Quick summary of key school information
School details
Number of students |
80 |
Number of nationalities represented in the school |
10 |
Most common nationality |
Italian |
Native English and Italian speaking teachers |
Yes |
Language support for students not fluent in English and Italian |
For children needing extra support in either of the two languages, we provide additional sessions with specialist Italian/English as an additional language teachers and teaching assistants. |
Additional language classes offered by the school |
French and Spanish |
Max. number of students per class |
16 |
Average number of students per class |
12 |
Does the school employ teaching assistants? |
Yes |
Use of technology in the classroom |
Tablets, computers, smart boards available in all classes |
Is the school ready to use virtual classrooms when needed? (e.g. teaching lessons online if the school is closed, e.g. during COVID-19 closures) |
We use virtual classrooms to share relevant information and teaching resources to support the children teaching and learning. During the COVID-19 lockdowns we ensured our pupils were supported in navigating these challenging times but also succeeded academically by opening virtual classrooms for all the year groups. If we ever need to return to home learning, we are equipped to support our pupils in the best possible way. |
Do students practice religion at the school? What religion? |
The school is secular and all faiths are respected. |
Do teachers assign homework to their students? |
Yes |
Approximate hours of homework given |
Homework is spread throughout the week, allowing for the optimum home life / study balance. |
Waiting list |
It depends on the year group, but we can have a waiting list. We recommend that parents complete our registration form as soon as possible if they are considering our school. |
Deadline for registration (new academic year) |
To apply for admission the first thing to do is to register your child with us. Registration can be made any time after the child’s birth. Places are normally offered at the beginning of the December before entry. |
Students can join after academic year begins |
Yes. Please contact our Admissions Office on admissions@sial.school and we will guide you through the process. |
School start time |
Our busy school day starts at 8:20 AM when our doors open.
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School finish time |
Nursery: 3:15 PM
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Supervised care before/after school |
Yes, we offer wraparound childcare on site from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. |
School bus service available |
We are considering offering a school bus service for drop-off only.
|
School provided lunches |
Yes, we are dedicated to providing healthy and nutritious meals made from scratch on site for children during their time spent at school. |
Food alternatives for special dietary needs (ie. vegan, kosher, halal etc) |
Yes |
Uniform required |
Yes |
Extracurricular activities or clubs offered |
To complement and enhance our broad bilingual curriculum, we provide a wide variety of opportunities that promote academic, creative, physical and community achievement.
After school clubs
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Sports activities included |
Two hours of PE per week for all the classes, including Nursery run by specialised teachers, done alternatively in school and at the park. Swimming lessons are organised at the local swimming pool. |
Sports teams or sport competitions available for students |
Yes |
Facilities at the school |
Library, Art Room, Music Room, Hall, Outdoor Playground |
Qualities and characteristics best defining the school |
SIAL.school is the only school in the UK to teach all subjects in English and Italian, from Nursery to Year 6.
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Teaching approach of the school |
Native Italian and English teachers and assistants work in parallel with groups of children on a common curriculum that covers the educational objectives of both school programmes (Italian and English). Each teacher has an assigned classroom and the children move from one environment to another, acknowledging that in one classroom only Italian is spoken and in the other one only English is. The physical separation of the spaces allocated to a specific languageactually helps and accelerates the development of a bilingual vocabulary in a completely natural way. The inclusion of art subjects in our bilingual curriculum is also aimed at fostering spontaneity in language learning: the children take art, music and drama lessons in both languages from pre-school onwards, with specialist mother-tongue teachers. The arts are a very powerful tool, because they activate all the sensory channels necessary for the development of memorisation processes and the cognitive sphere, while at the same time stimulating and involving the emotional sphere. |