Learning Primary School

Primary School

Head’s Welcome

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to NCBIS Primary School. I am very happy to be joining this caring, forward thinking and truly international community. Over the past seven years, I led a top independent prep school in London and, prior to this, spent many happy years at NCBIS as Deputy Head and Acting Head. As a returning staff member, the warmth and strength of the NCBIS community was a key factor in bringing me back to Cairo and I look forward to working with the children, staff and parents in partnership to provide the very best learning experience and to help our children develop into high performance learners.

As an international school, we benefit from the wonderful cultural mix of over 65 nationalities and, as a British school, promote the values of mutual respect, tolerance, individual liberty, democracy and rule of law. The conceptual outcomes of the English National Curriculum are taught through our own bespoke programme of study that appreciates and celebrates our school’s cultural diversity.

The heart and soul of a school is children, so we would be happy to welcome you for a tour so you can experience our school ethos first hand.

Paul Jowett
Head of Primary

Paul Jowett
Head of Primary
paul.jowett@ncbis.co.uk

Democracy

NCBIS aims to promote this British Value by demonstrating how democracy works by discussion, decision making and voting. For example:
• Encouraging children to know their views count and their opinions are important – for example, following the children’s interests for topics and activities.
• Encouraging children to make decisions together, e.g. when sharing a group toy, like a large train set.
• Encouraging children to see their role in the ‘bigger picture’, e.g. linking to part of a family, class, group, school, community etc.
• Providing opportunities for the children to vote between choices of activity, for example, choosing a theme for their role play area, choosing a book for story time or a song for song time by a show of hands.
• Children may also have the opportunity to vote for members of a school council.

The Rule of Law

NCBIS aims to promote this British Value by demonstrating a need for rules and laws help to keep us safe and happy. For example:
• Encouraging adults and children to work together to create group rules. Discussing the need for rules and how they should be administered fairly, e.g. the need for rules to keep everyone safe and happy.
• Teaching children to understand their own and others’ behaviour and feelings, and the consequences.
• Working together to create an environment where actions are consistently followed through, e.g.
adherence to class rules, follow-ups on discussions and other choices explored after taking a group vote.
• Encouraging and supporting children to learn how to distinguish right from wrong.

Individual Liberty

NCBIS aims to promote this British Value by individual freedoms to choose faiths, beliefs and likes/dislikes. For example:
• Providing opportunities for children to develop their self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities, e.g by sharing achievements and successes and promoting independence.
• Encouraging children to try a range of different activities and opportunities and to discuss and select their own preferences.
• Providing activities for all children to engage in and actively challenge gender-specific tasks and activities.
• Encouraging children to develop a positive sense of themselves.

Mutual Respect

NCBIS aims to promote this British Value by demonstrating respect and tolerance towards other beliefs and faiths. For example:
• Working as a group to create an environment that includes, values and promotes different faiths, cultures, views and races.
• Providing opportunities for the children to make links with the wider community, for example outings to local places, inviting family members or speakers to visit the setting or making links with a local charity.
• Encouraging children to learn about other faiths, cultures, traditions, families, communities and ways of life. Schools might encourage the children to share their experiences with the group and allow the children to recognise similarities and differences between themselves and others. For example, learning about festivals and special days, different types of family units, different occupations and places around the world.
• Encouraging children to learn about the world around them – both locally and further afield. For example, local trips, using books, stories, posters and videos, etc. to learn about places far away, cultural days, local events and activities and national celebrations.

Tolerance

NCBIS aims to promote this British Value by demonstrating respect and tolerance towards other beliefs and faiths. For example:
• Working as a group to create an environment that includes, values and promotes different faiths, cultures, views and races.
• Providing opportunities for the children to make links with the wider community, for example outings to local places, inviting family members or speakers to visit the setting or making links with a local charity.
• Encouraging children to learn about other faiths, cultures, traditions, families, communities and ways of life. Schools might encourage the children to share their experiences with the group and allow the children to recognise similarities and differences between themselves and others. For example, learning about festivals and special days, different types of family units, different occupations and places around the world.
• Encouraging children to learn about the world around them – both locally and further afield. For example, local trips, using books, stories, posters and videos, etc. to learn about places far away, cultural days, local events and activities and national celebrations.

How We Learn

At NCBIS we have high expectations of all of our learners. There are several factors working in conjunction to enable our learners to achieve high outcomes: 

  • The NCBIS curriculum has clearly structured and progressive learning objectives 
  • The High Performance Learning (HPL) programme enables the students to develop academic and emotional learning behaviours and attributes to give them the tools to scaffold their learning to a high level
  • The NCBIS assessment system involves periodic assessments by which a student’s learning can be measured, along with effective ‘assessment for learning’ which is a teaching and learning strategy by which the student is given the tools and opportunity to evaluate and be in control of their own learning. 
  • Much of the learning in class is project-based or inquiry-based allowing the learning from several subjects to be linked together, and making the learning more purposeful. For example, in Year 3 one of the projects in the Water Water topic is for the students to work together to make a solar-powered irrigation system for the school garden. This involves Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths skills and is also heavily linked with  English and Geography learning.
  • Student Voice is highly valued at NCBIS; the students have a say in what they learn and how they will learn it. When the students feel part of the learning process the outcomes are improved. 
  • Student physical and mental wellbeing is prioritised at NCBIS, through the school day and through the curriculum. Happy students learn well!
  • Class Teachers deliver the learning for the majority of the curriculum. Specialist Teachers cover Music, Modern Foreign Languages, Drama and Physical Education. The Class Teachers and Specialist Teachers work together to ensure the students receive a broad and balanced curriculum. 

The Early Years department provides a stimulating and high quality education, in a safe and caring environment, for children aged between 3 and 5 years. We aim to give children the very best possible start to their education and provide a firm foundation on which their future education can be built. The Early Years curriculum is based on the UK Early Years Foundation Stage framework, and is delivered through a mixture of learning topics and student-led learning experiences. Structured, well-planned play is an important feature of the Early Years curriculum and play-based learning is essential to our vision of developing learners with a positive and creative mindset that enables them to achieve success at school and in later life; achieved through a happy atmosphere and safe and stimulating physical environment that is conducive to academic learning as well as personal and social growth. The main areas are communication and language; physical development and personal, social & emotional development, but the children also start learning essential phonics and maths knowledge and skills. The curriculum encourages the individual development of each child through a mixture of whole class, group and individual teaching and is lively, exciting and challenging! The Early Years department is housed in its own building with a secure outdoor learning environment that is accessed by all the classrooms directly. The outdoor learning environment includes a large sandpit (a great favourite of our younger learners!), a cushioned tiled area for developing gross motor skills and an artificially grassed area that houses learning centres such as construction, a reading corner, water play, phonics and number skills. The area is covered by purpose built shades, allowing access all year round.

The Lower Phase encompasses Year 1, 2 and 3 children. We believe learning is achieved through a happy atmosphere and safe and stimulating physical environment that is conducive to academic learning as well as personal and social growth. As such we take great pride in ensuring that our classrooms reflect the learning process and inspire intellectual curiosity, critical thinking and enthusiasm for learning. Purposeful learning (through projects and inquiries) is central to our pupil’s development and our vision that we need to prepare our pupils for a rapidly changing world where skills, values, attitudes and attributes are as important as knowledge. In inquiring into the world around them pupils are able to gain a deeper understanding of new concepts and to explore those concepts in real life situations. The outcomes of the UK National Curriculum for England are therefore taught through a combination of discrete skill based lessons and application through our inquiry approach to learning. The firm foundations provided by our Early Years department are built upon in the Lower Phase, with the continuance of the NCBIS Phonics programme. This provides the foundations for early reading and supports our writing programme. Pupils in the Lower Phase are also supported by our team of specialist subject teachers; with specialist lessons provided in music, physical education and modern foreign languages. In addition to their academic studies, children are also encouraged to participate in our after school Extra Curricular Activities (ECAs) programme, where a range of sporting, artistic and musical activities are offered to enrich the children’s learning experiences and to develop each pupil’s unique talents to help them achieve their potential.

Years 3-6 continue to build upon and develop the skills, values, attitudes, attributes, knowledge and conceptual understanding that our students have gained in Years 1 and 2. Every class is led in their learning by a teacher and a teaching assistant, and it is through a wide range of challenges and experiences that our pupils develop lively, questioning and informed minds. Our units of inquiry continue to deepen pupil’s understanding of the world around them and this is again underpinned by the UK National Curriculum outcomes. Local educational visits and residential events in-country and overseas add breadth and interest to our programme of study, bringing to life the pupils’ learning and developing both their academic learning as well as their personal and social growth. Choice and challenge, both within the curriculum and the extra-curricular programmes, is offered through our specialist lessons in music, physical education and modern foreign languages and involvement in school productions, sports competitions, musical events and our after school activity programme. High academic and social standards are our expectation and as our pupils transition to Secondary School at the end of Year 6, we are confident that they leave us as caring international pupils committed to the traditional values of honesty, courtesy, respect, integrity and fair play.

High Performance Learning

NCBIS is a High Performance Learning (HPL) Pathway School.

This means that we are on our two-year journey to achieving world-class school accreditation.

Based upon a lifetime of research into how learners think and learn, Professor Deborah Eyre provides a framework and philosophy in High Performance Learning that we are establishing as our underpinning pedagogy across the school.

An introduction to High Performance Learning

Based on 40 years of research in neuroscience and psychology and working with educators across the globe, the philosophy of High Performance Learning is underpinned by the following principles:

  • High performance is an attainable outcome for most;
  • High performance learning offers a systematic approach  to building the skills needed to be successful;
  • World-class schools produce students who are both intellectually and socially confident, with a concern for others and confidence to be college-ready, workplace-ready and life-ready;
  • The 20 Advanced Cognitive Performance Characteristics (ACPS) are developed in pupils to reach the highest cognitive domains and the 10 Values, Attitudes and Attributes (VAAs) support the development of wider learner features, so vital for lifetime success;

What are the Advanced Cognitive Performance characteristics (ACPs) and the Values, Attitudes and Attributes (VAAs) that are crucial to success?

Curriculum

In the Primary School we follow a bespoke international curriculum which is based on the National Curriculum for England. We are recognised by the International Baccalaureate as an IB World School and use methodologies including project-based and inquiry-based learning to support our young learners. The NCBIS Primary curriculum has been tailored to the school’s context in line with the school’s aspirational mission and values.

There are unique topics every year which cover the curriculum in exciting contexts, and a themes framework which runs vertically through Primary to develop STEM and Global Citizenship characteristics and skills in all learners.  Each curriculum topic has been carefully planned to enable our students to achieve challenging learning outcomes, as well as enriching experiences to add context, meaning and fun.

The Primary curriculum is designed to foster the development of the whole child, including their social, physical, emotional and cultural needs as well as their all-important academic needs.

Three themes run through the Primary curriculum from Early Years to Year6.

These themes are:

In each of these themes, children develop not just the knowledge and skills, but also the attitudes and behaviours to help them become successful and caring citizens in the 21st century. 

In every year group there are topics that are specially linked to these themes but they also permeate the wider curriculum in many different ways. Below is the curriculum map which shows where the themes linked to specific topics:

Information on the curriculum followed for each year group is covered in our curriculum guides (linked below), which explain the specific topics the students will be studying and the key mathematical and language concepts covered. We also send parent overviews to parents at the start of each topic so the objectives and expectations are clear, and so that our students can thrive with a proactive home-school partnership.

Our Curriculum Guides and Parent Overviews

Y1 T1.1 All About Me

Y1 T1.2 Superheroes

Y1 T1.2 Up, Up and Away

Y2 T1.1 Body and Mind

Y2 T1.2 The Changing World

Y3 T1.1 Mighty Metals

Y3 T1.2 Hello H2O

Y4 T1.1 Dragons

Y4 T1.2 Natural Disasters

Y5 T1.1 Awesome Africa

Y5 T1.2 Frozen Kingdoms

Y6 T1.1 Lights, Camera, Actions

Y6 T1.2 Journeys

We welcome questions, suggestions and parental input about our topics. If you have any suggestions, you can email our Academic Deputy Head christina.seeley@ncbis.co.uk or you can reach us on Twitter: @NCBISPrimary

Inclusive Learning

At NCBIS we recognise that all students have individual needs regarding the rate and manner in which they learn and progress. We believe that all students can benefit from a range of learning approaches that consider their diverse needs and backgrounds, and we are committed to an inclusive learning culture where students of all abilities and educational needs can participate, make progress and feel valued.

Personalised learning programmes with specialist teachers
Whether your child requires English as an Additional Language (EAL), short term booster support or a more structured personal learning plan, NCBIS provides a range of additional and specialist learning support programmes to help your child maximise their potential, their gifts and their talents. Our strong and versatile whole school team of inclusive learning specialists focuses on early identification of any learning needs and on supporting all our students in successfully accessing the curriculum – from Early Years right through to IB Diploma level.

Levels of support
We graduate our levels of support to meet the changing needs of each individual student. Our learners can move between these flexible learning levels as they require more, or less, support.

Level 1

Quality first teaching provides support delivered through quality first teaching in a differentiated mainstream classroom. This level of support targets maximum access for all learners and offers extended learning challenges for high potential, gifted and talented learners. Our inclusive learning specialists work with all class teachers in supporting quality first teaching and helping to fine-tune specific learning techniques that work for each individual child.

Level 2

Booster/ short-term targeted support meets students’ needs within the mainstream classroom and students also are withdrawn from class once or twice a week for specialist support. This level of support includes students who are studying English as an Additional Language, an intensive English language course with personalised targets set for each learner.

Level 3

Longer term targeted support is provided by specialist teachers for learners who have specialist reports and assessments. This support ensures that our children receive highly tailored support linked with precise personal targets and with time scales agreed by students, parents and teachers.

English as an Additional Language
Children who do not speak English as their first language can access English language support with our English as an Additional Language (EAL) personalised programmes. Before or on entry to the school we assess their English speaking, listening, reading and writing proficiency in order to determine the level of support needed for them to access the mainstream curriculum.
EAL teachers and inclusive learning specialists then work closely with classroom teachers to ensure that your child’s English language needs are met in the mainstream classroom.  If your child is identified as requiring additional EAL support to develop their English Language skills, they will also attend EAL lessons taught by EAL specialist teachers.

Additional Educational Needs at NCBIS
Additional needs are experienced by students who do not necessarily have a specific learning difficulty but who are faced with additional challenges. These may arise, for example, if your child has transferred from a school with a different curriculum or language of instruction, or when a child falls behind in their learning or finds they are underachieving. Learners with high potential abilities, gifts and talents also benefit from individualised learning targets and support.
We focus on early identification of all additional needs. Our learning specialists provide understanding and support so that we can minimise any barriers to learning faced by your child.

Supporting our high potential, gifted and talented learners
NCBIS recognises that high potential learners can require additional support and challenges to develop their abilities; if high potential learners are well catered for, they are more likely to be engaged in their learning and contribute positively in all areas at school.
We identify these learners and provide opportunities for them to develop their abilities, gifts and talents both inside the classroom and through extra-curricular enrichment activities. We offer specialist advice for both families and teachers as we join together to inspire and celebrate these learners’ ever-evolving achievements.

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