CEDoW Curriculum Reform News – Primary

K-6 Curriculum Support

K-6 Curriculum Support

The K-6 Curriculum Support page contains:

• Important links to external and internal sites
• Professional learning
• Planning and programming support
• Assessment and reporting
• Professional reading

For enquiries, please contact learningk-12support@dow.catholic.edu.au. 

Curriculum Reform – Did you know?

Through the NSW curriculum reform, NESA’s Statement of Equity Principles are reflected in all new K-6 syllabuses, ensuring they are inclusive and responsive to the needs of all learners. Each syllabus is designed to support diverse teaching approaches that cater to:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
• Students with disability
• Gifted and talented students
• Students learning English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D).

The Statement of Equity Principles underpins a commitment to high expectations and quality learning outcomes for every student. 

The equity principles include:

• Excellence
• Respect and responsibility
• Equity and justice
• Inclusivity.

CEDoW's Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework further strengthens our commitment to high expectations and quality learning outcomes for all students. It does so through five essential elements, supported by the High Impact Strategies.

Through the careful discernment of teaching practices, support material and resources, schools are encouraged to draw on the Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework to refine teaching and learning and select materials that not only align with the reformed curriculum but also are inclusive and responsive to the needs of all learners.

Key reflective questions to guide decision-making include:

Promote equity: Does the learning provide inclusive, high-quality opportunities for every student, acknowledging diversity and ensuring cultural safety?
Foster agency: Does the learning empower students to make choices, set goals, and take ownership of their learning?
Establish relevance: Do the resources connect learning to students' goals, needs, interests, and real-world experiences?
Enhance the environment: Does the learning activity support a positive, safe, and supportive learning culture?
Ensure rigour: Do the resources offer challenging, in-depth educational experiences that promote high expectations and critical thinking?

Curriculum Implementation Support – Professional Learning 2025

To ensure new practices are strengthened and sustained with the aim of improving student learning outcomes, ILW Learning K-12 will continue its ongoing support of schools throughout the ‘Embed’ phase of implementation in English and Mathematics. Schools can access optional system-wide professional learning and in situ support for effective curriculum implementation throughout 2025.

Primary Curriculum Implementation Support: English K-6 English Professional Learning

Facilitators: Alexandra (Lexie) Hingston at hingstona01@dow.catholic.edu.au and Joanne Treffone at treffonej01@dow.catholic.edu.au. 

Targeting Instructional Leaders supporting teachers in planning and programming (including Principals, Assistant Principals, Middle Leaders and/or Instructional Coaches).

Week 4, Term 2 – Thursday 22 May 2025
Course venue: St Paul's, Albion Park (school hall)

Learning Intention: This professional learning will deepen participants' understanding of evidence-based practices that create dialogic, language rich classrooms, fostering authentic vocabulary acquisition and oral language development. The focus will be on explicit instruction of Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, using quality literature to support the programming and planning of English in their school context.

In response to your feedback, Day 2 will shift its focus to the application of content and pedagogical knowledge to support English programming and planning at your school. Building on this, we will place a strong emphasis on strategies that support oral language and vocabulary development. The day will be hands-on and practical, offering participants the opportunity to analyse existing planning and programming through the lens of language development.

We will explore how oral language and communication skills can be intentionally and effectively addressed alongside other focus areas by embedding structured opportunities that foster student engagement, encourage authentic communication, and increase the desire to express ideas. Participants will work with mentor texts, explore a variety of classroom strategies, and contextualise a unit of work to ensure oral language and vocabulary development is seamlessly integrated into everyday learning.

We request that all participants select one sequence of learning/unit of work that will be taught in Weeks 5-10 of Term 2. This could be a unit you are teaching or a unit of work from the stage/grade you are leading that will be taught in the second half of this term. Please also bring a hard copy of the mentor text.

*Additional participants to be funded by the school

Click here to register your attendance. Registrations close on Thursday 15 May 2025.

Primary Curriculum Implementation Support: K-6 Mathematics Professional Learning

Contact: Kate Thomas at thomask04@dow.catholic.edu.au.

Targeting Instructional Leaders supporting teachers in planning teaching and learning (including Principals, Assistant Principals, Middle Leaders and/or Instructional Coaches)

Week 5, Term 2 – Monday 26 May 2025
Course venue: St Therese Parish Centre, 2 Powell Street, West Wollongong

Day 2: Effective Pedagogical Practices in the Mathematics Classroom

This professional learning day is aimed at enhancing instructional leadership, where participants will be equipped to strategically support teachers to embed the NSW K-10 Mathematics Syllabus. Participants will engage in practical and relevant professional learning that enables them to:

• Explore the elements of effective practice and analyse pedagogical approaches within a Mathematics session.
• Establish the alignment between effective pedagogical approaches and the essential elements of the Faith, Learning and Wellbeing Framework.
• Deepen understanding of syllabus content, its connections, and the continuum of learning.
• Reflect on the application of NESA's Principles of Assessment to effective formative assessment practices across a learning sequence.

*Additional participants to be funded by the school.

Click here to register your attendance. Registrations close on Wednesday 21 May 2025.