How We Teach & Support

It's the little things we do to support an individualised learning program that get us the big results

How we teach and support

Teachers at Wandin North use agreed whole school practices. As students transition across levels, they will hear, see and discuss terminology and content which increases in complexity and challenge.

We have high expectation of our learners and develop their ability to ‘think’ strategically. Our students are risk takers as we celebrate making mistakes and discuss what we can learn from them.

We assess what a student knows and plan for a range of tasks so that students are challenged and extended. Wandin North students are confident learners and understand that learning requires effort and at times ‘struggle’.

We are proud of the fact that our students can find many solutions and use multiple strategies to solve a problem or find an answer.

Individualised Instruction

Every child comes to school with their own set of unique character traits, skills, understandings, beliefs, opinions and experiences. From the beginning, we aim to build strong, trusting relationships based on mutual respect and seeking to understand each other’s interests, likes and dislikes. We work hard to build a learner profile for each student which guides our planning and the ‘next steps’ for them as a successful learner. To do this we monitor and reflect on what skills children are learning, applying and retrieving. If we perceive a gap in a student’s learning, home and school work closely together to identify the ways which a student is best supported and learning gaps are closed. Teachers at Wandin North plan together to ensure the range of student ability is being met and extended. We achieve high academic outcomes as our students are using higher order and critical thinking skills, problem solving and rubrics to self-assess their strengths and identify what needs to be improved. Collaborative groups are a feature at Wandin North as students teach each other how to look at a problem in different ways and enlighten each other to the concept that there are multiple perspectives and ways to achieve an outcome.

Additional Assistance

In the event that a student is not meeting expected standards for reading at the end of their Foundation year, Wandin North Primary School runs a very effective intervention program, Levelled Literacy Intervention. Students are withdrawn daily from class in groups of 2-3 for between 15-20 weeks. At the end of this program, most students achieve at or at times above the expected level for reading. If a student does not thrive on LLI, we initiate further investigations, which may include basic health checks to more complex cognitive assessments. Students are monitored frequently at Wandin North and ongoing formal and informal assessments build a learner profile. If an area is identified as below the expected standard a teacher may initiate an Individualised Learning Plan and work with the student, their families and available support staff to focus on improving this area. ILP’s are closely monitored and meetings are scheduled with parents to ensure we are working to successfully achieve the ILP goals.

The Power of a "Growth Mindset"

‘Everyone has a mindset, a core belief about how they learn. People with a growth mindset are those who believe that intelligence increases with hard work whereas those with a fixed mindset believe that you can learn things, but you cannot change your basic level of intelligence. Mindsets are critically important to learning as they lead to different learning behaviours, which in turn creates different learning outcomes for students.’ (Dweck, 2006)

Small changes in teaching can change students’ mindsets and pathways. We use Growth Mindset language to encourage students to believe that they are capable of learning anything and that with effort, mistakes, trying again and taking risks with their thinking, they will be great learners for the rest of their lives.

Kinder to Prep Transition

The big step from Kinder to Prep is one that all kids handle a little bit differently (and parents too for that matter!). We have a bunch of great programs in place to ensure everyone makes it through this milestone with flying colours!

During our transition program, children will be introduced to their Buddies and will participate in a number of exciting activities with their new Buddy and their teachers.

Parents are welcome to stay for these sessions. We hope that you will be able to speak with the teachers, interact with other parents and watch the children enjoy themselves.

The purpose of the program is:

To help children to:

familiarise themselves with the classroom and school surroundings
be introduced to some basic routines of the classroom
have an opportunity to meet and work with other new Prep children

To help parents to:

gain a greater understanding of the requirements of the school
learn about the school curriculum
gain a better understanding of how to help their child at home

For teachers to observe:

how the children interact with others
the children’s ability to concentrate, listen and follow instructions
the children’s fine motor skills, such as cutting and drawing.

Moving Schools

If you are moving into the local area and are looking for a new school (or whatever your moving circumstances might be) – we understand that it can be a significant and daunting challenge for both you and your child. Fortunately, it’s quite common and we have plenty of tricks up our sleeve to ensure the move goes smoothly.

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