Executive Principal

School Context
Bairnsdale West Primary School is located in Bairnsdale in East Gippsland, approximately 280km East of Melbourne CBD. Bairnsdale West Primary School stands on the traditional land of the Brabalung, one of the five major clan groups of the Gunaikurnai people. The school is strongly committed to the teaching and learning of language and cultural perspectives

Bairnsdale West has an SFOE index of 0.5690 and caters for a diverse student population. The school has a steady population, with currently 331 students enrolled with 69 students identified as Aboriginal.

BWPS is a values-based school, requiring leaders and staff to uphold the BWPS Beliefs and Values and the commitment that students are the primary consideration in all decision making. The school is also guided by its motto 'A Caring, Learning Community', as both an expectation and motivation for all members of the school community to lead, support and develop behaviours that place equal emphasis on the academic and wellbeing achievements of students.

BWPS is proactive in supporting and understanding 'difference', whilst working cooperatively to achieve success for all. The school community is comprised of students and families who come from diverse cultural, socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. All staff are committed to providing differentiated teaching to ensure that students are respected and engaged in their learning at an appropriate level. Growth for individual and groups of students is robustly measured on an ongoing basis which is reflected in the individualised target-setting and weekly planning by classroom teachers, as well as the provision of weekly Academic and Specialist Extension Programs and small group intervention programs.

BWPS is committed to the ongoing development and improvement of teaching and learning. This includes:

Whole School Health & Wellbeing
BWPS is strongly supported and guided by the Respectful Relationships Statement of Commitment to 'implementing a whole-school approach to building respectful relationships to prevent family violence in the community'. BWPS effectively applies a research-based approach to improving the health and wellbeing of students through longstanding work with key personnel and resources from the Department's Respectful Relationships initiative and the not-for-profit organisation, Sexual Health Victoria (SHV). Key areas of focus for teaching and learning across the school are emotional literacy, consent, protective behaviours and help-seeking strategies with the bigger picture of creating happy, healthy and resilient students.

Inclusion
BWPS believes that inclusion involv