Nord Anglia Education group

This week, the British Vietnamese International School Hanoi welcomed two further visitors from Nord Anglia, from their Education Team: Inderjit Dehal (Director of Professional Development) and Jayne Bennion (Quality Assurance).

We have certainly enjoyed the contact this year with members from NAE, and this was no exception. Whilst not an inspection, it was the closest we have come so far. Their brief was not only to introduce themselves and the exciting products on offer through our closer association with them, but also to show them what we do. They are entirely new to our school and we're able to comment dispassionately and objectively about what they witnessed.

Inderjit and Jayne are experienced educators and they spent the full day with us visiting classrooms and meeting with staff and students.

I can write with great pleasure and pride about what they experience whilst here, and it is thanks in huge part to the dedication of all the teaching staff that have made it so. I am very proud of what is being achieved here and how noticeable that is to newcomers.

Key points are as follows:
• Despite its young age, the school is extremely well estab lished and there laws strong evidence for the secure develop ment of the children academically, pastorally and socially;
• There are systems in place for developing the children's learning that are robust and so soundly set up that they will very well serve the growing size of the school;
• The quality of teaching was well noted and in particular the solid base of the bilingual programme that both students and staff have bought into;
• The children love their school and are very proud to be a part of it;
• The quality of the children was also noted. We do already know and appreciate that but it was lovely for fresh eyes to see what a great bunch of children we have at all stages;
These are all extremely valid and valuable points observed by those visiting us for the first time.

In turn, we were able to learn more about the educational principles underlying the Nord Anglia Education group. They are hugely ambitious for the students and staff in the 35 schools they operate worldwide. This was clear in three main areas.
• The ambitions-based learning programme, entitled 'Be ambitious';
• The Global Campus and
• The Nordic Anglia University

Firstly, Ambitions-Based Learning, Nord Anglia are now developing a new learning Programme across its schools called “Ambitions Based Learning”. It is a robust learning programme based around the students’ identified ambitions for their own futures. The framework is tight enough to give clear direction and focus yet loose enough for each school to develop what they do best in their own context. It will enable the school to deliver an education unavailable to students outside of the Nord Anglia family. It really is an exciting project and we are very much looking forward to being a part of it.

Second, the Global Campus, a platform from which our students can engage intellectually with other NAE students around the world to create content, challenge each other and question invited experts in certain fieldsactivities designed to develop creative and critical thinking. It is predominantly an online space but there are also opportunities to travel and meet face to face. This too is an exciting development for all our students regardless of the section they are in as study sections have been tailored to Primary, Secondary and Post-16 students.

Lastly, and by no means last, through the Nord Anglia University (NAU) considerable work has been done on continuous staff development to help maximize outcomes for students. NAU is an online professional development forum for our teachers. It gives teachers the opportunity to enrol and participate in courses that enhance their educational development to dial into webinars and share/collaborate on educational resources. This will be a wonderful asset for all staff – not just teaching – and again provides a rich environment for staff growth.

If parents would like more information on NAE, they can access their website at www.nordangliaeducation.com. We will also be holding additional seminars next academic year to provide you with more information.

Mr Mark Sayer - Principal of BVIS Hanoi