Curriculum Day Focus

Building inclusive & positive environments

On 27th and 28th January, Fairfield PS staff took part in two curriculum days focused on building inclusive classroom practices and creating calm, predictable and positive learning environments across the school.

The professional learning was led by Maryanne Panucci (Student Support Services) and Daniel Ioannides (SWPBS Coach) from the Department of Education. Staff explored practical, inclusive strategies that support all learners by establishing clear classroom environments, procedures and routines. This work was grounded in the shared understanding that routines are taught in the same way as learning – with clarity, modelling, practice, feedback and time.

The key focus was supporting teachers to consistently teach and embed four cohort-specific classroom procedures as agreed routines by the end of semester one. 

These procedures were:

• Entering the classroom
• Exiting the classroom
• Getting teacher attention
• Independent learning

This work contributes to Fairfield PS’s longer-term goal that by the end of term two, at least 80 percent of teachers will be confidently and consistently implementing the four agreed cohort-wide procedures. Progress will be monitored using school-set data decision rules to support reflection and continuous improvement.

Staff were provided with dedicated time to collaborate in their year-level teams to develop shared practices and common language. Teams also designed explicit lessons to teach the four cohort-specific procedures, ensuring consistency, predictability and clarity for students across the school.

During this planning of how to pre-correct, supervise, provide feedback and reteach the following was taken into consideration:

• Before the routine begins, how you remind students what success looks like and why it helps them.
• Stay present and visibly available, noticing and responding to students as they practise the routine.
• Name the behaviour you see and explain why it supports learning.
• If students are still learning the routine, pause and teach it again with support.

The positive impact of this collaborative work was already evident during the first two days of the school year, with students responding well to clear expectations and consistent routines.

Nicole Rettke

Assistant Principal