Foundation 1 Information for Parents 2015/16
Our brand new learning space‌. ISB is excited to announce our plans for the Foundation 1 class (2 ½ - 4 year olds) for the next academic year. The learning space and classroom structure will be redesigned to better meet the needs of our youngest students. This will involve the construction of a brand new learning space.
This is an example of what we would like to achieve.
This new purpose built space will better meet the needs of the children. Children at this age need plenty of space to move around in and play. This space will allow them to explore different learning opportunities and engage in play with others. It will open out onto the playground to ensure children have access to the outdoor learning space throughout the day.
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“I am coming to Romania after 12 years in International Schools in Thailand where I taught reception and nursery classes. Before that I taught in the UK for 20 years across the whole of primary. My passion is for Early Years and recently have found being able to work in a Nursery team extremely valuable. I have been able to give the children more choice of activities through which they can work towards the Early Learning Goal because the teachers have been working together to plan activities. I have also found it has been easier to observe the children's interests and therefore plan and provide activities which motivate them. There are so many ways in which children can meet the objectives of the EYFS and the more we work together to share ideas, plan and observe activities the better we can meet the needs of individual children. I am really looking forward to working with the staff and students at ISB� Helen Dixon February 2015
How will this benefit your child? There are several reasons that team teaching or collaborative teaching are beneficial to children especially in the Early years. These include: More individual attention : With more space and more staff the children will be more closely monitored to ensure they are fully engaged and extended with their learning. The ratio of staff will be 1:7. This will mean that the teachers will be able to more effectively manage the educational and emotional needs of the children. More variety of teaching techniques can be used to suppor t dif ferent learning styles: With more teachers in the room the children will have access to a wider range of experiences from teachers with different teaching techniques that will support a range of different learning styles. More dif ferentiation of activities: Teachers will be able to differentiate activities more successfully to ensure that each child can access the learning opportunities at a level appropriate to them.
More resources: With one large learning space resources will not need to be split into 2 different classrooms and this in turn will mean all the children will have access to the resources at all times. More suppor t for English language acquisition: With one native English speaking teacher and 3 non-native English speaking teachers and assistants in the learning space all the children will benefit from hearing English language modeled correctly at all times. More social interaction: Personal, social and emotional development is one of the most important curriculum areas of the EYFS and we believe that the children in Foundation 1 will benefit greatly from a more open space in which to explore their interactions with other children and adults.
The different strategies we will use when team teaching are as follows: • One teach, three obser ve: one teacher leads a session while the others support and observes students learning and assesses them making observations that can later be used to inform planning and/or report writing. • Parallel Teaching: The class is divided in half and the same material is presented at the same time by both teachers (teacher to student ratio becomes more manageable). Teaching assistants will support where necessary to ensure all students are engaged in the learning. • Station Teaching: Both teachers are actively involved in activities and the students are able to move freely between activities. One assistant will also be involved in a structured activity leaving one assistant free to engage with children’s play and support where necessary.
However, should a small group of children need to be involved in a more structured small group activity away from the main group, there are other areas of the Early Years department that can be used to facilitate such times. In addition to the main learning space for Foundation 1 we will have 2 classrooms for the Foundation 2 children (4 – 5 years) with a maximum of 16 children in each class, a nap room for the children who need this and a music/I.C.T room for these specialist lessons to take place in. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact either Madalina Cioc in our admissions office or Vicky Seeshaan EYFS Deputy Principal and Early Years teacher. We would like to thank you for considering ISB for your child’s education and we look forward to welcoming you into our school community soon.