An Introduction to the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program (PYP)
The IB Primary Years Program is a curriculum framework for children aged 3 to 12. At The Kintess School, we offer this program starting in preschool at age three.
The PYP aims to support the holistic development of each child by nurturing their ability to explore and inquire, both in the classroom and in everyday life. By placing the child at the center of their learning, it fosters not only intellectual curiosity and knowledge enrichment but also emotional growth, while actively engaging them to contribute to a more just and harmonious world. To achieve these goals, the program relies on several essential elements, which we present below.
The Attributes of the IB Learner Profile
At The Kintess School, every teacher and staff member is dedicated to fostering ten essential qualities in our students: inquirer, knowledgeable, thinker, communicator, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-taker, balanced, and reflective. We believe this approach is fundamental to our educational mission. Our entire community—students, teachers, parents, and peers—collaborates to support and nurture the growth of these qualities in every child.
Agency
Agency is a student’s capacity to take full ownership of their own learning. This autonomy is supported by natural brain mechanisms that enhance intrinsic motivation, conscious decision-making, and emotional regulation. By encouraging students to ask questions, take initiative, and make thoughtful choices, we promote sustained and active engagement in their learning. Moreover, this approach extends beyond the individual: through collaboration with peers and teachers, students develop a strong sense of belonging as well as greater understanding and empathy for others.
Transdisciplinary Modules of Inquiry
At The Kintess School, each academic year is shaped by the exploration of interdisciplinary themes—four in early childhood and six in primary school—that connect various disciplines to real-world contexts. This approach makes learning vivid, grounded, and deeply meaningful for our students.
What sets our school apart is our holistic approach, focused on the child’s overall development: intellectual, emotional, social, and linguistic. We base our pedagogy on two fundamental cognitive development processes: assimilation, which enables students to link new information to prior knowledge, and accommodation, which encourages them to adjust their understanding when confronted with new or complex ideas. These mechanisms empower children to actively construct knowledge and adapt it to diverse situations, in depth.
In a bilingual environment like The Kintess School, these processes gain even greater significance. By shifting between languages, students revisit concepts from multiple perspectives, enriching their comprehension. This linguistic interplay broadens their vocabulary, deepens connections between ideas, and fosters greater cognitive flexibility. Bilingualism thus becomes a powerful driver of learning: it enhances their ability to transfer knowledge across contexts and languages while sharpening their worldview.
Throughout their primary education, students undertake around forty research projects that fuel their curiosity, strengthen their skills, and prepare them to thrive in an interconnected, multilingual, and ever-evolving world.
Approaches to Learning
To support this active and real-world approach, the program emphasizes the development of five essential skills: thinking, research, communication, self-management, and social skills. These competencies enable students to think critically, collaborate effectively, organize themselves independently, and adapt to new situations. They also contribute to the development of intrapersonal intelligence, helping each child better understand themselves, recognize their emotions, and regulate their actions, as well as interpersonal intelligence by promoting listening, empathy, and cooperation with others.
By cultivating these skills daily, students become engaged, responsible, and open-minded lifelong learners.
Concepts
The IB Primary Years Program is built on a conceptual approach, which is at the heart of deep learning. Rather than simply memorizing facts, students are encouraged to explore and reflect on seven key overarching concepts: form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective, and responsibility.
- Form: Understanding what something is like and its essential characteristics.
- Function: Discovering the purpose of an object, organism, or idea.
- Causation: Exploring why something happens and the reasons behind an event or phenomenon.
- Change: Observing how things evolve over time.
- Connection: Identifying the links and interactions between different things, people, or ideas.
- Perspective: Considering different viewpoints and experiences to better understand a situation or topic.
- Responsibility: Reflecting on one’s actions and their impact on oneself, others, and the environment.
These concepts serve as a guide to organize learning and help students construct meaning across different subjects, fostering a broad and integrated understanding of the world around them. By encouraging reflection on these big ideas, the program develops their ability to think critically and see beyond factual knowledge, grasping the complex issues related to their environment, society, and their own role as responsible individuals.
This conceptual approach thus enables students to become autonomous learners, capable of transferring their knowledge to various situations, adopting multiple perspectives, and becoming aware of their responsibilities in an interconnected world.
Action
Within the IB Primary Years Program, action holds a central place as the natural extension of learning. It is not just the acquisition of knowledge that matters, but also how students apply their learning to make a positive impact on their environment. Action reflects students’ ability to engage actively and responsibly by turning their reflections and discoveries into concrete steps.
This action can take many forms: it may be individual, such as a personal commitment to adopt respectful behaviors or to deepen a topic they are passionate about; or collective, for example when they collaborate on a group project aimed at improving their school or community. It can also be occasional, like an initiative tied to a specific event, or part of a long-term effort through a continuing project that evolves over time.
Action in the Primary Years Program is always thoughtful and intentional. Students are encouraged to evaluate the impact of their actions, understand ethical and social issues, and act with awareness and respect. For instance, they might advocate for a social cause, participate in environmental initiatives, or create projects that promote justice and solidarity.
This practical dimension of learning is supported and valued by the entire educational community—teachers, parents, and peers—who guide students throughout these endeavors. This support fosters not only self-confidence and a sense of responsibility but also a deep commitment to the Program’s core values, such as altruism, open-mindedness, and cooperation.
Thus, action enables IB Primary Years students to become active citizens, aware of their role in a complex and interconnected world, ready to contribute positively to their local and global communities.
Throughout their primary journey, students develop these skills and qualities through inquiry modules, a broad range of disciplines, as well as in their everyday life at school and at home. This path culminates in a final exhibition in the sixth year, showcasing their progress.
We wish you a rich and inspiring journey at The Kintess School!
The Kintess Team