New Farm State School staff use multi-tiered systems of support to identify, modify, plan, teach and assess the Australian Curriculum. Detail regarding the Australian Curriculum can be found at https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
Teaching and Learning at New Farm State School is supported through 3 levels of planning-
a. Whole School Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Plan
b. Year Level Plans
c. Unit Plans
The 3 levels of planning are braided with-
a. Whole School Approach to Pedagogy
b. Whole School Approach to Moderation
c. Whole School Approach to Behaviour
d. Whole School Approach to Reading
e. Whole School Approach to Inclusion
Student achievement is assessed against the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards, and reported on twice per year using the year level 5-point scale. A-E for Years 3-6, and descriptors for Years Prep-2. Student results 'C' for Years 3-6, 'Sound' for Years 1-2, and 'Working With' for Prep, are at year level standard for the Australian Curriculum. Parent-Teacher interviews are formally held during Semester 1, and available upon request during Semester 2.
Whole School Approach to Pedagogy
Age Appropriate Pedagogy (AAP)
This is an approach in which a range and balance of characteristics and approaches are used, relative to the curriculum intent, context and students being taught. The characteristics of Age Appropriate Pedagogy include-
· Active
· Agentic
· Collaborative
· Creative
· Explicit
· Language rich and dialogic
· Learner focused
· Narrative
· Playful
· Responsive
· Scaffolded
The approaches of Age Appropriate Pedagogies include-
· Inquiry learning
· Event-based
· Project
· Explicit instruction
· Play-based learning
· Direct teaching/ instruction
· Blended
Further information regarding Age Appropriate Pedagogies can be found at https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/early-years/age-appropriate-pedagogies
Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) is embedded within the 'Explicit' characteristic of AAP. This was the foundation approach used. This model has three (3) clear parts:
“I do, we do, you do". Each lesson is broken into 3 stages of learning-
a) 'I do'- Teachers lead through direct instruction, explicitly teaching and modelling information or skills, linking to prior learning, chunking information meaningfully, and engaging the auditory, visual and tactile learners within the class.
b) 'We do'- Students work together and with their teacher to understand and apply their learning. Teachers work with students by chunking information, checking for understanding, prompting students, and providing modelling for students. In the same learning chunk, the students' job is to ask and answer questions, taking personal responsibility to monitor their own understanding. This is also an opportunity for the teacher to gauge the extent to which the explicit instruction in the I do phase has been understood by students and whether further explicit instruction is required.
c) 'You do'- Students try out their new knowledge, skills or processes. The 'you do' phase is for students to demonstrate and apply their knowledge with varied levels of support and differentiated expectations determined from the checking in the 'we do' phase.
You can find more resources regarding curriculum, stages of learning, and learning from home, on the department's website
Whole School Approach to Moderation
Teachers moderate the curriculum they are going to be teaching (before implementation or assessment), the evidence students produce (after implementation and assessment), the balanced 5-point scale judgements used (after marking the assessment), and the evaluation of the curriculum unit for the term or semester (at the end). Moderation includes collegial discussion and the development of a common understanding of the curriculum, assessment and reporting. Teachers at New Farm State School engage in moderation activities within their year levels (internal) and within the Brisbane City Cluster of Schools (external).
Whole School Approach to Behaviour
The behaviour curriculum at New Farm State School uses the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) framework. Further information can be found in the 'Rules and Policies' section of this website and at https://behaviour.education.qld.gov.au/supporting-student-behaviour/positive-behaviour-for-learning
Whole School Approach to Reading
At New Farm State School, we teach our children to read using a method called Synthetic Phonics. Synthetic Phonics is an evidence-based approach to teaching children to read and spell. In this method, students are taught phonic sounds and decoding of words in a systematic and explicit manner. The Synthetic Phonics program that we use is called Read Write Inc (RWI). RWI is taught in over 4000 schools in the United Kingdom and in many countries around the world. Through Prep – Year 2, students are screened every 6-8 weeks as they progress through the program. Students requiring further focussed or intensive support are provided with additional individual instruction. Further information can be found at www.ruthmiskin.com
Year 2 – 6 students continue to engage in this Synthetic Phonics approach using the RWI Spelling program. Literacy skills are developed using the explicit lessons Daily Proof Reading and Grammar.
Whole School Approach to Inclusion
New Farm State School uses multi-tiered systems of support to provide a range of tailored supports and reasonable adjustments to curriculum for diverse learners. Further information can be found under the Support and Resources tab on this website, or at https://education.qld.gov.au/student/inclusive-education