The British International School of Ljubljana have been busy planning for the upcoming academic year and how best to meet the challenges ahead, as well as the needs of all their students when learning commences at the end of August 2020.
A full review of the premises has already been completed, including a deep clean, room layouts altered, and guidance updated to meet health and safety expectations with a variety of new hygiene provisions for everyone in the building. They continue to plan for smaller classes, outside breaks in spacious areas and a restriction of events where students gather. Following these guidelines, keeping the children safe and healthy is their absolute priority and at the heart of everything that they do.
Along with the preparation of the current building, the school is continuing to expand with developments on the new building now fully visible. This exciting project shows the growth and ambition of the school as it heads towards considerable improvements in the pedagogical facilities, as well as increasing the size of the very popular ‘Woodland Area’. This area was used significantly in the last term with students enjoying a range of outdoor learning experiences, exercising in the open space and learning through play and exploration. With specialist classrooms, open performing spaces and the adjoining woodland area, the students are guaranteed to enjoy and benefit from the improvements to the physical school building.
The most exciting area of improvement is with the quality of education to meet the needs of all of the students in the school. During the planning stage for the coming term, the school has invested heavily in online training for teachers with the Orbital Group eLearning Manager, Zsofia Alibaux Jakab, coordinating all online training to enhance and transform student learning through the Orbital online learning platform. Training sessions will be used to develop lessons, resources and activities to benefit students’ development when they return to school. A wider access to e-learning will benefit all students and give them more choice, variety and enable them to learn in different ways. Staff will have the chance to use a variety of forums, apps and tools to be innovative with the curriculum throughout the school. This will create a personalised experience for all students and build upon the successes identified during the enforced online learning period last term. With a strong English development programme throughout the school, high-quality lessons and now further progress with online learning, this all contributes significantly to the holistic development of each and every child.
The Principal, Paul Walton, commented, “We have used this time during the summer effectively to produce impressive online courses, excellent training opportunities for our teachers and time to plan together. The way in which they have embraced the challenge to develop curriculum has been inspiring and they have exceeded expectations with their work ethic and effort to create the best resources for students.”
The school again offered a two-week summer school for their students and, with over 80 participants, it was more popular than ever this year. Students thoroughly enjoyed learning together and were full of energy, happy and safe. During the first term, the school have also created opportunities for ‘enrichment days’ that are free for students outside of the normal timetable. The aim is to provide them with further activities that were restricted due to COVID-19, including team sports, practical activities, science experiments and physical education challenges. This will help students gain valuable life skills and experiences with others together in a safe and secure environment.
The British International School of Ljubljana benefits from being part of the Orbital Education Group, where there is a continued focus on offering a provision of high-quality education across all the schools.
Learn more about the British International School of Ljubljana<. And there's a virtual open day planned for Friday, 14 August, with details here
