Curriculum

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is designed for students aged from three to eleven years. It is a philosophy, a curriculum framework and a methodology.

The PYP strives for a balance between the search for understanding, the acquisition of essential knowledge and skills, the development of positive attitudes and the opportunity for positive action.

In terms of achieving this balance, the PYP emphasizes five components of the written curriculum. These are referred to as the essential elements of curriculum and they are as follows:

Concepts-powerful ideas which have relevance within and across the disciplines and which students must explore and re-explore in order to develop understanding.
Skills-those things the students need to be able to succeed in a changing, challenging world like Thinking skills, Research skills, Social skills, Communication skills and Self-Management skills.
Attitudes-dispositions which are expressions of fundamental values, beliefs and feelings about learning, the environment and people.
Knowledge-significant, relevant, subject matter we wish the students to explore and know about.
Action-demonstrations of deeper learning in responsible behaviour through positive action and service; a manifestation in practice of the other essential elements.

These elements transcend disciplinary barriers and make the curriculum a coherent whole.

Using the written curriculum as the primary resource, teachers and students plan a structured inquiry involving a range of classroom activities the taught curriculum. Assessment that provides data about the learned curriculum is a part of these activities and concentrates attention on both the quality of the learning process and that of the learning.

The PYP represents the work of practicing teachers and administrators over an extended period. It recognizes the most relevant research in how children learn and celebrates ‘Best Primary Practice’ at an international level.