As educators we always look for continuous school improvement and challenge ourselves to give to the children we teach the best opportunities in education. After much research and comparative studies of available curriculum the Primary Years Program (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate was chosen as the vehicle for this continued growth.

The PYP does not replace the curriculum set by the Victorian Government but rather integrates all subjects traditionally taught under the ‘umbrella’ of this approach. Your child will still be taught all the requirements of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards as stipulated by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.

The PYP is designed for students between the ages of 3 and 12 years of age to engage them in a transdiciplinary curriculum which is relevant, challenging and engaging. It combines best practice and research in teaching and learning from a very large range of national systems throughout the world and supports schools and teachers with an extensive support system including an Online Curriculum Centre based in Cardiff, Wales, ongoing professional development and a wealth of knowledge from practitioners around the world.

The PYP focuses on the total growth of the child, touching hearts as well as minds and encompassing social, physical, emotional and cultural needs in addition to academic welfare. The philosophy of the PYP, as it directly affects the child, is expressed in a series of desired attributes and traits that characterize students with an international perspective. Taken together, they create the PYP student profile. We want students to develop the following attributes and dispositions to become: inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk-takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, well-balanced and reflective.

In addition the program promotes and fosters a set of attitudes that include tolerance, respect, integrity, independence, enthusiasm, empathy, curiosity, creativity, cooperation, confidence, commitment and appreciation.

At Brighton Primary School we aim to enable students to become life-long learners and to equip them with the academic and life skills to take them in to the rapidly changing global world they are growing up in as responsible citizens.

The PYP provides an opportunity for learners to construct meaning, principally through concept-driven inquiry. Traditional academic subjects are part of the program but it emphasises the interrelatedness of knowledge and skills through a transdisciplinary program of inquiry. The most important premise of the PYP is that children learn through their own curiosity – and that it is the school’s responsibility to encourage them to be curious, to ask questions and to explore ways of finding the answers to their questions. This is called Inquiry Based Learning, and it shapes our entire program.

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning with an international curriculum model that provides guidelines for what students should learn, a teaching methodology, and assessment strategies.

Organising themes help teachers and children explore knowledge in the broadest sense of the word.

There are six transdisciplinary themes

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

Teachers and students use key questions that are concept based to structure the units of inquiry. They acquire and apply transdisciplinary skills while developing an understanding of these important concepts.

IBO Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the IBO works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.