Conceptual Approach

The Primary Years Programme is a curriculum framework that teachers use to plan what they want to teach and assess. The key elements of the programme focus on understanding concepts, acquiring knowledge, building skills, developing attitudes and taking action.

The Programme of Inquiry (POI) is the foundation upon which units are designed and built. Units are built around key concepts that include: causation, change, connection, form, function, responsibility, perspective, and reflection which is ongoing throughout all units. Subject-specific related concepts are also a key part of what students learn. This concept-based approach allows students to make transdisciplinary connections across different subjects making it easier to build their understanding of the what, why, and how the world works. Teachers become facilitators of inquiry as they provoke student thinking through a variety of strategies, and plan how to engage and encourage students to collaborate and develop skills that will prepare them for further education and the real world.We also encourage students to become self-regulated, agentic learners who take responsibility for their learning. The concepts, knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students acquire will propel them into taking action that can make a difference.