Primary curriculum

Curriculum in Primary

The International Primary Years Curriculum(IPC) and Cambridge Primary are used in  international schools all over the world. At Eerde we have implemented both curricula as we believe this is the best of both educational systems. Learning with the International Primary Curriculum means that students focus on a combination of academic, personal and international learning which is exciting and challenging. The aim of the IPC is to help every student enjoy the connections of learning within a wide range of subjects. It helps to develop an enquiring mind, personal attributes and to develop a sense of the student’s own nationality and culture, at the same time developing a profound respect for the nationalities and cultures of others. Math and English are the subjects that follow the Cambridge Primary learning goals. Of course they link as closely as possible with the IPC topics. At Eerde we believe that connecting both programs in this way will enable the student to get the best education from both worlds.

What is IPC

IPC, the International Primary Curriculum, is a creative and thematic based curriculum which integrates various subjects like History, Science, Geography, Society, ICT, Technology, Art, Music and Physical Education. At the base of this curriculum is a clear and well-structured learning process with specific learning goals for each subject. This curriculum helps to form a big picture and understanding about how everything is connected through a holistic appraoch. It encourages the learners to look for connections constantly, as we believe that the more connections a student can make, the better he/she can learn.  Learning with the IPC takes a global approach; helping students to connect their learning to where they are living now as well as looking at their learning from the perspectives of other people.

Subjects taught in IPC

Science, History, Geography, Art, Design Technology & Computing, PE, and Music. The IPC topics present learning for students in a vibrant and meaningful way, which will help students make links between subject areas.

The IPC process of Learning

Every IPC unit contains a clear learning process and has a structural approach providing students with a stimulating, brain friendly environment. These structures help the students to become engaged in their own learning process and remain committed to learning throughout their school years and later life, creating lifelong learners. 

Each unit of work starts with an Entry Point which provides an exciting introduction to the work that is to follow. The main goal of the Entry Point is to induce interest and enthusiasm and get the students motivated to start learning about this theme. In the Knowledge Harvest students have the opportunity to reveal what they already know about the theme they are about to study and for teachers to build on that. Pre-knowledge is activated and students start recording what they already know about the subject. The teacher explains the theme so students know what they will learn in each given subject related to their personal and international goals in every subject. This creates an overview of what will be learned, and enables students to create and find connections. 

All lessons contain a Research and Recording Activity. During the research activities students use a variety of methods and work in different group sizes to find a range of information. Through these two activities, students achieve the learning targets in every subject, including international targets, while also developing their personal goals. The learner has a central position in the process and students will be assessed on their knowledge skills and understanding related to the subject area and concept following a mini cycle of research, record, and reflection in each of the learning activities. The mini cycle ensures that learners can reflect on all learning opportunities as part of their regular subject learning and this will occur many times and not just once. Reflection questions support metacognitive thinking and learners may respond to the questions in a variety of ways. The reflections of students are included in their portfolios.

Every unit ends with an exit point, an activity where the students get the opportunity to evaluate, reflect and present to others what they have learned. This helps them to become more aware of what they have learned and how they have developed. 

Furthermore, every unit contains an Innovation Task to provide students with an opportunity to extend their responses to the work within a unit by thinking more deeply and offering opportunities for gifted and talented students to be challenged.

Connection with Cambridge Primary 

Math and English follow the Cambridge Primary learning goals but are integrated with the IPC as much as possible. At the end of each year the core subjects will be assessed using Cambridge Primary test material. These results will be marked and, in the last year of Primary, analysed externally. Learners will receive an analysis on their performance with strengths and weaknesses identified. This analysis will enable both the school and parents to monitor the students’ development and to see where the student is on his/her learning journey. At the end of Cambridge Primary, year 6 students will receive a statement of achievement.

IPC takes various learning styles into consideration, it is aimed at brain friendly and experiential learning suiting the needs of students between the ages of 4-11. The IPC  utilizes a constructivist pedagogy, whereby learners connect new knowledge to prior knowledge and are actively engaged in constructing their own understanding.

The experiential and active approach to learning that the IPC  promotes ensures the acquisition and development of Knowledge, Skills and Understanding in ways in which the learner is fully engaged in learning activities considered to be iterative and active. 

Students will also learn to develop their personal goals. These goals refer to the individual attributes and characteristics of the students that are important and necessary in the 21st century. Students learn to develop qualities that will help them deal with changes in life and become successful in their future careers. 

The international goals will help students develop a sense of “international mindedness”. These goals help students to develop a national, international, global and intercultural perspective. These goals are also inspiring students to take positive actions and engagement within global issues, developing a strong global awareness.

Considering all of this, we at Eerde also differentiate and embrace the talents and skills of every individual student. We are aware that building on talents can enhance the learning process and its effectiveness.

Overview of the Primary Program

Each week, Primary students take the following program of lessons:

English, Language arts/Literacy 8 lessons (45mins)

Mathematics 8 lessons (45mins)

IPC including: Science, History, Geography, 4 lessons (45mins)

Forest School: Science, Arts & Crafts, Project Learning 2 lessons (45mins)

Music 1 lesson (45mins)

Art 2 lessons (45mins)

Physical Education 2 lessons (45mins)

Dutch A (Native Speakers only) 4 lessons (45mins)

Dutch B (Non-Native Speakers) 2 lessons (45mins)

International mindedness & personal goals On-going

Support

Primary students have dedicated class teachers who support them in navigating all aspects of academic and social life at Eerde. Individual support is also made available to primary students who require it through Eerde’s Learning support, staffed by qualified Learning Coaches, who are adept at providing personalised study support. This combination of factors means that primary students are provided with support and guidance during their period of study at Eerde.

Year Groups

Students in Primary are usually placed based on their age, though they will work at the level which best coreesponds to their needs.

To support progression and ensure smooth transitions between programmes, year levels are organised by age and curriculum stage rather than by national systems.

In the Primary School, classes are referred to as Year Groups, while in the Secondary School (from IMYC onward), the American system of Grades is used.

Although both systems use numbers, these do not align directly - for example, a student in Eerde Grade 0 is equivalent to Primary Year 1.

Assessment and Grading

In Primary knowledge, skills and understanding are thought of as different types of learning experiences, or learning types, and are therefore planned, taught, learned, assessed and reported on accordingly. Assessment is balanced and rigorous to make sure that the students have learned what we planned for them to learn. Students, together with the teacher will keep a portfolio with work and will keep track of the achievement of learning goals.

Skills assessment

The Assessment to Improve learning Program provides assessment for the skills learned in all Primary subject areas. Skills need time to be practiced and developed, there is a consistent and clear process for the teachers to support the learners in achieving and developing their skills. A skill can be assessed at a beginning, developing, mastering or innovation level. The mastering level is the level we hope students to be at the end of the milepost whereas the innovation level describes advanced skills and performance above and beyond what is expected. There are success criteria available for each skill being practiced which are used by both teachers and learners. This enables students to reflect and be active and have ownership over their learning. Teachers use the assessment to improve learning to identify the learning stage of each student and provide clear advice on how to move to the next level. 

Assessing understanding is multifaceted and cannot necessarily be evaluated in the same way for each learner. Assessing understanding involves any or all of the following at different times and as appropriate:

• A collection of evidence over time

• Teacher judgement

• Open ended task construction

• Application of thinking skills

• A certain breath of knowledge so that connections can be made

• Multiple opportunities that are designed in different ways

Knowledge will be assessed through formal and summative knowledge tests which are created by the teacher. Portfolio assessments and exit point presentations will happen after each unit of work and will be marked with a pass or fail, this is where students can show their understanding of the concept and their learning.

Assessment to improve learning explanation

There are lots of different ways to assess a learner. This includes formal testing. However, a teacher will use a variety of formal and informal assessment activities throughout the learning process. Any activity which checks how well a student is learning is assessing that student’s learning. Information from these assessment activities is used to adapt teaching and learning approaches, which leads to improvements in learner outcomes.

Assessment to improve learning (ATIL) is an approach to teaching and learning that creates feedback which is then used to improve students’ performance. Students become more involved in the learning process and from this gain confidence in what they are expected to learn and to what standard.

One way of thinking about ATIL is that it aims to ‘close the gap’ between a learner’s current situation and where they want to be in their learning and achievement. Skilled teachers plan tasks which help learners to do this. Self-assessment and peer assessment focuses on the importance of learners assessing their own learning, using rubrics and other appropriate methods and is vital in the process

ATIL involves students becoming more active in their learning and starting to ‘think like a teacher’. They think more actively about where they are now, where they are going and how to get there.

The five main processes in assessment to improve learning

There are five main processes that take place in assessment to improve learning:

1. Students understand what successful work looks like for each task they are doing. They know and are familiar with their learning goals.

2. Questioning enables a student, with the help of their teacher, to find out what level they are at.

3. Students become more independent in their learning, taking part in peer assessment and self-assessment.

4. The teacher provides feedback to each student about how to improve their learning.

5. Summative assessments (e.g. the student’s exam or portfolio submission) are also used formatively to help them improve.

Grading Scales 

Curriculum Outlines