01 - Department of Education and Communities - NSW Government

A FAIR GO FOR ALLThe communication strategypromoted the use of interpretersand translations by schools,developed a training modulefor school personnel on theuse of interpreters, continueddevelopment of the rangeof departmental publicationstranslated into relevant communitylanguages, and used the ethnicmedia to promote departmentalinitiatives.The success of the ethniccommunication strategy wasevaluated by an independent marketresearch company. Key resultsincluded:• 350 per cent increase inmonthly usage of interpreters• increased interpreter usage inall key languages and districtswith an expansion in thenumber of languages utilisedby the service from 35 to 43• 97 per cent of schoolsindicated satisfaction with theoutcomes of the contact whenusing an interpreter• 90 per cent of schools wereable to nominate the range ofdepartment publications incommunity languages• 70 per cent of schools foundthe use of interpreters anddocuments in communitylanguages effective inpromoting partnerships withparents• over 13,000 hits were made tothe documents available incommunity languages on thedepartment’s website inJuly 1997.In order to encourage schools todevelop multicultural educationprograms relevant to their localneeds, all schools were invited toapply for grants to developprograms in one of five focus areas.Of the 700 applications received,581 were approved. The total fundsallocated to schools amounted to$660,000.The Multicultural PerspectivesPublic Speaking Competition hasbeen an extremely successfulinitiative in promoting the positivevalues of cultural diversity amongprimary schools. There were twolevels of the competition, one forYears 3/4 students and one forYears 5/6, with students deliveringboth prepared and impromptuspeeches. In 1997, with theinitiative in its second year, therewere almost 1,000 entrants from508 primary schools.Gifted and TalentedStudentsA wide range of programs isprovided for gifted and talentedstudents. The number of OC classeswhich cater for academically giftedstudents in Years 5 and 6 wasincreased from 98 to 102, raisingthe number of students enrolledfrom 2735 to 3060.The Department operates nineteenselective high schools and fouragricultural high schools foracademically gifted secondarystudents. The 1997 intake of Year7 students for these schoolsremained constant at 2668 and 433respectively.Applicants and Acceptances toSelective High Schools, 1997AppliedAcceptedMale 6450 1399 (22%)Female 6883 1266 (18%)Total 13333 2665 (20%)DSP 1675 232 (14%)CAP 90 54 (60%)NESB 5029 1185 (24%)Examples of Excellence in EquityProgramsThe following schools received theDirector-General’s School AchievementAward for their outstanding equityprograms.Athelstane Public School: }The schoolhas achieved a harmonious, stimulating andincreasingly successful learningenvironment for its students, most of whomcome from disadvantaged backgroundswhere success in school has not been thenorm.~Camden South Public School: }Theschool has embraced a philosophy ofhonouring and valuing diversity in peopleand the environment.~DSE Annual Report 1997 89