British National Curriculum GUIDE

The Seven Areas of Learning and Development

Early Years children play, explore and create through activities shaped by the EYFS’s seven Areas of Learning and Development. The areas are designed to promote their interests while adapting to individual students’ needs, stimulating their passion for learning and helping them thrive.

Prime areas:

• Personal, social, and emotional development: Children learn how to understand their feelings and manage their own behavior through listening to stories, playing and forming bonds with their peers.
• Communication and language: Children experience a rich language environment, developing the confidence and skills to express themselves while speaking and listening in a range of situations.
• Physical development: We help develop students’ gross motor skills, which in turn enables them to develop their fine motor skills. On our dedicated Early Years corridor, children explore our exciting outdoor area and physical development space to refine these skills.

The three prime areas are applied and strengthened through the four specific areas:

• Literacy: Children discover the foundations of early reading and writing through repetitive stories, role play, sequencing and motor skill activities, which lead to phonics, reading and writing.
• Math: Our little ones develop their understanding of numbers through a range of real-life contexts. They explore concepts such as additional, subtraction, measurement and shape.
• Understanding the world: Children investigate the natural environment, learn about the past and present, and compare communities around the world. Our teachers foster a sense of global understanding and cultural fluency in our students.
• Expressive arts and design: Our youngest students learn to express their feelings and ideas through a variety of immersive media, including song, dance, art, construction and drama.

Children spend 8-10 weeks on units of work that are based on interdisciplinary themes of real interest to children, so they are engaged and enthusiastic; examples of themes include “Champions for Change” and “Active Planet.”

Internationalism is embedded into every topic-based unit to ensure our children grow up with a very clear global understanding. Focusing on three standards – academic, personal development, and international mindedness – our curriculum provides a creative system that prepares children, wherever they may live in the future, for the world of tomorrow.

Curriculum Topics

In the primary school, your child will consider topics from multiple perspectives and make meaningful connections between what he or she learns. The core curriculum from ages 5 to 11 (Year 1 to 6) includes:
• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Design Technology
• ICT (Information and Communication Technology)
• History
• Geography
• Art and Design
• Music
• Physical Education
• PACE (Personal and Citizenship Education)
• American Studies, ages 7 to 11 (Year 3 to 6)
• Modern Foreign Language (French and Spanish)

International Primary Curriculum

In Year 1 to 6, the IPC helps students build on their knowledge, skills, and understanding while embracing more freedom and independence. They make increasingly complex links across subjects and discuss their learning in greater depth. We encourage children to approach their learning with a perspective beyond their own cultures and communities.