Curriculum

There is a focus on enhancing students' confidence in their ability to become independent learners who are confident and engaged in their own learning process.

At Churchill Primary School our curriculum is based around Victorian Curriculum. This encompasses Level F to Level 10. You can find out more about the Victorian Curriculum by clicking here.

Within these levels we deliver curriculum programs that focus on:

• Physical, Personal & Social Learning that includes Health & Physical Education, Interpersonal Development, Personal Learning and Civics & Citizenship.
• Discipline-based Learning that includes The Arts, English, Humanities, Mathematics and STEM.
• Interdisciplinary Learning that includes Communication, Design, Creativity & Technology, Information & Communication Technologies and Thinking Processes.

We embrace the Challenging Learning theory across the school, which means we see successful students as the ones who are resilient and have a growth mindset. Our curriculum is delivered with a focus on Literacy and Numeracy Skills, together with an Integrated Curriculum. We believe that an integrated approach provides our students with a developmental approach to learning that helps them make connections between the different learning areas.

Literacy

At Churchill Primary School we understand how vital literacy skills are to support all learning and use evidence-based methods to ensure all students succeed and thrive in this area.

Explicit and systematic teaching of fundamental knowledge and skills is the pillar of our approach at CPS to provide the best possible environment for all students develop the ability to read, write and understand the rules that govern the English language.

We have followed what the science states around literacy instruction and have developed an approach that is delivering outstanding results for all students. Reading is made of 6 key areas:

1. Phonological Awareness
2. Phonics
3. Sight Words
4. Fluency
5. Vocabulary
6. Comprehension

Our structured reading and writing approach includes:

• Phonological awareness and phonics skill screening on arrival
• Explicit teaching of phonological awareness and phonics • Automaticity training in the recognition of irregular words/ high frequency words
• Guided practice to improve fluency
• Vocabulary development. Including structured morphology from Prep to 6
• Explicit teaching of comprehension strategies
• Explicit teaching of comprehension questioning techniques.

Numeracy

Numeracy is involved in all aspects of our lives, in our homes and in the workplace. A fundamental purpose of primary education is to ensure students acquire competence in mathematics. Students learn mathematics to interpret and communicate their findings and ideas accurately and to recognise the importance of mathematics in our changing society.

Through explicitly teaching mathematics skills and processes our students will:

• Develop competence, enjoyment and appreciation of mathematics
• Acquire mathematical skills and knowledge, which can be confidently applied in everyday life.

At Churchill Primary School, students are engaged in a minimum of 5 hours of mathematics per week where automaticity in the basics such as mental maths and tables is fostered to enable more complex problem solving as the students become more proficient.

Specialist Programs & Further Enrichment

In addition to the core curriculum, Churchill Primary School delivers a number of Special Programs. Click here to find out more.

Homework

All children are required to read at home regularly. Some grades will be given additional homework throughout the year. The type and amount of homework will vary according to the age and learning needs of each grade. Children are responsible for completing homework as assigned.

Reporting to Parents

Our school uses a computer program called 'Compass' to keep parents up to date with student progress. This means that traditional School Reports are no longer produced. Instead parents are able to log in to Compass and view their child's continuing progress all year round. Compass also gives parents a dot point progression summary at the end of terms 2 and 4 as an overall indication of their child's academic level. Paper reports are not printed for individual students unless requested for a specific reason.

Compass Parent Portal Login

Parent/Student/Teacher Interviews

• Two formal, planned parent/student/teacher interviews are organised during the year. Interviews are held during term one and term three.
• Parents are welcome to arrange for an informal interview should a specific need arise. Please make an appointment with your child's teacher, at the school office, or with the school principal.
  
  

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy)

Each May students in Years 3 & 5 participate in National NAPLAN testing in Language Conventions, Writing, Reading and Numeracy. Families of students involved in this receive a standardized report which provides additional information regarding student achievement.

For a complete range of NAPLAN Practice Tests & NAPLAN FAQs please visit the NAPLAN website.