Curriculum

Every Child, Every Opportunity

At Fountain Gate Primary School, we believe every student can learn and succeed. Our programs are carefully designed to support, stretch and inspire learners at every stage of their primary education. Whether it’s building foundational skills, developing higher-order thinking, or nurturing creativity and wellbeing, we are proud to offer a learning environment where all students are known, challenged and celebrated.

Literacy

Early Years: Building Strong Foundations

In the early years (Foundation to Year 2), our focus is on explicitly teaching and embedding the fundamental skills of reading. These early years are critical for laying the groundwork that supports all future literacy development.

We provide a structured, systematic synthetic phonics approach that ensures students not only learn to read, but also develop the confidence and fluency to become independent, thoughtful readers. Through daily, focused instruction, students build the essential knowledge and strategies needed to access increasingly complex texts as they move through the school.

Reading instruction is centred on the key components of effective reading:

Oral Language – Developing the ability to understand and use spoken language, including listening skills and expressive language.
Phonological Awareness – Developing the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words.
Phonics – Learning the relationships between letters and sounds to decode written words..
Fluency – Reading with accuracy, appropriate pace, and expression.
Vocabulary – Expanding word knowledge to support understanding and expression.
Comprehension – Developing the ability to make meaning from texts through questioning, connecting, and inferring.

By focusing on these six key areas, we ensure that all students have a strong, reliable framework for reading success - one that supports the development of more advanced analytical and critical thinking skills as they progress through their schooling.

Literacy in Years 3-6: Deepening Understanding and Expanding Skills

In Years 3 to 6, our Literacy program builds on the strong foundations established in the early years. The focus shifts from learning to read, to reading to learn - deepening comprehension, expanding vocabulary, and developing greater sophistication in writing.

Students are explicitly taught more complex spelling patterns and rules, and they begin to explore and analyse grammatical structures to enhance both their reading and writing. Fluency routines continue to be a priority, as fluent reading is essential for freeing up cognitive resources to support comprehension.

Throughout the middle and upper years, students engage with a wide range of texts that challenge them to:

Infer meaning
Identify themes
Analyse characters, structure and author intent
Make connections across texts and to the world around them

These rich learning experiences build the critical thinking and comprehension skills students need to become thoughtful, informed readers.

Writing is closely connected to reading and plays a key role in helping students make sense of ideas, express their thinking clearly, and communicate for different purposes and audiences. Students are taught to plan, draft, revise and edit their writing with increasing independence and precision.

A strong emphasis is placed on:

Vocabulary development, including words encountered in reading and across curriculum areas
Morphology – the study of word parts (prefixes, suffixes, and root words) and how they combine to create meaning and support spelling accuracy and word understanding

By the end of Year 6, our goal is for students to be fluent, confident readers and writers who can think critically, communicate effectively, and engage deeply with a broad range of texts and ideas.

Mathematics

Foundation to Year 2: Building Number Sense and Confidence

In the early years, our Mathematics program focuses on developing strong number sense and confidence through explicit teaching, hands-on learning, and guided practice.

Students are introduced to core mathematical concepts in small, clear steps, with plenty of opportunities to revisit and consolidate learning. The use of concrete materials - such as counters, blocks and number lines - helps children visualise and model their thinking, making abstract concepts more accessible and meaningful.

Key areas of focus include:

Understanding numbers and how they work
Counting, comparing and combining quantities
Developing strategies for simple addition and subtraction
Recognising patterns and shapes
Exploring measurement and spatial awareness

These early learning experiences form the foundation for mathematical thinking, problem-solving and fluency that students will continue to build on in later years. Our goal is to help every child see themselves as a capable, curious and confident learner of mathematics.

Years 3 - 6: Deepening Understanding and Developing Strategies

In Years 3 to 6, students move beyond basic number facts to develop greater flexibility, fluency and reasoning in their mathematical thinking. Lessons continue to follow an explicit, structured sequence, with a focus on building conceptual understanding, efficiency, and accuracy.

Students explore more complex ideas across all strands of the mathematics curriculum, including:

Multi-digit operations and number patterns
Fractions, decimals and percentages
Measurement, time and geometry
Data interpretation and chance
Problem-solving using efficient strategies

Teachers provide regular opportunities for students to use manipulatives and visual models to represent mathematical concepts, explain their thinking and make connections between ideas. Explicit vocabulary instruction supports students in learning the language of maths, while regular fluency routines strengthen accuracy and recall.

As students develop confidence, they are encouraged to apply their knowledge in more open-ended and real-world contexts, deepening their understanding of how mathematics can be used to solve problems, justify reasoning and make decisions.

By the end of primary school, our students are equipped with a strong mathematical foundation and a toolkit of strategies that prepare them for success in secondary school and beyond.

Integrated Learning

Building Knowledge Across the Years

Our ‘Integrated Learning’ units immerse students in the disciplines of Science, History, Geography, Civics & Citizenship, Economics, and Personal and Social Capabilities. These rich units are designed to help students build background knowledge, explore big ideas, and develop the skills to ask meaningful questions, research effectively, think critically, and communicate their understanding with clarity.

Key concepts and content areas are revisited and deepened over the years, allowing students to consolidate their learning, make connections between ideas, and strengthen their understanding over time. This approach supports long-term retention and encourages students to apply their knowledge in new and more sophisticated ways as they grow.

Wherever possible, learning in these areas is integrated with literacy, enabling students to read for meaning, write to explain their thinking, and develop vocabulary that enriches both their comprehension and their ability to engage with the world around them.

Specialist Programs

From Foundation to Year 6, all students at Fountain Gate Primary School participate in high-quality specialist classes taught by expert teachers. These subjects broaden students' experiences and support the development of diverse skills and passions.

Our specialist programs include:

Physical Education - promoting fitness, teamwork and healthy habits.
Performing Arts - developing creativity and confidence through dance, drama and music.
Visual Arts - encouraging imagination, expression and visual literacy.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) - fostering curiosity, innovation and critical thinking through hands-on exploration.
Auslan - Australian Sign Language, our additional language offering, which promotes inclusive communication and cultural understanding.