The Primary Years Program (PYP) offers a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning. It provides an inquiry-based curriculum model that incorporates guidelines on what students should learn, how students should act as learners and as community members, on teaching methodologies and on assessment strategies.

The individual at the centre

The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) puts the individual student and inquiry at the centre of its educational philosophy and at ISLK we aim to reflect this by incorporating it in all areas of our curriculum. It is our aim that all learning and teaching in our school is inquiry based learning; not just within the Units of Inquiry, but also in Mathematics, Language and the Single Subjects (Swedish, PE, Music and Visual Arts).

Concept-driven curriculum

The exploration and re-exploration of concepts lead students towards an appreciation of ideas that transcend disciplinary boundaries. Students gradually work towards a deepening of their conceptual understanding as they approach those concepts from a range of perspectives. The PYP also believes that a concept-driven curriculum helps the learner to construct meaning through improved critical thinking and the transfer of knowledge. This and the principle of agency is embedded in to the three pillars which together create the IB PYP curriculum framework: 

• the learner
• learning and teaching
• the learning community

To learn more about each of these areas please visit the International Baccalaureate Organization website here

Students explore significant concepts through units of inquiry. The six transdisciplinary themes that guide units of inquiry in each PYP school year are:

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

ISLK’s PYP teachers work collaboratively to develop a Programme of Inquiry (POI) to reflect the unique aspects of our school’s community and these six transdisciplinary themes. The POI builds a whole-school, long-term curriculum plan for learning based on our specific context.  Each year the units of inquiry build on previous learning and are age-appropriate.

Learner Agency 

Learners with agency use their own initiative and will take responsibility and ownership of their learning. They will direct their learning with a strong sense of identity and self-belief, and in conjunction with others, thereby building a sense of community and awareness of the opinions, values and needs of others.

Students take initiative, express interests and wonderings, make choices and are aware of their learning goals. They are actively engaged, monitor and adjust their learning as needed. Students offer feedback to others and consult on decisions that affect them.

At ISLK, students take responsibility for their learning and collaborate with teachers and other students to plan, present and assess learning needs. Teachers recognize students’ capabilities through listening, respecting and responding to their ideas. They make thoughtful considerations and decisions with an emphasis on relationships, dialogue and respect for one another.  Learner agency is active both inside and outside the classroom, students have opportunities to influence the playground and break times, lunches and other areas of the school and daily life at school. 

Assessment and evidencing learning 

The purpose of assessment is to inform learning and teaching. It involves the gathering and analysis of information about student learning to inform teaching practice. It identifies what students know, understand and can do at different stages in the learning process, and identifies any barriers to learning.

Students become effective, self-regulated learners when they are actively engaged in assessment and act on constructive feedback. This helps them reflect on their progress, set goals for their learning and engages them in making decisions about what they need to do to achieve these goals. PYP assessment has four dimensions: monitoring, documenting, measuring and reporting on learning. Each of these aspects has its own function, but all aim to provide evidence to inform learning and teaching.

At ISLK we aim to support students to be actively engaged in their learning journeys. Learning goals and success criteria are co-constructed, with input from students, teachers and/or parents. Students are given opportunities to select their own pieces of learning evidence (with teacher support as needed). Pieces chosen demonstrate progress of learning, that the students can see/recognise and reflect on their own progress (e.g goal setting, achieving and next goals) and show a level of student-led inquiry.

FAQs about the PYP

You can find frequently asked questions about the Primary Years Programme in the link below.

FAQs about the Primary Years Programme