Curriculum

At Fairfield Primary School, we offer our students a balanced, well planned and resourced curriculum. Our curriculum is guided and informed by:

  1. The Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS)
  2. The Fairfield Primary School ‘Connected Curriculum’ and ‘Curriculum Map’ documents

VELS

VELS is used as a guideline to ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve the standards as set out for each level of learning. It provides the framework for planning, implementing and assessing our curriculum.

The VELS incorporates:

Strand

Domain

Dimension

Physical, Personal and Social learning

Health and Physical Education
  • Movement and Physical Activity
  • Health Knowledge and Promotion

Interpersonal Development
  • Building Social Relationships
  • Working in Teams

Personal Learning
  • The Individual Learner
  • Managing Personal Learning

Civics and Citizenship
  • Civic Knowledge and Understanding
  • Community Engagement

Discipline Based Learning

The Arts
  • Creating and Making
  • Exploring and Responding

English
  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Speaking and Listening

Languages Other than English
  • Communicating in a Language Other than English
  • Intercultural knowledge and language awareness

Humanities – Economics
  • Economic Knowledge and Understanding
  • Economic Reasoning and Interpretation

Humanities – Geography
  • Geographical Knowledge and Understanding
  • Geospatial Skills

Humanities – History
  • Historical Knowledge and Understanding
  • Historical Reasoning and Interpretation

Mathematics
  • Number
  • Space
  • Measurement, Chance and Data
  • Structure
  • Working Mathematically

Science
  • Science Knowledge and Understanding
  • Science at Work

Interdisciplinary Learning

Communication
  • Listening, Viewing and Responding
  • Presenting

Design, Creativity and Technology
  • Investigating and Designing
  • Producing
  • Analysing and Evaluating

Information and Communications
  • The Individual Learner
  • Managing Personal Learning

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
  • ICT for Visualising Thinking
  • ICT for Creating
  • ICT for Communicating

Thinking Processes
  • Reasoning, Processing and Inquiry
  • Creativity
  • Reflection, Evaluation and Metacognition

There are standards for all dimensions, and student progress in each is reported to parents. These standards are introduced at various stages of schooling. Further information about this or on VELS in general can be obtained from here.

Connected Curriculum and Curriculum Map Document

In 2008 the FPS community was consulted over what it considers to be important for our students to learn. The consultation was framed around three questions:

  • What do we want our students to understand?
  • What do we want our students to be able to do?
  • What do we want our students to be?

The feedback received highlighted what we as a school community thought was important for our students to learn about, learn how to do, and what social skills we wanted them to develop.

The areas identified as significant are:

  • Me, Myself and I - How I look after myself?
  • Living Together - How communities live together?
  • Sharing Our Planet - How I can help take care of our planet?
  • Our Physical World - How things work?

This consultation process has lead to the development of:

  • The Connected Curriculum
  • Integrated Studies Curriculum Map

These two documents ensure that the delivery of our curriculum remains focused on what we believe to be important for our students. It also ensures that learning experiences are built upon at each level of schooling to maximise learning outcomes.

Students participate in planned and timetabled Literacy and Numeracy sessions on a daily basis at all levels of the school. Home reading is also an expectation for students in all grades.

We offer students five specialist learning areas:

  • Visual Art
  • Music / Performing Arts
  • Physical Education
  • Languages Other Than English (LOTE) - Greek
  • Library and Information and Communication Technology.

Other programs at the school to support student learning include:

  • Reading Recovery
  • Rainbow Reading
  • MULTILIT
  • Bounce Back
  • Instrumental Music
  • School Concert
  • Art Show
  • School Camps for Students in Years 5 to 6
  • Brain Gym
  • Support for Children who need Consolidation or Extension of Skills
  • Junior School Council
  • Greenies Club
  • Singing Group
  • PALS
  • Interschool Sport
  • Grade Prep and 6 Buddy Program
  • Year Level Transition Program

The Curriculum Map document can be found here.

Further information about the way we teach our programs in each year level can be found in the Classes pages on this site.