Primary Years Programme Guide

Primary Years Programme

At St Leonards, we aim to instil a lifelong love of learning in our pupils through our inspiring all-through International Baccalaureate curriculum. The first chapter of this learner journey is the Primary Years Programme (PYP), which gives children a firm grounding in numeracy, literacy, physical, social and personal education, the arts and social studies.

The inquiry-based curriculum is structured around six transdisciplinary themes, which are directed by the pupils’ interests and global in outlook. Numerical and literacy concepts and skills are taught alongside English and Maths which are integrated into the Units of Inquiry at every opportunity.

The PYP framework consists of six transdisciplinary themes.

1. Who We Are: Pupils explore the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.

2. Where We Are in Place and Time: Pupils explore orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.

3. How We Express Ourselves: Pupils explore the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

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4. How the World Works: Pupils explore the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.

5. How We Organise Ourselves: Pupils explore the interconnectedness of humanmade systems and communities; the structure and function of organisations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.

6. Sharing the Planet: Pupils explore rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

The children love to take their inquiries into the great outdoors. Beach school is a highlight of the weekly curriculum, with pupils enjoying lessons on the East Sands, just a two-minute walk from the school campus. These lessons are vibrant and varied, and include everything from honing subtraction skills by creating and solving problems in the sand, to investigating forces using ropes, barrels and found objects.

Class reading books are taken down to the pier on bright days, to the fire pit in twilight hours, and into one of the school’s two cosy yurts, complete with wood-burning stoves, in wet weather. In addition, pupils develop their beekeeping, gardening, and bushcraft skills, both in curriculum lessons and after-school activities, and prove themselves as ‘risk takers’ with fun termly ‘dooks’ in the North Sea – those who choose to complete three dooks become fully fledged members of the Polar Bear Club!

There are seven questions which guide the pupils’ inquiries: What is it like? (Form) How does it work? (Function) Why is it like this? (Causation) How is it changing? (Change) How is it connected to other things?

(Connection) What are the points of view? (Perspective) What is our responsibility? (Responsibility) These are known as the Key Concepts and are used throughout all four IB programmes. They help the children to build understanding across, between and beyond subject areas and provide a framework for learning which helps the children to integrate and transfer their learning to new contexts.

Inquiry Cycle

T Taking Action

Making Connections

Going Further

T Tuning In

Reflecting on Personal Understanding

Finding Out

Sorting Out

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Example Units of Inquiry

Celebrations

Family Histories

Heroes!

Transdisciplinary Theme: ‘Who we are’.

Transdisciplinary Theme: ‘Where we are in place and time’.

Transdisciplinary Theme: ‘How we express ourselves’.

Central Idea: knowing about our family histories allows us to learn about the past and helps us to understand different cultures.

Central Idea: the characteristics of heroes and role models that reflect our beliefs, both as individuals and as a society.

Lines of Inquiry: where we as individuals come from; the transformation through generations; how families from around the world are different, with different values and customs.

Lines of Inquiry: the qualities that make a hero or a role model; heroes from the past; similarities and differences between fictional and real heroes.

Central Idea: celebrations reflect what we value and who we are.

Lines of Inquiry: celebrations in our school community; similarities and differences between celebrations; and ways to value and respect all celebrations.

Building Businesses Transdisciplinary Theme: ‘How we organise ourselves’.

Central Idea: the economy relies on successful businesses and organisations.

Lines of Inquiry: structure of a market economy; management and organisation of a business; and the influence of business on the economy.

Our Learning Community At St Leonards, we make the most of the community around us, and of our unrivalled location by the sea. The curriculum is punctuated by trips in the local area, outdoor lessons and activities, and visits from our parents and experts to speak about anything from jobs to festivals and cultures. We use technology to enhance our Units of Inquiry, too, all of which contributes to our ethos of bringing learning to life, and instilling in our pupils a lifelong love of learning.

St Leonards School, St Andrews, Scotland KY16 9QJ Tel : 01334 472126 | registrar@stleonards-fife.org | stleonards-fife.org