Academic Excellence

At St Bede’s, our Catholic faith is central to who we are and all that we do. We are a Catholic community with Christ as our centre, and this is reflected in the way we learn, pray, celebrate, and live out our values each day. Our Religious Education program and faith life are woven into the culture of the school, shaping a community that is welcoming, faith-filled, and committed to living the message of Jesus. Engaging in Learning through Religious Education Religious Education at St Bede’s is taught using the Catholic Education Melbourne Scope and Sequence, focusing on three key strands: • Knowledge and Understanding • Personal and Communal Engagement • Reasoning and Responding Through these areas, students are invited to explore scripture, learn about the Catholic tradition, and make meaning of their faith in today’s world. Religious Education lessons provide opportunities to grow in knowledge and also to reflect on how we can live as followers of Jesus in our words, actions, and deeds. Students are encouraged to ask questions, think deeply, and connect their faith with their everyday lives. Prayer and Celebration Prayer is at the heart of our community and daily life. Each class begins the day with prayer, inviting students to place themselves in God’s presence and find strength, peace, and gratitude in their relationship with Jesus. Throughout the year, students participate in class Masses as well as whole school Masses, which bring our community together to celebrate significant moments in the Church’s calendar. These liturgies and Masses are an important way we express and deepen our shared faith as a school community. Sacramental Program The Sacraments are important milestones in a child’s faith journey, and at St Bede’s, students are supported in preparing for and celebrating these sacred moments in close partnership with our parish. Our Sacramental Program is family-focused, parish-based, and school-supported, ensuring that students experience the richness of faith as part of a wider community. • Year 3 – First Reconciliation • Year 4 – First Eucharist • Year 6 – Confirmation Through these programs, students not only learn about the meaning of each Sacrament but are also invited to encounter Christ in a personal and communal way. These experiences strengthen their relationship with God and connect them more deeply to the life of the parish. Living Our Faith in Action At St Bede’s, our Catholic identity is not only celebrated in the classroom and at Mass but also lived out in practical ways. Inspired by the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching, we encourage students to be active in making a difference in the world around them. Students are involved in a variety of initiatives such as: • Fundraising for Caritas Australia, Catholic Mission, and other charitable organisations • Supporting local outreach projects and parish initiatives • Participating in social justice campaigns that raise awareness of issues such as poverty, care for creation, and inclusion Through these experiences, our students learn that following Jesus means serving others with love, compassion, and justice. In this way, faith is not just something we talk about, it is something we live each day as a Catholic community with Christ at our centre.

As part of the MACS Vision for Instruction, St Bede’s follows an endorsed Literacy scheme, introduced in 2025, to explicitly teach all primary students Prep-6 the essential skills needed to become fluent, literate and confident as they engage with literacy skills in the primary sector and beyond. Following research-based evidence on explicit and direct instruction, St Bede’s uses the ‘5 Keys to Reading' (Five from Five, 2020) to underpin our teaching from early years onwards.  Through the MACS collaboration with OCHRE, St Bede’s follows an in-depth and detailed scheme of learning starting in Prep, which explicitly teaches the Big 5 skills and applies these through a variety of rich and varied texts. In accordance with the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, our teachers intellectually engage with these resources, differentiating and extending these skills catered carefully to the needs of all our children.

As part of the MACS Vision for Instruction, St Bede’s provides all students with access to a rich, coherent and sequential Mathematics program, explicitly designed to build deep understanding, procedural fluency, and mathematical reasoning from Prep–6. Our approach reflects the MACS Vision for Engagement by ensuring that learning is meaningful, challenging and connected to real-world contexts. Following research-based evidence on the importance of explicit and systematic teaching (Hattie, 2023; Rosenshine, 2012), our Mathematics instruction balances conceptual understanding, procedural fluency and problem-solving. Teachers make use of high-impact strategies, including worked examples, questioning and guided practices, to ensure all students experience success in Mathematics.

Inquiry Learning at St Bede’s ensures a balance of knowledge, skills and capabilities across all areas of learning. We embrace an approach which fosters curiosity, critical thinking and creativity. Students explore rich and engaging topics across curriculum areas such as History, Civics and Citizenship, Science, Health and Technology. Our Inquiry Units are mapped using the Victorian Curriculum and the Renewed RE Framework. They are conceptually based and during these sessions the rich questions, deep understanding and provocations are discussed. At the heart of our curriculum is a commitment to nurturing the whole child, academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually in a supportive and faith-filled community.

At St Bede’s, we offer a comprehensive Physical Education, Sport and Outdoor Education program designed to maximise participation and foster a lifelong love of movement, fitness and teamwork. In the early years, students focus on developing fundamental movement skills such as running, catching, throwing, kicking, balance and coordination, while building confidence and enjoyment in games and physical activity. As students progress through the middle and senior years, they experience a wider range of sports and activities, with opportunities to represent the school in interschool competitions and School Sport Victoria programs, including cross country, swimming, athletics and team sports. Each year, all students participate in an intensive swimming program that develops skills, water safety and aims to meet the 50-metre swimming benchmark by the end of Year Six. Through regular intraschool and interschool events, weekly sport and outdoor experiences, students are encouraged to challenge themselves, demonstrate teamwork, and develop healthy, active lifestyles.

At St Bede’s, students engage in a one-hour weekly specialist Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) lesson. Our STEM program supports students to become confident and creative designers of digital solutions. Students develop an understanding of digital systems, data and computational thinking, applying problem-solving skills to meet current and future needs.  Importantly, students also develop their skills through non-device design processes, including unplugged coding activities, collaborative problem-solving tasks, planning, designing and evaluating solutions using design thinking frameworks.  Through these experiences, students build creativity, logical thinking and confidence as digital learners.

Visual Arts at St Bede’s encompasses art, craft and design, enabling students to make and respond using their developing knowledge and skills. Through creating and reflecting on artworks, students express ideas about themselves and the world around them. Students participate in a weekly one-hour Visual Arts lesson, with learning linked to their classroom inquiry units. They explore a range of techniques, tools and materials, engaging in discovery, experimentation and problem-solving. Students also examine how Visual Arts are valued across different cultures and time periods, and are encouraged to analyse, discuss and reflect on their own work and that of others.

At St Bede’s Primary School, our Performing Arts program nurtures a love of performance while building confidence, creativity and a strong sense of pride. Students are encouraged to express themselves through singing, movement and drama, developing the skills to perform both collaboratively and as individuals. Our Performing Arts room is a vibrant performing arts space designed to inspire creativity. With ample room for movement, dance and dramatic expression, students can explore performance through the body as well as through instruments such as recorders and ukuleles . Students participate in a one-hour lesson each week, and through singing, movement, instrumental playing and performance opportunities, these sessions explicitly teach the elements of the performing arts while fostering stage confidence, teamwork and joyful participation.

At St Bede’s, we see ourselves as co-learners of French, fostering a shared journey of language discovery across our school. French is taught daily in every classroom by the classroom teacher, using a Teachers as Co-Learners model and supported by a French language assistant. Our program places a strong emphasis on oral language, with a focus on helping students see themselves as confident and capable French speakers. Through a functional language approach, students learn high-frequency vocabulary that enables meaningful, everyday communication. Gestures are incorporated to reinforce understanding and memory, supporting students to build fluency and develop their confidence in communicating in French.