Foundation at Dromana Primary School
Starting school is an exciting and important milestone for children and families. At Dromana Primary School, our Foundation program is designed to provide a safe, engaging and structured start to school while building the strong foundations students need for future learning.
Our program combines explicit teaching in Literacy and Mathematics with play-based inquiry learning, ensuring students develop essential academic skills while also learning through curiosity, exploration and collaboration.
Explicit Teaching in Literacy and Mathematics
In Foundation, students participate in structured daily lessons in English and Mathematics. Teachers use explicit teaching practices, where new skills and concepts are carefully explained, modelled and practised.
This approach ensures students build strong foundations in:
Phonics, reading and writing
Early number sense and mathematical understanding
Vocabulary and oral language development
Problem solving and reasoning
Lessons follow a clear sequence where teachers model learning, guide practice and check for understanding, allowing students to build confidence and mastery in small, manageable steps.
Play-Based Inquiry Learning
In addition to explicit instruction, our Foundation students engage in Inquiry through play-based learning.
Play-based learning uses children’s natural motivation to play as a powerful context for learning. Through play, students inquire and learn using their imagination to explore, experiment, discover, collaborate, improvise and create.
The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) highlights that the cognitive processes used during play stimulate and integrate a wide range of intellectual, physical, social, emotional and creative capabilities, supporting deep and meaningful learning.
Research consistently shows that play is essential in the early years of schooling. High-quality play experiences help children develop:
Language and communication skills
Social cooperation and problem solving
Creativity and imagination
Emotional regulation and resilience
Confidence as learners
Inquiry Play Sessions
In Foundation, Inquiry is taught through a structured play-based approach. Teachers intentionally design play spaces linked to curriculum learning goals so that students can practise and apply what they are learning.
Each Foundation class participates in four Inquiry Play sessions each week.
During these sessions, students explore learning through purposeful play stations that encourage them to:
ask questions
investigate ideas
build and create
collaborate with peers
apply new knowledge
Teachers guide learning through clear learning intentions and success criteria, ensuring play experiences remain purposeful and connected to the curriculum.
Students demonstrate their learning by what they say, make, write and do during these sessions.
Foundation Inquiry Topics
Throughout the year, students explore four Inquiry units that connect to big ideas about the world around them.
Term 1 – We All Belong
What does belonging mean?
Term 2 – Farm to Family
How can living things be used to meet our needs?
Term 3 – How Things Move (Forces)
What causes objects to move in different ways?
Term 4 – Celebrations
How and why do we celebrate?
These topics provide opportunities for students to build understanding through both explicit teaching and hands-on play-based exploration.
Learning Through Exploration and Structure
Our Foundation program carefully balances structured teaching and purposeful play. This ensures that students develop strong academic foundations while also building the curiosity, creativity and social skills that support lifelong learning.
Through this approach, our youngest learners are supported to feel confident, capable and excited about coming to school each day.
Contact Us
Phone: | (03) 5987 2367 | |
Email: | ||
Office Hours: | 8:30am - 4:00pm Mon to Fri |
