Curriculum

What We Learn

At Bittern Primary School, we provide a rich and engaging curriculum that fosters intellectual, social, and emotional growth. Using the Victorian Curriculum, we ensure each child develops the necessary skills to become a confident learner. Our evidence-based approaches, such as ‘The Big 6’ in reading and the ‘Sounds-Write’ phonics program, help students build strong foundational skills.

We also prioritize health, physical activity, and overall wellbeing through diverse programs. From visual and performing arts to sports and learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language), our students explore their interests and talents. Bittern Primary School equips students with critical thinking, creativity, and a love for lifelong learning.

English

At Bittern Primary School we use an evidence based approach that ensures all students develop the required literacy skills to be confident communicators, imaginative thinkers and informed citizens.

We use the Victorian Curriculum to plan, teach and assess and use an approach called ‘The Big 6’ to structure how we teach reading across the school. The ‘Big 6’ refers to Oral Language, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension. 

In the junior years our program focuses on ‘learning to read’ while in the senior classes there is an emphasis on ‘reading to learn’ with a focus on comprehension and understanding.

Heggerty Phonemic Awareness

At Bittern Primary School students in the junior classes participate in daily sessions of the The Heggerty Curriculum. The program follows current research and knowledge about the Science of Reading and how children learn to read. The program is conducted alongside our phonics program and includes explicit instruction in the following phonological and phonemic awareness skills:

  • Rhyming
  • Initial Phoneme Isolation
  • Blending
  • Isolating final and medial phonemes (sounds)
  • Segmenting
  • Adding Phonemes
  • Deleting Phonemes
  • Substituting Phonemes

Sounds Write

At Bittern Primary School we use an expertly structured synthetic phonics program.

This multisensory, code-oriented and comprehensive approach to literacy is used to build strong reading skills. Staff across the school have been trained in ‘Sounds-Write’ and this is used to guide our teaching of letters and sounds.

Sounds-Write involves daily explicit teaching and practice in phonological awareness and phonic knowledge skills and understandings.

Sounds Write provides opportunities for practising skills on a daily basis until pupils achieve the automaticity required for fluent reading and spelling.

Writing

At Bittern Primary School our evidence based approach to the teaching of writing is informed by research called ‘The Science of Reading’.

An explicit approach is used during writing lessons and strategies outlined in ‘The Writing Revolution’ are modelled and students are explicitly taught how to write.

Students are exposed to a range of writing experiences which include shared, guided and independent writing.

Writing lessons include syntax, grammar and punctuation and a range of writing genres are taught across the school.

Mathematics

At Bittern Primary School, we support all students to achieve a high standard of proficiency in Mathematics.

Our students actively explore Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, as well as Statistics and Probability concepts using a combination of hands-on materials and explicit direct instruction.

We utilise data to inform our teaching and ensure that learning is differentiated to meet the unique needs of each student.

Junior Levels (F-2)

 Our students develop a solid foundation in number facts through engaging activities, hands-on materials, and digital technologies.

They also participate in Mathematics Fluency sessions and Daily Reviews, which further enhance their understanding and automaticity with number facts.

 Middle Levels (3-4)

Students expand their problem-solving abilities, including the use of standard algorithms for the four operations.

They continue to deepen their understanding of numeracy concepts, with a specific focus on multiplication facts. Regular Maths Fluency sessions and Daily Reviews reinforce previously learned content.

Senior Levels (5-6)

Our students develop efficient strategies to solve mathematical problems, employing both mental and written approaches.

They explore more advanced numeracy topics, such as measuring angles using protractors, solving complex equations with BODMAS, understanding cartesian planes, and establishing connections between fractions, decimals, and percentages. This comprehensive preparation equips our students with the necessary foundational knowledge as they transition into secondary school.

They also engage in Maths Fluency sessions and Daily Reviews to consolidate their learning from previous years.

Science and Technology

At Bittern Primary School, science provides our students a way of answering interesting and important questions about the biological, physical and technological world. Science is a dynamic, collaborative and creative human endeavour arising from our desire to make sense of our world by exploring the unknown, investigating universal mysteries, making predictions and solving problems. Science knowledge is contestable and is revised, refined and extended as new evidence arises.


The Science curriculum provides opportunities for students to develop an understanding of important scientific concepts and processes, the practices used to develop scientific knowledge, the contribution of science to our culture and society, and its applications in our lives. The curriculum supports students to develop the scientific knowledge, understandings and skills to make informed decisions about local, national and global issues and to participate, if they so wish, in science-related careers.


In addition to its practical applications, learning science is a valuable pursuit in its own right. Students can experience the joy of scientific discovery and nurture their natural curiosity about the world around them. In doing this, they develop critical and creative thinking skills and challenge themselves to identify questions, apply new knowledge, explain science phenomena and draw evidence-based conclusions using scientific methods. The wider benefits of this ‘scientific literacy’ are well established, including giving students the capability to investigate the world around them and the way it has changed and changes as a result of human activity.

The Science Curriculum will:

  • an interest in science as a means of expanding their curiosity and willingness to explore, ask questions about and speculate on the changing world in which they live
  • an understanding of the vision that science provides of the nature of living things, of the Earth and its place in the cosmos, and of the physical and chemical processes that explain the behaviour of all material things
  • an understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry and the ability to use a range of scientific inquiry methods, including questioning, planning and conducting experiments and investigations based on ethical principles, collecting and analysing data, evaluating results, and drawing critical, evidence-based conclusions
  • an ability to communicate scientific understanding and findings to a range of audiences, to justify ideas on the basis of evidence, and to evaluate and debate scientific arguments and claims
  • an ability to solve problems and make informed, evidence-based decisions about current and future applications of science while taking into account ethical and social implications of decisions
  • an understanding of historical and cultural contributions to science as well as contemporary science issues and activities and an understanding of the diversity of careers related to science
  • a solid foundation of knowledge of the biological, chemical, physical, Earth and space sciences, including being able to select and integrate the scientific knowledge and methods needed to explain and predict phenomena, to apply that understanding to new situations and events, and to appreciate the dynamic nature of science knowledge.

Sports, Health & PE

Students at Bittern PS are involved in one P.E. session each week for 60 minutes. Grades 3-6 have an additional 60-minute Senior Sport session per week.
 
Our program focuses on developing students’ understanding of health, physical activity, and wellbeing. It emphasizes fundamental movement skills, including coordination and teamwork, alongside personal, social, and community health topics. Students learn about making healthy lifestyle choices, understanding factors influencing health, and developing positive relationships.

Our program aims to develop fundamental motor skill development, teamwork, fair/safe play, game sense, and ‘having a go’. We encourage students to participate in a wide range of sports and develop confidence to transfer skills learnt to new games or attempt a completely new movement challenge.

This promotes critical thinking, creativity, and informed decision-making regarding health and physical activity, fostering lifelong habits for overall wellbeing. Additionally, it prioritizes social and emotional skills such as communication and resilience to support students’ holistic development.

House System

The house system is employed across various school competitions to foster a spirit of teamwork and friendly competition. 

Our house names are based on famous sporting people and include Freeman, Thorpe, Jackson and Bradman. The house system provides  students with the opportunity to participate in a team environment and cultivate essential teamwork and leadership skills.

The house system is utilized in a variety of school sporting events, including Athletics, Cross Country, Swimming, among others. Additionally, House Captains have the chance to contribute to the coordination of junior events.

Interschool Competitions

Bittern PS is part of the Crib Point Sports Association, as part of School Sport Victoria (SSV).

Students have the opportunity to compete in a number of SSV sports – at District, Division, Regional, State and National levels, including swimming, cross country, athletics and more.

Students in Years 5/6 are also given the opportunity to compete in the Summer and Winter Lightning Premierships, which are seasonal sports competitions held against other local schools in the district and include sports such as volleyball, basketball, netball, t-ball, soccer and football.

Visual Arts

Bittern Primary School students are engaged in one 60-minute visual arts session each week.

This program aims to cultivate students’ creativity, imagination, and critical thinking through artistic expression. Students explore various art forms, techniques, and materials to develop their artistic skills and understanding. They learn to communicate ideas, emotions, and experiences through visual means, fostering self-expression and cultural appreciation.

In visual arts, students are encouraged to engage in experimentation, exploration, and reflection, empowering students to develop their unique artistic voice. This emphasizes the development of visual literacy, enabling students to interpret and analyse artworks from different cultural contexts and historical periods.

Through hands-on experiences and collaborative projects, students develop skills in observation, interpretation, and interpretation, fostering a lifelong appreciation for the arts.

AUSLAN

At Bittern Primary School we participate in a dedicated hour per week learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language). This contributes to the overall intellectual and social enrichment of both first language and second language learners by providing:

  • Opportunities for engagement with the Deaf community and insight into its rich cultural heritage
  • Understanding and respect for others, appreciation of diversity and openness to different perspectives and experiences.

Auslan is a fun hands-on way to provide students with the tools that they need to communicate with the wider community.

Students learn common handshapes and movements that assist them to greet each other, communicate their likes and dislikes, and pose simple questions about familiar topics.

Each fortnight at our whole school assemblies the students sign the national anthem and our school oath before our achievements are celebrated.

Auslan lessons are conducted using a variety of games and activities which assist in the students practising the signs that they have been learning.