Tuggerah Public School principal, Evan Campbell, said 30 NSW public primary schools from across the state had been nominated as the lighthouses for teaching children in kindergarten.

“We have come together to learn and understand what each other does well and how we can use these techniques in other schools,” Mr Campbell said.

“We will then work with other, similar schools in the area to help improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes of our youngest students."

Schools participating in the 2009 Lighthouse Project Forum use research-based strategies during large blocks of uninterrupted learning time for literacy and numeracy instruction.

“They have strong student performance across the early years of schooling as seen in their National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) data, and use this to help bridge the gap for specific groups of students," Mr Campbell said.

“Profiles of each school, including video interviews with principals and teachers, will be made and published on the Department of Education and Training’s website so all schools benefit.”

Sessions at the 2009 Lighthouse Project Forum include:

• monitoring student learning and setting direction for teaching;

• focusing on teaching and learning;

• sharing and distributing leadership for learning; and

• connecting with families and communities.

The 2009 Lighthouse Project Forum is part of the NSW Government’s $117 million Best Start program.

This year more than 40,000 Kindergarten students were assessed as part of the Best Start program in their first weeks at school so it could be seen where these children were with their early literacy and numeracy skills.

Next year all NSW public primary schools will be implementing the Best Start assessment.

The Best Start program also includes 200 extra Reading Recovery teachers over four years to work with Year 1 students experiencing difficulty learning to read and write.

This year, an extra 50 Reading Recovery teachers will be allocated to help these children.

Over the five years of this program, Best Start will also provide the equivalent of 120 teaching positions to NSW schools.