that a child misses out on,” he said. “The more children are at school, and the more engaged they are when here and learning, their results go up.”