Curriculum at Walloon
Our Approach to Teaching and Learning
At Walloon State School, our core business is highly effective teaching and learning. Every decision we make is guided by one simple belief: every student can improve.
We believe children need to be children — learning through curiosity, challenge, and meaningful experiences — while being supported by explicit, evidence-based teaching.
Our teachers work collaboratively to know:
Our curriculum
Our students
Our next steps
Our teaching practices
This shared responsibility ensures consistency, clarity, and continuous improvement across every classroom
Australian Curriculum
Teaching and learning at Walloon State School aligns with the Australian Curriculum (Version 9) and the K–12 Curriculum and Reporting Framework.
We cover all 8 learning areas:
English
Mathematics
Science
HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Technologies (Digital and Design Technologies)
The Arts (Dance, Drama, Visual Arts, Music, Media Arts)
Health and Physical Education (HPE)
Languages
Pedagogy – How We Teach
At Walloon, explicit, structured teaching is the foundation of our classroom practice. We prioritise clarity, routines, and strong relationships so that learning time is maximised and students feel safe to take risks.
Our teaching is grounded in evidence-based practice, including:
Explicit instruction
Clear learning intentions and success criteria
Worked examples
Frequent checking for understanding
Timely, specific feedback
Purposeful differentiation
We believe in managing risk, not avoiding it, and encourage students to move from their comfort zone into the courage zone in both learning and life
Literacy – Reading and Writing
Literacy is a key priority at Walloon State School.
We use a whole-school, evidence-based approach to reading, aligned with the Simple View of Reading. This ensures students learn to read and then read to learn.
Our literacy approach includes:
Systematic, explicit phonics instruction
Decodable texts in the early years
Ongoing focus on word knowledge, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
Explicit teaching of writing, grammar, spelling, and handwriting
Our Playberry-Laser Literacy Program (Prep–Year 6) is a signature practice at Walloon. All teachers are trained to deliver the program with fidelity, ensuring consistency and strong outcomes across the school.
Assessment, Feedback and Improvement
Assessment at Walloon State School is purposeful and manageable. Teachers use:
Formative assessment to guide daily teaching and provide feedback
Summative assessment aligned to curriculum expectations
Moderation to ensure consistency and fairness
Students receive regular feedback that helps them understand:
We explicitly teach students to reflect on their learning and build resilience through feedback. Learning Walls and Bump It Up Walls support students to see progress and set goals.
Knowing Our Students
Strong relationships sit at the heart of everything we do.
Teachers work closely with colleagues, leadership, and support staff to deeply know each learner. Student data, classroom evidence, and professional dialogue guide planning and targeted support.
A Culture of Learning
At Walloon State School, we:
Value trust, collaboration, and reflective practice
Believe improvement is everyone’s responsibility
Support teachers through coaching, feedback, and shared practice
Hold high expectations for effort, behaviour, and learning
We are proud of the learning culture we have built — one that balances care and challenge, structure and creativity, and high expectations with strong relationships.