Curriculum

The Australian Curriculum is the basis for all planning and reporting at Latham Primary School.

The Australian Curriculum is designed to teach students what it takes to be confident and creative individuals and become informed citizens. It sets the goal for what all students should learn as they progress through their school life – wherever they live in Australia and whatever school they attend.

From the first year of schooling to Year 10, students develop knowledge and skills in eight learning areas:

• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Health and Physical Education
• Humanities and Social Sciences (history, geography, civics and citizenship (from Year 3), economics and business (from Year 3)
• The Arts (drama, dance, music, media and visual arts)
• Technologies
• Languages (Japanese at Latham Primary School)

The Australian Curriculum has been developed as a sequence of learning throughout the entire year.  As such, not all learning areas or parts of learning areas are assessed in each semester. It is expected that by the end of the year, all learning areas will be explored. At Latham Primary School we choose to expose students to rich content about the way the world works through ‘units of work’. Units of work have as their basis understandings from science, geography, history, health, civics and citizenship, economics and business, and technologies.

In the early years, priority is given to literacy and numeracy development, independent and collaborative learning, and problem solving as the foundations for further learning.  As students make their way through the primary years, they focus more on the knowledge, understanding and skills of all eight learning areas.

Behaviour Support

Latham Primary School’s Behaviour Support is underpinned by the Latham School values of collaboration, motivation, positivity, resilience and respect. We are committed to providing a safe school environment for all members of the community and to promote a positive school culture. The school provides an engaging differentiated curriculum, where learning is planned to meet individual student needs. All members of the school community are expected to model respectful relationships and contribute positively to the safety and wellbeing of themselves and others. Prevention and intervention are provided as suits the situation.

Learning Assistance

Latham Primary School uses the Response to Intervention (RTI) model when supporting and monitoring individual student needs.

The RTI model involves the systematic monitoring of all students where schools are demonstrating evidence-based practice.  Increasingly intensive intervention processes are introduced in response to frequent assessments to cater for individual learning needs. Students who continue to struggle academically despite this evidenced-based classroom environment and systematic intensive instruction, are likely to require ongoing support.

At Latham Primary School a Learning Support Assistant is employed to support individual learning needs. Their role also includes, but is not limited to;

• coordinating the ‘Brightsparks’ program (this involves one to one assistance with a volunteer for students who need a ‘boost’ to their reading.)
• working with individual and small groups of students
• supporting teachers
• liaising with families.

There is a Student Support Team, headed by the Deputy Principal, which meets fortnightly to discuss individual students and their particular needs.  Other members of this team are;

• School Psychologist
• Learning Assistance teacher
• Executive team members
• Teachers as required.