Curriculum framework
Strong foundation: prep to year 3
High quality education early in life gives children the best start. On entry to prep, every student is recognised as a capable and individual learner. Our early years curriculum gives priority to building strong foundations for learning and success. Literacy and numeracy underpin learning, with a strong focus on reading development through our prep to year 12 approach to the teaching of reading.
Teachers build from each student's diverse prior experience, teaching in ways known to engage young learners and to best support their learning and development. Our students learn through interactions, active exploration and experimentation and by representing their learning in a variety of modes.
Teachers assess, monitor and respond to each student's learning. This is critical in the early years when student learning and development of social, physical and cognitive skills occurs at such a rapid and variable rate.
The Earnshaw community sets high expectations for student behaviour and supports students' social and emotional development. Learning experiences contribute to developing children's positive identity, self-esteem, resilience, personal organisation and independence as they interact successfully with others and their learning environments.
Enhanced learning: years 4 to 6
The 4-6 curriculum continues to prioritise English and literacy and mathematics and numeracy, along with the opportunity for a broad education that includes science and technologies, humanities and social sciences and the arts. Teachers build curriculum links to deepen students' knowledge and understanding and to foster the connectedness and relevance of their learning. Multiliteracies and ICT are embedded in all learning areas, ensuring that students are well prepared to be active and informed citizens in a diverse and changing world.
Our 4-6 program is designed to leverage positive engagement and participation and extend academic performance. Students develop resilience and risk-taking in their learning as they are supported in their passage through to adolescence.
Social and emotional development continues to be reinforced through social skills programs.
Seamless transitions: years 7 to 9
Year 7 students seamlessly move from their year 6 classes to the start of the secondary school journey.
The junior secondary model builds on core subjects, including English, mathematics, science and study of society. Students sample elective subject areas including business, home economics, graphics, industrial technology and design, japanese, art and drama, and are introduced to a variety of learning styles through the immersion of technology into all aspects of learning.
As students progress through years 7 to 9 they will have established preferences for certain elective areas which will flow on to senior secondary.
Choosing pathways: years 10 to 12
Students focus on their core subjects which in turn broaden as they move to the senior secondary phase. Mathematics will be split into four different courses, English will divide into two and study of society will open up to four or five different specialty courses.
Academic and vocational pathways are catered for through access to general and applied subjects and certificate courses.
The diversity of subjects offered is significantly expanded through the provision of supervised online learning at the college in the individual pursuit program.
The tertiary pathways program offers students an opportunity to access our closest university, ACU. Successful completion of programs offered at the university will guarantee our students direct entry once they successfully complete senior secondary.