iBacc was conceived by Dr Tim Saunders in 2016 in affiliation with Cambridge Muslim College, where he was a Research Fellow.

1. Breadth – promoting excellence in the quest for oneness, truth, beauty and goodness in all dimensions of living and learning

2. Balance – promoting harmony between the practices of spiritual leadership, scholarship, craftsmanship and citizenship

3. Coherence – emphasising the integration and interdependence of spiritual, mental, cultural and moral development in harmony with the ethos, pedagogy, curriculum and learner outcomes of each school

4. Sustainability – embracing a regenerative Islamic spirituality at the heart of spiritually sustainable schools with the capacity to develop the competences to engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

5. Progression – clear learning pathways from one level to another with defined learner outcomes and keeping young people’s options open for further study and future careers

6. Co-curricular – promoting strategic co-curricular partnerships to optimise the best kinds of formal and informal education compatible with global, national and local curricula, qualification frameworks and award systems

7. Appreciative – discovering the best in people, communities and cultures, dreaming what might be and envisioning what the world is calling for, designing and co-constructing what should be, and delivering and sustaining strength-based change

8. Internationalism – preparing young people for global citizenship and full participation in their local bioregion, in an interdependent and globalised world