Culture change in schools isn’t fluffy. It’s hard, measurable and it works. Koonawarra Public School has just proven it.
This is not your average school. Koonawarra’s ICSEA is 892. That puts it well below the national benchmark of 1000 and firmly in the low socio-economic category.
And yet their results would embarrass many schools with all the advantages that money can buy.
Just over year ago they set out with us at Real Schools to build stronger relationships, clearer expectations and fairer classrooms. Their 2025 NSW Public Schools Survey shows they’ve nailed it.
- 95% of students say their teachers clearly explain and model learning. That’s against an average of 91% for their Statistically Similar Schools Group (SSSG)– schools serving communities much like theirs – and 89% across NSW.
- 90% say their teachers expect the best from them (SSSG 86%, NSW 84%).
- 87% report classrooms are calm, focused and respectful (SSSG 83%, NSW 84%).
- 80% feel strongly engaged in their learning (SSSG 75%, NSW 76%).
- 86% feel a strong sense of belonging at school (SSSG 81%, NSW 83%).
- 94% say they have a good friend at school.
This is not soft data. It is hard proof that when you commit to culture, kids respond. They learn more. They belong more.
And while the government and independent school systems continue to struggle to make a dent in student reports of bullying and discrimination, Koonawarra’s students report strong confidence in knowing where to find support if it happens. That is what trust looks like.
Koonawarra has shown that disadvantage is not destiny. When you take culture seriously, everything else gets better.
That’s not a theory. It’s a cold, hard fact.
Keep fighting that good fight,
P.S. Ever feel like you’ve got to pick a side – Direct Instruction or the relational stuff? Well, you don’t.
When you get instruction and relationships working in tandem, classrooms calm down, engagement lifts and achievement actually grows.
We’ve put together a few new tools to help teachers make that happen – including a whitepaper and a new podcast series with Real Schools experts Brenda Quayle, Trish Coelho, and yours truly.
Explore them here: Teaching in Technicolour.
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