01 - Department of Education and Communities - NSW Government

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AND LEARNINGEFFECTIVE CLASSROOM PRACTICEConcentratetrainingprograms onimprovingclassroompractice toimproveclassroomteaching.Training andDevelopment OverviewDuring 1997 the Department spent$7.4m directly on training anddevelopment programs. Of thisamount, about $3m was granteddirectly to schools, and a similaramount used to fund projects ofthe Training and DevelopmentDirectorate. The remainder wasprovided to district and stateoffices.Grants to schools were calculatedon a formula involving a baseamount of $500 per school plus aper capita allowance for staff. Forthe majority of staff the per capitaallowance was $25.30. However inmore isolated areas grants wereincreased to $168 and $673 tocompensate for the considerablyhigher costs of providing trainingin these locations.In total, schools, district and stateoffices reported spending $16.5mon training and development duringthe year involving a commitmentof 2.7 million hours. Well over90 per cent of training anddevelopment time and expenditurerelated directly to one or more ofthe five departmental prioritiesidentified in Agenda 97. Across thesystem, schools reported a 13.1 percent increase in the number ofhours spent in training anddevelopment activities.In all types of workplaces abouthalf of all training and developmentactivities took the form of directworkplace programs and integratedlong term sequences of plannedactivities delivered locally. Afurther one third of all programsinvolved formal courses, whilethe remainder were awards,placements and informal activities.A voluntary survey was distributedto 442 schools in 1997 and to 40district training and development/curriculum coordinators. Thesurvey provided reflectionson a range of training anddevelopment issues includingthe success of major statewideinitiatives, delivery modesand implementation strategiesand training and developmentachievements.The findings indicated that schoolsrated highly a range of schoolfocusedtraining and developmentprograms. Schools indicated thatthe programs were particularlysuccessful because they:• were school-based andencouraged team learning• encouraged and resourcedaction research into improvingstudent learning• offered support from outsidethe school, especially from thedistrict office• were seen as practical,relevant, well-presented andadaptable to local needs.School DevelopmentDaysSchool Development Days arestaff only days devoted to thedevelopment of staff and parents.In 1997 the structure and timing ofschool development days weremandated with child protection andliteracy set as the key topics.Departmental worksites surveyedduring the year reported spendinga total of over $700,000 on schooldevelopment days, with an averageparticipation of 61,100 employeesand parent and communitymembers.36 DSE Annual Report 1997