Penola Primary is a community focussed school founded on a strong set of values (Respect, Responsibility, Inclusivity), providing students with a high-quality education.  Bearing in mind that the overarching objective of education is to prepare children for the real world (life beyond school), one of the strengths of Penola Primary lies in the diversity of students who attend our school.  The Penola Primary School community strives to develop all students from academic, intellectual, cultural, social, emotional, and physical perspectives. We also take great pride in our significant participation in and contribution to, a wide assortment of both local and global events.

Penola Primary has a long history of achieving academic excellence, performing strongly in both Literacy and Numeracy.  To support our students develop their Literacy and Numeracy skills we have implemented several strategies such as IntiaLit, Heggerty’s, Big Ideas in Number, Statements of Practice, as well as employing a Numeracy Coordinator. We use data to strategically plan and make teaching and learning decisions.  In addition to striving for academic excellence in all curriculum areas, we focus equally on developing students who are critical and creative thinkers, and who have strong learning dispositions.  Our focus is to develop life-long learners with the appropriate skills, knowledge and dispositions to be active, global citizens.  We take a holistic approach to educating our students. 

Penola Primary is large enough so that we can provide a broad range of learning experiences, and give children the opportunity to develop friendships with a variety of students, but still small enough so that individual learning needs are very well catered for.

At Penola Primary School we have a strong continuity of practice from Foundation to Year 6.  Lessons are engaging, and have a clear structure and focus on setting individual goals.  Lessons are designed to have clear learning intentions, explicit teaching, active involvement of students, reflection, goal setting, and success criteria.  The pedagogical approaches we use at Penola Primary School are strongly grounded in evidence-based research. 

Penola Primary employs a number of SSOs to support the educational outcomes for students, especially in Literacy and Numeracy.  SSOs are regularly in classrooms working with individual children and small groups to support or extend their learning.  This means there are often two educators in the room supporting students.

We are continually striving to improve our facilities.  We are fortunate to have expansive grounds, including a large oval, nature play spaces, and a garden, where children are free to move and explore.  We have a large enclosed gym that is used for numerous sporting events, assemblies, concerts, and performances.

We have large classrooms designed to optimise students’ learning potential and offer a range of different learning experiences.  Our front office and classrooms have undergone significant upgrades, contributing to the positive learning environment.

Vision Statement – Penola Primary school will be a supportive and progressive community where all individuals are respected and valued.  Leading teaching practices and high expectations will inspire our students to become informed, compassionate, active global citizens.

“Penola Primary School provides the best possible teaching and learning environment with the welfare and educational outcomes of its students as its highest priority.”