A little context
The International Stream Primary introduced the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) in September 2017. The IPC supports the delivery of the school mission statement to enable our students to reach their full potential, be confident, independent learners and be responsible global citizens.
The accreditation report states, “The Accreditation team during observations noted that the learners were given choice in every lesson that they visited, whether in class or distance learning, which links to the school mission of developing confident, independent learners and this can be seen as a strength of the school.”
The IPC accreditation is delivered in 1000+ schools and 90+ countries around the world. The IEYC is delivered in 500+ schools and 60+ countries.
We are very proud to announce…
…that FIS is now an accredited school for the International Primary Curriculum effective from 2021 to 2025. The accreditation focuses on 9 criteria. For each criteria, there are four areas: learners, teachers, leaders and community.
An accreditation team of six members, mostly Head Teachers from other international accredited IPC schools visited both JL and TKO campuses in November 2020 and January 2021. Following this rigorous review of the school, the ICA (International Curriculum Association) identified 6 areas of mastering level practice across the International Primary Curriculum:
- A clear focus on improving learning ;
- A shared vision about the kinds of people we are helping to develop ;
- Implementation of classroom approaches that help children develop towards the school’s shared vision ;
- International Mindedness and International Learning ;
- Implementation of the Learning Process of the International Primary Curriculum ;
- Implementation of themes that link independent yet interdependent subjects.
A word from Ross Armitage, Head of Primary – International Stream who was the FIS lead regarding this accreditation:
“Our IPC & IEYC learning journey started in 2017 when we implemented our first units with our students. Our knowledge, skills and understanding of the curriculum has deepened and developed immensely over the years for our learners, staff, leaders and the school community. Everyone has played a vital role in the accreditation process and they should be proud of their commitment, drive and dedication.
The pre-accreditation and accreditation process focuses on self-review and school improvement of teaching and learning. All IS Primary Staff have been involved in reviewing, action planning and lots of professional development workshops, courses and seminars!
The accreditation weeks provided the opportunity for FIS to be externally validated. The accreditation team left no stone unturned, they visited all classrooms and learning environments, scrutinized our policies, teachers planning, student portfolios, displays, assemblies plus many more documentations. They interviewed our students, parents, teachers and leaders.
The partnership between parents, community and the school is central to the IEYC & IPC philosophy. This partnership is forged through sharing and working towards the same goals. A huge part of the IEYC & IPC curriculum are the development of personal goals – the goals which model and provide the skills for our learners to become independent , responsible global citizens.
“During a meeting with the Accreditation team, parents shared that the Personal Goals are also used at home and with the distance learning they themselves, their children and the teachers had developed the IPC Personal Goals of adaptability, resilience and communication even further.”
The comments and reflections in the report demonstrate the immense success of the IS Primary community in the continual improvement and engagement with the IPC to bring it alive for our VIPs…our students! We are most proud of the team’s effort to provide an experiential curriculum that will ensure all our students have the best life chances and have rich memory’s of their time in IS Primary.”
Some observation quotes from the accreditation report about learning :
“During a virtual Exit Point for Milepost 2, learners shared their understanding of their unit ‘On Tap’ through a videoed news report for their parents. Learners explained the water cycle, shared how water was purified through experiments, and how to conserve water. They finished with a call to action to save water and gave suggestions on how to do this in their homes.”
“In the assembly when the new icons for Knowledge, Skills and Understanding were being presented to the learners, teachers explained that the giraffe linked to understanding has a long neck which helps her make deeper connections in their learning. “Just think when you’re as tall as me you get to see things from a bigger perspective, I can look at several ideas and make connections between them.… it helps you make sense – you can see how it all fits together.”
This accreditation is a wonderful tribute to the hard work, dedication and focus of all our school community: teachers, students, parents, and staff. It also demonstrates that the curriculum is both rigorous and developmental.
Our aim is that the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC) accreditation will take place in term one, 2021.