At Nelson Mandela School, we integrate several curricula to accommodate the requirements of the Berlin Senate and the needs of an international school.The school in general, and the German and Math Department in particular follow the Berliner Rahmenlehrpläne. For the primary school, they fit well with the National Curriculum used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the International Primary Curriculum (IPC).

More Berliner Rahmenlehrpläne information (in German)

The primary English department also follows the National Curriculum used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Materials used are Jolly Phonics and the Oxford Reading Tree.

More National Curriculum information

Finally, the Nelson Mandela School has decided to take the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) on board and has started using this in the school year 2006/2007. It fits with the Berliner Rahmenpläne (see above) and is a cross-curricular program that runs parallel to subjects like language and math, but could also include those. The IPC is a new curriculum especially developed for international primary schools.  It’s rigorous, practical and fun. It helps children develop subject knowledge, skills and understanding, contributes towards their personal development and builds the development of international understanding into the formal curriculum.
Within the IPC there are:

• Explicitly defined learning goals - learning standards for every curriculum subject, personal development and international understanding.
• More than 70 thematic units of work packed with practical activities for use by teachers and students in classrooms.
• Activities especially written to take into account recent brain- based evidence about learning including learning styles and multiple intelligences.
• Assessment advice and a full assessment programme in preparation.
• Built-in information for parents.

More about the IPC programme...

The IPC Assessment for Learning Programme

This is a comprehensive and practical program that provides professionally developed classroom and teacher resources, facilitating full assessment and improvement of children’s learning. The IPC improves subject learning and international-mindedness through assessment across nine areas: Art, Geography, History, ICT (Information and Communications Technology), Music, PE (Physical Education), Science, Technology and International-mindedness. Mathematics and Language are taught separately. IPC does not cover these subjects, although they clearly can be included in project work.

More IPC information