At SISD’s international Primary school in Dubai, our 6 to 11-year-olds follow the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP). The IB PYP is an inquiry-based curriculum that supports our students’ holistic development across five essential elements: knowledge, concepts, skills, learning dispositions, and action. These outcomes form the basis of our approach, ensuring the education we offer is engaging, relevant, and challenging.
Learning here, your child will follow thematic units of inquiry that span the specialist subjects. These units will give them an in-depth understanding of each subject, as well as building connections with other disciplines and the world around them. Our learners continually develop and apply their knowledge in real-life contexts, too. This gives learning real purpose and meaning.
International mindedness is also at the heart of our Primary school curriculum in Dubai. We encourage our children to question, consider, and refine their understanding of the social and natural world, while simultaneously developing the 10 IB Learner Profile attributes.
At SISD, we deliver our Primary school curriculum through three distinct learning streams.
On our two bilingual streams, students learn in either English and French or English and German. Each pathway emphasises the importance of learning through language rather than learning about a language. However, we know that immersive language instruction helps our students to develop the correct grammatical forms.
We also offer an IB STEAM stream. On this pathway, students learn in English, while also developing French and/or German as an additional language. This pathway places an increased emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths (STEAM), which are explored through the PYP’s thematic units of inquiry.
Our two bilingual streams feature a pioneering co-teaching model. This means our children learn from two teachers, one who speaks in English and the other who speaks in either French or German (depending on the IB PYP stream).
Both teachers share responsibility for pastoral care and the development of academic content. They also make sure that what’s being taught in one language complements the other. Our innovative approach ensures students enjoy a balanced bilingual education, where both languages are prioritised.
In the final year of our Primary school curriculum, our Grade 5 students complete the IB PYP Exhibition. The PYP Exhibition is a large, cumulative project that gives each learner the opportunity to explore a real-life issue that resonates with them.
Through the process, they develop essential skills such as self-management, research, communication, and critical thinking. They also demonstrate their ability to conduct in-depth inquiries, apply transdisciplinary skills, and build IB Learner Profile attributes.
Our holistic approach – with its flexible bilingual pathways, all-through International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, and roots in Swiss standards of excellence – offers a truly exceptional education.
OUR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
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