The King Abdulaziz School was officially authorized to offer the Primary Years Programme by the International Baccalaureate (IB) in December 2017 and has since been committed to implementing and further developing the IB programs at the school.

What Is Special about the Primary Years Programme (PYP) at KAS?

We believe our students…

• Learn through inquiry and a concept-driven curriculum. It allows them to be active participants in their learning by asking questions, exploring ideas, and sharing knowledge with their peers.
• Learn how to interact appropriately and openly with others from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and languages. They are internationally minded.
• Learn how to apply the knowledge and skills they gain from each subject to other issues and areas.
• Develop knowledge, conceptual understanding, skills, and attributes of the IB Learner Profile to make a positive difference in their own lives, their communities, and beyond.

Learn through differentiated experiences that accommodate the range of abilities and learning styles.

Primary Years Program Overview

The Primary Years Program is an inquiry-based, trans-disciplinary learning program designed by the International Baccalaureate Organization for 3-12-year-olds. It focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside. It is a framework guided by six transdisciplinary themes of global significance, explored using knowledge and skills derived from six subject areas, as well as interdisciplinary skills, with a powerful emphasis on inquiry. All elementary school subjects are incorporated into this program of inquiry. The central purpose of the Primary Years Programme is to develop the attributes and traits identified in the IB Learner Profile.

The IB Learner Profile

At the heart of the International Baccalaureate is the Learner Profile, ten attributes that define an internationally-minded human being. The learner profile provides a long-term vision of education. The qualities originally conceived to teach for world peace are Caring, Principled, Balanced, Open-Minded, Reflective, Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Risk-Takers.

To learn more about IB Learner Profile watch a video about it below.

The Trans-disciplinary Themes

The IBPYP consists of 6 themes that encourage students to research, discuss, challenge, share, and present their ideas concerning their own lives and in the medium of both Arabic and English.

1. Who We Are
2. Where We Are in Place and Time
3. How We Express Ourselves
4. How the World Works
5. How We Organise Ourselves
6. Sharing the Planet

The Key Concepts

The Primary Years Programme (PYP) also focuses on key concepts and world issues that empower students to become global citizens, whilst providing them with values and dispositions for lifelong learning and the life skills to sustain them as the leaders of the future. These support higher-order thinking and provide lenses for considering knowledge related to the center in a range of ways.

1. Form
2. Function
3. Causation
4. Change
5. Connection
6. Perspective
7. Responsibility

Approaches to learning skills (ATL)

The IB approaches to learning skills (ATL) are grounded in the belief that learning how to learn is fundamental to a student’s life in and out of a school context. Students have the flexibility to adapt, adapt, and extend sub-skills most relevant to their abilities as early learners and primary aged students. Some examples of sub-skills include:

1. Thinking – Critical, creative, transfer
2. Research – Ethical, media, and information literacy
3. Communication – Listening, speaking, interpreting
4. Social – Interpersonal, social, and emotional intelligence
5. Self-management – Mindfulness, time management, organization

5 ways you could support your child as a PYP parent