Debbie Spanner Principal principal@indooroopillyss.eq.edu.au

Equity and Excellence  

Through the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration we, as a nation, committed to equity and excellence in education as our first goal– that all children and young people are confident, creative lifelong learners, active in their community. The focus of this document includes the following: 

• provide all young Australians with access to high-quality education that is inclusive and free from any form of discrimination 

• recognise the individual needs of all young Australians, identify barriers that can be addressed, and empower learners to overcome barriers  

• ensure that young Australians of all backgrounds are supported to achieve their full educational potential 

• encourage young people to hold high expectations for their educational outcomes, supported by parents, carers, families and the broader community  

• ensure that education promotes and contributes to a socially cohesive society that values, respects and appreciates different points of view and cultural, social, linguistic and religious diversity  

• ensure that learning is built on and includes local, regional and national cultural knowledge and experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and work in partnership with local communities 

• promote a culture of excellence in all learning environments, by providing varied, challenging, and stimulating learning experiences and opportunities that enable all learners to explore and build on their individual abilities, interests, and experiences 

Achieving this vision in Queensland state schools requires a collective understanding of what we all stand for and how we will make it a reality. At Indooroopilly State School, Equity and Excellence underpins our strategic plan, which is translated into Empowering Learners, Connecting Community and Harnessing Diversity. We have reviewed processes, invested in resourcing and updated roles and responsibilities in our efforts to enable all students to reach their full potential.  Additional resources including a social worker, additional teacher aides, additional support teacher and a DP with a fraction of their role invested in Culture, Connection and Community, to help build community engagement, have been some of the ways we have added value in the first 18 months of our strategic plan.  

Excellence at ISS is the aim of every classroom learning environment as we truly believe that it is what happens in every classroom every day that makes a difference for our learners. It is the differentiated opportunities that are provided in class that make the biggest impact for our learners. Investing in staff capacity building and professional learning and collaboration is key to helping teachers provide varied, challenging and stimulating learning experiences to enable all learners to reach their individual potential. The new Australian Curriculum V9 has enabled us to review teaching and learning practices to include Science of Learning principles.  Research-informed and evidence-based learning underpins the daily practice that occurs in our classrooms.  

We know that strong partnerships with our parent body also underpins the success our learners experience. Thank you for your ongoing support and investment in our school to help your learners be successful. I appreciate those of you who take the time to acknowledge the support given to help your children reach their potential.  

Connected Parenting Webinar – 6pm Monday 12 May 

There is an opportunity for all ISS parents to participate in the Connected Parenting Webinar, presented by The Resilience Project on Monday evening. This seminar, hosted by Lael Stone, will support you to build stronger relationships with your children through positive communication. I encourage you to register for this online webinar, which is included as part of your TRP subscription. The Indi Incidental emailed to parents on Friday 2/05/2025 contains the registration link.