An inquiry-based curriculum that leverages children’s natural curiosity for the world is at the heart of PLC Perth’s Junior School learning program.
Head of Junior School Richard Wright said the Peppermint Grove school was the only girls’ school in Western Australia to deliver the world-recognised International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP).
“The PYP is a curriculum and pedagogy that focuses on developing the whole child both academically and social-emotionally,” Mr Wright said. “PLC has written its own curriculum – our Program of Inquiry – which maps out six inquiries that each year group delve into each year.
“The inquiries have a central concept, or idea, teachers want children to develop and they guide the students to achieve this outcome while injecting the explicit literacy and numeracy skills that are required in a primary education.
“This is important for two reasons. The first is literacy and numeracy is taught in an authentic way, integrated into the engaging work of the inquiry and secondly, the WA curriculum is extremely crowded and therefore only by teaching in an integrated, transdisciplinary, way can a teacher ‘cover’ the required curriculum.”
Learning on a global stage
Mr Wright said PLC had been offering the PYP since 2005 and it had been the school’s experience that it provided children with ownership over their learning.
“The children learn the required and basic skills but can engage their higher-order thinking to inquire into their world at a more complex and deeper level,” Mr Wright said. “All inquiries also build on an international perspective, so that world issues are acknowledged, taught or addressed.”
Mr Wright said many schools implemented a form of inquiry-based learning, however, the PYP at PLC was externally assessed and accredited by the International Baccalaureate organisation. It was known worldwide for its academic rigour.
“This ensures our program meets the high expected standard of curriculum and pedagogy and doesn’t just measure against our own standards.
“The PYP has evolved with our times and has adjusted to expectations and life well into the 21st Century and modern schooling.”
PLC Perth has superb facilities, however, our programmes are what we are most proud of.
In junior school, every student undertakes a second language and music and they are offered an extensive co-curricular programme ranging from sewing and yoga to debating and drama.
All junior school students also regularly access the PLC Lighthouse, the school’s state-of-the-art wellbeing centre where they undertake the health and wellbeing curriculum in purpose-built facilities, including an expressive arts room and food and nutrition area.
Our junior school sports philosophy is built on the foundation of fundamental movement skills that will hold the girls in good stead for any sporting endeavour they choose. Girls are encouraged to embrace the opportunity to learn from the life skills and experiences gained from belonging to a team.