The IB learner profile offers a vision of the ‘whole student’ and is focused on ten key characteristics of lifelong learners.
IB Middle Years Programme
Leigh Academy Rainham is a fully accredited IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Leigh Academy Rainham believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP).
The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme provides the framework for the Key Stage 3 curriculum at Leigh Academy Rainham. It provides the academic challenge that encourages students to embrace and understand the connections between traditional subjects and the real world, and become critical and reflective thinkers. The programme:
- encourages international-mindedness in IB students, starting with a foundation in their own language and culture;
- promotes a positive attitude to learning by challenging students to solve problems, show creativity and resourcefulness, and participate actively in their communities;
- reflects real life by providing a framework that allows students to see the connections among the subjects themselves, and between the subjects and real issues;
- supports the development of communication skills to encourage enquiry, understanding and language acquisition, and to allow student reflection and expression;
- emphasises, through the learner profile, the development of the whole student – physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically.
- is exciting, innovative, meeting students’ personalised needs, satisfying all National Curriculum requirements and providing a framework for all national qualifications and accreditation, including GCSE.
What is the IB?
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) offers high quality programmes of international education to a worldwide community of schools that aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
The Learner Profile is at the centre of all IB programmes, it matches perfectly with the attitudes and attributes that we are seeking to develop within Leigh Academy Rainham students:
Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk-takers, Balanced, and Reflective.
IB MIssion Statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
Find out more about an IB EducationA Parent’s Guide to the IB MYP
Understanding the Learner Profile
Inquirers
They develop their natural curiosity. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
Knowledgeable
They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Thinkers
They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognise and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators
They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
Principled
They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
Open minded
They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.
Caring
They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
Risk-takers
They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies.
Balanced
They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
Reflective
They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
Service as Action
Service as action is a foundational element of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. It seeks to develop caring members of the community who act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and their environment. Service as action requires students to engage with their local community through community or personal projects and provides opportunities for students to explore, design, implement, and reflect on their efforts to positively impact their local environment. Through service as action experiences, students learn the value of community participation and gain a deeper understanding of the issues facing their immediate surroundings.
Students at Leigh Academy Rainham will be encouraged by their teachers to engage in research of issues that affect them (both locally, nationally and globally). This will allow the students to make links to real world examples, creating a deeper contextual understanding of their studies.
Students will then complete a Community Project in year 9, in which students will complete a task that brings together all the skills (Service as action, international mindedness, ATLs) acquired throughout the programme to benefit a community.
MYP Approach
The MYP aims to help students develop their personal understanding, their emerging sense of self and responsibility in their community.
Teaching and learning in context
Students learn best when their learning experiences have context and are connected to their lives and the world that they have experienced. Using global contexts, Leigh Academy Rainham students explore human identity, global challenges and what it means to be internationally-minded.
Conceptual understanding
Concepts are big ideas that have relevance within specific disciplines and across subject areas. LAR students use concepts as a vehicle to inquire into issues and ideas of personal, local and global significance and examine knowledge holistically.
Approaches to learning (ATL)
A unifying thread throughout all MYP subject groups, approaches to learning provide the foundation for independent learning and encourage the application of their knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Developing and applying these skills help students learn how to learn.
