The IPC is a comprehensive, thematic, creative curriculum for children 5-12 years old, with a clear process of learning and specific learning goals for every subject. Children are also taught international mindedness and character building.

IPC Learning Goals:

The Learning Goals are the foundation on which the International Primary Curriculum is built. At the very heart of the IPC is a clarity about what children should learn. There are learning goals, or standards, for all of the subjects of the primary curriculum. There are learning goals for children’s personal development, and, uniquely, there are learning goals for the development of children’s international mindedness and international learning. The IPC provides learning goals for every subject of the primary curriculum, and are defined for each age phase: Milepost 1 (ages 5-7 years), Milepost 2 (ages 7-9 years) and Milepost 3 (ages 9-12 years).

The Subject Goals:

The subject goals cover knowledge (the facts and information children might learn), skills (those practical abilities children need to be able to do) and understanding (the deeper awareness of key concepts which develops over time). There are subject learning goals for Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, ICT & Computing, Technology, History, Geography, Music, Physical Education, Art and Society.

Some examples of IPC subject goals are:

Language Arts Learning Goals (Milepost 1)

• Know the basic structure elements of word structure
• Be able to recognise and use nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs

History Learning Goals (Milepost 2)

• Know about the main events, dates and characteristics of the past societies they have studied
• Be able to gather information from simple sources
• Understand that the past can be considered in terms of different time periods

ICT and Computing Learning Goals (Milepost 3)

• Know that the study of ICT and computing is concerned with applying technology to gather, use and exchange information safely and create, design and publish appropriate content.
• Be able to design and write programs to accomplish specific goals, working with sequence, selection and repetition to control events
• Understand that all aspects of ICT and computing need to be used safely, respectfully and responsibly, recognizing unacceptable behaviour and reporting concerns.

The Personal Goals:

The IPC Personal Goals underpin those individual qualities and learning dispositions we believe 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. Opportunities to experience and practice these are built into the learning tasks within each unit of work, and referenced at the end of every task to signpost opportunities for teachers to further develop them. There are 8 IPC Personal Goals – enquiry, resilience, morality, communication, thoughtfulness, cooperation, respect and adaptability.

As an example of some of the IPC Learning Goals for Adaptability, children, through their study of the IPC will learn to:

• Know about a range of views, cultures and traditions
• Be able to consider and respect the views, cultures and traditions of other people
• Be able to cope with unfamiliar situations
• Be able to approach tasks with confidence
• Be able to suggest and explore new roles, ideas, and strategies
• Be able to move between conventional and more fluid forms of thinking
• Be able to be at ease with themselves in a variety of situations

The International Learning Goals:

The IPC is unique in defining International Learning Goals that help young children begin the move towards an increasingly sophisticated national, international, global and intercultural perspective and develop a sense of ‘international mindedness’. Each IPC unit has embedded within it, across the different subjects, learning-focused activities that help children start developing a global awareness and gain an increasing sense of themselves, their community and the world around them, as well as inspiring positive action and engagement with global issues. In addition to this, each thematic IPC unit of work includes specific tasks related to International as a subject in its own right.

An example of some of the International Learning Goals at Milepost 3:

• Know about the key features related to the lives of people in their home country and, where appropriate, their parents’ home countries
• Be able to explain how the lives of people in one country or group are affected by the activities of other countries or groups
• Understand that there is value both in the similarities and the differences between different countries

The philosophy of ‘independence and interdependence’ runs throughout the IPC.