Nursery School is a necessity for the modern family. The first years of a child’s development are some of the most important in their lives. Families benefit from this key support for their children’s caretaking and education. A good nursery becomes a key factor, along with parents, in these preschool years.
This article will guide you through the necessities of a good nursery. For parents living on Samui, we will explain why PBISS is the best option for your children’s pre-school education.
Why is nursery school so important for your children?
It is a scientific fact that a child’s brain develops most rapidly during the first four years of life. This helps children to learn at a faster rate and makes them want and need to absorb new information. Our education system follows this fact, by developing the early years education to suit these demands of childhood development.
As a result, what we used to teach in the early stages of primary schools, such as writing their names or following basic directions, is moved forward to be available in our Foundation Stage years. In this case, the nursery is the place that lays the foundation for childrens’ development throughout their education path, providing a solid skills and a structural framework required for their formation of logic and wisdom.
Early childhood is an important time for the children to learn how to interact socially and is also the time when children begin developing interests that will stay with them throughout their lives.
Children need this time away from their parents and home to learn about the world, learn about people, accept others, make new friends, and to learn trust and independence. This helps make the nursery important for your children not only for providing basic abilities but also for learning critical social and emotional skills.
What concerns do you have when choosing a nursery?
Selecting a quality nursery will immensely benefit the development of your child. Thus, to identify a “good nursery”, these are key considerations:
Are they officially certified?
Certification always matters in education, especially with early childhood care which ought to be a job only for a specialist in childhood education. Not only checking the official certification of the nursery, but all teachers who participate in the teaching or caretaking also need to graduate from an accredited institution with a degree or postgraduate qualification in childhood education.
What do you need from them? and What can they provide?
The purpose of a nursery is multifold, ranging from to daycare, to socialize, to provide basic skills needed for daily living, or to prepare them for higher levels of education. However, most options preferred by parents for preschool education is a balanced curriculum between developing things needed for living and things needed for a school education.
Hence, you can know what and how the nursery provides to your child by looking at the curriculum provided by the nursery. This will help identify:
- Are there any basic teachings such as handwriting, numbers, and colours?
- Are there any group and individual activities suitable to children’s stage of development?
- Are there any opportunities for exploration, play, and making friends?
- Is there any time for unrestricted exercise and movement?
- How long is the meal time, snack time, and nap time?
How do you feel about them?
Staff can provide a response to your questions and concerns about the nursery school. It is important to take a visit to the nursery, which is the only best way to know about their atmosphere; their facilities; their levels of hygiene, safety and security; the well-being of the children; and to truly know how they organise and treat the students.
A visit affords you the best opportunity to see how happy the children are, how they are being taught, how they are being cared for, and how they interact with each other. Visiting the site clearly helps you see how the nursery and their staff is organised and involved with the children.
Good nurseries will make you feel warm, friendly, enthusiastic, and interested. The children enrolled within will also look happy, interested, and relaxed. Another sign for a good nursery is they are welcoming, and sometimes encouraging parents to participate with them in caretaking of the children.
How did your neighbour (or somebody you know) who has young children commented about them?
As most parents prefer the nearest nursery (or school) within their neighbourhood, you can always ask your neighbour or your neighbour’s children about their chosen nursery school. This level of information is good as they are the people who really interact with the nursery on a day to day basis.
Our recommendation for choosing a nursery is by visiting them as much as possible, shortlisting them, and then selecting a nursery which provides good care and has a curriculum that nurtures your children for the future.
What makes PBISS different from other nurseries in Koh Samui?
PBISS is currently providing an education for children aged 2-5 years which are the vital years in the child’s life, or as we refer to them ‘The Foundation Stage’. What we are concerned for the most is “how we can act as a springboard for creating confident learners and participative citizens?”
To help improve children’s intellectual, emotional, physical, and social development and the formation of children’s ability to interact successfully with the world around them, we have designed our Foundation Stage with 3 major differences:
Cambridge x STEM+ Early-stage Curriculum
Our unique approach of STEM+ methodology which promotes active learning is also available with our foundation stage education, in combination with the world-renowned Cambridge International curriculum that offers a holistic approach that focuses on the whole child and connects their development with the world and people around them. Helping them integrate into the 21st century world.
The result is the curriculum benefits from the synergy between Cambridge-curriculum and STEM+, helping children to be involved in their own learning through well-planned experiences, making them develop competence, agency, emotional attachment and self-worth. Cambridge x STEM+ also helps them transition successfully into primary education, especially with a transition into Cambridge-based education.
Play-based Learning Method
We know that a child’s development in the first five years is stimulated and developed via their experiences and relationships. As a result, our core methodology for the foundation stage is “Play-based Learning”. By integrating experiences and relationships into our way of teaching, using educational toys under support by STEM+ approach and the maintenance of a family-like environment ensures that we provide the best method for early childhood education which helps them improve their creative expression and their understanding of the world.
Coordination with the Family in a Child’s Development.
A Child’s life also continues beyond the classroom and school. Their families, relatives, and neighbours also take part in their own child’s progress and development. Our nursery is designed with parents in mind, bringing them to participate with activities and assignments to improve the children’s physical, personal, social and emotional development both at school and elsewhere.
Our nursery and foundation years education at the Samui Campus is truly designed for a holistic approach to reflect well-established developmental milestones throughout their early stage of education. If you are interested in enrolling your children into our nursery, or have some question about our teaching or our policies on education. Please visit our campus directly or feel free to contact via our email at info@pbiss.ac.th
