Nurturing lifelong learners
At BEPS, we are dedicated to ensuring that every child develops a strong foundation in literacy. It’s not just about reading, it’s about building a love for learning that lasts a lifetime.
By mastering the foundational skills of literacy, our students are not only able to tackle more complex learning in the future, but they also develop key skills such as comprehension, problem-solving, and critical thinking. These skills are vital for their well-being and success, both in school and beyond.
At BEPS, we believe in fostering a holistic approach to literacy that includes oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension, ensuring that all students are prepared to become confident, curious, and capable lifelong learners.
Phonics: An evidence-based approach to literacy
We follow a progressive approach, aligned with the Victorian Curriculum set by the Department of Education, that emphasises high-quality, evidence-based teaching methods.
From Prep to Grade 2, we follow the evidence-based Little Learners Love Literacy, an explicit and sequential literacy approach for teaching children to read, write and spell with confidence. This approach forms an essential part of our reading curriculum, with students receiving a minimum of 25 minutes of explicit phonics instruction daily.
Research shows that explicit phonics instruction is one of the most effective ways to help young children learn to read and spell. By introducing sound-letter patterns (graphemes) in a structured way, we ensure that children can quickly “break the code” of written language. This makes reading and spelling smoother, more enjoyable, and more successful.
How we teach phonics
Our phonics instruction is grounded in the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 (VTLM 2.0), which is based on scientific research into how children learn best. This model ensures that we provide a nurturing, supportive environment where all students can thrive.
Teachers collaborate to create a safe, structured, and predictable learning space, making sure each lesson is thoughtfully planned and sequenced to help students grasp new content effectively.
Through clear explanations, demonstrations, and plenty of opportunities to practise, our students are equipped with the skills to decode written words and encode their spoken language into written form. This systematic approach helps students build strong foundations for reading and spelling, which in turn boosts their confidence and love of learning.
Building Literacy in the Older Years
Beyond year 2, students at BEPS engage in the explicit teaching of graphemes, phonemes, spelling patterns, etymology of words, and other important literacy knowledge and skills using the Sound Waves program.
Useful links
Page last updated: March 9, 2025
