The PYP focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside. At Newington Lindfield we are committed to inquiry-based learning as the leading vehicle for learning.  

The transdisciplinary themes are a distinctive feature of the PYP and represent the knowledge and understandings the students will develop throughout their years in the PYP. They allow for local and global issues to be explored within the units of inquiry that have meaning for and are important to all of us.   

The IB recognises that educating students in a set of isolated subject areas may be necessary to develop specific disciplinary skills but that this approach may not be sufficient. The PYP offers a balance between learning about and through the subject areas as well as beyond them. A transdisciplinary concept stretches across Maths, Science and Technology, English and Human Societies and It’s Environment (HSIE), Languages, Visual Arts, PDHPE and Music and ties it all together.   

The six transdisciplinary themes help teachers to develop a programme of inquiry (POI). Teachers collaborate with each other and with the students to develop investigations into important ideas, which require a substantial and high level of involvement by students. These inquiries are substantial, in-depth and usually last for several weeks.  

Newington College Lindfield – Programme of Inquiry 

The programme of inquiry at Newington College Lindfield runs to 2 cycles to provide our teachers the opportunity to plan and teach collaboratively. Due to the enhancements that are coming into play within the PYP, students from 3-6 years of age are now able to work on 4 units of inquiry across the academic year to enable sustained and prolonged learning opportunities. 

Sue Gough – PYP Co-ordinator