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Woodridge State High School - School Leadership Improvement

Woodridge State High School has utilised NP funding to restructure the leadership roles within the school, with remarkable and rapid transformation as a result. The Principal has focussed on creating the time and space for staff to do their jobs properly, with a clear focus on the one role, rather than one person doing many roles.

The Principal has created a plan in which teams are focussed on core elements of the NP strategy. These teams inform and actively drive improvement across areas such as behaviour management, attendance, Indigenous engagement and retention. One result of this strategy has been an increase in attendance from 2009 (83.4%) to 2010 (87.3%).

The design of new and focussed roles for the school leadership has occurred in conjunction with a focussed professional development plan to enhance the skills and capabilities of staff. Staff know their jobs, can perform their jobs, and have time to do their jobs. The Principal continues to revisit role descriptions with staff and reinforce expectations.

Schools operating under the auspices of Catholic schooling authorities have enjoyed a higher degree of autonomy than their state school counterparts. Nonetheless some changes in operation have increased autonomy and flexibility for some Catholic schools in addressing needs of their communities.

As highlighted in Section 2, Improving Teacher Quality, throughout 2009/10 within the Brisbane Archdiocese significant changes have been made to the way in which BCE school finances are managed, special needs funding is allocated and staffing is approved. These changes have provided increased autonomy and flexibility as to the way school principals can allocate resources for improved student learning.

With EB6 a new industrial classification of teaching was negotiated with the Queensland Independent Education Union (QIEU) Experienced Teacher 5 and Experienced Teacher 6. These classifications provided incentives and rewards for performing at a highly proficient level.

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This page was last reviewed on 28 Oct 2011