Curriculum Framework

Purpose

The purpose of this framework is to outline Chum Creek Primary School’s organisation, implementation and review of curriculum and teaching practices and to ensure that, taken as a whole, all eight learning areas are substantially addressed, unless an exemption applies. The framework shows, at a high level, how the school will deliver its curriculum, how the curriculum and teaching practice will be reviewed, how we assess student learning, and when and how we report to parents.

Overview

Chum Creek Primary School provides all students with a planned and structured curriculum to equip them with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to complete their schooling and to make a successful transition from school to work, training or further education.

Chum Creek Primary School is committed to offering a comprehensive curriculum based on the Victorian Curriculum F-10. The key points in this framework, and in line with the F–10 Revised Curriculum Planning and Reporting Guidelines, are a commitment to:

A defined curriculum content as the basis for student learning
Curriculum planning that is based on two-year bands of schooling rather than each year level
Developing and publishing a separate whole-school curriculum plan that documents our teaching and learning program
Reporting student learning against the achievement standards in the curriculum
Reporting student learning to students and parents in line with the Department’s Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10 policy.

Chum Creek Primary School encourages its students to strive for excellence in all of their endeavours. To achieve this, the school provides sequential teaching and learning programs that deliver a comprehensive, broadly based and culturally inclusive curriculum.

Implementation

Domain

Hours Per Week

English

10 Mathematics

5 Sciences

1 The arts

2 Languages

1 Physical Education/Sport

2 Information and communication technology, and design and technology

2 Inquiry

1 Assembly/Values

1 Total

25 Pedagogy

Core Systemic Principles of our Pedagogical Framework are:
1.Student-centred planning
2.High expectations
3.Alignment of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment
4.Evidence-based decision making
5.Safe, supportive, connected and inclusive learning environment.
6.Targeted and scaffolded instruction
Based on this the pedagogical approach a successful Chum Creek Primary School student is:

Confident and motivated for a life time of learning;
Considerate and respectful of others;
A positive contributor to school and community:
Demonstrates our school values.

Reporting

Chum Creek Primary School reports student progress to parents in line with the Department’s Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10 policy.

At Chum Creek Primary School student reports are sent home at the end of Semesters 1 and 2, at which time parents are invited to meet with class teachers to discuss individual student programs and progress.

Assessment

Our School Improvement Team will meet at least once per term to track whole school data and identify curriculum areas that potentially require focus. As part of weekly meetings staff will track level data and identify curriculum areas that potentially require focus.

Data analysed for assessment will include but is not limited to:

NAPLAN
On Demand
Running Records
Formative assessment
Summative assessment
Conferencing/conferring
Pre- and post-tests on Essential Assessment
Phoneme/grapheme correspondence checklist
Phonemic awarenesss screening
Reading fluency
Reading comprehension
Other school based testing
other teacher judgements based on learning outcomes in the Victorian Curriculum.

Curriculum and Teaching Practice Review

School curriculum and teaching practice is reviewed against the Framework for Improving of Student Outcomes (FISO). FISO and the FISO improvement cycle help identify focus areas for improvement and to evaluate the impact of introduced initiatives. This evaluation is completed through the Strategic Planning Online Tool (SPOT) and it directly influences school direction in the form of what goals are set in the School Strategic Plan (SSP) and Annual Implementation Plan (AIP).

Chum Creek Primary School reviews its curriculum plans at whole school and year levels annually.

Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

Chum Creek Primary School uses PLCs to create a culture that is:

focussed on continuous improvement by linking the learning needs of students with the professional learning and practice of teachers
committed to professionalism
fuelled by collaborative expertise.

PLCs help our teachers to evaluate the effect of high impact teaching strategies as well as trialling new curriculum plans.

Performance and Development Plan (PDP)

The Performance and Development cycle is designed to:

support Chum Creek Primary School in meeting its responsibilities to students, parents and to government through linking employee performance with achievement of school and government policies and targets
provide feedback on performance which will support ongoing learning and development of employees with a focus on ways in which student learning can be improved
provide a supportive environment for improving teaching practice

PDP goals are directly aligned to the School Strategic Plan (SSP) and Annual Implementation Plan (AIP), ensuring that collective focus is on advancing common objectives. The PDP process involves a start-of-cycle, mid-cycle, and end-of-cycle review of every teacher, during which teachers have to demonstrate evidence of achievement in the focus areas.