Curriculum Overview
Our school uses the Victorian Curriculum as the basis for all programs.
The Victorian Curriculum has been developed to ensure that curriculum content and achievement standards enable continuous learning for all students.
For more information visit https://victoriancurriculum.vcaa.vic.edu.au/
At The Currajong School, the school team ensure students experience a secure and supportive place to learn to the best of their ability. All classrooms foster an environment that is positive and productive. Through a curriculum that is supported by an integrated therapy team, positive behaviour support system and various specialist programs, all children are encouraged to develop their communication and independence skills, attempt new challenges and to accept responsibility for their learning and their behaviour.
The academic program at The Currajong School adheres to the belief that all students have a right to an education and all students will flourish with a comprehensive and strategic approach to support their individual learning needs. Our teachers follow differentiated teaching and learning strategies to tailor their methods effectively to reach every student, giving all students the opportunity to succeed in the Victorian Curriculum.
Curriculum programs have been developed which whilst reflecting VCAA policy and organised according to the Victorian Curriculum Learning Standards and Levels F-10 of the curriculum. We also recognise the very individual needs of our students. Specific programs have been developed in each domain. Through these programs the Teachers at The Currajong School develop the skills identified in students’ Individual Learning Plans (ILP).
At The Currajong School, literacy and numeracy skills are aimed at the level of each child through a differentiated program. Teachers reflect and evaluate programs to make sure they are directed appropriately to each child. Across the School learning is structured around Literacy and Numeracy programs. This involves a daily teaching block and ongoing assessment in subject areas, highlighting best practice and innovative and stimulating activities.
Our environmental model of allied health supports the classroom teachers and assistants with strategies and recommendations to apply a therapeutic model to learning along with interventions to assist all students in accessing all teaching and learning programs.
Koorie Education
The Currajong School is committed to providing culturally appropriate and inclusive programs to Koorie students though:
- working in partnership with the Koorie community to develop an understanding of Koorie culture and the interpersonal relationship with the Koorie community, for example via Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups (LAECG);
- supporting the development of high expectations and individualised learning for Koorie students.
- creating an environment that respects, recognises, and celebrates cultural identity through practice and curriculum; and
- Implementing initiatives and programs that meet student needs and educate the whole school community and in partnership with the Koorie community.
More information on what guides our practices in Koorie education can be found by visiting https://www.vaeai.org.au/
Our Instructional Model
‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ model
At The Currajong School, the ‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ is a model of teaching which is also known as the ‘gradual release of responsibility’ model. The aim is to show our students how to perform a task and give them a chance to test it out with support, before they embark on the work themselves.
What is the ‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ model of teaching?
Modelling is when our teachers demonstrate new ideas or techniques to their students who learn by observing what the teacher does.
‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ is a method of modelling that starts with some demonstration by the teacher, then moves to supported practice, before finally turning into independent work.
It is also known as the ‘gradual release of responsibility’ model because it begins with a very traditional style of teaching where the teacher has a dominance of the classroom and is doing most of the talking. And it ends with students busily working on the new tasks that they have just learned how to tackle.
Learning Intentions and Success Criteria
To support teaching and learning at The Currajong School, our Instructional model of ‘ I Do, We Do, You Do’ is supported by Learning Intentions and Success Criteria.
Learning intentions are statements that describe what our students should know, understand and be able to do by the end of a task. Success criteria are linked to learning intentions and describe what success looks like.
From implementing Learning Intentions and Success Criteria, Teachers at The Currajong School have found they:
- assist our teachers to articulate the purpose of a learning task and make judgements about the quality of student learning.
- support our teacher assistants in understanding the purpose and intention of the lesson/activity.
- help students to focus on the task or activity taking place, what they are learning and also self-reflect.
At our school, this may be used for the whole class or differentiated for individuals or smaller groups within the class.
Currajong Programs
Sport Clinics
The Currajong School runs fitness and sport sessions that engage students in a range of fitness activities that over the year include exposure to various sports, exercise and activities.
These sporting clinics are run by Ben and Dan who are from an external provider called ‘Kick Together’.
At The Currajong School we believe that it is paramount to teach our students to be physically active. We believe healthy habits last a lifetime and if we can establish good foundations at an early age then this is more likely to stay with our students as they get older.
Swimming
The Currajong School attends a Swimming Program at Ashburton Pool. Our students attend once a week (on a Friday) for an entire term.
Swimming in Schools supports the delivery of quality swimming and water safety education. The students learn how to swim and develop lifelong skills in water safety to reduce their risk of drowning and injury.
By the end of primary school, it is anticipated that our student’s should be able to demonstrate some of the knowledge and skills identified in the Victorian Water Safety Certificate.
Mathematics
The Mathematics program at The Currajong School uses a whole school approach to the delivery of Numeracy lessons. We aim high to develop students understanding and build capacity in understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning.
Our teachers structure lessons based on a whole-part-whole approach. Teachers model and teach strategies explicitly to scaffold for deeper knowledge. Students regularly take part in focussed teaching groups, complete independent work and work towards their learning goals.
The Numeracy curriculum provides students with essential Mathematical skills and knowledge in Number & Algebra, Measurement & Geometry and Statistics & Probability. Students are constantly challenged to transfer their learning to become problem solvers and active mathematicians.
We use various maths programs, however we always like to stay well informed of new programs and initiatives to enhance the learning of our students we are currently looking at implement and trialing the following Maths programs and assessments at The Currajong School:
- Oxford Maths
- Essential Maths
- Sunshine Maths
- Matific
English
English Learning at The Currajong School
At The Currajong School, students participate in daily English instruction, recognising the importance that strong literacy skills play in supporting learning across every area of the curriculum. Our school commitment to evidence based practice ensures that every student is given the best opportunity to grow, succeed and thrive.
Our Approach to Teaching English
We provide explicit and systematic instruction in the essential knowledge and skills that underpin successful literacy development. This structured foundation helps students become:
- Confident communicators
- Capable and engaged readers
- Independent writers
- Learners with a deep understanding of how the English language works
Our literacy program provides guided learning experiences that allow students to develop at their own pace. Specific supports, prompts and modifications to the instruction and related learning tasks help promote students’ personal growth and success. Teachers design learning with a strong emphasis on student‑centred thinking and skill acquisition that is responsive to individual goals, strengths and needs.
English at The Currajong School follows the Victorian 2.0 Curriculum and is organised into three key strands:
- Language
- Literacy
- Literature
Rich Literature Experiences
Across all year levels, students engage with a diverse range of picture story books, novels and high quality texts. These mentor texts support the development of ambitious vocabulary, grammar knowledge, reading comprehension, writing skills and critical thinking.
At The Currajong School we prioritise explicit teaching, structured lessons and purposeful practice.
We use evidence‑based intervention and enrichment programs with a wide range of teaching resources to target reading, phonological awareness, comprehension, oral language, communication and writing to further support the diverse abilities and learning profiles of our students.
The Six Pillars of Effective Reading
Our reading program is built around six essential components known to support strong reading development:
- Phonological Awareness
- Phonics
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Sight Word Recognition
- Comprehension
Our Structured Reading and Writing Program
Students benefit from a carefully designed sequence of teaching and learning that includes:
- Initial screening to identify phonological awareness, phonics, decoding and comprehension needs
- Explicit instruction in phonological awareness and phonics, anchored in specialised synthetic phonics programs and resources as recommended by SPELD Victoria, Dyslexia Australia and the Victorian English 2.0 curriculum
- Practice to support recognition and writing of irregular and high frequency words
- Guided practice to build reading fluency
- Targeted vocabulary development through structured morphology lessons
- Direct teaching of comprehension strategies and questioning techniques
- Explicit instruction in planning, writing, grammar and editing of students written words in a variety of text types for a range of topics and targeted audiences
A School Where Reading Is Celebrated
Every classroom features its own mini‑library, thoughtfully stocked with books that reflect student interests and encourage exploration. Students also have access to a wide range of books to take home for practice, enjoyment and enrichment.
Teachers guide students in selecting books that are both appropriate and exciting for home reading. Regular home reading is acknowledged and celebrated at our school assemblies and during our whole‑school Celebration of Learning events.
Inquiry
Overview
At The Currajong School, Inquiry Learning brings together Science, Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) into one rich, integrated program. Guided by the Victorian Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6, Inquiry helps students build essential knowledge and skills while nurturing curiosity, confidence, and a deeper understanding of the world around them.
Our Inquiry program is thoughtfully designed to broaden each student’s horizons. We aim to provide equal access to shared knowledge, meaningful language, and engaging learning experiences that support lifelong learning and active citizenship.
What Students learn through Inquiry.
Across the year, students explore a range of engaging units that include:
- Science
- Geography
- History
- Technologies
- Capabilities (including personal, social, and critical thinking skills)
Lessons are timetabled throughout the week, allowing students to build their understanding step by step. Activities are hands on, purposeful, and appropriately challenging, helping students connect new ideas to real life experiences.
Critical and Creative Thinking
Young people are the future. They will be the innovators and problem solvers. They will be responsible for decisions that we are yet to dream about. For this to occur, young people need to be creative, resilient, flexible, intuitive, adaptable and willing to learn new skills when the job demands it. With this in mind, an essential component of teaching and learning at The Currajong School is to enhance the thinking skills of our students. Building the capacity of the students thinking abilities will be target by teachers, through implementing and providing a sequence of tools and strategies that can be used seamlessly through all aspects of the student’s education.
An explicit focus on thinking, and the teaching of thinking skills aims to develop students’ thinking to a qualitatively higher level which is key to 21st century learning. Students need to be supported to move beyond the lower order cognitive skills of recall and comprehension to the development of higher order processes required for creative problem solving, decision making and conceptualising. In addition, students need to develop metacognition- the capacity to reflect and manage their own thinking.
This can only happen if the school and classroom culture values and promotes thinking and if students are provided with sufficient time to think, reflect and engage in sustained discussions, deliberation and inquiry. At The Currajong School, we believe, students need challenging tasks that stimulate, encourage and support skilful and effective thinking.
We assist students in developing critical and creative thinking through the use of Graphic Organisers and structures such as Debono’s Six Thinking Hats, whilst explicitly teaching and guiding the students to continually develop and maintain a Growth Mindset.
Overview
At The Currajong School students work towards the achievement of standards in critical and creative thinking, they explore a wide variety of familiar contexts.
Three combined processes determine success in early stages of building individuals capacity in thinking:
- Input: obtaining, organising knowledge through sensory awareness and perception to confirm ‘What I know’.
- Control: thinking through a situation and making actions meaningful, Eg-Planning, decision making and evaluating.
- Output: Strategies for using knowledge and solving problems that combine ‘What I do’ with ‘What I Know’ Eg- remembering, thinking about and generating new ideas.
Outcomes for the Students
Through the use of a range of simple thinking tools to gather and process information, student’s progress in understanding that reflective thinking is a deliberate process, affected by emotions and motivations, and that it is used to develop and refine ideas and beliefs, furthermore, to explore different and new perceptions.
The learning intentions and student performance guidelines that underpin the framework of developing student’s capacity in working towards Victorian Curriculum outcomes for ‘Critical and Creative Thinking’ are that students understand the following:
- Those decisions about right or wrong choices are based on the agreed set of ethical principles.
- How to think about, describe and improve their own thinking and learning.
- That dialogue is essential in developing fair-minded positions.
- In what ways experiences, emotions, beliefs and cultural perspectives affect thinking and create differences between self and others.
- The importance of being open to new possibilities and perceptions, pertaining the ideas of self and others.
STEAM
STEAM learning at The Currajong School gives students the chance to explore how different areas of learning connect in meaningful, real world ways. By combining Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics, students learn to think creatively, solve problems, and approach challenges with curiosity and confidence. Our STEAM program is hands on, engaging, and designed to support the diverse learning needs of our students.
Why STEAM matters
STEAM helps students:
- Build confidence as thinkers, makers, and problem‑solvers
- Develop teamwork and communication skills
- Learn to plan, test, and refine ideas
- Understand how technology and design shape the world
- Apply their learning in practical, real life contexts
These skills support students not only in the classroom but also in everyday life, helping them become flexible, resilient learners.
What STEAM looks like at The Currajong School
Students participate in a wide range of activities that encourage exploration and experimentation. These may include:
- Engineering challenges such as building bridges, towers, or simple machines
- Digital technologies including coding, robotics, and animation
- Scientific investigations that encourage questioning and discovery
- Mathematical problem solving through measurement, patterning, and data
- Creative design projects that blend art with technology
Activities are structured to be accessible and engaging, allowing students to work at their own level while still being challenged to think in new ways.
Learning through collaboration and creativity.
STEAM tasks often involve working in pairs, small groups or alongside others giving students the chance to:
- Share ideas
- Listen to others
- Negotiate roles
- Celebrate collective success
This collaborative approach helps students build social skills and learn how to work effectively as part of a team.
Students’ STEAM creations are regularly showcased in classrooms, around the school and at special events such as our quarterly ‘Celebration of Learning’ days.
Science
Science education at Currajong nurtures students’ natural curiosity. Through guided exploration, students learn to observe, question, and investigate the world around them. From Foundation to Year 6, students develop foundational scientific understanding across:
- Biological sciences
- Chemical sciences
- Physical sciences
- Earth and space sciences
Students are encouraged to think critically, explore their own questions, and make connections between scientific ideas and everyday life.
Digital Technologies
Digital Technologies Curriculum provides students with opportunities to use Digital Technologies to enhance and engage in their learning. Practical applications of technologies allow students to develop dexterity and coordination whilst offering them a broad range of learning experiences which they can apply to home, life and the wider community. Cybersafety practices are taught as part of the Curriculum, educating students in the safe and expected behaviours regardless of their physical location.
At The Currajong School the students have access to 1:1 iPads as well as a laptop fleet. New software and applications are regularly purchased to allow students to access new and innovative programs whilst catering to their individual needs. Students engage in programs using Interactive Smartboards.
Students also have had opportunities to learn Coding through the use of Robotics and digital platforms. The use if IT equipment has underpinned our learning to engage students in inquiry learning, literacy and numeracy.
Physical Education
Physical education is integrated through classroom programs. In addition, each class also has a dedicated session of HPE each week.
Students’ progress from the development of basic motor skills to the performance of complex movement patterns that form part of team games.
They learn how developing physical capacity in areas such as strength, flexibility and endurance is related to both fitness and physical performance.
Students’ involvement in physical activity ranges from individual, non-competitive activity through to competitive team games. Emphasis is placed on combining motor skills and tactical knowledge to improve individual and team performance. Students’ progress from learning simple rules and procedures to enable them to participate in movement and physical activity safely, to using equipment safely and confidently.
Student’s participate gross motor and sports activity day and a semester long swimming programs are an integral part of the school HPE curriculum.
Other HPE programs offered throughout the year are Heavy Work programs, Gymnastic Sessions, Dance and Movement, Tennis Coaching Clinics, Cricket Coaching Clinics, AFL Clinics, and Bowling.
Visual Arts
The Visual Arts program at The Currajong School provides students with a creative space to express themselves, explore new ideas, and build confidence through hands on artmaking. Our program is designed to nurture imagination while developing important fine motor, problem solving, and communication skills that support learning across the curriculum.
Students from Foundation to Year 6 participate in weekly Visual Arts lessons that encourage them to experiment, take creative risks, and discover their own artistic voice. Lessons are structured to be engaging, accessible, and responsive to the diverse needs of our learners.
What students learn in Visual Arts
Throughout the year, students explore a wide range of art forms and techniques, including:
- Drawing and painting
- Collage and mixed media
- Printmaking
- Sculpture and construction
- Textiles and craft-based art
Students learn to use different tools and materials safely and confidently, while building their understanding of visual elements such as colour, line, shape, texture, and pattern. They also explore artworks from a variety of cultures, times, and places, helping them develop appreciation for the many ways people express ideas through art.
Creativity, expression and confidence.
Visual Arts lessons are designed to be joyful and inclusive. Students are encouraged to:
- Express their thoughts and feelings through art
- Make choices and experiment with materials
- Reflect on their work and celebrate their progress
- Appreciate the artwork of their peers in a supportive environment
These experiences help students develop resilience, independence, and pride in their achievements.
Showcasing student work
Throughout the year, students’ artwork is displayed in classrooms and around the school to celebrate their creativity and share their learning with the community. Special events, such as our quarterly ‘Celebration of Learning’ whole school event gives students additional opportunities to see their work valued and enjoyed by others.
Media Arts
In media arts, students create visual representations that communicate, challenge and express their own and others’ ideas, as both artist and audience. They develop their perceptual and conceptual understandings, critical reasoning and practical skills through exploring the world through the media arts. Students learn about the role of the artist and designer, their contribution to society, and the significance of the creative industries.
Media arts has the capacity to engage, inspire and enrich the lives of students, encouraging them to develop their creative and intellectual potential.
In media arts students make and respond using media arts knowledge, understanding and skills to represent meaning associated with personal and global views. Media arts engages students in discovery, experimentation and problem-solving, and the development of perception about visual images, sound and text. Students utilise techniques, technologies such as iPads, practices and processes with images, sound and text and become increasingly confident and proficient in achieving their personal visual aesthetic and appreciating and valuing that of others.
Design and Technology
Design and Technology is a unique learning area that offers students the opportunity to explore their creative instincts, and develop a broad range of real-life skills that they can transfer to life beyond school. Learning in every year level follows a rigorous scope and sequence where skills and concepts are explicitly taught. Students use Design Thinking in every year level to create unique products and solutions as they respond to project-based challenges using both traditional and contemporary technologies.
In this subject, our students design, make and appraise practical solutions that respond to opportunities, problems, needs or enterprising ideas. Using technology involves selecting and applying practical skills, techniques, tools and materials to create design solutions. It is based on the design process in which students are given design challenges and encouraged to think creatively about a range of practical solutions.