On Wednesday, September 7th we enjoyed a great turnout of 50 parents who attended our Understanding the Primary Years Programme (PYP) Workshop. This workshop was designed to give our parents a better understanding of the PYP, the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum framework for students aged 3-11. We would like to thank our parents for joining us and we hope that you now know more about how the PYP works. During the workshop, some parents asked to see our Prem Junior School Programme of Inquiry (POI) and I promised to share it. 

To view the Prem Junior School Programme of Inquiry (POI) AY22/23, please click on this link HERE. 

Please allow me to provide some more context to better understand a Programme of Inquiry. In a PYP school the Programme of Inquiry is a very important part of our curriculum. However, before getting into an explanation of the Programme of Inquiry and its importance in a PYP school, it is important to note that we do teach much of our Mathematics, Reading and Writing programme as standalone subjects that sit separate to our Programme of Inquiry. In balance, we also intentionally connect many Mathematics, Reading and Writing learning outcomes to the Units of Inquiry (UOI) that make up our Programme of Inquiry.  In fact, many of the learning outcomes we teach to our students in subjects like Music, PE, Art and LOTE are also connected to our Programme of Inquiry. The reason for this is that the PYP is a transdisciplinary curriculum framework that offers authentic learning experiences that are not confined to the boundaries of traditional subjects. Although subjects play an important role in learning, PYP learners explore real-world problems by going beyond subject boundaries. The PYP encourages students to learn to appreciate knowledge, conceptual understandings, skills and personal attributes as a connected whole. 

A PYP Programme of Inquiry is organized under six transdisciplinary themes:

• Who we are.
• Where we are in place and time.
• How we express ourselves.
• How the world works.
• How we organize ourselves.
• Sharing the planet.

The Programme of Inquiry articulates how these six transdisciplinary themes will be explored across the different age groups. It provides students in the early and primary years with the opportunity to experience a coherent and balanced curriculum. The programme of inquiry articulates what, when and how our PYP students explore the transdisciplinary themes through their Units of Inquiry (UOIs).

As you take a closer look at our Prem Junior School Programme of Inquiry, please note that under each UOI, we have identified:

• Concepts that have relevance across, between and beyond the subjects and that connect knowledge to enable learners to build conceptual understandings
• Approaches To Learning (ATLs) which are important for developing inquiring minds and the skills needed to explore concepts and subject knowledge

It is important to understand that the PYP framework is not static, but rather it is dynamic. This is because a transdisciplinary Programme of Inquiry leaves room for emergent and unexpected ideas, directions and connections that students might encounter. We place an emphasis on reflection and taking action to enhance individual and collective understanding or to address personal, local and/or global challenges and opportunities. Overall, the big idea behind our Programme of Inquiry is to create an educational structure that can nurture experienced and capable global citizens. By being active learners working within this framework, our students may become empowered with understanding, skills and dispositions, so that they can think critically, solve problems and take action, to both succeed as individuals, and to make the world a better place.

Justin Jarman

Junior School Principal