Early Years

EARLY YEARS

Welcome to Early Years Foundation Stage at Baku Oxford School. Our staff are well qualified and experienced in Early Years best practice and we are committed to providing the students with meaningful, hands on experiences that enable them to develop key skills and to become confident and independent learners.

The Early Years Foundation Stage is divided into three groups: Nursery (3-4 years), Foundation 1 (4-5 years) and Foundation 2 (5-6 years). Our students learn in small classes and each class has a class teacher assisted throughout the day by a full time teaching assistant.

In early years at BOS we are excited to be implementing the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC) as our curriculum of choice. The IEYC is a new research-based curriculum recognising global best practice in early childhood education and the developmental needs of children of this age. It supports key areas of learning through holistic enquiry and play-based approaches that cover all areas of the curriculum.

The Four IEYC Learning Strands

IEYC Learning Strand 1: Independence and Interdependence: This strand focuses on developing personal, social and emotional development. The strand links to the IEYC Personal Goals and the IEYC International Dimension.

The Eight IEYC Personal Goals

Through the IEYC, children have learning experiences that help them develop personal qualities of:

Enquiry

Adaptability

Resilience

Morality

Communication

Thoughtfulness

Cooperation

Respect

The IEYC International Dimension

Through IEYC learning activities, children engage in experiences that enable them to:

Develop knowledge and an increasing understanding beyond that related to their own nationality and identity

Develop knowledge and an increasing understanding of the independence and interdependence of people, countries and cultures

IEYC Learning Strand 2: Communicating:

This strand focuses on developing a broad range of communication skills including language development, early literacy, early mathematics, ICT and computing, expressive arts and creativity. Whist this Learning Strand encompasses early literacy and early mathematics, these learning experiences have been written to complement and support the systematic teaching of literacy and mathematics.

The Learning Strand ‘Communicating’ has seven sub-categories:

■ Communicating through Speaking and Listening

■ Communicating through Reading

■ Communicating through Writing

■ Communicating through Number

■ Communicating through Shape and Measures

■ Communicating through ICT and Computing

■ Communicating through the Expressive Arts and Creativity

IEYC Learning Strand 3: Enquiring:

This strand focuses on developing the skills of enquiry through exploring people and the world.

IEYC Learning Strand 4: Healthy Living and Physical Well-Being: 

This strands focuses on developing a positive attitude to health, self-care and physical activity.

The children are provided with exciting and engaging learning experiences and supported through structured play. We offer open-ended learning and opportunities for child-initiated inquiry, which is continued into Foundation 2 as the students embark on their journey through the Cambridge Primary Curriculum for English, Maths and Science.

At BOS we understand that all the different areas of learning and development are important and interconnected. We deliver a wide range of carefully designed units with titles that will spark children’s imaginations.

In early years, the children develop their skills with the class teacher in each learning area, complemented by the specialist teachers of Azeri, Russian, Physical Education and Music. Our team work collaboratively to carefully plan activities which focus on skill development. We appreciate that children are individuals who develop at different rates and in different ways. Therefore, we teach through differentiated tasks and always consider the readiness of each child when planning for their learning.

We provide a language rich environment, interacting through stories, songs and games, role play and imaginative play. Our teachers deliver a daily phonics programme that sets the foundation for reading and writing. Our reading programme that is continued throughout the Primary school helps to develop children’s enthusiasm for reading and ensure they become lifelong readers.

Our students enjoy learning in our bright and spacious classrooms. They engage in circle time, collaborative group work and independent activities based on their individual learning style and interests. To support and extend learning, each learning space has its own interactive whiteboard that students enjoy working on as a whole class and independently. The whole school policy of ICT integration helps to enhance learning and 21st Century skills.

Throughout Early Years Foundation Stage we place a strong emphasis on social and emotional development as a means by which children develop their skills of independence, problem solving and confidence. At the very foundation of the school, we are dedicated to fulfilling Baku Oxford School’s mission of providing a ‘safe and supportive environment for internationally minded’ students by celebrating Azeri traditions and recognising peoples and traditions from many different cultures around the world. This international dimension is what truly makes us the ‘international school of choice” in Baku.

We are always eager and excited to celebrate student’s achievements through colourful and engaging displays of their learning, parent teacher meetings and assemblies. We firmly believe that this is a very important time of a child’s education and we are proud to be building the foundations of their future learning and success.