The National Curriculum/International Primary Curriculum

Following the release of the new National Curriculum by the Government in 2014, we are embracing the changes through our use of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC). 

We have focused on developing planning which fosters children's creativity and choice. The IPC is a comprehensive, thematic, creative curriculum with a clear process of learning and with specific learning goals for every subject which encourage international mindedness and personal thinking.

It has been designed to ensure rigorous learning but also to help teachers make learning exciting, active and meaningful for children. Learning with the IPC takes a global approach; helping children to connect their learning to where they are living now as well as learning from the perspective of other people in other countries. We are one of a huge amount of schools in more than 92 countries around the world inspiring out children through the IPC.  

IPC Learning Goals

The Learning Goals are the foundation on which the International Primary Curriculum is built.

They define what children might be expected to know, what they might be able to do and the understandings they might develop as they move through school. Well written learning goals guide teaching and learning and help to focus assessment and evaluation. 

The Subject Goals

The subject goals cover the knowledge (facts and information children might learn), the skills (practical abilities children need to be able to do) and the understandings (deeper awareness of key concepts which develop over time). There are subject learning goals for Language Arts, Maths, Science, Information Technology, Design Technology, History, Geography, Music, Physical Education, Art and Society. 

The Personal Goals

The Personal Goals refer to those individual qualities and dispositions which children will find essential in the 21st century. They help to develop those qualities that will enable children to be at ease with the continually changing context of their lives. There are personal goals for enquiry, resilience, morality, communication, thoughtfulness, cooperation, respect and adaptability. Some of the skills learnt include:

• Be able to cope with unfamiliar situations;
• Be able to approach tasks with confidence;
• Be able to be at ease with themselves in a variety of situations
• Be able to consider and respect the views, cultures and traditions of other people. 

The International Goals

The IPC also defines learning goals which help young children start the move towards an increasingly sophisticated national and international perspective. The IPC's view of an international perspective is based upon:

• A knowledge and understanding of one's own national culture. International is both inter and national;
• An awareness and understanding of the independence of and the interdependence between peoples and countries;
• An awareness and understanding of the essential similarities between the peoples and countries of the world;
• A developing ability to be at ease with others who are different from ourselves.