At Barwon Heads Primary School, our curriculum is high-quality, broad, and inclusive, designed to ensure learning is explicit, cumulative, and builds systematically from year to year. It is carefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills are revisited, strengthened, and extended over time. Drawing on evidence-based teaching practices, our curriculum is intentionally chunked to align with cognitive load principles, ensuring new learning is introduced in manageable steps that support long-term retention. This approach ensures students experience success, which in turn promotes motivation to learn and supports positive wellbeing outcomes. We foster deep understanding, intellectual engagement, and connectedness to the wider world, while valuing and celebrating the diversity of our learners so that every student feels recognised, included, and empowered to succeed.

English at Barwon Heads Primary School
At Barwon Heads Primary School, our English curriculum follows a structured literacy approach, ensuring all components of reading and writing are taught explicitly, systematically, and in a carefully sequenced way. This approach is grounded in the Science of Reading and focuses on developing phonemic awareness, phonics, high-frequency word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension through a knowledge-rich curriculum.

Daily Review and Retrieval Practice
Daily review is a key feature of our English program. These sessions provide regular opportunities for students to revisit and consolidate previously taught reading, spelling, vocabulary, and writing skills. By using retrieval practice, students strengthen their long-term memory, deepen their understanding, and ensure that important skills and knowledge remain accessible for future learning.

Phonics and Early Reading
In Prep to Year 2, we use Phonics Plus, a high-quality, evidence-based program that systematically introduces letter-sound correspondences, supports decoding skills, and builds a strong foundation for spelling and reading. Students engage in daily phonemic awareness activities, explicit phonics lessons, and repeated practice to ensure automaticity.

Spelling and Morphology
From Years 3 to 6, students participate in Spelling Mastery, a program that uses a direct instruction approach to teach spelling rules, patterns, and strategies. Spelling Mastery also explicitly teaches morphology, supporting students to understand how prefixes, suffixes, and root words combine to form meaning. This ensures students have a deep and transferable understanding of English spelling conventions, building accuracy, efficiency, and vocabulary knowledge in their writing.

Fluency Development
To further develop fluency, we use research-based routines such as Fluency Pairs, Repeated Reading, Choral Reading, and Echo Reading. Students begin by practising fluency using carefully matched decodable texts to ensure accuracy and confidence, then progress to engaging with a range of authentic texts to apply their skills to richer and more complex reading material. These practices support students to read with accuracy, appropriate phrasing, and expression, strengthening comprehension and confidence.

Handwriting and Typing
We explicitly teach handwriting in the early years using Peggy Lego, an occupational-therapist-developed program that builds fine motor skills and handwriting fluency. This program supports students in developing correct pencil grip, posture, letter formation, spatial awareness, and writing stamina. Lessons include multisensory activities designed to strengthen the muscles needed for writing and promote efficient, legible handwriting. In Years 3 to 6, we continue to focus on handwriting fluency while also explicitly teaching touch typing to ensure students can communicate effectively in both handwritten and digital formats.

Knowledge-Rich Curriculum
Our knowledge-rich curriculum is designed for students to read to learn. It integrates history and geography and consistently interleaves fiction and non-fiction texts. Topics that students read to learn about include First Nation Australians, Continents, Ancient China, Culture of Indonesia, Australia and its Neighbours, Ancient Rome and Greece, The French Revolution, Natural Disasters, World Deserts, Celebrations of Different Cultures, and Changing Families.

Picture storybooks are deliberately selected to align with each content topic, ensuring students make strong connections between what they are reading and the knowledge they are building. This approach allows students to develop deep topic knowledge, then apply it to comprehend and analyse rich texts – including both picture storybooks and novel studies.

From Year 2 onwards, students study a selection of novels, including Wandi by Favel Parrett, Matilda by Roald Dahl, The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, Once by Morris Gleitzman, and Us Mob Walawurru by Christobel Mattingley.

Vocabulary Instruction
Vocabulary is explicitly taught every day as an integral part of our knowledge-rich curriculum. New words are introduced in context, linked directly to the content being studied, so that students understand not only their definitions but also their relevance and application. Students are explicitly taught how to pronounce, define, and use new vocabulary in both spoken and written form.

Writing
Writing is taught following the principles of The Writing Revolution, with a strong focus on systematically building syntax and grammar, moving from single sentences to multiple paragraph compositions. Students develop text-level writing skills across narrative, persuasive, and information genres, with all writing tasks purposefully linked to the knowledge-rich curriculum.

Mathematics at Barwon Heads Primary School
At Barwon Heads Primary School, our mathematics program is designed to build strong foundational knowledge, deep conceptual understanding, and confident problem-solving skills for every student.

The M.I.N.D. Facts on Fire Program
Each maths lesson begins with dedicated fluency practice through our M.I.N.D. (Measures and Interventions for Number Development) Facts on Fire program. This structured routine develops automatic recall of essential number facts and mental computation strategies. By strengthening these skills daily, students reduce cognitive load when working on more complex problems, freeing up working memory for reasoning and application.

Daily Review and Retrieval Practice
Daily review is an essential part of our mathematics program. This structured recall of previously learned concepts and skills ensures they are stored in long-term memory and can be retrieved and applied when needed. Regular retrieval practice strengthens retention, deepens understanding, and builds connections across mathematical ideas.

Lesson Design – Explicit Direct Instruction
Our mathematics lessons follow the Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) approach, ensuring new learning is built on a solid foundation of prior knowledge. Teachers activate prior knowledge at the start of each lesson so students can make meaningful connections between what they already know and the new skill or concept being introduced.

• I do – The teacher explicitly models the new concept or skill, breaking it down into small, manageable steps. Thinking is verbalised, key vocabulary is introduced, and examples and non-examples are provided to build clarity.
• We do – The class works through problems together with the teacher’s guidance. This stage allows for guided practice, where the teacher checks for understanding, provides immediate feedback, and adjusts instruction as needed.
• You do – Students apply their learning independently. Scaffolds are gradually removed as students demonstrate proficiency, allowing them to practise and consolidate their skills without over-reliance on support.

Explicit Mathematics Program (EMP) – Prep to Year 2
In Prep to Year 2, students participate in the Explicit Mathematics Program (EMP), a highly structured, evidence-based program that teaches mathematical concepts in small, sequential steps. EMP ensures students master key number concepts, operations, and problem-solving strategies through explicit teaching, guided practice, and regular review. The program builds confidence, accuracy, and fluency in early numeracy, forming a strong foundation for future learning in mathematics.

Interleaved Learning
Our lessons are interleaved, meaning students encounter different mathematical strands across the week rather than focusing on a single topic for an extended block. This approach helps students to distinguish between concepts, make connections across topics, and improve problem-solving flexibility. Interleaving also strengthens long-term retention by revisiting skills in varied contexts.

Extension and Challenge
Extension is built into all lessons by providing a sequence of questions that increase in difficulty. Students begin with the first question as a “must do” to consolidate the core learning. They then progress through the remaining questions as their understanding and confidence allow, applying their knowledge to increasingly challenging problems. This approach ensures all students are appropriately supported while also being provided with opportunities to be challenged and extended.

Creative Connections at Barwon Heads Primary School
Creative Connections is our afternoon program where students take the knowledge they have acquired during their English sessions and apply it to engaging, hands-on activities. These sessions provide opportunities for students to extend and enrich their understanding through creative, practical, and collaborative tasks.

Activities may include working in our garden space, building dioramas, creating craft projects, or conducting further investigations into topics introduced earlier in the day. Students are encouraged to explore ideas beyond the original lesson content, fostering curiosity, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

Creative Connections also provides rich opportunities for developing social and interpersonal skills. Students work in groups and teams, practising collaboration, communication, and cooperation. They learn to share ideas, listen to others, manage group responsibilities, and build resilience as they work towards shared goals.

This approach not only deepens students’ understanding of key concepts but also supports the development of skills that will serve them throughout life, including creativity, adaptability, and teamwork. By linking knowledge with purposeful, enjoyable activities, Creative Connections reinforces learning while promoting engagement, motivation, and a strong sense of community within the classroom.

Physical Education at Barwon Heads Primary School
At Barwon Heads Primary School, we value the role of physical activity in promoting health, wellbeing, and a positive attitude towards sport. Our PE program gives all students opportunities to participate, learn skills, and experience a variety of sports such as athletics, netball, basketball, soccer, cricket, and tennis.

Lessons focus on developing movement skills, coordination, teamwork, and sportsmanship. We also run a P–3 swimming program at the Bellarine Aquatic Centre and a 4–6 Surf Awareness program in both the Barwon Heads River and at the beach. Students are encouraged to challenge themselves, celebrate improvement, and enjoy being active. In addition to regular classes, they can take part in school sporting events, inter-school competitions, and community-based programs.

STEM
Our STEM program engages students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through practical, hands-on learning. Students develop problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills as they design, build, and test solutions to challenges.

Activities include coding, robotics, engineering design projects, scientific experiments, and the use of digital technologies to research and present ideas. Through our school garden, we also place a strong emphasis on environmental science, teaching students about sustainability, ecosystems, and caring for the natural world.

STEM at Barwon Heads Primary School aims to spark curiosity, foster innovation, and equip students with the skills and mindset needed for a rapidly changing world.

Visual Arts
Our Visual Arts program gives students opportunities to explore a wide range of artistic skills, techniques, and materials. They work with drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and textiles to create artworks that express ideas, feelings, and observations.

Students learn about colour, line, shape, texture, and form while also exploring the work of artists from different times and cultures. Every second year, the school hosts an Art Show to showcase and celebrate students’ work with the wider community.

The program encourages creativity, problem-solving, and perseverance, with students taking pride in presenting and sharing their work with others.

Spanish
Our Spanish program introduces students to the language and culture of Spanish-speaking countries. Lessons focus on developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through practical, interactive activities.

Students learn everyday vocabulary, useful phrases, pronunciation, and simple sentence structures, building their ability to communicate in Spanish. Cultural elements such as music, food, celebrations, and traditions are woven into lessons to give students a richer understanding of the Spanish-speaking world.

The program aims to build confidence, curiosity, and respect for other languages and cultures, helping students see themselves as global citizens.