Find out more about what your child will learn at our school.
The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is responsible for the curriculum, Kindergarten to Year 12, for all NSW schools.
For the primary years, NESA develops syllabuses for all subjects in 6 key learning areas:
- creative arts
- English
- human society and its environment (HSIE)
- mathematics
- personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE)
- science and technology.
Some primary schools may also offer languages.
NSW schools also offer special religious education and special education in ethics via approved providers, where available.
Like all NSW schools, we have developed teaching and learning programs to suit our local context and the needs of our students.
To learn more about curriculum in NSW, visit:
- NSW Department of Education – key learning areas
- NESA’s Parent Guide – Schooling in NSW which provides information about learning stages, key learning areas and syllabuses
- NSW Department of Education policy – Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12.
Stages of learning
There are 6 stages of learning from Kindergarten to Year 12. Primary school covers Early Stage 1, or Kindergarten, to the end of Stage 3.
- Stage 1 includes Kindergarten to Year 2 (Kindergarten is referred to as Early Stage 1).
- Stage 2 includes Years 3 and 4.
- Stage 3 includes Years 5 and 6.
Class structure
In all NSW public schools, class sizes in the early years of schooling have been considerably reduced to ensure an appropriate teacher-student ratio. Since 2005, it has been a STATE TARGET that all Kindergarten classes, where possible, have a ceiling of 20 students, all Year 1 classes have a ceiling of 22 students and all Year 2 classes have a ceiling of 24 students. While all schools try and achieve the target, movement of students in and out of schools can at times impact on this standard.
The onset of smaller class sizes has had implications regarding the way in which classes are structured in most schools and many schools have purposely moved towards a stage class structure. The stage class structure at Sandon PS is generally as follows:
Early Stage 1 - Kindergarten
Stage 1 - Year 1 and Year 2 students
Stage 2 - Year 3 and Year 4 students
Stage 3 - Year 5 and Year 6 students
Stage-based class structures operate most successfully at Sandon PS. Students are not in any way academically disadvantaged by learning in a stage setting. As well, students are significantly advantaged in their social skill development and also in their capacity to learn and work with greater independence.
Each year, class structures will be determined by taking into account:
- teaching staff;
- the learning and social needs of students;
- the size of each ‘Year' cohort at the school;
- the subsequent staffing formula allocated to the school each year;
the most desirable placement of students so that there is minimal disruption to the learning environment and maximisation of on-task student learning time.
Our school also has a Special Education Unit – Purple class, which caters for students with autism and moderate and severe disabilities. Teachers within the unit have Special Education qualifications, and/or experience, and School Learning Support Officers have also undertaken specialised training. Students, who are enrolled in the unit, participate in the full life of our school. They are integrated into the playground, they join with their age peers for a range of class activities and attend all assemblies, sporting activities and special events. The school is very proud of its Special Education Unit and its inclusive influence permeates throughout the entire school.
Strategies which recognise and reward student achievement
At Sandon Public School we believe that ALL STUDENTS CAN SUCCEED at their own level and therefore we provide a range of informal and formal strategies through which student achievement is recognised.
- Informal Strategies: Each teacher develops their own strategies for informal recognition. This can include anything from a smile, stars on a chart, a sticker for good work and behaviour, special privileges and responsibilities etc.
- Formal Strategies: The strategies adopted by the school to formally recognise student achievement include:
- Class "Star of the week"
- Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum System
- ‘SHINE' Award
- Principal's Kindness to Other's Award
- Publication of achievements in the Weekly Newsletter
- End-Of-Year Presentation Ceremony