How We Teach & Support

All students at St Bede’s Primary School are encouraged to be active in leadership. Our desire is for all of our students to become leaders who exert a positive influence on those around them, regardless of whether they have an elected badge or title. All our students are urged to look for opportunities to serve others, build community and do what is right.

Our formal leadership structure consists of the Student Representative Council or SRC. The SRC leaders are chosen from each class by their peers.  Their primary role is to be a voice for their class, help with culture building events and fundraise.  

Our Year 6 students hole formal leadership positions. This group consists of School Captains, SRC Leaders (Year 6), Sports Captains, Community, Environment and Wellbeing leaders. Each member has a portfolio that they attend to. The focus on engaging students and running various events within our school community. 

Extension and enrichment opportunities at St Bede’s Primary School include open-ended teaching strategies that allow all students to experience learning at their own level of potential.  Teachers at St Bede’s skilfully identify all students’ needs and differentiate the learning within their classrooms to cater for different abilities and needs across all subject areas.

In addition to this, St Bede’s continues to provide enrichment opportunities for students in the form of specialised programs and events. These events range in subject to allow a broader range of students to be selected to attend.

Whilst some extension and enrichment opportunities are only available to students who achieve a high standard, there are many opportunities for all students including competitions, events and challenges.

Lunchtime clubs such as gardening club, Chess, Pokémon, walking, sports groups, art, science experiments, dance, choir and a range of other opportunities are offered to interested students.

Supporting children with additional needs enables them to participate and feel included at school and in their community, and helps promote their strengths. Providing all children with the support they require helps to meet their needs and enables them to grow and achieve with their classmates.

For children with additional needs, developing individualised strategies to support their needs can be beneficial, based on the child’s individual requirements (eg routines and structure can often be helpful for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder). However, children do all vary and can respond differently to strategies. It is important to always consider the child’s individual needs. By working together, families and schools can make sure that children with additional needs are well supported which is important for their mental health and wellbeing.

Our early literacy interventions include Minilit and MacqLit which are both evidence based programs published through Macquarie University. Learning Support delivers social skills and anxiety support classes for identified students. Our team also collaborates with external specialists to support students in and with their education.

The Kindy-Set-Go Program is a readiness program to prepare our newest St Bede’s students and their families for school.

The Kindy-Set-Go Program comprises 2 elements: an online orientation program and an onsite student preparation program. The online component is an electronic newsletter containing helpful articles, school related information and activities to prepare for school.

The onsite component is a series of days in Term 4 whereby students come to St Bede’s and work with their teachers to learn new routines and prepare for St Bede’s. This is a great opportunity for students to meet their new classmates and for parents to get to know each other as well. 

The Kindy-Set-Go Program will run each week commencing on Friday 14 October (Week 1) and concluding on Friday 9 December (Week 9). The program will run from 9am to 3pm. Please note that parents who are happy to have their children play before school can drop off from 8.30am.

We hope that with enough notice, parents will be able to organise for their child to attend these sessions. These sessions are highly encouraged to assist in preparing students for 2023. Half days or fortnightly attendance can be negotiated by contacting the school office.

St Bede’s is open for enrolments throughout the year. We believe that with good planning schools moves and transitions can be much easier and successful. 

When it comes to changing schools St Bede’s is here to support new students and families with this change. It’s more often the parents and carers who worry the most while the kids just get on with it.

Change is always going to have its share of stresses but research shows moving can actually contribute positively to a child’s learning because they build resilience and respond to new challenges and learning situations. On the other hand, if a child is already not coping at school for other reasons, then moving, especially if it’s often, can make matters worse. If that’s the case, talk to our school as soon as you can to get some support.

For the most part, children are quite adaptable and resilient but it helps if parents get as much information as possible about the school to help their kids adjust easily to the new routine.

Children are mostly concerned with fitting in, so information like library and sport days are vital for kids so that they don’t feel out of place. When parents take the time to get children ready for the changes and are positive, their children settle quickly.

If your child is going to a new primary school, visit the school before your child starts and, if possible, meet the child’s teacher. This will help to build positive bonds. We are always happy for new children to meet their teacher before they commence.

It’s normal for kids to feel a little anxious about starting at a new school. Kids worry about losing contact with their old friends and making new friends. All children have access to a school counsellor at St Bede’s if the anxiety becomes overwhelming.