What We Teach
What we teach: a unique, bilingual curriculum
Escola Cidade Jardim | PlayPen is a bilingual school and our curriculum integrates national and international guidelines.
As students progress through the school years they move between Portuguese and English immersion classes each day, developing their language skills naturally alongside the core competencies of the curriculum.
The national and international curricula are seamlessly integrated so that the same concept may be addressed in both languages, with different approaches, emphases, and learning outcomes for each language. Collaborative planning between the Portuguese and English teams leads to profoundly dynamic and multicultural learning.
English language learning from day one
To ensure that English language skills are cemented from an early age, our Early Years classes are held entirely in English, while from the start of Primary Years, the ratio is 50% English and 50% Portuguese.
English language skills are certified by Cambridge English Qualifications, the global standard for English language learning.
Progressing from PlayPen to Escola Cidade Jardim
As students graduate from Primary Years they leave behind PlayPen and move on to our Middle and High School – Escola Cidade Jardim. This is a big milestone for our students as they take more responsibility for their individual learning journey and begin their adolescence.
A curriculum of excellence based on Brazilian and international standards
Our inquiry-based approach aims to develop students who cooperate to explore new ideas and strategies, students who take risks because they are eager to learn more.
At Escola Cidade Jardim | PlayPen we believe in assessment for learning. We evaluate our students based on British national expectations (for content in English and Mathematics) as well as by Brazilian standards (for content in Portuguese), through renowned Brazilian and British evaluations applied annually – these are Evolucional and Cambridge Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring respectively.
Early years
As children begin their school journey we focus on 100% English language immersion, learning through play, creative arts, investigating transdisciplinary themes, and spending time outdoors.
Primary Years
In Primary Years classes are split equally between Portuguese and English, building a strong grounding in literacy and numeracy, as well as working to develop our pupils’ personal and social skills.
Middle school
As students transition to Middle School we support their personal development while maintaining a bilingual curriculum that encourages problem-solving and critical thinking.
