IB PYP
International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP)
International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) at KPS
The Victorian Curriculum provides the content. The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme provides the framework that brings it to life through inquiry.
International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP)
Inspiring Curious Minds, Confident Learners and Global Citizens
At Kingsville Primary School, we believe children learn best when they feel safe, valued, challenged, and connected. We are committed to creating engaging learning experiences that inspire curiosity, encourage deep thinking, and empower students to become active participants in their own learning.
As an authorised International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, we proudly deliver the Primary Years Programme (PYP) alongside the Victorian Curriculum. Together, these frameworks provide our students with a rich, rigorous, and future-focused education.
The Best of Both Worlds
The Victorian Curriculum outlines the knowledge, skills, and understandings students are expected to develop throughout their primary school years. The IB Primary Years Programme enhances this by providing a powerful framework for how students learn.
Rather than teaching subjects in isolation, the PYP encourages students to make meaningful connections across learning areas through inquiry, exploration, and real-world experiences. This approach helps students understand not just what they are learning, but why it matters.
At Kingsville, the Victorian Curriculum provides the content, while the IB PYP provides the framework that brings learning to life.
Together, they help students:
- Develop strong literacy and numeracy skills
- Think critically and creatively
- Ask meaningful questions and seek solutions
- Collaborate effectively with others
- Become independent and reflective learners
- Understand their role in local and global communities
- Build confidence, resilience, and agency
Learning Through Inquiry
A defining feature of the Primary Years Programme is its emphasis on guided inquiry.
Inquiry learning places students at the centre of the learning process. Students are encouraged to investigate, question, explore, and make connections between ideas and concepts. Through carefully designed learning experiences, students develop a deeper understanding of the world around them while building essential lifelong learning skills.
Our teachers design learning programs that are:
- Challenging and engaging
- Relevant to students’ lives
- Concept-driven and meaningful
- Differentiated to meet individual needs
- Grounded in high expectations and strong relationships
This approach fosters curiosity, independence, and a genuine love of learning.
Developing the Whole Child
The IB Primary Years Programme is internationally recognised for its commitment to developing the whole child—academically, socially, emotionally, and physically.
At Kingsville, we believe success is about more than academic achievement. We strive to nurture students who are compassionate, confident, reflective, and capable of making a positive difference in the world around them.
Our curriculum supports the development of:
- Academic excellence
- Personal and social wellbeing
- Intercultural understanding
- Communication and collaboration skills
- Creativity and innovation
- Responsible action and citizenship
Creating Future-Ready Learners
The world our students will enter is constantly changing. Through the combination of the Victorian Curriculum and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, Kingsville Primary School equips students with the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and confidence they need to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.
Our goal is simple: to develop curious learners, compassionate people, and confident young citizens who are ready to make a positive contribution wherever their future takes them.
The IB Learner Profile
At the heart of the PYP is the IB Learner Profile, a set of attributes that guide the development of internationally minded learners.
Through their learning experiences, students are encouraged to become:
- Inquirers who are curious and love learning
- Knowledgeable thinkers with deep understanding
- Thinkers who solve problems creatively and critically
- Communicators who express ideas confidently
- Principled individuals who act with integrity
- Open-minded learners who respect different perspectives
- Caring members of their community
- Risk-takers who embrace new challenges
- Balanced in their intellectual, physical, and emotional wellbeing
- Reflective learners who continuously grow and improve
These attributes help prepare students not only for success at school, but for success in life.
Inquiry Learning
Inspiring Curiosity, Deep Thinking and Meaningful Learning
At Kingsville Primary School, inquiry is at the heart of everything we do.
As an International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) school, we believe students learn best when they are actively involved in asking questions, exploring ideas, investigating concepts, and making connections to the world around them.
Inquiry learning moves students beyond simply finding answers. It encourages them to think deeply, challenge assumptions, develop new understandings, and become confident, independent learners.
Through structured inquiry, students are guided from their current level of understanding towards new knowledge, deeper thinking, and meaningful action.
Learning Through Big Ideas
Rather than viewing subjects as separate areas of learning, the PYP encourages students to explore important concepts that connect across disciplines and reflect real-life experiences.
At Kingsville, our curriculum is organised around six internationally recognised Transdisciplinary Themes, which provide a framework for students to investigate ideas that are relevant locally, nationally, and globally.
Leveraging Our Own Identity
Who We Are
Exploring identity, wellbeing, relationships, beliefs, values, and what it means to be human.
Where We Are in Place and Time
Investigating personal histories, journeys, discoveries, migration, and our connection to the past.
How We Express Ourselves
Examining the ways people communicate ideas, feelings, culture, creativity, and experiences.
How the World Works
Discovering the natural world, scientific principles, technology, and the interactions that shape our environment.
How We Organise Ourselves
Understanding systems, communities, organisations, and the ways people work together.
Sharing the Planet
Exploring sustainability, environmental responsibility, resources, rights, and our role as global citizens.
Preparing Students for the Future
The world our students will inherit requires people who can think independently, solve complex problems, work collaboratively, and adapt to change.
Inquiry learning helps develop these capabilities by nurturing curiosity, creativity, resilience, and a love of learning.
At Kingsville Primary School, our Programme of Inquiry empowers students to become confident learners, thoughtful thinkers, and active contributors to their communities—both now and into the future.
Essential Agreements
At Kingsville Primary School, we believe that every child learns best in an environment where they feel safe, respected, valued, and connected. Creating positive and productive learning spaces is a shared responsibility, which is why we place great importance on developing Essential Agreements across our school.
At the beginning of each year, every classroom works together to create its own Essential Agreement. In fact, this collaborative approach extends beyond the classroom; our staff teams, working groups, leadership team, and whole school community all develop Essential Agreements to guide the way we work together.
Unlike traditional rules, Essential Agreements are co-created understandings that reflect the shared values, behaviours, and expectations of a group. They empower students to have a voice in shaping their learning environment and encourage ownership, accountability, and respect for one another.
Through discussion, reflection, and collaboration, students identify the conditions that will help everyone feel supported and achieve their personal best. These agreements become living documents that are regularly revisited and celebrated throughout the year.
Essential Agreements may include expectations around:
- Respectful and inclusive classroom behaviours
- How we begin and end the school day and learning sessions
- Managing transitions and interruptions effectively
- Caring for shared materials, equipment, and learning spaces
- Working successfully in whole-group, small-group, and independent settings
- Active participation during teacher-led learning
- Supporting one another to take risks, learn from mistakes, and grow as learners
By developing and upholding Essential Agreements, we foster a strong sense of belonging and create learning environments where every student can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.