Village School addresses all key learning areas of the Victorian curriculum using an integrated, differentiated and negotiated approach.
We have been implementing this approach to learning and education since 1982, and remain aligned with the guidelines of the Department of Education and Training.
A flexible approach to the curriculum
By adapting the curriculum to suit the needs of each student and the school community, we develop a love of learning and the skills to succeed in life.
An integrated curriculum
- We make the curriculum come alive, integrating the disciplines within meaningful and relevant learning topics
- We acknowledge that it is not what you learn but how you learn, and then recognizing how you learn, that is important
- We do not have a hierarchy of knowledge outcomes; these will vary according to attitudes and aptitudes. i.e. environmental influences, personal interests and needs determine the topics covered
- Every learning discipline does not necessarily appear in each topic
- Sometimes the whole school follows the same topic
- More often learning topics are chosen by individual groups, taking into account the different interests and abilities of the different age groups
- These skills are transferred to other types of learning and used for life
A differentiated curriculum
- We acknowledge that learning progresses at different rates and in different ways and therefore whole group teaching does not usually address individual differences
- Small group learning with intellectual peers is often used to present new skills
- Individual instruction can address difficulties with skills and understandings
- Grouping students with different strengths and weaknesses can help them work cooperatively to achieve a common goal
- Parents with special gifts or talents may work one to one or with small groups to extend children with those particular gifts or talents
- Choices within the topics ensure that different learning styles are catered for and acknowledged as equally valid
A negotiated curriculum
- Learning topics are often chosen by the student or adapted from that already suggested by the teacher
- Projects can change to suit the child’s needs and abilities because the negotiation is ongoing
- Self initiated studies often lead to life-long passions
- Negotiating learning ensures that the students take more responsibility for the learning process
- When a child is negotiating they are already ‘engaged’ with the learning process
Academic learning
Our students develop an understanding of and appropriate capabilities across the following key learning areas.








Personal development
In addition to academic skills, we focus on developing personal skills in our students that will equip them to succeed as an adult in the real world.
Our additional learning programs help us to keep sight of the big picture and educate the whole child in preparation for life.




Our approach to the curriculum
For more information on our approach to learning, please see:

