Principals' Message 2024

We commenced 29 January with 81 enrolments, comprising about one third in each of Kindy/Pre-primary, Junior Primary and Senior Primary, and new enrolment inquiries are currently being processed. In response, the school has grown from 10 to 11 classrooms for the commencement of 2024.

Six students graduated at the end of 2023, all successfully passing through our transition programs to begin their new phase of education as high school students. In 2024, fifteen students are commencing their final year of primary school education. We are proud of the way our girls and boys have matured during their primary years and we follow their education and life progress beyond Riverside with great interest. 

Our school caters for students with a wide range of educational needs, typically our students present with Intellectual Disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Global Developmental Delay or a range of physical or mental health disabilities. We encourage you to call and make an appointment to discuss the individual needs of your child and how we may be able to address these at Riverside ESC. Our team of more than 50 skilled teachers and allied professionals across eleven classrooms are committed to teaching and support your child to learn to the very best of their ability.

Recognised as an Independent Public School, our school undertakes regular reviews overseen by the Department of Education. Our next review is scheduled for the second week of Term 1 this year. We look forward to publishing the results and to addressing identified opportunities for school-wide improvement. RESC adheres to a program of regular internal evaluation of our effectiveness to maximise student learning, supported by the School Board and our parent community. Each year, we are humbled by the many commendations from parents and carers who speak of the “incredible strides” taken by their children.

In 2024 RESC is guided by FOCUS 2024 and STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS 2020 – 2024, both of which are initiatives of the Director General of Education’s Classroom First Strategy – they promote effective leadership and teaching while maximising the care and development of each and every student. The 6 Key Statements in the focus document, held to the fore by our school, are:

• Provide every student with a pathway to a successful future;
• Strengthen support for teaching and learning excellence in every classroom;
• Build the capability of our principals, our teachers and our allied professionals;
• Support increased school autonomy within a unified public school system;
• Partner with families, communities and agencies to support the engagement of every student; and
• Use evidence to drive decision-making at all levels of the system.

Our website continues to facilitate communication with our school community and beyond. It is the primary source of new enrolment inquiries (including from international and interstate families) and receives thousands of page-visits every year.

At the very end of 2023, we welcomed the news that RESC was successful with its application to Schools Plus, an Australian philanthropic foundation whose declared mission is to facilitate sustainable change to help children facing disadvantage succeed at school. A three-year grant has been approved that will enable us to research and analyse practices and data in the priority learning areas of numeracy and literacy, eventually leading to new assessment tools and new delivery methodologies. We look forward to keeping our community updated on progress and to sharing outcomes with all education support schools.

In closing, we remind parents and carers our door is always open to discuss educational matters relating to your child. For our mutual convenience we recommend you call ahead to set up an appointment.

All the best for 2024.

Jim Douglas, Principal                                 Tamarra Rekman, Deputy Principal