Introduced in 1997, the International Baccalaureate primary years programme (IBPYP) is a curriculum framework for students aged 3 to 12, and is designed to prepare them for the IB middle years and diploma programmes.

It is now taught in more than 1,700 schools across 109 different countries.

All IB programmes centre on the “learner profile”, which outlines that IB pupils should aim to be inquirers, thinkers and communicators, who are principled, open-minded, caring, balanced and reflective.

Throughout the PYP, students are asked to identify how they embody those traits.

As with the other IB programmes, the PYP curriculum is designed to focus on concept-based learning over content-based learning. It also looks to encourage an international perspective and ensure that communication, independence and research are important parts of students’ learning.

The idea behind the PYP is that, rather than just memorising a set of facts, pupils engage in their own learning in a natural way, questioning, exploring and experimenting to develop their ability to learn.

Subjects and themes

The PYP covers six subject areas: language, social studies, mathematics, arts, science, and personal, social and physical education.

These subject areas are explored through six themes that span the different subject areas: who we are, where we are in space and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organise ourselves, and sharing the planet.

The PYP’s trans-disciplinary approach to learning is designed to apply teaching to a real-world context, where there aren’t distinct subject lines.

Instead, the PYP deeply investigates common themes across subjects, developing a decompartmentalised understanding of their learning.

In the classroom

A typical lesson plan might start with an open-ended question, developed by either the teacher or the pupils, such as “Does being rich make you happy?”.

From there, the teacher will encourage students to discuss the question and search for their own answers. 

The final year of the programme culminates in the PYP exhibition, a rite of passage from PYP to the middle years programme, where students are asked to carry out an extended, in-depth collaborative project.

Exhibitions often take the form of a display board, giving students the chance to present their findings to others and to share their learning process.

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