Our Approach

Mayfield West Demonstration School teaches and reports on the content of NSW syllabi. Each syllabus is written by NESA (New South Wales Education Standards Authority), the independent authority who accredit our NSW teachers. The time we spend teaching and the ways that we report on learning are determined by the policies of the NSW Department of Education.

Class arrangement and design

In NSW public schools, content for teaching and learning is arranged by stages. Our classes follow this structure whenever possible. This means that we have classes with:

• Early Stage 1 students (Kindergarten)

• Stage 1 students (composite classes of Year 1 and Year 2)

• Stage 2 students (composite classes of Year 3 and Year 4)

• Stage 3 students (composite classes of Year 5 and Year 6)

The teachers on each stage work together to deliver differentiated teaching and learning programs that follows the curriculum and reflects the same high-quality content.

In the public system we are fortunate that there are class size restrictions. This often means smaller class sizes. Generally, we have less than 20 students in kindergarten classes. This is a real benefit for students acquiring knowledge and skills in the early years.

What students learn

Students learn a wide range of subjects in the NSW curriculum. They build skills, think creatively and prepare for life beyond school.

Our learning approach

Our school uses explicit teaching. This means we clearly tell students what they are learning, why it is important and how to do it step by step. Explicit teaching helps students understand new ideas by breaking them into smaller parts. There is lots of practice to help students achieve mastery. You will see teachers coaching students at their point of need across all of our classes.

Learning at our school is student-centred, inclusive and practical. We are committed to equity and access. We support all learning styles and needs. Our teachers use proven teaching strategies. They take part in ongoing professional development to stay up to date with best teaching practice.

Our learning approach includes:

• real-world learning: hands-on tasks, group work and exploring new ideas

• technology: to help students learn and build digital skills

• flexible teaching: the right support for each student, with a focus on wellbeing

• community connections: through excursions and local programs.

Academic Success

Academic success at our school is measured across each of the six key learning areas:

• English

• Mathematics

• Science

• HSIE (geography and history)

• Creative and performing arts (music, visual art, dance, drama)

• PDHPE (Personal Development, Health and Physical Education).

Whilst some of this learning is measured through standardised assessments, such as NAPLAN and Check-in, there is so much that students demonstrate each day that falls outside these measures. We believe that it is critical for student interest and achievement to be viewed holistically and that is why we encourage parents to consider the reports and interviews that our teachers provide, when considering academic success.

Reporting

Written Reports

As set out in Department of Education policy, our teachers provide two formal, written reports on student progress each year. For students in Years 1 to 6, these reports measure student achievement against the five-point scale that the policy and the federal government require us to use. For all students, they include comments that highlight areas of strength and areas of development.

Children in our preschool receive a “Transition to School” statement at the end of the year, as they make their way to Kindergarten.

Three-way conferences

Three-way conferences are held twice a year. They are a chance for the classroom teacher, parents and carers, and student to sit down together. This is when we would expect discussion of the written reports, the student’s progress, any goals that have been set, and any areas that may need additional development or support in the future.

Library

Students at our school attend classes in the library once a week as part of the RFF (relief from face-to-face) roster. This means that students have the opportunity to work with our experience librarian to earn more about books, research, literacy, and English. Our library has a constant flow of new texts that ensure students always have interesting and up-to-date reading material on hand.

Homework

At our school, the most important homework that students have is to read. What they read is at their discretion, however, we recommend that they have a varied “diet”. This means that they should read fiction and nonfiction texts, that they may read some graphic novels and visual texts, and that they should try new texts (not just books).  We also encourage students i the primary years to do daily practice on their musical instruments. There may be occasional project work throughout the year. We attempt to provide this balanced approach in order to maximise the quality time that parents can spend with their children and ensure there is adequate time to attend swimming lessons, sport, dance and help out at home.

Helping students progress

We support every student’s academic progress by:

• checking their progress and giving clear and timely feedback
• setting learning goals with each student
• giving extra help with personalised plans and support from specialist staff
• reporting on each student’s learning progress so parents and carers know how their child is doing

• providing targeted literacy and numeracy support in small groups
• making wellbeing part of everyday learning
• working with families to support learning at home and school
• helping students through transitions, like starting school or moving to a new stage of learning.

Learn more about additional learning support at our school.

Want to know more?

Contact us