Early Years
Early years at O Castro British International School
Early Years is an important foundation in every child's educational journey, as it is where everything stars, laying the building blocks for their learning journey of their educational life.
Children learn and develop more from birth to five years old that at any other time in their lives. That is why at O Castro British International School we firmly believe that when we give each of our students the best start in their Early years, we give them what they need today, but we also set them up with every chance of success tomorrow.
Each child is unique and unrepeatable, and our educators take the time to understand each child´s individual needs, strengths and interests. Each student’s progress is individually monitored, and they work at their own pace in a warm, friendly, supportive and stimulating environment.
A strong and positive home-school relationship is essential for children's progress. We pride ourselves on having a close relationship with all our parents and work hand in hand with each family for the holistic development of our students. We regularly invite families to participate in school events during the school year, such as the Christmas Show, Sports Day, Teddy Bear Picnic and others, and we hold regular parent meetings, maintaining daily and fluid communication through Classdojo.
At O Castro British International School we are committed of our students’ wellbeing in the broadest sense of the word, and we have a strong Pastoral Programme and a tough Safeguarding team who ensure the safety of our students on a daily basis. In addition, our School Counsellor and SEN (Special Educational Needs) Department offer guidance and ongoing support to students who require it, working closely with families.
El plan de estudios en Infantil
At O Castro British International School we follow the British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework for Nursery and Reception, which emphasises the development of the whole child.
Our school provides a multicultural setting, where children and teachers from different nationalities come together and this is reflected in our curriculum. Our curriculum approaches child development holistically, it is child-centred, inclusive and culturally responsive.
The EYFS curriculum supports children in acquiring a strong foundation in the three prime learning areas: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development. To encourage key skills in the four specific areas of Literacy, Maths, Understanding of the World and Expressive Art and Design are given equal focus in our daily routine.
We pursue a perfect balance between structured learning activities or direct teaching, and child-led learning opportunities that allow children to learn through play, exploration or by observing each other.
Play is one of the most important ways in which young children gain essential knowledge and learn critical skills. For this reason, play opportunities, exploration and hands-on learning experiences are at the core of our Early Years programme at O Castro British International School.
Full English immersion
Full immersion in the English language is a fundamental part of our educational programme. At this age, learning new languages comes naturally to children. At O Castro British international School, children are immersed in an English environment and learn in a natural way from the first day of school.
We plan carefully a language-rich environment where children can have high-quality interactions with adults. Any area of the school can be a place for conversation, this is why we also support peer communication, so that the children develop their social skills and relationships. Through interactions, story-telling and role play the children share their ideas, ask questions and enrich their vocabulary and language structures. Songs, rhymes and poems are also a very special time of our school day.
Spanish also forms part of the Early Years curriculum from Reception Class upwards (4 years old). In this year group, the English tutor and the Spanish teacher work coordinated to ensure the best possible learning experience and to promote language development.
Talk for writing is an engaging teaching framework that we use from Nursery. It enables children to imitate the language they need for a particular topic orally and using actions. Children retell stories and start to create their own while they widen their vocabulary.
At O Castro British International School we use Monster Phonics, an award-winning programme which uses a multisensory approach as an enhanced method of systematic synthetic phonics. This programme significantly improves not only the learning of reading and writing, but also the level of engagement and the understanding of the English language.
The Environment
At O Castro British International School, we are fortunate to have a wonderful environment and the best resources for early years learning. This ensures a safe, stimulating space where children can explore and grow both inside and outside the classroom.
Our Early Years classrooms include different spaces which are available for the children to use every day, such as a role-play area, a reading corner, an art area, a construction area, a small-world area or maths and phonics areas. We keep our environment planning flexible so that we can adapt to our students needs and interests at any time throughout the year. These classroom areas foster creativity, sensory exploration, social skills and create an engaging learning environment for young children. Each of them also has an outdoor space that the children are free to use when they want to.
The Early Years children thoroughly enjoy spending time in our wonderful outdoor learning spaces, such as our school forest or the Green Zone. We use these areas on a weekly basis for activities that promote physical and mental wellbeing, encourage exploration and environmental awareness. Learning opportunities in nature include gardening, nature walks, outdoor storytelling, building or creating with natural materials, outdoor yoga or exploring and enjoying free play time.
We also have other wonderful facilities at our school, such as the Infant Hall for daily psychomotor development sessions, or our large and exciting playground, which has a sandpit, stage, climbing wall and different games to make break times unforgettable.
English is learnt in a holistic way.