CP Community 2025 - 26: Transitioning the New Core

The CP community in 2025-26 had a busy and varied meeting agenda, covering four clear themes to meet the programme's different audience and administrative needs, especially in light of the enhanced CP core elements. Our schedule was also greatly enhanced by Leanne Gibbons, our IBSCA School Support Officer, who joined us regularly and lent her much-valued expertise.

Our regular monthly coordinator Meetings shared CP news and updates from the IB, providing a collaborative space for peer discussion and practical problem-solving. Widening the audience to ‘Core Meetings’ meant broad community sessions open to both coordinators and component teachers. They focused on open discussions, Q&As, and pedagogical breakdowns of core components, including Personal and Professional Skills (PPS), Community Engagement (CE), Language and Culture Studies (LCS), and the Reflective Project (RP). As in previous years, various DP + CP Joint Meetings brought together DP and CP centres to address shared pedagogical, philosophical, or administrative matters. Lastly, our visiting speaker meetings leveraged global expertise by bringing in IB Educators (IBEN) and curriculum specialists to share unique insights, ideas, and strategies on CP matters. Next year, for 2026-27, we are introducing a monthly meeting for anyone who wants to discuss Programme Development Plans and Evaluation processes.

In the Autumn, the year began with a heavy focus on breaking down individual core components and introducing external expertise, emphasising foundational understanding, followed by successive Core meetings dedicated to PPS inquiry-building, CE-guided learning, and LCS introductory units. We also introduced our first external speaker, Becky Duffy, who led a session on preparing for the Reflective Project launch ahead of the publication of the new IB-endorsed CP textbook. The term finished by exploring collaborative integration, featuring a joint LCS + CE session and a PPS session on formative assessment. A highlight featured Ben Racher from LA Tonbridge visiting to speak on tracking PPS transversal skills.

As we geared up towards the IBSCA DP/CP conference at the Lansdowne Club on ‘Evolving Together: Strengthening our Professional Practice’, we shifted the focus towards assessment mechanics, reflective practices, and managing curriculum transitions such as student tracking and self-reflection, featuring core sessions on LCS and CE learning journals, narrative assessment, and an all-core session on reflection and reflexivity. Somewhat bittersweet, February marked the last internally marked Reflective Projects from the legacy specification as we move into external assessment aligned with the DP’s Extended Essay. In March, we continued the transition to the new specification, concluding the term’s agenda with a collaborative session on supporting Phase 1 of the student RP process.

The final term, once the exam session had finished, focused on future planning, digital adaptation, and reviewing final student outcomes with sessions planned on University and Careers Counsellors (UCCs) to discuss CP futures. In a joint DP/CP session, Elena Gandolla (Digital Assessment Support Manager) led a crucial follow-up session on Digital Assessments after a very useful session at the IBSCA conference. We also plan to hold our final session to review, refine, and reflect on our CP core provision, which is open to all core teachers. Our year will end on the 6th July with our post-CP/DP results debrief, allowing coordinators to share their results, update IBSCA, and flag any lingering queries or outcomes.

Rebecca Austin-Pickard

CP Community Lead

IBSCA