Welcome
Falls Road Primary School is located in the Darling Range, 30 minutes east of the city. It was built in 1979 and officially opened on November 14th, 1981.
Our school is situated in a bush setting that provides a lovely, natural playground for the students. The school also provides purpose built play areas such as basketball and netball courts; cricket, soccer and football ovals and climbing equipment for the students. Students are also encouraged to interact and play within the natural environment. Being set amongst the bush and through careful selection of plants, the school encourages many native birds to visit. The surrounding community is semi-rural.
In 2011 we became an Independent Public School. The main benefits of this are that we have more control over staffing vacancies and all of our funding is through a One Line Budget.
We have excellent facilities at the school that include:
- a wonderful enclosed hall (with reverse cycle air conditioning/heating) for assemblies and community events;
- a Music / Art multi-purpose building;
- a fantastic Nature Playground where students build cubbies and bases;
- a large oval/grassed area incorporating a cricket pitch;
- basketball/ netball courts;
- an Adventure Playground area;
- a purpose-built Kindy/Pre-Primary playground and a new Nature Play area;
- a well resourced, bright, inviting library;
- 2 computer labs and banks of iPads in each teaching block as well as the Art / Music Block;
- a Technology and Enterprise/ Science room; and
- a Home Reading room.
We are committed to achieving high standards of student achievement and identifying the degree of value adding gained through our support and specialist programs. We support this through a comprehensive cyclical process underpinned by a detailed analysis of student data. This ensures the continued development of student academic achievement and social development.
Our Mission & Values
Our mission is to provide a positive educational environment which facilitates, supports and extends all facets of student development. This is supported by our four core values of Learning, Excellence, Equity and Care.
At Falls Road, we have developed 'Social Conventions and Expectations' that are accompanied by actions. At each assembly, we recite the 'Social Conventions and Expectations' accompanied by the actions. Our Behaviour managemnt and Instructional Strategies (BMIS) policy is based around these behaviour expectations. They are:
- Treat everyone with care and respect
- Take pride in our school and equipment
- Keep our hands and feet to ourselves
- Always work hard and do our best work
- Listen carefully and follow instructions the first time
- Walk around the school sensibly and quietly
- Greet everybody with a big smile and say hello
The school’s values focus is based around the 'Bounce Back' Program. This program is based around the teaching of strategies for developing resiliency. The values of 'Bounce Back' have been incorporated into our 'Aussie of the Month' Program and are embedded across the curriculum both in and outside the classroom. The 'Bounce Back' core values are:
- Honesty
- Fairness (including social justice)
- Responsibility
- Support (being kind; showing care and compassion)
- Cooperation
- It's OK to be different (accepting & respecting difference in others)
- Respect (for the rights and feelings of others)
- Friendliness and Inclusion
Our Focus
Our focus areas for 2024 are Reading - focus on comprehension, Numeracy - Problem Solving strategies and skills and the development of Writing using the '7 Steps to Writing Success' program.
Falls Road Primary School has approximately 299 students, from Kindergarten through to Year 6. The Kindergarten has 2 groups which attend Monday / Thursday (plus odd week Wednesday) or Tuesday / Friday (plus even week Wednesday). All other students from Pre-Primary through to Year 6 attend full time. Our small classes support and allow students to form lasting friendships in a safe and supportive learning environment. Our educational program is based around the Australian Curriculum. This ensures a focus on developmental learning.
Teaching & Learning Programs
Teaching staff are highly experienced and professional. We have promoted our ability to cater for the needs of all our students, employing a range of specialist teachers to support classroom teachers. Specialists support the teaching and learning programs in Visual Arts, Music, Languages Other Than English (Italian) and Physical Education. The school offers a safe and supportive learning environment for students and welcomes parent involvement in school-based programs.
Early intervention strategies are central to the school's philosophy and is a focus area within the school that aims to foster and promote life-long learning. Falls Road Primary School encourages and supports community participation prior to enrolment at Kindergarten and this ensures a smooth transition for parents and students into the supportive learning environment of our school.
The teaching and learning program at Falls Road Primary School acknowledges that students learn at different rates and in different ways. Falls Road Primary School structures learning programs that enhance and build on the strong school and community partnership and support this development through our supportive, nurturing and welcoming school environment.
Our Art Program
Our art program acts as a conduit for our students to progress to the special Art and Gifted And Talented Education Program at Kalamunda Senior High School. We also have an excellent record of students graduating from the school into the specialist academic Maths and Science extension programmes run by Lesmurdie Senior High School. This has been enhanced by the early identification of students in Years 3 and 5 through NAPLAN results which enables our students to participate in the specially designed academic programs for primary students on the Kalamunda High School site. Additionally, in Years 5 to 6, children identified as being gifted and talented are offered enrichment courses through the Primary Extension and Challenge Program (PEAC).
ICT Facilities
In ICT we have a range of facilities available including a laboratory of computers, a mini-lab of laptops and Interactive Whiteboards / Interactive Panels in all classes throughout the school, which students and teachers across the school use as tools for learning. The interactive Whiteboards / Panels help facilitate, enhance and motivate student learning. We also have banks of iPads in each teaching block as well as the Art/Music block which are pre-loaded with a range of effective teaching and learning applications which also add value to the teaching and learning programs already in place. We have invested in a range of Digital Technology and Coding resources including: Edison robots; Bee-bots; and Spheros which can all be used across a range of coding contexts. Students have access to a lab of computers as well as a mini-lab of laptops which are used for a variety of tasks.
Our School of Instrumental Music Program
The School of Instrumental Music Program (which teaches guitar, flute, brass and clarinet to selected Year 5 and Year 6 students) provides a direct link to the Specialist Music programs and Bands offered by both Kalamunda and Lesmurdie Senior High School. These links have been fostered and strengthened by regular performances by the Lesmurdie and Kalamunda Senior High School students at our assemblies throughout the year.
Community
The school has an open door policy and welcomes parents to be part of the school and educational programmes. Falls Road Primary School is supported by a very active Parents and Citizens’ Association (P&C). The P & C works in partnership with the school to develop initiatives that encourage the parent community to contribute to and support the school.
The school community is very active and supportive in all school activities. Parents are currently involved in assisting with the Home Reading Program, daily reading for Junior Students, supporting the environmental programme and general classroom support. Every two years the P & C run the 'Moonlight Markets'. This is a giant fair, held at night, with the school and the wider community combining to create a wonderful event.
Parents are also involved in school decision-making and policy development through the School Board. The School Board meets on a regular basis at least once a term. The school works closely with parents and we have clear, consistent and regular communication through a range of mediums, particularly the school newsletter. The ongoing growth of Falls Road Primary School will continue to be closely linked to a supportive and interactive partnership with our community.
The school, parents and community are extremely pleased and excited about the opportunities, flexibilities and status that being an Independent Public School provides. Being independent energises the whole school community to work together to support "our school”.
We are viewed by the community as offering an excellent all round education for our students and have been able to demonstrate this through sound academic performance and our strong pastoral care focus over a number of years.
Our School Motto
Our school motto is “Challenge the Present – Create the Future” and we will continue to do this through a range of innovative and engaging programs and a committed group of teaching and non-teaching personnel.