DUCKS

Dulwich College Kindergarten School (DUCKS) is set in a purpose-built Early Years environment catering to children ages 3 to 7 years old. It comprises of Nursery and Reception (collectively known as our Early Years programme) and Year 1 & 2. During their DUCKS years, our students develop their personal, social and emotional skills, communication and language skills, and physical movement skills, while building their foundation in literacy, mathematics, art and world cultures.

Our four principles are:

• Knowing each child – Strong parent partnerships, positive relationships, and putting each child’s wellbeing and belonging first.
• Spaces for Learning – Every space in our school has been designed and resourced with children’s learning in mind; everywhere is a platform for growth and inspiration.
• Foundations for Learning – Children learn best when they make meaningful connections, enabling them to build their own maps of understanding. Each child’s learning path is unique.
• Young Children as Language Learners – Our language-rich environment is designed to enable children’s communication skills to thrive.

Early Years

Early Years in DUCKS is based on the best of Early Years education from around the world within the well-defined expectations of the Early Years Foundation Stage from the U.K.

Child-led learning and play-based exploration underpin the approach where learning is supported through positive interaction with adults whose careful questioning, observations, and reflections inform their daily practice.

In Years 1 and 2, children follow an enhanced version of the National Curriculum of England. Much of the learning comes through our inquiry-focused, concept-based curriculum with a focus on high standards of academic rigour, particularly in English, Mathematics and Thai, with Mandarin also being taught.

Each class is taught by at least one native English-speaking teacher and one native Thai-speaking teacher.  Our aim is for our children to be confident and competent in English and Thai, as well as other languages spoken at home.

Children delve deeper into areas of learning, including core subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and the foundation subjects; Art and Design, Computing, Geography, History, Music and Physical Education (PE). Depending on their age, children will have specialist lessons each week for Music, Library and Physical Education.