Your Guide to Early Years by BritishInternationalSchoolShanghaiPudong

Your guide to

Early years The British International School Shanghai, Pudong

CONTENTS 5

Our story

First, a little background

Setting the scene

The main plot line

Character development

Textbook heroes

Thinking outside the book

Happily ever after

Find out more

“

Want to hear our story?

Welcome to our guide to Early Years, a wonderful time of growth and learning for your child at the Pudong Campus of The British International School Shanghai. This guide tells the story of the exciting learning experiences your child will encounter in Early Years, and introduces you to some of our inspiring students. After reading this guide you will know much more about how our excellent teachers work with your child, even from their earliest years, to develop in them skills that will set the groundwork for their future learning success.

YOUR GUIDE TO EARLY YEARS

FIRST, A LITTLE BACKGROUND Our curriculum and how we teach it •

Small maximum class sizes

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Low teacher to child ratios

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All native English speaking teachers

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All bilingual teacher assistants

Students from the age of 18 months to 5 years, from Pre-Nursery through Nursery to Reception, form the Early Years. Classes are largely communal and children share activities across a range of free-flowing ‘playing to learn’ areas. The teaching team in Early Years is dedicated to laying the foundations for your child to thrive. Fostering a love for learning through play and imagination, and focusing on language development and social growth are key to the Early Years. We offer the English National Curriculum Early Years Foundation Stage with a strong international influence which challenges and engages students to understand their place in the world and introduces them to the concept of sharing and giving. Our unique approach - High Performance Learning ensures a pathway to success for your child. We provide a learning environment that stimulates intellectual and social confidence in each student from the earliest stages. This philosophy nurtures individual abilities, and encourages inquiry and independence, opening the doors for academic success. Importantly, in Early Years, it teaches your child to work both independently and in a group, respecting others, and gaining an understanding of other cultures. Our small class sizes and low teacher-to-child ratios ensure your child gets all the attention they deserve. Maximum class sizes are Pre-Nursery 16, Nursery 18 and Reception 18. Classes are usually smaller, with at least two adults working with every class, often more. Importantly, with native English speaking teachers and bilingual teacher assistants in each class, your child has all the support they need to develop their language skills in both English and Mandarin, setting them up for their future as global citizens.

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YOUR GUIDE TO EARLY YEARS

SETTING THE SCENE Creating the best learning environment for your child

Each Early Years classroom has a number of thoughtfully designed areas set up to ensure that children have easy access to a range of resources and opportunities across all seven learning areas. Your child’s learning environment includes: • • • • •

• • • •

Outdoor Areas - used for exploring larger movements, gardening, circle games, climbing and cycling, making tents and sharing books and more Unit Block Area - block play for maths, language and social skills development Fascination Station - free creative expression with cutting and pasting, collage and paint Book Corner - sharing and enjoying books with others in a cosy spot Role Play Area - make-believe, dressing up and trying out different roles and scenarios. Speaking and listening, sharing and using our developing reading and writing skills Writing and Drawing Area - free expression and experimentation through drawing, writing and becoming confident ‘mark makers’ Manipulatives Area - supporting fine motor skills development though a variety of activities including puzzles, beading and weaving Sand and Water Station - exploring new sensory experiences with a range of functional equipment and materials Carpet Area - a comfortable space for working with the whole class on storytelling, sharing a class book or having Circle Time

The classroom layout will change from time to time as the children show particular interests which the teacher will then follow. For example, if some of the children are really interested in pets, a veterinary surgery may be set up in the Role Play Area.

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A comfortable space for storytelling, sharing a class book or having Circle Time

YOUR GUIDE TO EARLY YEARS

THE MAIN PLOT LINE Developing learners

Arabella started in Nursery as a shy, reserved and timid 2-year-old. As a native English speaker and a confident child at home, this was an unexpected start to school life. With patience, care and carefully planned play-based activities we have seen Arabella slowly open up. Where we once had to carefully encourage and nurture every word from her we now see a happy, confident and articulate little girl who loves to learn and share that with those around her. Now that Arabella has developed personally, socially and emotionally she is also beginning to excel in other areas of the curriculum as well. The Early Years curriculum identifies seven areas of learning. All seven areas hold equal importance and are interconnected. They are further divided into three Prime areas and four Specific areas. Prime areas are fundamental, they work together and move through to support development in all other areas. They are: • • •

Personal, Social and Emotional Development Physical Development Communication and Language

Specific areas include all the essential skills and knowledge for children to participate in society. They are: • • • •

Literacy Mathematics Understanding the World Expressive Arts and Design

As they progress through Early Years, your child works towards well-defined Early Learning Goals in each of the seven areas of learning. These Early Learning Goals are the practical application of

skills relevant to the area of learning. By the end of the Reception year, children are expected to have made progress in each of the seven areas, but all children will progress at their own pace; some will take longer than others in different areas which is entirely normal. In Early Years, your child has a Learning Journal into which their teachers record information and evidence of progress at each stage of their development. Our easy-to-access online system alerts parents when new photos and comments from the teacher have been added. You and your child have regular opportunities to look at the evidence gathered, discuss successes and review areas for further development. Parents are invited to bring along any work or activities completed at home to include in their child’s Learning Journal. Provided it is clear that this work was achieved independently, the work will be added to your child’s record, reflecting an overall view of their development at this Foundation Stage. Our highly experienced teachers are happy to discuss the different areas of learning and your child’s individual progress at any time.

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YOUR GUIDE TO EARLY YEARS

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Well-rounded learning, well-rounded students

Chance is very mature for his age, he is able to verbalise his thoughts and feelings exceptionally well and has a lovely sense of humour and fun! His vocabulary is very advanced and he demonstrates this when talking to his friends and teachers. He uses his natural inquisitiveness, flexible and fluent thinking to reach excellent levels of attainment in Literacy and Mathematics. Chance loves to build models and creations in the craft area and he uses his communication skills well to explain the processes, develop his ideas and share his creations with the class. In Early Years, we try to follow children’s interests as much as possible, and believe that your child’s personality will shine through varied and exciting activities. Our lessons are child led, flexible, and always adapting to the children’s interests. Our classrooms are colourful and inspiring openplan spaces, with a wide range of activities on offer for your child to explore. We encourage your child to follow their interests and make choices about the activities they work on, always guiding them to try new things and persist with tasks. Our Early Years curriculum incorporates topicbased learning to make learning relevant and engaging. We cover a range of topics from Prenursery to Reception. These include Transport, Celebrations, Under the Sea, Weather, Dinosaurs and Minibeasts. These topics are starting points for learning, and it is your child who will decide where that learning journey takes us.

In Early Years, each area of the curriculum is interconnected within each topic so that children feel truly immersed in their learning and can make connections within it. In this way, a child who has been reluctant to write, but has a fascination with vehicles, may suddenly pick up a pencil on a daily basis when given the chance to role-play in the ‘car mechanics shop’, taking orders for new parts. This approach assists children to become more confident and secure, to take greater risks in their learning and to make more connections. Whatever the topic, your child will continually gain new skills and their teachers will ask differentiated, open-ended questions, allowing each child to gain a deeper understanding of the world around them and their place in it. We also promote your child’s active involvement in their learning, with dressing up and performances throughout the year themed around the current classroom topic.

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YOUR GUIDE TO EARLY YEARS

TEXTBOOK HEROES Daily routine of subjects and activities

Every day in Early Years starts with Circle Time. This time spent sitting with their teacher on the carpet is a chance for the children to share stories, helping to build self confidence and self-esteem. Positive behaviour, with children listening, being respectful and supportive to their peers, is encouraged during Circle Time. The teacher uses this time to discuss the plan for the day, creating a calming sense of knowledge about what lies ahead, and encouraging children to become a little more independent and responsible for being ready at the right time. In Early Years your child will learn in a practical and supportive environment, using real-life situations to explore and engage with new topics and skills. We integrate literacy into all topics, but it is also taught as a separate subject. Phonics is a big part of learning in Literacy; good phonic knowledge leads to excellent reading and writing skills. Your child will take part in daily sounds and letters activities to promote good listening and communication skills. We introduce reading books when your child is ready. This usually occurs during the Reception year, although sometimes earlier. Children who do not have English as their first language at home are integrated and immersed in an English learning environment from their first day with us. Our teachers, supported by a team of English as an Additional Language (EAL) specialist teachers, use a wide variety of visual aids to support early understanding. Opportunities for teaching numbers, shapes, space and measures are found in abundance in our Early Years environment. Wherever possible teachers make use of real-life situations and experiences to teach numeracy, asking questions like, “How many slices of watermelon are there on the snack table?” and “What shapes can you see on the playground?”

In Early Years your child will have daily Mandarin lessons. We offer two main groups - beginner and native speaker. Children participate in singing, dancing, arts and crafts, story-telling and other fun sessions to learn and develop their speaking skills in a vocabulary-rich environment. The Mandarin teacher also works alongside the English teacher to communicate the classroom routine. Early Years classes have lessons with specialist teachers each week in Physical Education (PE) and Music. PE lessons focus on dance, gymnastics and games, but physical activities are also planned into your child’s learning daily with the aim of developing gross and fine motor skills and the correct use of tools and equipment. Our Music classes are fun and hands on and your child is encouraged to use instruments as well as sing. Singing is an important part of the Early Years day, with every opportunity taken to make learning connections through song. Information Communication Technology (ICT) is highly relevant and accessible, even for our youngest students. There are computers and smart boards in all Early Years classrooms and your child also has access to iPads, used by teachers and shared with the children. Technology is integrated into your child’s learning, with a balance between teacher and child selected programmes.

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YOUR GUIDE TO EARLY YEARS

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOOK Connecting with the world around us

Throughout the Early Years, your child will experience a range of interesting excursions. Some of these trips may be local, such as an outing to the shops to use money or to meet

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Trips and outings

the local community. Others may be further

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Cultural events

afield, taking advantage of the exciting city

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Whole-school events

in which we live. We also invite special visitors to our school for informative and entertaining talks and performances. As hands-on experiences, trips offer great learning opportunities; not only on the day, but also in the lead-up to them. Beforehand, children can discuss what they will need to bring and write letters home asking for support from parents. They can research on the internet, decide and record the questions they would like answered, design posters advertising for helpers, and as a class discuss safety and behaviour. Previous excursions, special days and visitor events in Early Years include: • • • • • • • •

Aquarium Autumn Walk Chinese Cultural Week International Week and Food Fair Mothers’ Day Tea Teddy Bears’ Picnic Dentist visits Famous authors and musicians

Your child will also experience a wide range of exciting whole-school events over the course of the year including International Day, Chinese New Year, Christmas events and Book Week. We are always keen to invite parents and family members to school to share their expertise in different areas, as well as their cultural experiences, to enhance your childs learning.

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YOUR GUIDE TO EARLY YEARS

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Thijs had no spoken English when he

Success Stories

feeling very overwhelmed by his inability

arrived from Holland and he started school

to communicate with those around him. It took a term for him to just be happy in the classroom, another term to learn the basics in English and the final term to really understand how much fun school could be. Now, Thijs communicates as well as any native English speaker of a similar age, he has a fantastic sense of humour and is always the first to see the joke and even tell it himself. Early Years provides your child with the grounding and support necessary to equip them for their progression to the next stage of learning in Infants. The combined excellence of the English National Curriculum Foundation Stage, working towards Early Learning Goals, and our unique High Performance Learning approach to education, ensure your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s academic and personal development is considered every step of the way. We believe achievements should be celebrated, to recognise progress and encourage greater effort. Our weekly celebration assembly is much anticipated by the children and parents. It is an opportunity to recognize children who make progress towards our Values, Attitudes and Attributes (VAA) and encourages others to try their best. Our dedicated teachers pay the utmost attention to your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual needs, ensuring that they are continually learning and building skills essential to their success as a confident and inquiring learner.

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We believe achievements should be celebrated

YOUR GUIDE TO EARLY YEARS

FIND OUT MORE

The best way to find out about what we can offer you and your child is by visiting us and experiencing for yourself our welcoming school environment. The Pudong Campus of The British International School Shanghai is open to visitors year-round, and our friendly admissions team is always on hand to answer your questions. To book a visit or ask a question: +86 21 5812 7455 admissions@bisspudong.com Skype

Read more about our school and keep up to date with news and events online at: bisspudong.com weblog.bisspudong.com facebook.com/BISSPudong twitter.com/BISSPudong 600 Cambridge Forest New Town, 2729 Hunan Road, Pudong 201315

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HONGQIAO AIRPORT

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