Primary curriculum Illustrations of practice

The members of the leadership team at the school were trained as coaches, which was an important factor for the school to develop a sustainable model for self-improvement. The Australian Curriculum journey began by establishing learning area planning teams. The teams worked as professional learning communities to lead implementation of learning areas in the school. The initial area targeted was tracking student’s reading development so teaching and learning could be tailored to individual student needs.Teachers in the school co-teach where two classes share one large teaching space with the teachers collaboratively planning on a weekly basis. This planning time is timetabled into the school week for teachers. There are long term planning sessions that occur at the beginning of the year and ongoing short term planning that takes place weekly with both teachers having a 2 hour block together where they use the achievement standards and content descriptors coupled with their diagnostic test results to plan short term.

Rosebery Primary School is a relatively new school, situated in Darwin. The school experiences a regular change in the student population, due to family employment in the armed forces and mines. Classroom teachers receive three hours of non-contact time for planning, preparing lessons, programming and coaching. Specialists provide teaching in the arts, physical education, Indonesian and science. The school values underpin all programs at the school and link very closely to the general capabilities. The school has developed a strong foundation to guide teachers’ work. Evidence-based practice is the overarching approach in the school supported by ‘the big four’ that includes: visible learning, co-operative planning, restorative practices and co-teaching. Teachers co-teach in specifically designed learning spaces. In support of co-teaching the school has adopted a Cooperative Learning approach as the overarching pedagogical framework.