Head of Curriculum Update
Curriculum
At Emu Park State School, we pride ourselves on giving every student every opportunity to reach their full potential by providing challenging and inclusive learning experiences through the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. Our classroom and specialist teachers plan, teach, assess and report on the eight learning areas of the Australian Curriculum. These learning areas include: English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Technologies (Design and Digital), Languages (Japanese) and The Arts (Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music and Visual Arts). Our teaching teams collaborate to develop unit plans that ensure continuity and alignment across classrooms, so whether your child is in a single year level or composite class they have access and opportunity to be taught and assessed against their year level achievement standard.
Class composition
Class composition across our school is in response to ensuring more consistent class sizes. We have a combination of straight and composite classes in all year levels accommodating the diverse learning needs of all students and maximising the use of both physical and human resources in our school. Our expert teaching team work tirelessly to manage workloads for a range of ages and abilities in any given class, not just composite classes.
The most common fear for parents having a child in a composite class is that they will fall behind – that the teacher's attention is split between the two years and their child will get less overall learning time with their teacher. The research, however, does not agree. Multiple studies conclude it makes no difference to performance whether students are in a straight year group or in a composite class. Experts agree the most important factor in determining how well a student does is the quality of the teacher and their teaching.
Research also suggests benefits to children relating to independence, responsibility and study habits. For example, younger children within a composite class generally aspire to emulate older children in their work, and older children enjoy leadership and mentoring opportunities that lift their self-esteem. Some say composite classrooms are more flexible; allow children to work at their own pace; offer a wider range of friendship opportunities; and encourage more co-operation and tolerance.
Whether your child is in a straight year level or composite class, you can be assured that quality teaching and learning in a friendly supportive environment occurs daily. Our teaching team are committed to our school and our students. At Emu Park State School, your child has a quality curriculum delivered by amazing and dedicated teachers.