Network of Educational Institutions Academic School Company specialises in establishing preschool educational institutions (nursery). The company has 20 years of experience in the creation and operation of educational facilities. During this period we have developed and systematised the full set of modern edaucational technologies, which can readily be adapted to local requirements and specific conditions, as well as to different sophistication levels. The functioning business model is situated in Moscow and can be visited at any time.
General project parameters • Accommodation facilities: 250 – 300 children. • Separate age groups. • Acceptable children age: 2 – 6 years. • Working hours: 7.00 – 22.00 (overnight stay possible).
Premises The kindergarten premises are to be constructed upon a specially designed project, based on the principle of 7.5 sq. m. of useful area per child. The construction of the following key modules is designed:
• Separate set of premises with a playroom, bedroom, a toilet room and a changing room. • Profile-oriented educational classes. • Gym and a dancing hall with specialised light and musical equipment. • Swimming pool and a sauna. • Art studio. • Medical facilities with a separate room for diseased children. • Kitchen.
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Territory The territory is designed based on the principle of 10 sq. m. per child. The following constructions are to be built on the territory: • Playgrounds with all necessary facilities. • A sports ground. • Covered pavilions protecting from the sun and rain, based on the principle of 2 sq. m. per child.
Security • Entry to the territory is via a checkpoint equipped with full-size electronic control turnstiles preventing possible access by non-authorised persons to the territory of the educational complex. The computerised database registers all entries to the territory of the complex. • The centralised video surveillance system ensures constant surveillance of the territory, the playrooms and the bedrooms. Video surveillance data are archived and stored. • The entire territory of the complex is surrounded by a fence fitted with electronic control and surveillance equipment.
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Education The educational system is based on the compulsory programmes approved by the Ministry of Education and supplemented by components developed by our educational specialists with due consideration of the specific cultural and social characteristics of each institution.
Key elements in the implementation of the educational system: • Annual theme-based planning. All syllabuses developed and approved by our methodology council are archived and, if necessary, adjusted in the local computer database. The system is constantly updated and upgraded.
lesson structure’s correspondence with the plan previously approved by a supervisor is exercised through examination of electronic reports in the teacher personal reporting system.
• Teachers make lesson plans on the basis of clearly defined goals, techniques and forms of each lesson, in strict conformance with the requirements of the methodology council.
• The syllabuses and materials learnt during a week are brought to the parents’ notice (including via remote Internet access), which is useful for subsequent revision at home and control of teacher-child educational interaction on the part of the parents.
• To increase cognitive interest and reduce overstrain and fatigue, all lessons are given using different activities: listening, watching, drawing, exercising, talking, singing, etc. Teachers often apply to didactic games. Educational elements get integrated into the free play activities, games played during walks included. • Teachers use action-oriented approach to teaching, role playing, and developmental education techniques. Child development is achieved with special exercises aiming to improve logical action, trigger cognitive processes and develop organs of articulation. • Methodology experts monitor the quality of lessons by visiting them and using the video surveillance system. Further control of the
• Internal control of how well children retain the materials taught is in place. Control forms include interviewing children for all fields of the educational program and testing in different forms. • A special studying zone is arranged and equipped for each age group. A special classroom is arranged in every pre-school room. • Media resources, including tutorials, learning aids and methodological instructions, books, hand-outs, video films, audio records and computer presentations are produced and updated on a regular basis. Collective classes are held using interactive boards.
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Foreign language Foreign language teaching is based on the application of special techniques based on communicative, action-oriented and cultural approaches. Special attention is given to the following elements: • Creation of an environment for early communicative and psychological adaptation, for learning elementary linguistic notions understandable to pre-school children and necessary for mastering oral foreign language. • Development of listening and speaking skills in a foreign language (phonetic auding), which enables young children learning a foreign language without an accent. • Strict division of teachers between foreign-speaking and native-language speakers, which teaches children the skills of switching from one language to another without mixing up words. • Creation of a linguistic environment by way of introducing play activities and offering some health activities and aesthetic classes in a foreign language.
Pre-school preparation Special educational activities provide for continuity of pre-school and elementary school education.
• The school practices a multidisciplinary approach to educating pre-school children, involving all fields of required knowledge. • In addition to general knowledge required for a transfer to the next educational stage, special attention is given to the development of the basic skills necessary in school education. • Classes are held on premises imitating school classrooms equipped with modern teaching facilities, which helps to adapt children to future classes at school. • Classes are combined with games held at different premises, which helps to create a diversified psychological climate and to teach children sub-conscious division of studying and game playing. Presentation 2012
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Physical development Harmonious physical development is achieved by means of combining a variety of activities: • Training in a gym. • Competing and exercising on a special open playground for physical training. • Water aerobics and water games in a covered heated swimming pool. • Regular sport events. • Everyday morning exercises, a system of exercises after rest-hours, breaks during classes spent on brief physical exercising. • Action-oriented games at walks.
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Music and dance • Music classes are taught by a highly professional teacher with an ability to play several musical instruments (including an electronic synthesizer). Foreign language teachers learn with children songs in foreign languages. • Children are taught vocals through exercise and games oriented at the development of an ear for music. Children study musical compositions in the course of special games. • A professional choreographer teaches children different styles of dance, involving a variety of different-type movements. This helps to develop correct motion coordination and the sense of rhythm. Senior group children do exercises with choreographic bar, which helps to achieve correct posture. • Theatrical performances and shows, including elements of singing and dancing, plays and miniepisodes with costumes, special light and musical equipment, are prepared as part of the educational process.
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Graphic Arts Classes at the art studio are important for general development of children and particularly for development of their fine motor skills, imagination and perception of three-dimensional configurations. The curriculum includes the following components: • Drawing. • Painting. • Clay modelling and craft painting. • Applique work with paper and other materials.
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Health Protection Protection of children’s physical and mental health is a priority as far as the organisation of all educational and tutorial processes is concerned. This requires the implementation of a package of specialised techniques and of constant multi-level monitoring. The range of implemented measures in health protection is extremely diverse. Below are few examples.
Physical health protection • Strict observance of a balanced plan of the day. • Sufficient number of hours of open-air exercises. • Outdoor classes held in spacious covered pavilions in hot or rainy weather. • Breaks during classes spent on brief physical exercising, which prevent overstrain and excessive fatigue. • Routine everyday medical checks by the staff paediatrician. A package of measures in prevention of infectious diseases and their propagation. • Group articulation exercises, which are extremely helpful in correct and timely development of speech skills, are held regularly. A speech therapist gives individual classes aimed at identifying and correcting possible defects of speech.
• Hydrotherapeutic procedures in the swimming pool include a complex of exercises aimed at development of physical endurance. After physical exercises in the swimming pool children are taken by the medical staff to the isothermal premises (sauna) preventing hypothermia and creating conditions for full relaxation and recreation. • The dressing before going for a walk is organised in accordance with specifically developed algorithm, which helps to dress all children at once. • After walks clothes are dried in special heated airing cupboards, which ensures that clothes and shoes are kept always dry. • Many other events, including aeration of premises when children leave them to go for a walk, are parts of the standard programme.
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Mental health protection
Feeding arrangements
• The video surveillance system helps to record and analyse in due time all the current processes.
• Meals served are cooked in a food production unit under the direction of chefs whose profile is food for children.
• Video monitoring data are used by administrators to control performance by teachers of their duties, to evaluate their communication styles and educational techniques.
• The cooking process is under constant control over the compliance with the adopted technologies designed specially for feeding children.
• A staff educational psychologist can attend group classes and walks personally or do distant psychological and educational surveillance from his/her own office. Based on the results of such monitoring the psychologist advices teachers about an individual child and suggests a group educational technique. • A staff educational psychologist holds regular meetings with the parents based on his/her monitoring results and personal interviews with children.
• The staff paediatrician routinely monitors the cooking and takes samples of all the meals served. • The menu is developed on the basis of the balanced diet principles taking into account the children’s age-specific needs regarding various nutritional components, vitamins and microelements. • There is an option under which special-needs or dietary menus can be offered on individual orders. • No semi-processed or canned food is allowed.
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Extra Services Sports, Music and Dancing Classes Better development of individual skills and capacities of child no longer requires searching for special groups and classes elsewhere. All required services can be found right on the territory of the kindergarten. The following classes and groups can be selected for the benefit of the child: • Court tennis. • Swimming. • Judo classes. • Chess. • Dancing. • Graphic arts. • Vocal. • Musical instrument playing. • Clay modelling.
Special services • Vehicle delivery of children from home to the educational premises. • Organization of a birthday party. • Boarding school with 24-hour accommodation.
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