Smarter Schools National Partnerships

Closing the Gap
Improving Teacher Quality
Low SES School Communities
Literacy and Numeracy

Northern Territory
Progress Report 2010 for period
1 April – 30 September 2010

CONTENT	

Section 1
	
Overview/Summary of Progress	

Section 2
	
Leading School Improvement	

Section 3
	
Improving Teaching and Learning	

Section 4
	
Working Together	

Section 5
	
Targeting for Success	

Section 6
	
Responsive Systems Driving and Supporting Transformation	

Section 7
	
Milestone report	

  Section 1 – Overview/Summary of Progress.	
Northern Territory’s strategic direction for education as described through Territory 2030 and enacted through initiatives under the strategic plans of all education sectors, is very much aligned to the National Goals for Young Australians and is focussed on achieving the outcomes under both the National Education Agreement and National Indigenous Reform Agreement.  
The Smarter Schools National Partnerships (Smarter Schools NPs) are substantially assisting the Northern Territory to drive reforms in 132 schools, within regions/sectors and across the system.  Additional support provided under the Enhancing Education component of the Closing the Gap National Partnership Agreement is embedded in the Northern Territory’s Smarter Schools NPs reform and is intensifying the effort to improve outcomes for students living in 76 prescribed communities - a significant subset of the 132 Smarter Schools NP schools.  
To ensure the greatest leverage to deliver outcomes across all the Agreements under the Smarter Schools NPs, the Northern Territory developed an integrated implementation plan that focused on ensuring all eligible schools are supported to address their local school improvement needs.  To support this process, and ensure regional/sectoral and system initiatives are targeted effectively, the Northern Territory developed a cross-sectorally agreed model for quality schooling that is underpinned by the principles of school improvement grounded in whole school approaches to student learning (refer Figure 1).  
Figure 1
This document contains a graphical representation of the Northern Territory Quality Schooling Strategic Framework which displays the framework being utilised by the NT to meet National Partnership reform agenda outcomes.  The framework is based on the following  target areas:  Leading School Improvement, Improving Teaching and Learning, Working Together, Targeting for Success and Responsive Systems Driving and Supporting Transformation.  
The implementation plan will be refreshed over the coming months to ensure it captures the strengthened strategic agenda for education in the Northern Territory that has emerged since it was initially developed.
Early progress is indicating that schools’ local efforts under the Smarter Schools NPs are beginning to impact positively on students with improved literacy and numeracy as well as attendance outcomes beginning to emerge.  It is acknowledged that sustainable change will take time and the Northern Territory’s focus continues to be on 
•	encouraging and supporting whole school improvement approaches
•	ensuring teachers have access to professional learning and coaching support to implement evidence-based approaches that target specific students learning needs
•	building strong partnerships with families, community, business and industry
•	developing flexible and innovative solutions to support students engage more fully with education and ensure their effective transition to post schooling pathways.   
Regional and sectorally provided support and services are taking shape, with efforts focused on ensuring they are designed and delivered in ways that suit the specific contexts of targeted schools.  Attracting and housing suitably qualified personnel in regional areas – particularly those with specialist skills - continues to be a challenge which has resulted in the delay in the commencement of some initiatives.  However, wherever possible adaptation of service delivery models complemented by extensive recruitment processes are assisting to address these issues.   
Systemically, the improving teacher quality agenda is being supported with the Teacher Registration Board and the Department of Education and Training ensuring that registration and pre-service programs are supporting the national directions.  A renewed focus on recruiting quality remote teachers and on ensuring leadership programs specifically target the needs of those working in the most challenging contexts, will ensure the educational workforce is prepared and suitable for the Northern Territory’s very remote contexts.  Innovative and progressive ways of expanding the delivery of education services to geographically isolated students are being explored with ICT technology being used to support these.  
The Northern Territory continues to enjoy strong cross-sectoral working relationships to develop new programs and initiatives that are appropriate and accessible to all eligible schools.  
The Strong Start, Bright Future evaluation being led through Menzies School of Research is the key to measuring the impact of the Northern Territory’s Indigenous education reform agenda.  This longitudinal evaluation will focus not only on place-based reforms, but also on systemic effort and will assist to ensure that Smarter Schools NP effort and resourcing is being targeted to areas that will make the most difference to students  as they prepare for and participate in school and transition to further education, employment or training pathways .  	

  Section 2 – Leading School Improvement
Strong School Leadership	
Six Month Progress – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Strong school leadership teams capable of implementing whole school approaches to school improvement are a key feature of the Northern Territory’s Smarter Schools NP reform.  This involves not only a focus on developing existing and future leaders that are equipped to deal with the challenges of delivering education in complex school communities, but also on implementing innovative and inclusive school leadership models that acknowledge the importance of quality community partnerships in effective education delivery.  
The increased focus on school planning as a result of the Smarter Schools NPs has placed emphasis on this planning as an integral part of the performance improvement process.  In government schools, leadership teams have worked in collaboration with critical friends and Directors of School Performance to identify local priorities and the strategies to which resourcing under the Smarter Schools NPs can be directed to enhance outcomes for targeted groups of students, and to embed these into their school improvement plans.  A strengthened Accountability and Performance Improvement Framework and enhanced system support for the use of data will ensure schools are better targeting, measuring and monitoring improvement within the whole school, in classrooms and for individual students.  
The Catholic Education Office held a two-day Discourse and Discernment workshop for school leaders and engaged a Senior Educational Consultant to work with school leadership teams to develop quality improvement plans and increase planning capability.  The consultant has further worked with school leadership teams to offer targeted support at the individual school level.  
To assist principals to better manage resources to support whole school improvement, Business Support Consultants are being recruited.  These officers will work directly with school leaders and their administrative staff and will support them to plan and target the use of financial and staffing resources effectively.  
The regionalisation agenda within the government sector is progressing with additional support being made available for targeting toward supporting schools implement improvement strategies to address their locally determined priority areas.  The development of Regional Plans that localise systemic performance targets will ensure there is alignment between school, region and system improvement targets and the officers responsible for driving school performance improvement are leading this work.
The Strong Start, Bright Future initiative is being implemented in the schools within the Northern Territory’s 20 Growth Towns – which are those that are also involved with the Remote Whole School Reform (RWSR) initiative.  The Smarter Schools NPs, particularly Closing the Gap, are supporting this strategy under which the creation of colleges at an initial five sites aims to build capacity through 
•	improved school governance
•	augmented leadership
•	integrated service delivery in the early years and
•	provision of vocational education and training leading to real employment pathways for school leavers.
Executive Principals are being appointed to provide strategic leadership across a group of schools and will be responsible for ensuring integrated (extended) service delivery from birth through to employment. The school Principals at the associated RWSR sites will focus on the provision of instructional leadership and ensuring effective delivery of teaching and learning for students in transition through to Year 12.  
Inclusive leadership models are a feature of the reforms at Strong Start, Bright Futures sites and continue to be implemented at 12 RWSR government school sites.  The models at each site vary depending on the needs of the school leadership team and include Senior Cultural Advisors, Cultural Liaison Officers and Community Mentors that assist the school 
•	liaise with and engage with community leaders and parents/families
•	develop strong cultural leadership and shared responsibility for schooling
•	integrate and align community language and culture programs into the curriculum and induction programs.
The Northern Territory has established a Leadership Institute to oversee the development and provision of support for educators in and aspiring for leadership roles.  The Institute is responsible for the delivery of the leadership activities supported by Smarter Schools NPs.  As part of this, leadership programs designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of current and aspiring school leaders are focusing on developing skills necessary to lead school improvement in remote and challenging contexts.  The Catholic Education Office has been working with the Australian Council for Educational Leadership to develop their own programs to build capacity in current and aspiring leaders, with a focus on effective leadership in complex school communities and hard to fill schools.  To further inform leadership development in the Northern Territory, Charles Darwin University has been engaged to undertake a research project to define the attributes that are essential for leaders of very remote Indigenous schools.  
In recognition of the innovative and progressive work being undertaken by school leaders and staff, School Improvement Awards are being established to acknowledge and reward the design and delivery of exemplary school planning and delivery of innovative solutions to improving education outcomes in schools under the Smarter Schools NPs. 	
Significant Achievements/Activities – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
55 school improvement plans have been published for schools participating in the RWSR, Engaging Urban Students (EUS) and Maximising Improvement in Literacy and Numeracy (MILaN) initiatives.  These plans identify how Smarter Schools NPs are contributing to whole school improvement approaches in the areas of improving literacy and numeracy, enhancing teacher quality, increasing attendance and engagement and strengthening partnerships with families and local communities.
Through these plans, schools are identifying strategies to strengthen leadership and drive school improvement. Strategies include:
•	implementation of inclusive leadership models such as Senior Cultural Advisors, cultural liaison officers and community mentors
•	training and coaching programs to enhance community members engagement with, participation in and governance of school councils 
•	professional development for school leadership teams including team profiling and mentoring and coaching programs. 
Through the Leadership Institute, nine targeted leadership programs have commenced.  These include:
Programs for Aspiring School Leaders:
•	A Preparation for School Leadership course has commenced in the Palmerston and Rural region. This will be progressively rolled out to other regions.
•	A program to build leadership for remote/small school contexts has been developed, and the first module completed by a group of teaching principals and senior teachers in the Barkly region.  
•	Eight participants have commenced the Developmental Program for High Potential School Leaders and the 12 month ACEL Leadership Program is being run in Arnhem region.  Both programs focus on skill and knowledge requirements for leaders in very remote contexts.    
Principal Development Programs:
•	A Northern Territory wide new Principal Induction, focussing on the role of the principal in the remote Northern Territory context was run for the first time at the beginning of the Semester 2 2010.  The next program will be delivered in January for principals starting in Semester 1, 2011.
General Leadership Development:
•	Facilitator Training has been delivered to school leaders focussed on coaching as an approach to enhancing cross-cultural collaboration.  A targeted coaching program has also focussed on ‘dealing with hard conversations’, a challenge identified by school leaders in very remote contexts. 
Teacher Learning and Development:
•	Contextual orientation is a focus of teacher orientation programs.  In June 26 teachers coming to the Territory to work in remote and very remote schools took part in this program.
•	Teacher Recall programs were delivered in July and September, again with a focus on teaching in remote contexts to improve student engagement and outcomes.
The preliminary findings from the research to identify the capabilities of good very remote school leaders have been delivered by Charles Darwin University.  Valuable insight is being gained into the essential skills, knowledge and experience that contribute to successful leadership in Indigenous school contexts.  Following the final delivery of this research in December, it will be used to inform the development of future leadership activity, initiatives and programs.
One Business Support Consultant has been recruited in the Central Australia region and two more are expected to be recruited for the commencement of the 2011 school year.  These roles will provide ongoing support to school leaders to assist with the management of staffing and financial resources and development of management structures and processes to support school improvement.  The Catholic Education Office is also intending on providing similar support from 2011.
Three Executive Principals have been appointed to oversee Strong Start, Bright Futures Colleges in West Arnhem, Groote Eylandt and Yirrkala, and are in early stages of implementation.  Their focus has been on leading strategic planning and stakeholder engagement with the local Indigenous communities as well as business and industry. School leaders at the RWSR sites including those associated with these Colleges have continued to implement initiatives to support whole school improvement.  
Planning is underway for the inaugural School Improvement Awards ceremony that will be held in early 2011 and will acknowledge and reward the design and delivery of exemplary school planning and delivery of innovative solutions to improving education outcomes across all sectors in the Northern Territory.  	
Barriers to Progress – 1 April 2010 to 30 September.
The Northern Territory is driving unprecedented reform in the area of remote Indigenous education. This strategic agenda requires significant effort and an unrelenting focus on improvement by not only school leadership teams, but the regional and systemic workforce supporting them.  Reform fatigue is a real risk and it is important that progress, however gradual, be celebrated and acknowledged.  Expectations must be managed, and reasonable time and space should be allowed to achieve progress in what is a significant and complex reform agenda. 
Recruiting and retaining school leaders who are experienced and equipped to respond to the complexities of the delivery of education within very remote contexts in a period of significant reform is a significant challenge.  However, it is hoped that over time this will be improved through the implementation of strategically targeted leadership development programs that focus on building sustainable, well equipped and resilient remote leaders.  The enhanced support provided through the implementation of the Strong Start, Bright Futures initiative in government schools, and Growing Our Own in Catholic schools, will assist school leaders to be better supported to connect with their local community and focus on providing instructional leadership.  
Whole school reform requires commitment and dedication by a strong leadership team and at sites where school leadership has been temporary or impacted by turn-over, the implementation of quality school improvement planning and new and innovative reform initiatives has been challenging.  Regions and sectors continue to support these sites and over time as stability improves it is expected that the momentum will build. 
	
Support for Indigenous Students and other cohorts (as applicable) – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
The Northern Territory’s strategic reform agenda is focused on closing the gap in educational achievement for Indigenous students.  All schools participating in the RWSR initiative are primarily supporting Indigenous students, as are a substantial proportion of those participating in EUS.  All MILaN schools are required to specifically consider closing the gap targets in the development of their literacy and numeracy improvement strategies.
It is expected that better prepared and supported school leaders engaged in the delivery of services to Indigenous students will lead to the
•	improvement in community partnerships that assist to increase the value of schooling
•	establishment of strong support services within communities to support children in their early years before compulsory schooling and their transition into post schooling pathways
•	attraction, retention and development of quality remote teaching and support staff
•	development of better learning environments that are adapted to suit the needs of specific communities 
•	creating the conditions of success that lead to better student learning outcomes.	
Activities you would like to showcase – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
There has been early progress made in the whole school reform approaches at a number of RWSR and EUS sites, it is important that time is provided to enable schools to embed sustainable practice.  While the momentum is encouraging, the Northern Territory will celebrate and share models of exceptional leadership practice as evidence of their impact on outcomes emerges.

  Section 3 – Improving Teaching and Learning
High Quality Instruction	
Six Month Progress – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Quality teaching is critical to the delivery of student outcomes. The focus of the Northern Territory’s Smarter Schools NPs effort in this area has been on enhancing the support available to classroom teachers in the explicit teaching of literacy and numeracy, particularly to the approximately 40% of students who are multi-lingual learners.
The Evidence Based Literacy and Numeracy Practices Framework (EBPF) has been developed to challenge existing ‘what works’ paradigms by defining the critical features of effective literacy and numeracy teaching programs.  An action learning process is underway in Arnhem Land and Central Australia through which remote teachers are assisting to identify modifications that may be required to the EBPF to ensure it is suitable for use in remote school contexts.  
The Northern Territory has been leading the national trial of literacy and numeracy diagnostic tools.  The project involved a trial of thirteen computer-based literacy and numeracy diagnostic tools in 80 government and non-government schools across 5 jurisdictions.  The outcomes of this project will be made available in a report to be provided to the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations by the end of the year.  The project is also informing the Northern Territory’s further planning to make diagnostic tools appropriate to the early, primary and middle years available.  Regionally based Diagnostic and Data Literacy Officers are also supporting teachers to interpret and use data to inform teaching practice and target support for the specific learning needs of individual students. 
Through the MILaN initiative, selected schools are being supported to implement evidence based literacy and numeracy strategies aimed at delivering accelerated improvement.  
Teachers and school leaders supporting students living in prescribed communities have access to intensive coaching to support the delivery of effective literacy and numeracy practice and the development of effective pedagogical approaches for Indigenous multi-lingual learners.  
A tertiary accreditation in the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) has been made available through the Charles Darwin University and an online discussion forum has been established to connect participants of this program and professional networking opportunities are available within which teachers can share practice and provide - as well as seek - support and assistance. 
Through the Quality Remote Teaching Service a range of online professional and personal support services are being made available to teachers in remote schools. Currently in the early stages of development, these tools will provide on-demand access to professional learning that will assist with quality course delivery and will facilitate collaboration with other teachers and classrooms in remote schools.  
The Books in Homes program continues to be available to students from schools in 69 prescribed communities across the Northern Territory and assists disadvantaged students to improve literacy skills and develop confidence in reading by providing them with books of their own to take home. 
As part of the Strong Start, Bright Futures evaluation, Menzies School of Health Research have compiled a literature review entitled Early years language acquisition and instructional approaches for Aboriginal students with home languages other than English: A systemic review of the Australian and international literature (Silburn SR; Nutton GD; McKenzie JW and Landrigan M, Child Development, Health and Wellbeing Research Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin NT August 2010).  This is currently out for peer review and is expected to be published before the end of the year.  	
Significant Achievements/Activities – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
The Evidence-Based Practices Framework has been made available online and to date, four programs (First Steps Literacy, First Steps Mathematics – Number, Accelerated Literacy and Quicksmart Numeracy) have been assessed against it.  Schools in the MILaN initiative are being provided with specific support about using the EBPF to inform the selection of targeted strategies to support students learning needs.  
Four Teaching Multi-Lingual Learner Officers have been employed in Arnhem, Alice Springs and Barkly regions.  These officers are working with school leadership teams in the development of whole of school approaches to supporting the needs of multi-lingual learning, as well as with curriculum and staff teams to support the delivery of planning and programming.
12 Literacy and Numeracy coaches have been employed in Arnhem, Palmerston, Katherine and Alice Springs regions and are working in schools to support and facilitate the use of evidence based approaches to literacy and numeracy and ESL teaching in the classroom.  Eight of these coaches are based at regional hubs with four onsite.  Support provided includes development of professional learning communities, enhancing the use of ICT in literacy, numeracy and ESL teaching and adopting inquiry approaches to developing teaching and learning in the classroom.
Three Data Literacy and Diagnostic Support Officers have been employed and are providing mentoring and support for schools in Alice Springs, Arnhem and Palmerston in use of data to inform teaching and learning.  MILaN schools are targeted for this support as are those schools without significant data capability.  Support includes setting up quality data collection, establishing storage and analysis systems and coaching teachers to use this in their planning and programming. Particular successes have been seen where Data Literacy and Diagnostic Support Officers have developed close working relationships with curriculum officers and have worked collaboratively to provide services to schools.  
Evidence based practice initiatives supported through regions have extended the support available to schools.  These have been used to target specific schools and groups of schools and activities have included: 
•	provision of support and coordination of the Quicksmart program in the Arnhem region.  Strategies have included a combination of onsite and regionally based personnel who directly support schools in the region.  
•	provision of a consultant to work with schools in the Arnhem region to develop summary literacy data for schools and analyses of attendance and achievement data to identify patterns across the region, within schools, classrooms and individual students.  
•	allocation of relief teachers to five schools within the Palmerston region to enable teachers to take part in onsite professional learning.  Focus has been placed on providing support in the understanding and use of data, literacy and diagnostic skills to enhance improved student outcomes through more targeted teaching. 
19 MILaN schools were provided with support to implement evidence-based literacy and numeracy strategies to accelerate improvement for targeted students.  Activity has included:
•	establishment of whole school approaches to literacy and numeracy
•	professional development for teachers and tutors including training in First Steps Maths/Reading/Writing, Quicksmart Numeracy, Lexia Learning, Count Me in Too, Accelerated Literacy and NZ Maths.
•	establishment of professional learning communities to share and explore good practice
•	employment of specialist Literacy and Numeracy coaches, coordinators and tutors and funding for relief support to allow classroom teachers to work directly with specific students
•	targeted intervention and support for at risk students, including guided reading programs.
•	purchase of radio amplification systems and IT resources to support strong oral language and phonological awareness programs
•	parent awareness workshops and information.
22 schools have been selected to participate in the second round of the MILaN initiative. Five of these newly included schools are also participating in the EUS initiative and have demonstrated they are ready and able to drive significant literacy and numeracy improvement.  Schools recently joining the MILaN group are currently developing plans for the implementation and/or continuation of strategies and have participated in themed networking sessions to share ideas about using data to target improvement.  
63 teachers have taken part in the Northern Territory’s accredited TESOL qualification, including four teachers from non-government schools.  The second unit, currently on line, is being undertaken by 46 staff.  Completion of this qualification will award teachers with a Graduate Certificate comprising four units towards a Masters Degree of Education.  All staff working with Indigenous students are encouraged to complete this course, and a number of places have been funded through Smarter Schools NPs.  An ESL co-ordinator is maintaining communication with ESL teachers across all schools through publication of a regular newsletter.  
The EBPF has been developed and is being used by both government and non government schools to support teachers in their approach to teaching literacy and numeracy.  A review using Inquiry Circles is being carried out to establish how the framework can to be adapted for use in remote settings.  MILaN schools are being encouraged to use the framework in the selection of their targeted literacy and numeracy strategies.  
To assist with the successful implementation of Literacy and Numeracy Diagnostic tools, policy and guidelines for Diagnostic Assessment and Data Literacy are being developed, which will be supported by teacher focussed materials and resources.  The implementation of data literacy professional learning communities will facilitate peer support for teachers and access to tools will be available for schools in 2011. 	
Barriers to Progress  – 1 April 2010 to 30 September.
Recruitment and retention of suitably qualified quality staff continues to be a challenge in the Northern Territory.  This is compounded in some cases by lack of availability of housing in communities which has impacted on the availability of specialist services to schools across various regions.  More extensive recruitment processes are now underway and alternative service delivery models (such as the development of online professional learning tools, the use of consultants and fly in-fly out from centralised service hubs) are being used to overcome some of these barriers to both recruitment and provision of support to teachers in remote schools.  
The number of Teachers of Exemplary Practice in remote schools is limited.  Work is underway to identify specific positions in remote schools for Highly Accomplished and Leading Teachers which will ensure quality mentoring and support is available in an ongoing way in remote schools.  	
Support for Indigenous students and other cohorts (as applicable) – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Closing the gap in educational achievement for Indigenous students is a key focus for all schools involved in the Smarter Schools NP effort. The initiatives targeted at improving teaching and learning are intended to ensure all teachers supporting Indigenous students are capable of delivering quality instruction that is suitable to their needs, and increasing teachers’ capacity to use evidence based programs and data to inform their practice.  	
Activities you would like to showcase – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Schools have reported improved outcomes for students targeted under the MILaN initiative with the full impact to be assessed as part of the Northern Territory’s submission for Literacy and Numeracy reward funding.   An exemplar of this is at Nhulunbuy Primary School which instigated an intensive reading intervention program under MILaN.  The 42 students that participated in the program had been identified as at risk of achieving NAPLAN minimum standard for their year level, however 
•	77% of participating Year 5 students achieved at or above national minimum standard with 24% of these in the above group
•	80% of participating Year 3 students achieved at or above national minimum standard with 65% of these in the above group.   
The school received the Excellence in Literacy and Numeracy award at the inaugural Smart School awards which celebrated excellence in Northern Territory public schooling.  The school cited its MILaN reading intervention as one key strategy to supporting its whole school improvement agenda.  
The EBPF is available online at http://www.det.nt.gov.au/teachers-educators/literacy-numeracy/evidence-based-literacy-numeracy-practices-framework).  The EBPF along with the National Literacy and Numeracy Diagnostic Tools project were selected to be showcased online as part of the 2010 MCEECDYA National Biennial Forum. Further details can be found at http://www.schoolsforum2010.edu.au/pages/videolibrary.htm	

  Section 4 – Working Together
Active family and community participation	
Six Month Progress – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Partnerships between families, community, government, business and industry bring together resources and expertise which can strengthen the delivery of education services that appropriately support not only those students currently engaged in the education system, but also those ‘at risk’ or disengaged from learning.  
Education has been placed at the centre of social reform in the Northern Territory as articulated in the Territory 2030 strategy.  Alongside formal schooling, work is underway to integrate early childhood services and develop partnerships with industry and business to enhance transition to post-schooling pathways and ensure that students are equipped to enter the workforce with appropriate training and capabilities.  
Active and strong participation of families and communities is considered essential to not only promote the value of education but also to create environments of high expectations, where successful learning and life outcomes are considered desirable and deserved. 
To deliver a strategic approach to partnership working, Community and School Partnership Agreements are being developed in line with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan.  Focus schools are being supported by community engagement specialists to plan and work in partnership with key stakeholders to develop and implement local area actions targeting the priority domain areas.  
In the Catholic Education sector Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School and Xavier Community Education Centre have defined community partnership plans and are developing partnerships with a range of organisations including community, commercial, government and not-for-profit groups.
Regions/sectors and schools through the RWSR and EUS initiatives are supporting a range of strategies to enhance family and community partnerships.  
At the Strong Start, Bright Future Colleges, Integrated Family Services Leaders are being employed at each of the sites to coordinate early childhood services and facilitate partnerships between parents, service providers and schools.  The scope of these roles is being determined in partnership with the Department of Health and Families for commencement in 2011.  
Regionally based Indigenous Education Managers have been recruited to facilitate the strengthening of community partnerships and assist in the creation of shared responsibility for the engagement of students in schooling.  
The Books in Homes program encourages families to participate in the preparation of book packs, book giving assemblies and reading with children at home. 
The Residential Care Workers project is being led by the Northern Territory Christian Schools Association and involves schools across the non-government sector.  As part of this initiative, funding is being made available for parents of remote students living in residential facilities in non-remote locations to visit schools for events and teacher-parent consultations. 
 	
Significant Achievements/Activities – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Each of the three Strong Start, Bright Future Colleges with Executive Principals in post has focussed on the ‘Community’ phase of implementation.  This includes the introduction of a Community Engagement team and establishment of a Representative Community Advisory Body.  The positioning of these colleges within the local community underpins the delivery for this new model for improving life outcomes. 
Regions/sectors are supporting a range of localised strategies to enhance family and community engagement.  Strategies to date have included:
•	establishing a partnership with the Anindilyakwa Angurugu Land Council (ALC), to employ an Executive Support Officer to work across the Groote Eylandt School Hub (GESH)
•	implementing a range of strategies in regional schools in Central Australia that assist families prepare children for schooling and develop confident relationships with schools. Examples include workshops, interactive displays, Ready to Start programs, employment of support workers in pre-school programs and purchase of resources for playgroups.  
•	Establishing the Indigenous Parent Factor Program at Nyangatjatjara School.  This program uses a ‘train the trainer’ model through which parents and carers are coached to develop their own solutions to community engagement.  They are then empowered to go into the communities, create partnerships and implement these solutions.  
In addition, schools are incorporating targeted site based strategies, that at RWSR schools include:
•	governance training for family and community school council members
•	promotion of Families as First Teachers and provision of playgroups to develop school readiness, links to community, information on parenting and early childhood development
•	employment of Cultural Advisors to enhance the integration of Indigenous language and culture in the school curriculum and to liaise with community leaders to develop strong cultural leadership in schools
•	professional development for staff through delivery of an intensive 2 day cross-cultural workshop involving school staff and community members
•	shared sports, arts and music events between schools and their local communities
•	employment of Home Liaison Officers to develop links between families and communities, increasing engagement with the schooling system.
At EUS schools, strategies include: 
•	school open days to enhance links between the school and community.  Family days have worked to position the family as core to early years literacy and numeracy development, and setting children up to transition into schooling
•	employment of Home Liaison Officers to engage families in their children’s education
•	Families as First Teachers and Ready for School programs for 0-4 year olds and their parents to develop early literacy and numeracy, socialisation skills and engage in family healthcare.  The Northern Territory’s interagency approach to delivery of pre-school initiatives has increased family and community engagement with schools as a community hub.
•	employment of Cultural Coordinators to provide targeted programs to improve community engagement.  These include focus on increasing the cohesion of disparate urban communities and enhancing the role of family and community members in school leadership
•	establishment of mobile schools that deliver health, nutrition and parent support programs.  This approach to positioning schools as central to the delivery of support within communities is core to the Northern Territory’s vision for schools in delivering our strategy, Territory 2030. 
Three regionally based Indigenous Education Managers have been employed in Palmerston, Alice Springs and Barkly.  These roles are facilitating and strengthening community partnerships, assisting in the creation of shared responsibility for the engagement of students in schooling.  Indigenous Education Managers are currently being recruited into roles in Arnhem and Katherine regions.  	
Barriers to Progress – 1 April 2010 to 30 September.
The development of sustainable community and industry partnerships requires commitment from all stakeholders.  In many communities building authentic partnerships is complex, takes time and is highly sensitive to changes in environment and personnel.  While not a barrier, it is important to acknowledge that these partnerships are developed over time and often their success is determined by many factors which are not exclusively internal to the education environment.
The Strong Start, Bright Future evaluation being undertaken in partnership with Menzies School of Health Research will assist schools in continuous measurement and evaluation of the engagement of families and communities, and determine their views on both the school and the broader schooling system.  This will provide focus and direction to the delivery of initiatives to enhance family and community engagement.	
Support for Indigenous students and other cohorts (as applicable) – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Evidence shows that children and young people are much more likely to be enrolled in school and attending regularly if parents and communities understand the importance of education, training and employment and actively support their children getting to school.  
This is particularly relevant for students in the Northern Territory’s remote and very remote schools.  All community and family engagement activities, driven from the school, region and system level are focussed on creating partnerships that will ultimately encourage student attendance at and engagement with schooling.  	
Activities you would like to showcase – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Early progress within the schools participating in the EUS initiative shows positive impacts on attendance and engagement outcomes at participating schools.  
In particular, Gray Primary School and MacFarlane Primary School have shown improvements in attendance and engagement due to the implementation of whole school attendance and engagement strategies that have been assisted through EUS.  
MacFarlane Primary School is located in the town of Katherine, 300km south of Darwin.  The school has a diverse and challenging student cohort – 78% of whom have English as second language backgrounds.  As part of its whole school approach to improving attendance it engaged Indigenous mentors to work with students, staff and parents to bridge the gap between school and home contexts.  The school has used these mentors to link with local communities to engage them in school governance and build appreciation of the importance of education.  They promoted school attendance ‘as everybody’s business’, increased the focus on wellbeing and engagement programs andenhanced the use of data to measure the impact of programs including student attendance programs.  The school has reported attendance is up by 3% across all students with 5% improvement in attendance of Indigenous students since 2009.  More significant increases were seen in students that were the target of specific intervention support.   
Gray Primary School is located in the city of Palmerston approximately 20km south of Darwin.  The school’s improvement journey has seen an eighteen month sustained focus on attendance and making this the responsibility of the whole school community.  It has developed an attendance policy and staff are using data to develop an understanding of the impact of poor attendance on student outcomes.  The school has also worked on raising community awareness about its focus on improving school attendance, implemented attendance tracking and rewards for high attendance and undertakes home visits to students at risk.  It has also implemented a range of programs to enhance engagement with schooling including introduction of a Friday afternoon elective program which gives children from grades three to six the opportunity to engage in sport, craft and gardening activities.  The school reported attendance is up by 4% across all students with 5% improvement for Indigenous students since 2009.
Both schools were acknowledged at the inaugural Smart School Awards which celebrated excellence in public schooling.  MacFarlane Primary School won the Excellence in Improving School Attendance award with Gray Primary School receiving Highly Commended Award in the same category.  
Following an external review in 2009, the three schools on Groote Eylandt and one on nearby Bickerton Island highlighted common issues in family and community engagement.  Forming the GESH, school leaders worked to identify strategies and partnerships to drive improvement together.  One key partnership identified was ALC and an Executive Support Officer has been jointly employed to assist build and maintain this relationship.   This is one way in which the schools are working together and with communities to create authentic partnerships to support school improvement.  
A program evaluation of the EUS school reform is currently being scoped to identify successful strategies and guide direction of the program beyond its initial 18 months.

  Section 5:  Targeting for Success
Effective wrap-around support, flexible pathways and innovative delivery	
Six Month Progress – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010
Enhanced provision of wrap-around support services, flexible pathways to learning and use of innovative methods of delivery are key features of the Northern Territory’s Smarter Schools NP reform effort.  These are intended to assist schools to address some of the challenges that impact on student ability to achieve successful learning, particularly those disadvantaged by circumstances or isolation.  This includes supporting students to better engage in learning through the provision of targeted programs that are appropriate to their needs and the provision of innovative ways to access services and support.
Schools participating in the EUS initiative are provided with assistance to implement site specific programs that support student well-being and engagement with learning.   Within regions, targeted student attendance strategies are being supported across a range of sites to assist schools to implement localised targeted strategies to encourage, enable and reward improved attendance.  
A specialist wrap-support team is delivering support to leaders, teachers and students to implement positive school behaviour programs and targeted drug and alcohol curriculum programs.  
The Personal Learning Plan - Remote Delivery Pilot is providing the opportunity for senior years students in remote communities to participate in a youth leadership and career development programme which is accredited as a Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan subject.  
Virtual learning programs delivered via interactive technology are being used to increase access to online teacher professional development as well as learning programs for students who live in remote and very remote contexts, where access to face-to-face support is often limited.  The development of these online programs is 
•	enabling teaching materials and resources to be shared
•	facilitating professional networks for teaching staff
•	extending the quality and range of course offerings to students in remote locations.
Currently these programs are available to schools equipped with interactive distance learning capability; however planning is underway to test the concept further as a means to support the provision of education to students living in homeland school communities.  
An interagency group has co-ordinated the collection of Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) and the development of an AEDI Action Plan.  In all of the in the Northern Territory’s 20 Growth Towns (those associated with RWSR), this school level data is being used to assist schools and teachers to better design and deliver programs aligned to specific student needs. 
Supporting teachers to meet the needs of students with conductive hearing loss has been extended in this period.  Professional learning, including both formal training and peer forums, has been enhanced through the use of interactive online technologies. Complementing this, individual teachers continue to receive in–class coaching where additional targeted support is required.  Principals have been assisted in developing whole of school approaches to overcoming the challenges experienced by students with this condition in the classroom.
	
Significant Achievements/Activities – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010
Flexible and innovative site-based initiatives that continue to be implemented at EUS schools targeting student wellbeing, attendance and engagement include:
•	Ready for School programs to assist students with language barriers, address behavioural issues, develop early literacy and numeracy skills, socialisation and classroom behaviours
•	specialised transport for students where barriers for school attendance are created by lack of suitable existing services
•	provision of breakfast programs and emergency day meals
•	focus on enhancing student engagement and re-engagement through sport, technology, VET, life-skills and culturally inclusive approaches and programs
•	programs to improve attendance and learning such as the introduction of elective classes and Homework Centres
•	targeted pastoral care programs and programs for students and families
•	incentive and reward programs to encourage and reward attendance. 
In addition, regions/sectors have supported a range of targeted regional/sectoral projects, including:
•	Implementation of It’s not okay to stay away - an inter-agency targeted campaign which involved personnel from education, health and police working together to encourage and reward student attendance and engagement at Barkly College.  Students participated in a range of workshops including those offered by the Indigenous Hip-Hop Project and correspondence about the importance of attending school was provided to community members, families and students.  
•	18 Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff from seven Arnhem schools as well as staff from Anglicare in Nhulunbuy and the regional Career Education Officer participated in the Guiding Circles program.  This program combines an Aboriginal worldview with contemporary career/life development strategies. The experiential workshop included how to take a hope-filled approach to self assessment, career exploration, decision making and action planning. It provided tools and processes to combine a holistic worldview with contemporary career concepts.  It is expected that Guiding Circles will be used, along with other resources, by secondary education teams to facilitate student learning in the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training (NTCET) Personal Learning Plan subject. 
•	A part-time instructor was employed at Batchelor Area School to work with a small group of students with challenging behaviours. The instructor is working to re-engage these students in learning through the planning and development of an outdoor learning project which aims to improve literacy and numeracy and build positive social behaviours and resilience.
•	A range of localised strategies in schools in the Katherine region including transport assistance, emergency uniforms and reward programs.  
The Wrap Support team has extended the service available for schools, with a focus on 
•	building leadership and resilience in students to assist them to make healthy, informed decisions 
•	positive school wide behaviour programs.  
Using drug and health education as a platform, partnerships have been developed with police, other Government agencies and Non-Government Organisations to support schools to deliver a range of programs to students.  Professional development and curriculum support for school based wellbeing teams and teachers is also provided to increase competence and confidence in the use of participatory approaches to building student leadership, problem solving skills and resilience. The team’s work has included working with:
•	over 60 Indigenous secondary students from Yirara College and other remote areas who participated alongside 200 other students from Alice Springs in a two day workshop focusing on resilience futures and motivational presentations that was facilitated by the StepUP Foundation
•	the wellbeing team at Yuendumu School to develop programs for middle years’ students 
•	staff at Kormilda College to develop strategies to effectively support student well-being and learning, particularly Indigenous residential students  
•	schools to establish Peer Forums that engage students and their peers, parents, caregivers and families, and community members in school health promotion activities at Ti-Tree School, Batchelor Area School, Ampilatwatja School, Katherine High School, St Josephs College, Barkly College, Epenarra, Kormilda College, Murrupurtiyanuwu Catholic School and Ltyentye Apurte CEC
•	34 schools to support the Positive School Wide Behaviour Program
•	students in Arnhem to develop and lead responses to anti-bullying strategies. 
Approximately 70 students at seven sites are participating in the Personal Learning Plan - Remote Delivery Pilot.  All students who successfully complete the Personal Learning Plan will receive a compulsory Stage 1 10 credit subject that will contribute to student attainment of the NTCET.  
Virtual schooling is being used throughout the system with particular focus on increasing availability of course offerings to remote students.  2010 trial of Certificate 1 in (Hospitality) is continuing at Gapuwiyak, Maningrida, Numbulwar and Wugularr.  Consultation has commenced to determine the selection of senior courses which will be developed for trial in schools in 2011.  
VET in the Middle is continuing with 180 students expected to complete skill sets in pathways such as manufacturing, hospitality and engineering in 2010.  The program is currently being delivered at Burunga, Numbulwar, Maningrida, Borroloola, Jabiru, Lajamanu, Gunbalanya and Ramingining.  An online hospitality course for middle years students is being trialled as part of the @VET program.  A partnership with industry has been created to develop workplace Literacy and Numeracy units of learning appropriate to middle years students. 
The value of new technologies in connecting geographically disparate schools has also been recognised and supported in the Independent sector.  Adobe connect has been installed across all eligible Independent schools, and teachers are using the technology to support ‘learning communities’ for staff working with ICT, students with Special Learning Needs and those with a focus on improving Indigenous Education.  

Support for remote Indigenous residential students was enhanced at St John’s College through the provision of 
•	counselling services and youth pastoral care workers 
•	staff professional development through programs such as Rock and Water and Mind Matters
•	Cross-Cultural Awareness training for staff that has improved understanding of the issues relating to student living away from home. 
AEDI data collection has now been completed in the 20 Territory Grown Towns, for both government and non-government schools.  Integrated Family Services Leaders will work with schools to develop approaches to using early years information in school and classroom planning. 
The Conductive Hearing Loss team has worked across regions to audit sound field systems and use of hearing continuums in schools.  The findings from this work will enable the Northern Territory to adopt a more appropriate, and more consistent, approach to supporting teachers and students with this difficultly, to access learning.  Professional learning initiatives and the Special Needs Forum have engaged 239 participants from locations right across the Northern Territory.  To further support the Professional Learning needs of teachers and support staff in remote schools, a range of on-demand online learning modules are currently under development.  
Planning is underway for the commencement of extended school year pilots and extended service delivery (3-9 programs) at a number of Strong Start, Bright Future sites in 2011.  These will explore a range of innovative ways to ensure schools provide services that meet the needs of communities - including taking into consideration cultural practices and ceremonies.  	
Barriers to Progress – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010
Student attendance continues to be an issue in the Northern Territory, in particular for students in remote and very remote schools.  The initiatives implemented in this area are aimed at encouraging students to attend and engage with schooling.  It should be noted that reform outcomes in this area are longitudinal and are likely to impact over time, although there has been emerging early success in a number of areas.  	
Support for Indigenous Students and other cohorts (as applicable) – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010
A significant proportion of the effort in this area is targeted at supporting Indigenous students both in urban and remote/very remote contexts.  Specifically, virtual learning programs, VET in the Middle and the Personal Learning Plan - Remote Delivery Pilot are being developed to extend the range of options available to Indigenous students.
Enhanced support available for staff working with students living in residential facilities is also intended to increase understanding of the needs of this group.	
Activities you would like to showcase – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
The VET in the Middle and virtual schooling programs have shown signs of having significant potential to impact greatly on the outcomes for its targeted group of students. Outcomes from these programs will be available at the conclusion of the 2010 school year.   
An evaluation of the EUS program is expected to reveal strategies that have impacted more significantly on student attendance and engagement which can be showcased.  Initiatives implemented at MacFarlane Primary School and Gray Primary School which resulted in their receiving first prize and runner-up respectively, at the 2010 Smart Schools Awards are demonstrative of the whole school approaches being undertaken within schools that are being supported though Smarter Schools NPs.   	

  Section 6 – Responsive Systems Driving and Supporting Transformation
Government and system strategic direction, support and intervention	
Six Month Progress – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
The Northern Territory is focused on developing a strong and sustainable education workforce that is committed to achieving outcomes for our most disadvantaged students.  Significant reforms have commenced that not only support the national directions in improving teacher quality, but that will lead to better prepared, better supported, quality professional and para-professionals in Northern Territory schools ultimately ensuring that students are supported as best as possible to achieve the quality learning and life outcomes available to them.  Comprehensive evaluation and enhanced availability and use of data to inform planning and monitor performance are also key priorities to ensure schools, regions and the system are responsive and maintain a continuous improvement focus. 
The Remote Teaching Service has been established to focus on addressing the challenges of recruiting, retaining and developing teachers suitable for very remote Indigenous schools – for placements of two years or more.  A range of initiatives have commenced to attract and prepare teachers for the challenges of working in very remote contexts including enhanced screening, selection and induction processes.  A number of Industrial reforms are also being pursued, and the Northern Territory is leading the National Alliance of Remote Indigenous Schools (NARIS) which involves 173 selected remote and very remote Indigenous schools across Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia.   
Both the Remote and Indigenous Workforce Development and the Catholic Education Office’s Growing Our Own initiatives aim to support Indigenous paraprofessionals and community members to complete education qualifications, and scholarships are available to attract high performing secondary students to study teaching at Charles Darwin University.  
A range of pre-service programs are being developed in partnership with tertiary providers which are aimed at encouraging and preparing teaching students to work in remote contexts.
The Northern Territory is working in partnership with the Menzies Schools of Research to monitor and evaluate reform taking place.  This longitudinal evaluation will monitor the impact of school, region and system initiatives and inform the future targeting effort.  
The provision of quality and robust data collection and analysis systems that can support school and regional planning and performance monitoring is essential and planning for this is under development. 	
Significant Achievements/Activities – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
Significant work has been progressed through the Remote Teaching Service to attract, prepare, retain and support the quality of teachers in very remote schoolsThis is not only intended to benefit the Northern Territory, but through the partnerships involved in NARIS is enhancing the opportunities to change the profile and reputation of remote teaching nationally.   Progress to date has included the establishment of:  
•	Teach Remote marketing campaign to attract teachers to work in remote locations resulting in 250 new applicants specifically applying to teach in remote schools in the Northern Territory
•	biannual recruitment and online application processes 
•	innovative screening and assessment tools to assess the suitability of applicants to work in remote locations 
•	a three-tiered induction program (system, region, school) developed around three themes (preparing, living, teaching) that includes contextual orientation, pre-service training and online professional and personal support for teachers in remote schools
•	Remote Teacher Support Officers that provide dedicated and personal support to remote teachers 
•	tailored professional development through recall conferences and online professional support as well as national conferences specifically targeting remote teachers and school leaders.
In addition, a number of industrial issues are being worked through to enable:
•	urban teachers to transition into remote schools with right of return to their school
•	teachers to work across jurisdictions with right of return to their schools
•	specific remuneration incentives and potential fringe benefit tax exemptions for remote teaching staff.
Through the Remote and Indigenous Workforce Development initiative
•	five Assistant Teachers based at Ramingining School have achieved Diploma level qualifications in Education Support
•	recognition of prior learning pathways for Indigenous staff has been expanded for Assistant Teachers and other school support staff to enhance access to qualifications for paraprofessionals already working in schools
•	Indigenous Pathways to Employment (IPE) model developed for implementation in 2011
•	targeted support materials such as ePortfolios for Indigenous educators and specific qualification task books for Education Support, Community Services and Children’s Services courses have been developed
•	additional qualification task books are being developed for staff in financial and business roles in remote schools
•	continued development and implementation of the 'Learning at and through Work' qualification task books for Indigenous staff
•	Linkages identified to traineeships funded under Remote Service Delivery and Indigenous Employment Plans.
The Catholic Education Office’s Growing Our Own program has continued to support Indigenous assistant teachers across 6 school sites.  Each pre-service teacher has been allocated a mentor, and has attended literacy and numeracy training in Darwin as well as participated in practicum placements in urban schools.  Weekly lectures have been provided to each site by Charles Darwin University lecturers.  A School Based Coordinator is responsible for liaising with mentor teachers, schools and Charles Darwin University (CDU).  The 2011 cohort for the program are currently being identified.
The Northern Territory is currently negotiating to transition the Teachers of Exemplary Practices program to align with the national Remote Accomplished and Leading Teachers Scheme as part of the Teacher and Educator Enterprise Agreement 2010-2013.   
The Northern Territory has committed to the establishment of two Very Remote Centres of Excellence. Planning is underway for the establishment of the first site in 2011. 
A number of tools are being developed to assist with providing data and measuring improvement for schools, regions and systems.  These include an online stakeholder perception survey, the development of an online implementation planning and performance reporting tool and the warehousing of data to support the evaluation of literacy approaches project.  
The Menzies School of Health Research is continuing to work in partnership with the Northern Territory to undertake the Strong Start, Bright Future evaluation which has dual level reporting and accountabilities to inform both the system and place-based planning and evaluation. 	
Barriers to Progress  – 1 April 2010 to 30 September.
The context of the Northern Territory continues to raise challenges in attracting, developing and retaining quality teachers in our remote schools.  The strong national approach matched by focus on local recruitment and development of teaching staff are making progress towards closing the gap.  The work undertaken in realising new and flexible technologies to support school staff will further enhance the support and attention given to teachers in remote contexts.
Challenges also remain in inspiring remote students to consider transitions to further study and employment beyond school.  The approach being taken in engaging families and communities in education will underpin efforts to overcome this challenge, as will the continued cross-agency commitment to develop opportunities for post school training and employment pathways that lead to real opportunities for students in their home communities.  	
Support for Indigenous students and other cohorts (as applicable) – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
There is no specific support for targeted student groups in this area as the initiatives are systemic, however, improved retention of quality teaching personnel in remote schools will lead to better supported students and, it is expected, an improvement in student learning outcomes.  	
Activities you would like to showcase – 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010.
The Remote Teaching Service was selected to be showcased at the 2010 MCEECDYA National Biennial Forum. 	

  Section 7 – Milestone Reporting 										          Low SES National Partnership	

Part 1 - Milestones not reported/not achieved/partially achieved in Annual Report for 2009	
Implementation area	Milestone 	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Leading School Improvement	School improvement plans published for 12 schools participating in the Remote Whole School Reform (RWSR) group	Milestone superseded Refer Part 2.			
Leading School Improvement	School improvement plans published for 8 schools participating in the Engaging Urban Students (EUS) group	Milestone superseded Refer Part 2.			
Targeting for success	Officer employed to establish Residential Care Workers (RCW) Program	Milestone superseded Refer Part 2.			
Part 2 - Milestones in Progress Report - (Achieved 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010)	
Implementation area	Milestone	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Leading School Improvement	School improvement plans published for 22 RWSR schools	School Improvement Plans for 20 schools participating in RWSR are available via the Northern Territory’s Smarter School NPs website.	Commencement of RWSR at two schools (Maningrida and Papunya) has been delayed due to leadership changes and readiness to implement major reforms. 	Maningrida and Papunya are expected to commence participation in 2011.  	
Leading School Improvement	School improvement plans published for 16 EUS schools	16 schools participating in EUS have published school improvement plans.			
Leading School Improvement	School improvement plans published for 10 schools participating in ERIS group	ERIS sites have not published school plans during this period.	Support to ERIS sites is still being determined as, particularly within the government schools sector, it has been identified that this may be more effectively delivered through regions, rather than small school grants.  Principals have been involved in these discussions through the regional planning process.	It is intended to publish ERIS plans and this will commence in 2011.  How the line of sight will be created to Smarter Schools NPs activities is still being determined.     	
Part 2 - Milestones in Progress Report - (Achieved 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010)	
Implementation area	Milestone	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Leading School Improvement	3 Business Support Consultants recruited and supporting schools	1 position has been recruited to the Central Australia region.	No suitable applicants have been identified for the remaining 2 roles.	Recruitment for the remaining positions is being undertaken.	
Targeting for success	Wrap support team established providing specialist support to schools	The wrap support team has been established and is delivering targeted support to schools.			
Targeting for success	Virtual Schooling service established and serving very remote schools	The Northern Territory has established a virtual schooling service and courses targeting remote students are available and are continuing to be developed.   			
Targeting for success	Consultation with schools participating in Residential Care Workers project completed and program scoping defined	The residential care worker project officer has completed consultation with schools and the project has been scoped.  A tailored place-based model for Residential Care Workers has been identified, and implementation will begin in 2011. 			
Improving teaching and learning	Contextualised orientation program available to staff in very remote schools	Contextual orientation has been factored into Principal and teacher induction programs for staff in very remote contexts.  These include impact of local language and cultural influences on teaching and learning in each school specific context.  			
Improving teaching and learning	5 regionally based Mentor Capacity Building Support Officers employed.	Training programs, such as Cognitive Coaching have been made available to targeted staff, however no regionally based Mentor Capacity Building Support Officers have been recruited.  	Mentoring and coaching is a focus for support for teachers and school leaders.  However the best approach to ensure there is adequate capability within the system to deliver effective mentoring and coaching is yet to be determined.   	The preferred approach for the delivery of this service will be determined by regions within the context of their specific needs and priorities.   	

Part 2 - Milestones in Progress Report - (Achieved 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010)	
Implementation area	Milestone	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Responsive systems driving and supporting transformation	40 schools have received funding to support delivery of reform outlined in their School Improvement Plans	50 schools (including 7 Independent schools and 7 Catholic schools) have received funding to support delivery of activity articulated in their School Improvement plans.			
Responsive systems driving and supporting transformation	3 regional plans developed that articulate regional and district reform effort and support in the areas of family/community engagement, student attendance/wellbeing and flexibility/innovative remote delivery	The regional plans are being finalised for commencement in 2011.  These will ensure there is alignment between school, region and system improvement targets.	The regional plans are key to bridging education reform intent at the system and school levels.  In the context of the Northern Territory’s broader regionalisation agenda, time has been taken to ensure quality plans have been produced to support delivery of education reform through the regions. 		
Responsive systems driving and supporting transformation	Very Remote Research outcomes available	Preliminary Very Remote Research outcomes have been presented to the project Reference Group with the final report expected to be presented by the end of the year.  			
Part 3 – Milestones that will progress through the 2010 calendar year (with no set milestone date)	
Implementation area	Milestone	Detail of achievement against milestone  	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone 	
Leading School Improvement	School Annual Reports of participating ERIS and RWSR schools explicitly identify involvement as a National Partnership school, identify relevant future activity and report on achievements.	Activity for Smarter Schools NP schools will be captured in 2011 Annual Reports.		

  Section 7 – Milestone Reporting 						                      Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership	

Part 1 - Milestones not reported/not achieved/partially achieved in Annual Report for 2009	
Implementation area	Milestone 	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 
	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Leading School Improvement	School improvement plans published for 19 schools participating in Maximising Improvement in Literacy and Numeracy (MILaN)	School Improvement Plans for all 19 schools participating in Phase 1 MILaN are available via the Northern Territory’s Smarter Schools website.			

Section 7 – Milestone Reporting 					                                      Improving Teacher Quality National Partnership	

Part 2 - Milestones in Progress Report - (Achieved 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010)	
Implementation area	Milestone	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 
	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Responsive Systems Driving Transformation.	First Very Remote Centre of Excellence established.	A model for the Very Remote Centres of Excellence is under development and the first site has been identified.  	In order to align with other activity in the regions and  avoid duplication of service provision, developing a proposed delivery model for the Very Remote Centres of Excellence has required taken longer than expected.		

  Section 7 – Milestone Reporting 									Closing the Gap National Partnership	

Part 1 - Milestones not reported/not achieved/partially achieved in Annual Report for 2009	
Implementation area	Milestone.	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 
	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Targeting for success	Six Indigenous Education Coordinators employed	Three Indigenous Education Managers have been recruited, with another three currently advertised. 	Recruiting appropriately skilled staff to regional areas remains an ongoing challenge and is in some cases limited by lack of housing.	Additional recruitment mechanisms, such as online and regional recruitment channels, are being utilised.	
Targeting for success	Remote Catholic Schools Specialist Support Team established	The Indigenous Catholic Community Schools Service Team has been established.			
Improving teaching and learning	10 Literacy, Numeracy and ESL coaches supporting schools	12 coaches have been recruited.  Where possible these are based onsite otherwise they are operating out of regional hubs to offer support, training and facilitation of evidence based practice approaches to literacy, numeracy and ESL teaching.			
Part 2 - Milestones in Progress Report - (Achieved 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010)	
Implementation area	Milestone	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Leading School Improvement	School improvement plans for prescribed schools include CTG targets	All school improvement plans for schools located in prescribed areas include targets to enhance the delivery of quality education services to Indigenous students, focussing on improving teacher quality and literacy and numeracy outcomes. 			

Part 2 - Milestones in Progress Report - (Achieved 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010)	
Implementation area	Milestone	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Targeting for success	Flexible pathways programs for middle years students piloted in two remote schools	Flexible pathways programs for middle years students, including the @VET hospitality course and offline courses in Manufacturing and Engineering are being piloted in 8 remote and very remote schools.   			
Targeting for success	Plan established to transition from pilot to implementation of VET programs for middle years students in selected remote sites	The VET in the Middle program will continue to be expanded in 2011 with the inclusion of workplace literacy and numeracy units delivered by industry partners.   			
Targeting for success	Student Leadership Pathways pilot completed	The Student Leadership Pathways pilot is underway at 7 remote schools and is due for completion in December. 	During scoping of this project it was identified that more effective support to students would be delivered through a wider youth leadership and career development program, accredited as a Stage 1 Personal Learning Plan subject.  This extension of activity means the pilot will not finish until completion of the program in December.		
Improving teaching and learning	Five Indigenous Training Coordinators established	Six Indigenous Training Coordinators have been recruited.  These roles are supporting Indigenous staff to complete educational qualifications and are identifying and supporting interested senior years students to pursue careers in education. 			
Part 2 - Milestones in Progress Report - (Achieved 1 April 2010 to 30 September 2010)	
Implementation area	Milestone	Detail of achievement against milestone. 	If not achieved or partially achieved, reasons why. 	Strategies put in place to achieve milestone.	
Improving teaching and learning	Four regionally based ESL Coordinators established	Four regionally based Teaching Multi-Lingual Learners Officers have been employed and are working with both leaderships teams and classroom teachers in improving education outcomes for ESL students. 			
Improving teaching and learning	New screening policy and guidelines for recruiting quality teachers to remote schools being implemented	A new screening policy and guidelines for recruiting quality teachers to remote schools are being implemented through the Remote Teaching Service. These were profiled at the 2010 MCEEACDYA Biennial Forum.			
Improving teaching and learning	Trial of site based education programs for pre-service Indigenous teachers in two very remote sites	The Catholic Education sector is delivering Growing Our Own at six remote and very remote sites.  Within the government sector Remote Indigenous Teacher Education (RITE) program is being delivered at two very remote sites.  These are site based Indigenous pre-service teacher programs.  			
Responsive systems driving and supporting transformation	Integration of remaining Northern Territory Emergency Response deliverables in CTG reform effort and reporting.	The Northern Territory Emergency Response Final Performance Report detailed activities to be continued under CTG reform.  These, as well as continuing activities in the Catholic Education and Independent sectors have been embedded in and are being reported within the Smarter Schools NPs reporting processes.