Curriculum

General Teaching & Learning

Botanic Ridge Primary School’s approach to teaching and learning is underpinned by explicit instruction that is focused on clear behavioural and cognitive goals and outcomes.

Botanic Ridge Primary School’s approach to teaching and learning is grounded in explicit instruction, emphasizing clear behavioural and cognitive goals to ensure effective learning outcomes. These goals are made transparent to students, reducing cognitive load by providing clarity and focus. Time on task is maximized, with learning time being intentional, purposeful, and delivered with a sense of urgency to optimize engagement and retention.

Our instructional model, informed by the science of learning, is designed to manage cognitive load effectively while fostering high-quality learning outcomes. This is achieved through a school-wide structure that supports a gradual release of responsibility, enabling students to move from guided practice to independence. Curriculum design is sequential, building on prior knowledge in manageable steps to promote proficiency while avoiding cognitive overload.

Teachers use reliable and rich data to make informed decisions about student needs. Through collaboration, teachers identify and address these needs, ensuring that instruction is tailored to support all learners while maintaining a balance between challenge and cognitive capacity.

Hour of Power

Each day children at Botanic Ridge Primary School will participate in our school wide program the ‘Hour of Power.’

It is our belief that in order for children to achieve the very best academically, they need to have a positive perception of themselves and feel comfortable in the world they live. Children will learn how to grow Mighty Minds, display Cultural Curiosity, have Respectful Relationships and use Digital Diligence.

Mighty Minds – A broad mental health focus with key learning in self regulation, resilience, personal strengths, pride and positive coping.

Cultural Curiosity – A broad focus on acceptance and tolerance with key learning in cultural awareness, Aboriginal education, Australian history and global citizenship.

Respectful Relationships – A broad focus on interpersonal skills with key learning in emotional literacy, problem solving, stress management, help seeking and communicating clearly.

Digital Diligence – A broad focus on cyber safety and key learning on digital footprints, being present with screen time awareness, online security and bystander vs upstander behaviours.
‘Hour of Power’ learning will be on display in school assemblies, through the learning communities and via social media.

Mathematics

We strive to develop children through the four proficiencies of Mathematics: Fluency, Reasoning, Understanding and Problem solving.

We strive to develop children’s mathematical capabilities through the four proficiencies: Fluency, Reasoning, Understanding and Problem Solving. Our ultimate goal is for students to confidently apply their understanding and fluency when solving problems and reasoning mathematically.

Our Mathematics teaching is directly aligned with the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 and informed by assessment data. Numeracy is taught through our instructional model: Review, Teach (I do), Practise (We do), Apply (You do), and Reflect. Before a new unit begins, students complete a pre-test and set personal learning goals. Explicit teaching follows, with students participating in activities to practise and apply their learning. Teachers assess progress throughout the unit and administer a post-test to celebrate achievement and learning growth.

Each day, students engage in the Daily Review — an opportunity to practise previously taught skills from the past week, month and year. This regular retrieval of prior learning strengthens understanding and builds fluency in mathematical concepts and skills. During the Daily Review, students practise a range of topics across the different strands of Mathematics: Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, and Statistics and Probability.

Literacy

At Botanic Ridge Primary School we believe in the Simple View of Reading.

To ensure consistency in teaching and alignment with evidence-based best practices, Botanic Ridge Primary School has developed a structured approach to literacy. This approach leverages high-impact teaching strategies grounded in the science of learning to improve student outcomes in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Our literacy framework is designed to manage cognitive load, ensuring that students are supported as they develop proficiency and independence in literacy skills.

At Botanic Ridge Primary School, we recognize, like the Department of Education, the vital role oral language plays both within and beyond the school environment. As a foundational skill, speaking and listening should not be left to chance but instead planned for and explicitly taught across the curriculum. Speaking and listening form the basis of all learning, underpinning success in all areas of the curriculum. Explicit instruction in these areas helps to minimize cognitive overload while building essential communication skills.

We are committed to the Simple View of Reading, which emphasizes the importance of two key components for proficient reading: language comprehension and word recognition (decoding). Language comprehension refers to the ability to make sense of spoken and written language, while word recognition involves accurately reading and understanding words on a page. Both components must be developed in tandem to foster strong reading comprehension.

To teach word recognition, we implement a structured synthetic phonics program, which focuses on the explicit teaching of blending, segmenting, and manipulating phonemes. This method provides students with the foundational skills needed to decode and encode words, aligning with the science of learning principles to reduce cognitive overload and build automaticity.

Our phonics instruction is guided by the Sounds-Write approach, which begins with the sounds in spoken language and progresses systematically to their representation in written words. By teaching blending and segmenting together, students can achieve proficiency in both reading and spelling at their developmental level. This approach also emphasizes the concept that if a student can read a word, they can spell it, reinforcing interconnected literacy skills and ensuring long-term retention.

This structured, evidence-based literacy approach ensures that students at Botanic Ridge Primary School are equipped with the tools they need to become confident, capable readers, writers, and communicators.

STEM

At Botanic Ridge Primary School, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) provides children with engaging, hands-on learning that will help them develop 21st century skills such as critical and creative thinking, communication, initiative and problem solving.

Children in STEM are especially encouraged to be curious, ask questions and think like scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. Innovation is prone to failure and children are encouraged to fail intelligently to learn and improve future versions. The vision at Botanic Ridge is applying the disciplines of science, technology and maths to design and engineer solutions to real world problems, guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals so that children can think globally and act locally.

Art

At Botanic Ridge Primary School, Art is a dynamic, vibrant and creative program where children are encouraged to express themselves and experiment with techniques.

At Botanic Ridge Primary School Art is a dynamic, vibrant and creative program where the children are encouraged to express themselves and experiment with various techniques. Our vision allows the children to be artists who are not afraid to experiment and understand there are no mistakes in art. Children learn to make and respond to artwork in the seven media types including drawing, printing, painting, sculpture, textiles, collage and modelling. They gain knowledge and inspiration from artists in Australia and all around the world. Children also have the opportunity to work within the media arts, merging Arts with Digital Technology.

Music and Performing Arts

The Music and Performing Arts program at Botanic Ridge Primary School provides children with valuable opportunities to explore their creativity through exposure to music, as well as drama and dance.

The Music and Performing Arts program at Botanic Ridge Primary School provides children with valuable opportunities to explore their creativity through exposure to music, as well as drama and dance. Children learn to build confidence through risk-taking and gain experience in playing a range of instruments. They also learn to act and dance in several genres and will have opportunities to incorporate technology into their learning.

Improvisation: Improvisation is an important life skill and an integral part of the music curriculum. Children will participate in improvisation activities, to develop confidence in their own creativity.

Creation: Children will build on their improvisation skills to create performance artworks. Where possible, their projects will be heavily influenced by child interest, while still maintaining learning requirements, as outlined in the Victorian Curriculum.

Physical Education

Our PE program provides a positive learning experience for all children, in order to encourage the purist of life-long physical activity.

To achieve this PE will have a strong focus on building children’s confidence, with an emphasis on teamwork, sportsmanship and inclusivity. Children will always be encouraged to give new things a go and to try their best, valuing progression over performance.

During their time at Botanic Ridge, children will develop fundamental motor skills such as locomotion, throwing, catching and kicking by participating in modified and minor games. Such activities will also develop each child’s knowledge of game strategies and awareness of time, space and effort.

Children will also learn dance and gymnastics, personal fitness, swimming and leisure based activities, in order to provide a well-rounded experience of physical activity.

Additionally, children will learn cultural games from around the world and discover how these are connected to the history of Australia and the games we play today.

Throughout their participation in the PE program at Botanic Ridge Primary School, children will become connected to their body and mind, in order to discover the benefits that physical activity and nutrition can have on increasing their own, and others, health and wellbeing.

LOTE: Indonesian

The Indonesian program is centered around an interactive and immersive program.

The LOTE program at Botanic Ridge Primary School introduces children to the language, culture, customs, and traditions of our closest neighbour – the Indonesian Archipelago.

Students learn through small and large group activities, songs, fun games, and conversation. Learning another language benefits students’ overall learning and opens up a whole new world, fostering cultural understanding, diversity, and inclusion.

We have a large collection of Indonesian artefacts and colourful displays to showcase the many wonderful aspects of Indonesia, providing an authentic insight into what a person might see and experience there. Many of our students have visited Indonesia and are proud to share their knowledge of the language and customs.