Catholic Schools Broken Bay (CSBB) is celebrating standout results in the 2025 NAPLAN assessments, with St John Fisher Catholic Primary School, Tumbi Umbi recognised nationally as a school “making a difference” for its exceptional improvement.
Named by ACARA as one of the top two improving schools in its Statistical Area, St John Fisher’s story shows how strong leadership, great teaching, and a clear system strategy can transform learning for every child.
But this is not just one school’s success. It reflects a wider shift happening across CSBB.
Director of Schools, Danny Casey, said the results show what is possible when an entire system commits to high expectations and evidence-based practice.
“This recognition is a tribute to the great work happening across all our schools,” Mr Casey said. “St John Fisher is a powerful example of what we believe at CSBB: every child can learn, every teacher can grow, and every school can improve. These results are excellence in action.”
Principal Marcel Arendse said the school’s improvement journey began by reshaping its culture.
“We set the foundation that every student is everyone’s responsibility, and every piece of data matters,” he said. “Once that mindset shifted, everything shifted.”
With support from CSBB’s system leadership and the Curriculum, Assessment and Pedagogy (CAP) Framework developed by CSBB, the school strengthened its structures around what students need to learn, how progress is tracked, and which teaching methods work best.
Middle leaders played a central role, modelling high-impact practices, guiding teachers in the classroom and building strong consistency from Kindergarten to Year 6.
Working with education expert Linda Bendikson, staff used short, targeted improvement cycles, checking data closely, identifying quick wins, teaching with precision and measuring impact before moving on.
The school also deepened its use of data through CSBB’s Collaborative Coaching model, ensuring every student, whether needing targeted support or ready for extension, had a clear, personalised learning response.
The impact has been remarkable.
St John Fisher’s Year 5 students recorded significant growth across all NAPLAN domains, with more than 90% now achieving at Strong or Exceeding levels in Reading, Writing and Numeracy. Students previously needing additional help made substantial gains, and the number of students reaching the highest proficiency levels increased by around 10% across each domain.
Reflecting on the journey, Mr Arendse added:
“We’re very proud. Very, very proud.”
