Wongan Hills District High School Achieve IPS Status!  

The Shire of Wongan-Ballidu would like to congratulate our very own Wongan Hills District High School (WHDHS) for successfully achieving recognition as an Independent Public School (IPS). Our school has certainly proved it’s worthiness as a quality school that is focused on delivering the best outcomes for students.

What is IPS Status? 

An independent public school is a public school that has demonstrated its capacity to use its increased flexibilities and responsibilities to make local decisions across a range of school operations to enhance education outcomes for students.

Applying to become an independent public school is a decision made by each school, in consultation with the school council and local community. The school community must consider its capacity to take on the additional accountabilities of being an independent public school, the local community’s support for change and the school’s operational performance.

What this means for our Community...

It takes committed and proactive school communities to become an independent public school. Independent public school communities take a greater leadership role in all aspects of education, with the ultimate goal of delivering high quality education to students. Independent public school principals have a direct line relationship with, and are accountable to, the Director General of the Department of Education.

Independent Public Schools:

have greater independence for local decision making which directly reflects the needs of their students and communities;

establish dynamic and open governance relationships with the people in their communities;

have continued access to central and regional support services;

are supported by the full range of resources and infrastructure that comes with being part of the Western Australian public school system.

In speaking with principal, Fiona Yeats, it is evident that the school is very focused on school improvement and it is clear that they have already raised the profile of the school in our community through the Independent Public School initiative. Fiona Yeats spoke of the very good academic results that the school is already achieving in national testing such as NAPLAN in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. In 2021 Wongan Hills DHS received an award for Recognition of Academic Excellence in Reading, Writing and Numeracy and those results, and higher, have continued to be maintained for the last 2 years. Fiona said ‘Our school is a quality school, not only do we focus on academic rigour but provide for the whole child through wrap around support to develop their social and emotional wellbeing.

Combining that with building strong relationships with each and every parent is critical for student success.’ New School Council Chair, Renae Millsteed, shared that ‘Becoming a progressive school of choice is a high priority for our Council. We are continually looking at ways to achieve this and becoming an Independent Public School (IPS) was one of these. IPS provides greater autonomy which enables a flexibility to produce better outcomes and I enjoyed the process of becoming an IPS school and networking with like-minded schools. Overall, our IPS status will benefit students which is ultimately the primary focus for parents, educators and the community.’

 We already believe the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu is a great place to live but with initiatives such as this, led by our local School and it’s School Council, the children of our community are opened to better opportunities and a better education, helping our Shire grow and develop. A good school is a fundamental resource which attracts new residents to our town and IPS status for WHDHS means an even greater attraction for parents.

Well done to Wongan Hills District High School on this major achievement.