pyp updates

Dear Primary parents and caregivers,

If you walked through our Primary corridors this week, you would notice that no two classrooms look quite the same. One might be busy with students recording observations from an experiment. Another might be quiet, with students working through problems on a shared maths wall. A third might have children gathered around a display, adding sticky notes with their latest questions.

This variety is not accidental. As most classes reach the final week of their Units of Inquiry, it is a good moment to look at what these different spaces have in common. A Unit of Inquiry is one of the big, transdisciplinary investigations at the heart of the PYP.

Learning starts with a question

In a PYP classroom, learning usually begins with curiosity rather than with answers. Teachers often open a unit with a "provocation": an object, an image, an experience or an unexpected situation that gets students noticing and wondering. Students might record what they see, what they think and what they wonder. Those questions then help shape the direction of the inquiry.

Inquiry also means investigating. Students might go looking for examples around the school, carry out a simple experiment, or compare different ways of solving a problem. Throughout, they connect what they are learning to their own lives. The aim is for students to see that learning is not something that stays inside a notebook. It helps them understand the world they live in every day.

Students helping to shape their learning

"Agency" is a word you will often hear in the PYP. It means students have a genuine voice in, and ownership of, their learning.

This can be seen from the very first weeks of the year, when classes create "essential agreements" together. These are the shared promises about how everyone in the room will learn and work together. When students help write these agreements, illustrate them and sign them, the agreements belong to them rather than being rules handed down.

Agency also shows up in everyday routines. Students take on classroom roles, choose how to show what they know, and have ways to share their feelings and ideas with their teachers. None of this means students decide everything. It means they are active participants rather than passive receivers.

Making thinking visible

Walk into our classrooms and you will see a lot of student work on the walls. Much of it is unfinished, and that is intentional. Displays such as "working walls," question boards and concept charts show learning as it happens. They are not only there to celebrate finished products.

A maths display might show several students solving the same kind of problem in different ways, with crossings-out included. A unit display might sort students' ideas under the big "concepts" of the unit, such as change, perspective or responsibility. Concepts are the key ideas that help students look at a topic from different angles and understand it more deeply.

When thinking is visible, students can learn from each other. Teachers can also see where to go next, and understanding becomes something the whole class builds together.

Developing the whole learner

The PYP is concerned not only with what students know, but with who they are becoming. The Learner Profile describes qualities we hope to grow in every child, such as being inquirers, communicators, caring and reflective. The Approaches to Learning, or ATL, are the skills of "learning how to learn," such as thinking, communication, research, self-management and social skills.

These show up in small, everyday ways. Students use sentence starters to explain their opinions and give reasons. They listen to and build on each other's ideas. They take turns and work through challenges. Displays and word walls in more than one language remind students that all of their languages are valued. So do moments when teachers share their own stories and interests, which make classrooms feel like communities where everyone is known.

Reflection and next steps

The final week of a unit is not simply "the end of a topic." It is a chance for students to look back and ask: What did I think at the start? What do I understand now? What am I still wondering about? Many classes revisit the questions they asked at the beginning of the unit and notice how their thinking has changed.

Some questions will remain open, and that is a good thing. Unanswered wonderings often become the starting point for future learning.

Reflection can also lead to action. In the PYP, action does not need to be large. It might be a change in a personal habit, a decision to treat others differently, or a small step to help the class or wider community.

One programme, many classrooms

A PYP classroom does not have a single "correct" look. Classrooms differ because students are at different ages and stages, units ask different questions, and teachers bring different strengths and strategies. What connects them is a shared commitment: students asking questions, investigating, explaining their thinking, working together and reflecting on how they have grown.