It is my pleasure to extend to you a warm welcome to our Infant School - a place where strong roots grow into solid foundations. We hope that our website allows you to get a feeling for what students in Early Years, Reception and Year 1 experience on a daily basis. The aim of the Infant School is to help guide you through the first, more formal, years of schooling, and welcome you to our EIC family.
The Foundation Stage and its curriculum is a tremendously valuable period of time in a child’s life, as it marks the beginning of a child’s exposure to more formal schooling and a range of subjects. Towards the end of Reception, we begin to prepare the children for the curriculum change to Key Stage 1 (The Primary National Curriculum). This is a time of growth and exploration, as students learn about themselves and the different types of ways that they can learn. For some students, this will be their first experience of being away from home, so we like to foster warm and meaningful relationships between adults and children.
We pride ourselves on our small class sizes which allow us to offer a high level of stability and individualised learning. A strong foundation of skills, knowledge and understanding about the world around us are embedded in the Infant School, and we like to encourage even our youngest students to take risks, discover, and explore, all within the safety net of our school environment.
As a school, we feel confident that we are able to continue to deliver outstanding teaching and learning opportunities, no matter what the situation.
I am delighted to be able to lead the Infant School who are a team of teachers that are kind, compassionate and nurturing, and who are always willing to go the extra mile to ensure that Every Individual Counts.
We follow the EYFS Statutory Framework for students in Early Years and Reception, and the Primary National Curriculum in England for students in Year 1.
The EYFS curriculum is divided into seven areas of learning which are all taught by the class teacher and supported by full-time teaching assistants.
The seven areas of learning are:
In Year 1, students are exposed to the learning outcomes as outlined in the Primary National Curriculum in the following subjects:
*specialist teachers
As a private international school in Spain, we are able to adapt, modify and enhance the curriculums with our own objectives, lessons and opportunities for further learning. We also monitor the progress of each child as an individual to ensure that they are on track to meet their Early Learning Goals (Early Years and Reception) and curriculum standards (Year 1).
The purpose of the Infant School is to give children as many opportunities as possible to access their learning through different platforms, focusing on the different ways that our brains like to learn and retain.
Metaphorically, in Early Years, we think of the children as seeds: full of life and endless possibility, but who need lots of nurturing, support and attention to begin to form the strong roots, which they develop in Reception. These roots allow them to branch out, exploring further, becoming more stable learners who can confidently begin to navigate the world around them. By the time they reach Year 1, they have acquired a strong set of skills which allow them to flower and blossom into young leaders and inquisitive learners.
In the Infant School, our team of teachers like to create and plan around exciting topics to stimulate and excite every child’s thirst for learning.
In Early Years and Reception, we work on a two year teaching and learning cycle. Examples of topics covered in these year groups are:
In Year 1, examples of topics may be:
It is important to note that many subjects are taught in a cross-curricula manner. For instance, a Literacy lesson about sequencing the rhyme of Humpty Dumpty may well cover parts of the Communication & Language and Expressive Arts and Design curriculum. This helps the children to make vital links between the different subjects, and to view their learning holistically.
We are one of the few primary schools who can boast specialist teaching to all students from the age of 3. In turn, this allows for EIC students to be exposed to a variety of teaching styles and rich, challenging learning opportunities, taught by subject experts. These highly skilled and experienced specialist teachers teach the following subjects to students in the Infant School.
All classes also have an allocated slot to go and visit the school library on a weekly basis, where they can loan up to three books for a period of two weeks. Our fantastic librarian, Miss Katia, is always available to provide advice and assistance to ensure students develop a passion and love for reading.
Our Settling-In Policy for our Early Years and Reception students aims to ensure that the happiness of the students is at the forefront of the process. Starting school is enormously beneficial for children and their families, yet it can also be an anxious time too. Our Settling-in- Policy sets out the procedures for introducing children to our school in order to ensure that we provide a positive experience for children and parents.
The aim of our policy is to guide families through the settling-in period which is intended to bridge the gap for children between home and school or from their prior school to our setting. This settling in process should help children to become accustomed to their new environment and form an attachment with our staff, who will be with them for the duration of the school day. Preparation is the key to success so we like to ensure that parents feel that they are a part of the process from the beginning.
Even students in Year 1 do not start back in September with a full day of school. Returning to school can be an anxious time, especially after a long, hot, and often busy summer. Our Settling in/ Back-to-School Guide for Year 1 students, sets out the procedures for re-introducing children to the school environment in order to ensure that we provide a positive experience for children and parents. This has been something that previous Year 1 cohorts have struggled with and we want to ensure that the return to school goes as smoothly as possible.
Contact us to recieve our booklet where we cover all aspects of Infant School at EIC
We recognize the importance of choosing the right school for your family and we are here to help. Please take the time to read through the Admissions pages to familiarise yourself with the admissions process, but don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions.
When you are ready please visit the Making an Enquiry page to begin the process of joining us.
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