What We Teach
Early Years at PlayPen
Starting Early Years marks a child’s entry into the first social group beyond the family: the school environment.
In Early Years, children experience transformations that will profundly change their life. At PlayPen, every day is carefully planned so that our youngest students can develop their abilities, and exercise their own way of thinking and being while feeling safe and well looked after. Our Early Years is conducted 100% in English, to ensure a solid foundation in the language from the very beginning.
The first step to a lifetime of learning
At PlayPen we believe that learning is an active process and young children learn best through play. Our goal is to help children become agents of their learning process and self-regulated learners.
Our Early Years provides a rich learning environment to support active learning and interaction among children, from 14 months to 6 years old. We stimulate their curiosity, imagination, and creativity. Children engage in exploration and active inquiry, immersed in an English-speaking environment. Teachers support the development of their language skills as children interact with their peers and pedagogical team.
We highly value the participation of family members in our school community – school and families should work together to guarantee the best possible learning experience and achievement. Open and effective communication ensures a successful educational journey for our students.
Early years explained
Toddlers, EY 3 and EY 4
Morning 7:45 to 11:45
Afternoon 13:00 to 17:00
Extended 7:30 to 17:00
EY 5
7:45 to 15:30
indoor and Outdoor learning
Our classrooms have been specially designed to support the needs and promote the development of each age group.
We also have outdoor play areas, carefully planned to encourage Early Years students’ physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development, including:
- an Imagination Playground with giant foam blocks that inspire children to design their own inventions, environments, and activities;
- a tree house with a climbing wall and a slide;
- a sandpit;
- a grassy area with trees and plants to ensure a connection with nature;
- balance bicycles and tricycles to encourage the development of motor skills.
The outdoor play areas are explored in a variety of ways depending on the learning goals to be achieved.
A welcome from our Head of Early Years
Starting Early Years is a very exciting step in your child’s education and we will be alongside you and them as they adapt to this new stage in their lives. At PlayPen we are committed to promoting wellbeing and providing our students with enriching learning experiences.
We highly value our close partnership with our families and pride ourselves on frequent communication. We firmly believe that we get the best results when we learn and grow together.
Michelle Gomes, Head of Early Years
