We use the International Primary Curriculum, known as IPC, for much of our topic and language work. The IPC is a comprehensive, thematic and creative curriculum which has specific learning goals for every subject. At BIS Hanoi, the IPC programme complements the English National Curriculum in the Primary school, to help develop enquiry and a global mindset from a young age. The content is divided into themes or topics, which enable our students to find relevance and remain motivated through their learning of science, geography, history, art, music, ICT and even PE. It also provides the opportunity for children to make links and see connections between their subject learning.
Teachers work together to plan a series of units for the entire school year, which complement one another and offer students a wide range of subject matter and learning opportunities. These learning routes are mapped across phases and the entire primary school.
As well as subject learning, all IPC units include personal and international learning too. This means that children will also learn about aspects of the theme from the perspective of their own local community, from the country the school is located in, and other countries too , helping children to find the similarities as well as the differences they have with children in other parts of the world.
Each unit starts with an ‘Entry Point’, which acts as a motivation for learning. These generally have a wow factor, that hooks children into the topic and inspires an inquisitiveness and passion for the theme. Learning is fun, and students engage enthusiastically. At the end of the topic comes an ‘Exit Point’. The exit point has two main purposes: to help children pull together their learning from the unit and to celebrate the learning that has taken place. These exit points involve a lot of planning by the children and collaboration, working with their peers to present their learning in a meaningful way.