Our Early Years program provides a holistic, early childhood education and helps students to develop a range of skills in preparation for Primary. We recognize each child as individuals who have their own strengths that we are able to cater for so that each child is able to experience success no matter how small.

We implement the Early Years Cambridge Curriculum, which is designed to provide children with knowledge, understanding, skills linked to well established physical, cognitive, language and communication, social and emotional development. Play-based, student-led learning is our key approach where we allow children to develop their problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking skills.

Attachment is fundamental in Early Years to foster feelings of safety and security within our children and we are very fortunate to have a professional team of teachers and assistants who help create warm and caring relationships with each child.

Sensory play is also important to children’s development so the use of water, sand, mud and playdough provide children with different sensory experiences that help them understand the world around them. Exploring and taking risks are important parts of children’s learning and development, and should be encouraged. However, tour priority is children’s health and safety at all times, including during child-initiated activities.

As in any international setting we cater for a range of different learning requirements, specifically language needs. We understand that children develop a second or third language more quickly in early childhood and we believe that full immersion into English produces greater results. While some children jump into learning an additional language quickly, others need more time and we are fully supportive of this. For our Early Years 3 students we offer EAL support that provides children not only with the necessary skills to adjust to school life, but also vocabulary that will help them navigate the topics that are being covered in the mainstream classroom.

Our Early Years Curriculum helps children to lay the foundation for lifelong learning. We know that with healthy social and emotional skills children are more likely to achieve success academically, which is why playing is still a fundamental part of early years. Each child has their own developmental pathway, which is shaped by many factors, including their home background and experiences. A child’s current level of knowledge, understanding and skills always needs to be considered when planning our next steps.

Early Years 2 (4-5 years old) is where children begin their reading and writing journey. A synthetic phonics approach is a proven method that teaches children how to read by introducing one sound at a time. We use the Letterland and Sounds programme that consists of five phases. Phase 1 is completed in Early Years 1 so we begin Early Years 2 with Phase 2 and aim to have completed the programme by the end of the school year. Through a broad range of activities Early Years 3 students learn to blend and segment sounds and most will experience success early on in the programme.

Our curriculum includes six curriculum areas, each divided into various areas of learning. All of the curriculum areas are equally important and interconnected, so it is important that teaching and learning takes place in a holistic way, whereby children can apply and make connections between knowledge, understanding, and skills in different curriculum areas.