Curriculum

Our Learning Ethos

At Kurrun Primary school we believe it is critical that each child has a teacher that is an expert in their personal learning and wellbeing. This is supported through students working closely with their individual classroom teacher throughout the majority of the school day, and building a strong student-teacher relationship.

Classroom designs support this approach, with enclosed ‘four-walled’ classroom where each child can foster their own sense of place and belonging. Students come together and collaborate at play and school-wide events but benefit both socially and emotionally through a consistent and familiar environment and cohort.

The Curriculum at Kurrun

As a Victorian Government School Kurrun Primary School utilises the Victorian Curriculum, which outlines what students are expected to learn during their first eleven years of schools. The curriculum is the common set of knowledge and skills required for life-long learning, social development and to enable students to become active and informed members of society. The following subjects form the foundation of a Victorian primary education with The Arts, Physical Education, Auslan and Science specified as Specialist Programs. You can learn more about them here.

Mathematics

Kurrun Primary School offers all year levels an age-appropriate Mathematics program in line with the recommendations of the Victorian curriculum. Teachers strive to present creative and interactive mathematics lessons, that nurture an appreciation for the subject and its everyday applications.

Mathematics aims to ensure that students:

  • develop useful mathematical and numeracy skills for everyday life and work, as active and critical citizens in a technological world
  • become confident, proficient, effective and adaptive users of mathematics
  • become effective communicators of mathematics who can investigate, represent and interpret situations in their personal and work lives, think critically, and make choices as active, engaged, numerate citizens
  • develop proficiency with mathematical concepts, skills, procedures and processes, and use them to demonstrate mastery in mathematics as they pose and solve problems, and reason with number, algebra, measurement, space, statistics and probability
  • make connections between areas of mathematics and apply mathematics to model situations in various fields and disciplines
  • develop a positive disposition towards mathematics, recognising it as an accessible and useful discipline to study
  • appreciate mathematics as a discipline – its history, ideas, problems and applications, aesthetics and philosophy.

English

As the country’s national language, English is central to the lives, learning and development of all people living in Australia. Through the study of the subject of English, individuals extend their engagement with the English language and learn to understand, empathise, communicate and build relationships with others and the world around them. The study of subject English helps create confident communicators, imaginative and critical thinkers. Teachers at Kurrun Primary school creatively endorse the study of English in classroom based studies as well as in our beautiful new library.  

The English curriculum aims to ensure that students:

  • learn to purposefully and proficiently listen to, speak about, read, view, write, create and reflect on a range of texts, through their historical, cultural and social contexts and across an increasing level of complexity
  • understand how to use Standard Australian English appropriately, and in combination with non-linguistic forms of communication, to create meaning
  • develop interest and skills in examining and analysing texts, and develop an informed appreciation of the aesthetic aspects of literature
  • appreciate, enjoy, analyse, evaluate, adapt and use the richness and power of the English language in all its variations to evoke feelings, form and convey ideas, and facilitate interaction with others.

At Kurrun Primary School we support our English program with access to the esteemed Australian literacy program, InitiaLit. InitiaLit is an evidence-based whole-class literacy program providing all children with the essential core knowledge and strong foundations to become successful readers and writers. InitiaLit is a three-year program, covering the first three years of school, targetting reading and related skills to children in a fun and engaging way.

Humanities

Humanities form a fundamental part of the Victorian curriculum but vary across year levels. They provide a framework for students to examine the complex processes that have shaped the modern world and to investigate responses to different challenges including people’s interconnections with the environment.

In Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business, students explore the systems that shape society, with a specific focus on legal and economic systems. Students learn about Australia’s role in global systems, and are encouraged to appreciate democratic principles and to contribute as active, informed and responsible citizens.

In History and Geography, students explore the processes that have shaped and which continue to shape different societies and cultures, to appreciate the common humanity shared across time and distance, and to evaluate the ways in which humans have faced and continue to face different challenges.

 

Technology

The Technologies provide a framework for students to learn how to use technologies to create innovative solutions that meet current and future needs. Students are encouraged to make decisions about the development and use of technologies, considering the impacts of technological change and how technologies may contribute to a sustainable future. The curriculum provides practical opportunities for students to be users, designers and producers of new technologies.

In Design and Technologies, students use design thinking and technologies to generate and produce designed solutions. Lower years might investigate through hands-on activities how things are made, whilst higher years explore engineering and gain an understanding of product conceptulisation and design. 

In Digital Technologies, students design, create, manage and evaluate sustainable and innovative digital solutions to meet and redefine current and future needs. With access to student ipads and laptops, students will develop the technological accumen to efficiently and effectively automate the transformation of data into information and to creatively communicate ideas in a range of settings. 

 

Digital Learning

The use of digital technologies is a mandated component of the Victorian Curriculum F-10. 

Safe and appropriate use of digital technologies, including the internet, apps, computers and tablets, can provide students with rich opportunities to support learning and development in a range of ways.  

Through increased access to digital technologies, students can benefit from learning that is interactive, collaborative, personalised, engaging and transformative. Digital technologies enable our students to interact with and create high quality content, resources and tools. It also enables personalised learning tailored to students’ particular needs and interests and transforms assessment, reporting and feedback, driving new forms of collaboration and communication. 

Kurrun Primary School believes that the use of digital technologies at school allows the development of valuable skills and knowledge and prepares students to thrive in our globalised and inter-connected world. Digital technologies are a valuable tool in building 21st Century competencies as well as: 

  • engaging students as owners of their learning 
  • supporting the concept of anywhere, anytime learning 
  • connecting parents with their child’s learning 
  • personalising learning to meet the needs of all students. 

Our school’s vision is to empower students to make safe and appropriate independent choices about how they utilise digital technologies to learn, communicate, problem solve and achieve goals, anywhere, anytime as happy, healthy and connected members of society. 

Assessment and Reporting

Kurrun Primary School teachers accurately assess student achievement against Achievement Standards detailed within the Victorian Curriculum for students enrolled in Years F-10.  A Whole School Curriculum Plan has been developed and identifies the Learning Area across each band of schooling (2-year period) responsible for teaching and assessing the Victorian Curriculum Standards (F-10). Teaching and Learning Leaders review this document each year and adjust where necessary.  

Kurrun Primary School has an assessment schedule that outlines the compulsory assessment tasks to be completed by class teachers and the dates that the results of these tasks are due each term. Students will have multiple and varied opportunities to demonstrate learning and achievement. Teachers use assessment tasks that cover multiple curriculum levels to ensure that evidence of learning and growth is captured for every student.    

Kurrun Primary School ensures that there is continuous sharing of assessment information formally and informally with parents/carers, including two written reports provided to parents/carers per year.