Primary School

English and Maths are taught daily to ensure children’s reading, writing and comprehension, as well as numeracy becomes thoroughly developed. Lessons are differentiated so that the needs of all our learners are met.

In Key Stage 1 this includes comprehensive coverage of phonics ensuring that children have a solid basis for furthering their understanding and use of the English language. Our library and Oxford Reading Tree scheme help children to develop a love of reading which in turn allows them to become more expressive writers.

In English, ‘Talk for Writing’ provides the basis for learning, and covers the key skills of speaking and listening, reading and writing through units that spark the children’s interest. In Year 5 and 6, children move on to develop their ‘writer’s voice’ with the opportunity to explore and apply their writing skills in a wider range of writing opportunities. Developing a richer range of vocabulary and being able to read challenging texts at speed also become key to learning. 

In Maths each year, children continue to build on the skills they have mastered in the previous year. Throughout the primary phase, children apply their skills to solving problems, drawing on their knowledge and making links between different areas of maths learning while developing resilience. Recalling key number facts are fundamental to building strong, successful mathematicians. Our White Rose Scheme of Work is used to support our Maths teaching and learning. 

In science, Children are taught through units which build on their learning each year and key vocabulary is taught specifically. Teachers also plan many opportunities for children to develop their investigative skills through designing, carrying out and drawing conclusions from experiments. 

Our Topics lessons invite children to further develop their geographical and historical skills. They also continue to widen their technical vocabulary while exploring a fantastic range of topics including the Romans, China, the Environment and Mountains!

In Art and Technology lessons, children develop their skills and knowledge to create artwork using pastels, pointillism and papier mache. Artists such as Peter Thorpe and Andy Warhol are also explored during the Art lessons which take place in our our specifcally designed Art Room. 

Throughout primary, children receive lessons taught by our talented team of specialist teachers for music, PE, Computing and Language. We are proud to offer Romanian, Mandarin and Arabic lessons as first language lessons along with the additional languages of Spanish and French as an additional language.

When they leave primary, children at ISB are ready to continue their learning journey in our secondary school, equipped with the skills, knowledge and personal qualities they need to ‘Learn, Respect and Succeed’.

Many of our students speak English as a second or even as a third language, and therefore may not have the English language skills necessary to cope with the demands of the British National Curriculum. Depending on their age, students new to English will likely acquire conversational fluency Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) in around two years but will usually need a minimum of five years to achieve competence in academic English Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). Students new to ISB need to be assessed to determine whether they need EAL lessons, and where a need has been identified, to be provided with sufficient EAL support, as outlined in this policy, to enable them to better integrate into their mainstream classes, as well as being able to achieve their full potential academically.

AIMS

• To welcome and value the cultural, linguistic and educational experiences that EAL students bring to ISB

• To develop students’ ability to understand and use English effectively for the purposes of practical communication (BICS) as well as in an academic context (CALP)

• To provide a positive, supportive and motivating learning environment and a smooth transition between Key Stages

• To ensure that all EAL students receive the appropriate level of support
• To maintain students’ self-esteem and confidence by acknowledging and giving status to their home languages/mother tongues
• To place students in need of additional English lessons in an appropriate EAL class

A special education fee of 2000 Euros/year will be applicable on top of the tuition fee for the students entering Year 3-Year 9 (7 to 13 years old) who are placed, following entry assessment, in the ESL programme.

More information on ESL Objectives, Teaching and Learning, can be found in theESL Policy.

As a parent, the future of your child is the single most important thing on your mind. Your love and care will surely shape who the adult is going to be at 18.

We, at International School of Bucharest, don’t know how the world will be at that point in time but every day since 1996 we have been making sure the children we teach in our school are as prepared to fulfil their own aspirations and ambitions as they possibly can be. Here’s why we should partner and what we can provide in your child’s education journey.