IB Primary Years Programme Curriculum Booklet

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Curriculum Outline

St. Andrews Green Valley offers the Primary Years Programme (PYP) from the International Baccalaureate, integrated with the English National Curriculum, thereby offering the very best of international learning.

As an inquiry-driven programme, the PYP challenges students to think for themselves, to take control of their own learning, to have a global perspective and to make positive differences to the world. While gaining academic knowledge, students also work on developing their personal, social and study skills, continuously reflecting and looking for opportunities for self-improvement.

The PYP nurtures and develops young students as caring, active participants in a lifelong journey of learning. As part of the curriculum, students are actively encouraged and supported to reflect the IB ‘Learner Profile’ attributes of: inquirer, knowledgeable, thinker, communicator, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-taker, balanced and reflective.

In choosing the IB PYP and English National Curriculum at St. Andrews, we not only have high academic standards, we develop students’ academic, social and emotional wellbeing, focusing on international-mindedness and strong personal values. We believe that students become more skilful and engaged when learning is authentic, purposeful, relevant and in context. By making connections between the subjects students are learning and how that applies to the world around them leads to a better understanding.

By developing an inquiring mind and learning how to learn, students will be able to use their knowledge and skills in new situations. This makes them lifelong learners who strive to continuously improve and will provide them with the skills to become the innovators of the future.

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provides an academically challenging curriculum incorporating the English National Curriculum focuses on the whole child as an inquirer, both within and beyond the classroom encompasses the academic, social, physical, emotional and cultural needs of all students encourages students to become active, caring, lifelong learners who demonstrate respect for themselves and others and have the capacity to participate in the world around them

Personal Attributes The PYP helps develop positive attitudes (such as confidence, independence, empathy and respect) and valuable learning skills (such as self-management, research, social, research and communication skills) so that students will be better prepared in their further studies and in life beyond school.

International Mindedness In an increasingly global society our children will, both now and in the future, likely interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Through the PYP, St. Andrews actively encourages international mindedness within the community, celebrating cultural heritages and promoting respect and understanding.

Taking Action St. Andrews Green Valley community members want to make a positive contribution to the world. Students are motivated to take action on many different levels, from helping people and animals to protecting the environment. In taking action, students broaden their learning and self-awareness.

“The PYP curriculum and the teachers at St. Andrews have allowed my child to thrive, to grow and learn in many positive ways. She makes connections between what she learns in the classroom to the world around us and is actively interested in making the world a better place. Both the academic and non-academic opportunities at St. Andrews means my child is given a huge variety of experiences from which to learn. She goes to school happy every day, running through the school gates to find out what’s in store!”

“I love learning at St. Andrews because I am encouraged to take action about the things we have learnt. My class was inquiring into landforms and when we looked at the change in landforms over time, we were worried about the future. We decided that we wanted to help so focused on promoting ways in which the school community can help reduce climate change. We conducted surveys, wrote persuasive pieces and presented a mini-UN conference to the school. We almost forgot we were still learning!”

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Who We Are Where We Are in Time and Place How the World Works How We Organise Ourselves How We Express Ourselves Sharing the Planet

Teachers guide students with questions but also foster students’ curiosity and independence by encouraging students to ask and answer their own questions through reflection.

During the Unit of Inquiry the teachers will guide the students to find out about running a business and the design cycle of product development.

While inquiring into these areas the students will be learning key strands of each English National Curriculum academic subject. Possible connections may include: 

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English: writing a persuasive piece that will influence the reader Maths: preparing budgets or calculate discount percentages.

Science: investigating properties of materials with which to create products Social Studies: understanding the responsibilities of businesses to people and the environment Design & Technology: using the design cycle to create a product PSHE: investigating the impact of products on a community e.g. through its packaging choices Art & Computing: creating advertising through mixed media e.g. posters, iMovie advertisements

How we Organise Ourselves Innovation, planning and market knowledge contribute to running a successful business.

 The elements of running a successful business

 The design process is integral to creating successful products

 The role of money when designing, creating and marketing products

Community Connections In exploring the connections between their learning in the classroom and the real world, it is important to us at St. Andrews to draw on our community for support e.g. industry experts with children at our school may visit the class or the students may have a field trip to a local business. This also builds a stronger community connection.

Action Students will be responsible for creating a business and product to promote the school community. However, they will be encouraged to think about their choice of product and how it impacts the wider community, in particular by looking at the UN Global Goals.

& Assessment at St Andrews focuses on achievement towards both the English National Curriculum and PYP standards. Assessment takes many different forms and happens throughout the school year as an ongoing process, evaluating students on specific and known criteria. Assessment also includes self-assessment and peer-assessment.

Pre-assessments

Formative assessments

Summative assessment tasks

Pre-assessments are used by teachers to assess students’ prior understanding of a subject which then allows them to plan for challenging and engaging lessons for all students.

Formative assessments are used by teachers to check children’s learning or application of skills and knowledge throughout the year.

Summative assessments are used by teachers to evaluate and assess the children’s learning at the end of a unit e.g. via a final project or piece of work.

PM Benchmarks

Externally moderated assessments

Seesaw Digital Portfolios

PM Benchmarks are reading record assessments to evaluate children’s fluency and comprehension of a text. Each child is tested on a regular basis to monitor their progress in reading.

Externally moderated assessments are used to help us evaluate and compare our work with other internationally recognised standards, in particular against the UK data. We use online CATS and GL based tests in Maths and Language for students in years 3 and 5 in Term 1.

Each student has an online Seesaw portfolio which is both a celebration of student learning and evidence of their development throughout the year. Both teachers and students are actively encouraged to choose and include work samples they are proud of or show progress. Portfolios may contain photos, videos, reflections, certificates and rubric assessments.

Exhibition As Year 6 students reach the end of their PYP journey, they complete an extended project that requires them to synthesize their learning and present it to the community in a public exhibition. They research into a real world issue of their choosing, then using all the skills and attributes learned in the PYP . Children will collect and analyse data, find ways to help and take action on possible solutions to the issues.

Any further questions?

Please contact the PYP Coordinator – pypcoordinator@standrews-schools.com and they will be delighted to help.

PYP Information Events & Workshops for Parents will take place throughout the year and will be advertised in the Primary Newsletters & Calendar.

Further information about the PYP programme can be found at: http://www.ibo.org/pyp/