Dear Parents,
We will soon be creating the classes for the next academic year in EYFS and Primary. As members of an international community, it is important that we support our children to navigate change, nurture existing connections and develop new relationships. With this in mind, each year we create new classes from FS-1 through to Year 6.
The creation of classes is based on a number of factors. This includes:
- Balance in gender;
- The number of EAL/native-English speakers in a class;
- Creating classes that have a broad range of abilities and learning needs;
- Integrating new students alongside existing students.
The children’s existing relationships also form an important part of this picture. The adults who work with your children have a very good understanding of the friendships that not only exist in their current classes but are also held across the year group. They also have a thorough understanding of who your children learn positively with. We would like to invite you and your child to be involved with this process by identifying four children whom they would be happy to be in a class with next year and who they believe would have a positive impact on their learning. As has been described, there are a number of factors which need to be considered when creating classes; therefore, we will guarantee your child is placed with at least one child from their list.
As a parent, you can support the class mixing process by:
- Discussing with your child their existing friendships and who they feel they learn best with;
- Choosing four different friends (remembering these are not ranked);
- Helping your child understand that new classes are a great opportunity to make new friends;
- Reminding your child that it is not possible to place them with all of their requests;
- Completing the Learning Partner Jotform on time.
To make the choices, please use the link below and complete the Jotform by Friday, 2nd May.
Please note, there is also the option for you to select that your child’s class teacher identifies four friends instead.
FS-1 children who will complete five terms in FS-1
Please be aware that this bulletin does not apply to FS-1 students who are completing five terms in FS-1.
If you have any updated learning partner preferences from the student profile you completed before your child joined FS-1, please email Angel at [email protected] with up to three preferred learning partners for the next academic year. We will take these preferences into consideration when forming the FS-1 classes for the upcoming academic year.
We hope that you enjoy talking to your child about their existing friendships as well as discussing the excitement of developing friendships from across the year group and meeting the many new students we will have joining us in August.
Best wishes,
Hannah Tait
Head of EYFS & Primary
Frequently Asked Questions
Below is a list of FAQs which should cover the most common questions you may have. However, please contact your child’s current class teacher if you have any questions or concerns not covered below.
Are the friendship choices ranked?
Definitely not. It does not matter which order the friends are chosen in. We do not expect the children to be ranking their friends. Some parents may ask their children for a long list of friends and then choose four for them.
Can I request a specific teacher for my child?
No – this decision is made by the Senior Leadership Team.
If my child chooses just one friend, will they be guaranteed to be with them?
We require four choices as this gives us the flexibility to create new classes. If only one friend is chosen, we cannot guarantee they will be placed with them, so the class teacher will need to add three additional friend choices. We therefore ask for four friends to be chosen.
Can my child choose friends from another class?
Yes. Please make sure you know their first name and surname
When will we find out who our child’s teacher will be?
You will receive your child’s end-of-year report and a copy of their new class list via the Parent Portal on Friday 20th June.
Can I request that my child is moved once I receive the list?
As outlined above, the creation of new classes is a complex process, and it will therefore not be possible to accommodate any changes once the lists are published.