The International Primary Curriculum at Barton

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Barton School started teaching using the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) in September 2009, and we hope that this article covers the questions which parents are most likely to ask about the IPC. lf your question isn't answered here, please read the additional information on this website, visit the IPC's own information for parents or talk to your child's class teacher.

Why did we choose the IPC?

The IPC ticked all the boxes for us! The staff wanted something which gave them the opportunity to put the fun back into learning, to make it more creative and based on furnishing the children with the skills to learn not just a whole stream of facts that would be out of date by the time they leave school. The IPC has the added benefit of adopting an international perspective, which complements our work towards becoming a British Council fully accredited International Award school.

What will happen about Literacy and Numeracy?

Many of the topics lend themselves to allowing teachers to teach the literacy objectives through the themed work that they will do, making it more meaningful and giving it a purpose. However there will be some areas that will be taught discretely. Numeracy will be taught daily, separately through the relevant schemes, but the skills taught in these lessons will often be called upon within aspects of the IPC, giving the children a forum in which to reinforce their learning in a relevant context. Most schools using IPC have reported an increase in standards in these core subjects.

Are there any subjects that won't be taught through IPC?

The global nature of the IPC means that there is no common second language for the children to learn. Therefore MFL (modern foreign languages) is not included and will be taught independently. The same is true of RE, as religions vary from continent to continent. As a church school we are obliged to teach RE as set out in the local statutory guidance. Again there may be some overlap of knowledge and skills to enrich the learning.

How can we be involved in our child's learning?

At the start of each unit of work, roughly half termly, you will receive a message via Parentmail outlining what your children will be doing in the IPC. This information is also available on this website from the IPC category for each class:

You can use these articles as a starting point to chat with your children about what they have covered. At the end of each unit, we will be asking the children to evaluate what they have done and learnt. We also would like feedback from you on your child’s reaction to their learning at home. If you have anything to offer or a skill that you would like to share that is relevant to the theme then please speak to your child's class teacher.