Koorie Education

Koorie Literacy and Numeracy Program

The Koorie Literacy and Numeracy Program (KLNP) provides Victorian government schools and special schools with funding to support Koorie students in Foundation to Year 6 who are performing significantly below their age-expected standard in literacy and/or numeracy. This is in recognition of the importance of early intervention in supporting students to build foundational literacy and numeracy skills.

There are multiple contacts for support with this program. Refer to the Contacts section below.

The KLNP has 2 components:

• Early Years KLNP (EY-KLNP) provides $1,700 for eligible Koorie students in Foundation to Year 3.
• Extended KLNP (E-KLNP) provides between $1,000 and $5,000 for eligible Koorie students in Years 4 to 6.

Schools receiving KLNP funding must:

• provide each eligible Koorie student across Foundation to Year 6 with a minimum of 32 hours of timetabled 1:1 and/or small group learning program in literacy and/or numeracy, across up to 2 terms, in accordance with the Targeted Literacy and Numeracy Intervention – Small Group Learning policy. The programs must include a documented sequence of lessons designed to support the specific learning gaps of participating students
• measure attainment for each participating student using a standardised assessment tool at the commencement and the conclusion of the year. Students must be assessed for each of the programs in which they are participating (that is, literacy and/or numeracy)
• record information about which students are identified for 1:1 and/or small group learning support, as detailed under the ‘Program requirements’ section below
• ensure all funds allocated to a student are used for that student
• spend a minimum of 80% of student funding on structured 1:1 and/or small group learning
• not exceed 20% of student funding on assisting families of Koorie students to support their child with literacy and numeracy skills development in the home, or to support student attendance and engagement.

More details about these requirements are provided below.

Student eligibility and funding

Eligible students are identified by the Department of Education using centrally collected data.

Students must:

• be identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in CASES21
• be enrolled at a Victorian government school at the time of the February school census
• be performing significantly below their age-expected standard in literacy and/or numeracy
• satisfy the eligibility criteria outlined below.

Students in Foundation to Year 3 (EY-KLNP)

Funding is $1,700 per student.

Eligibility is determined using the following measures of literacy and/or numeracy.

Foundation

Results from the Foundation Literacy Assessment will be used to identify students who are performing significantly below their age-expected standard.

The Foundation Literacy Assessment is required to be administered at the beginning of Term 1, with results uploaded to the Insights Assessment Platform by Week 6, Term 1.

Year 1

Teacher judgment from Semester 2 of the previous year indicates that the student is performing at or below the 0.5 level of the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 in Reading and Viewing and/or Number and Algebra.

Year 2

Teacher judgment from Semester 2 of the previous year indicates that the student is performing at or below the Foundation level of the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 in Reading and Viewing and/or Number and Algebra.

Year 3

Classified as ‘Needs Additional Support’ (NAS) in the Reading and/or Numeracy domains of NAPLAN.

Students in special schools (EY-KLNP)

Students born between 1 January 2017 and 30 April 2021 (age-equivalent to Foundation to Year 3 cohort).

Funding is $1,700 per student.

Students in Years 4 to 6 (E-KLNP)

• Classified as ‘Needs Additional Support’ (NAS) in the Reading and/or Numeracy domains of NAPLAN:
  • Students classified as NAS in Year 3 are funded for Year 4.
  • Students classified as NAS in Year 5 are funded in Year 5 and Year 6.
• Students may receive funding for either or both NAPLAN domains (Reading and Numeracy).
• For the Numeracy domain, funding is determined by the Number and Algebra strand.
• Full funding is $2,500 per domain for Years 4 to 5 and $2,000 per domain for Year 6.
• If a student has no NAPLAN results for the current year, the previous year's NAPLAN results will be used. If not available, teacher judgment results will be used to determine eligibility and students will receive 50% funding for Reading and/or Numeracy.
• Students exempted/withdrawn from NAPLAN are not funded.
• Eligible students who receive Disability Inclusion Tier 3 student-level funding will receive 50% KLNP funding for Reading and/or Numeracy.

Communication with schools

Schools with eligible students will be notified of indicative, confirmed, and revised KLNP funding allocations through the Student Resource Package. Schools can view their list of eligible students via their School Performance Report on Panorama (staff login required).

Schools will be notified when the reports are available via the School Update. If the report is not there, no students have been identified for funding.

Once reports are available to schools, student eligibility is finalised.

Additional communication will be circulated via the School Update.

Managing student movement – school responsibilities

If an eligible student intends to transfer to another government school, the transferring school must transfer funds pro rata as required to the destination school. It is recommended that schools discuss this with their senior education improvement leader and inform the KLNP team of this change by emailing koorielitnum@education.vic.gov.au

Program requirements

1:1 and small group learning

Schools must provide each eligible student with a minimum of 32 hours of structured timetabled 1:1 and/or small group learning literacy and/or numeracy support per year, across up to 2 terms, with a documented sequence of lessons to address learning gaps of the identified students. Refer to the Targeted Literacy and Numeracy Intervention – Small Group Learning policy for guidance.

In addition:

• it is recommended that 1:1 and/or small group learning interventions are further intensified beyond those outlined in the Targeted Literacy and Numeracy Intervention – Small Group Learning policy to meet individual learning needs
• teachers delivering the 1:1 and/or small group learning support must be culturally sensitive to the diverse needs of Koorie students and their families
• schools may increase the frequency and/or length of each session, duration of the intervention, and/or lower group size
• schools may choose to form clusters to engage appropriately qualified personnel. Payment and travel arrangements in these circumstances may be negotiated between the schools and the relevant personnel.

Record information about identified students

For reporting purposes, schools must use the KLNP Literacy and Numeracy fields in CASES21 to identify students who are receiving KLNP support. Schools must select ‘Y’ for students receiving support in either or both fields by week 6 of the term in which support is provided and update the fields as necessary by week 6 of subsequent terms throughout the remainder of the year.

For support using CASES21 refer to Software and Administration Systems resources.

Measure student attainment twice per year

Schools must measure student attainment using a standardised assessment tool at the commencement and conclusion of the school year in which students participate in 1:1 and/or small group learning. Refer to the Targeted Literacy and Numeracy Intervention – Small Group Learning policy for guidance on the standardised tools recommended for use in acquitting this requirement.

Report progress to parents/carers

Schools must notify the families of eligible KLNP students including the support their child will receive. A template letter is available at Information for families – template (DOCX).

It is recommended that schools:

• include information in the regular written reports to parents/carers about what additional learning support was delivered as part of KLNP and what progress was made
• invite teachers delivering KLNP to directly contribute to written reports by providing a short comment on:
  • a student’s participation and engagement
  • information on progress and achievement of learning goals set within the initiative.

For information on reporting requirements, refer to Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10.

Funds management

Schools must retain appropriate financial records relating to the administration of funding and acquit revenue and all expenditure for the EY-KLNP and the E-KLNP against CASES21 subprograms 9623 and 9624 respectively.

Schools with eligible students will be notified of indicative, confirmed and revised KLNP funding allocations by the Student Resource Package.

Cash quarterly payments will be made via the SRP.

Acceptable use of funds

A minimum of 80% of student funding must be spent on structured 1:1 and/or small group learning programs in literacy and/or numeracy.

Up to 20% of student funding can be used to assist families of Koorie students in supporting their child/children’s literacy and/or numeracy skills development in the home, or to support student attendance and engagement.

KLNP funding must not be used for:

• purchasing resources, or equipment, including digital devices
• employment of staff to reduce general class sizes
• camps, travel expenses, accommodation, clothing and excursions
• interventions that are not primarily focused on literacy and numeracy, such as developing wellbeing or self-esteem programs
• allied health or pastoral care programs.

Contacts

For queries related to KLNP in your school, contact your school’s senior education improvement leader (SEIL).

For advice and support with engaging students’ families, contact the respective Koorie Education Coordinator (KEC) for your area. Other regional staff based in area offices can also provide advice. To contact your regional office and connect with a KEC, refer to Contact details for the Department of Education.

For general queries about the KLNP, including student eligibility, contact: koorielitnum@education.vic.gov.au

Refer to Arc to find out more about the Foundation Literacy Assessment.

For queries about the Student Resource Package, contact the School Financial Management Support Unit at schools.finance.support@education.vic.gov.au

Feedback from schools

When planning support for Koorie students, funded schools are encouraged to reflect on the selected success factors below. These have been identified by schools previously funded through the Early Years Koorie Literacy and Numeracy Program.

Expertise and knowledge

Success factor

'The importance of having an experienced teacher in this role cannot be underestimated.'

Key questions for schools

• Who will provide the additional support?
• Do personnel have the appropriate level of expertise and cultural understanding?

Support strategy

Success factor

'.. we value fluid groupings of students, where children move in and out of small groups depending upon their needs. The interventions that worked the best were therefore changing regularly.'

Key questions for schools

• Are approaches flexible and adaptable to changing student needs?
• What processes are in place to evaluate the impact on learning and adjust support accordingly?

Promoting inclusion

Success factor

'Some students do not want the additional attention. Programs that deliver a certain level of discretion … seem to work the best.'

Key questions for schools

• What is the student preference for support?
• Has the support model been discussed with the student and family?

Setting expectations

Success factor

'The learning intention and success criteria were clear to the students and were referred to for regular feedback.'

Key questions for schools

• Are expectations and learning intentions clear and appropriate?
• Are expectations and learning goals challenging?
• Are goals achievable?
• How is success measured?

Empowering students

Success factor

'Perhaps the most significant aspect … has been the development of relationships and the fostering of self-esteem. These have led to our children developing the feeling that they can achieve at school.'

Key questions for schools

• How is success celebrated?
• How are students supported to take risks?
• How is self-efficacy strengthened?