Blog


Social and Emotional Development - Mr. Dan Maduka
October 9, 2018, 8:34 am

One of the things that really impresses me about ISC is how conscientious the children are in general. It is especially evident now with new students joining us at the beginning of the academic year. It’s been great seeing children making an effort to help others settle in, whether this be by showing them around or inviting them to join in games at playtime. Even more impressive, is that it is the children who initiate this themselves.

I think a large part of this can be attributed to the high teacher to student ratio at the school. This enables us, as teachers, to pay careful attention to the specific social and emotional needs of each student. Just as every child learns at a different pace academically, so do they socially and emotionally. Smaller class sizes allow for individually-tailored mentoring and a greater frequency of meaningful exchanges between students. This offers a unique opportunity to forge strong personal relationships with each of our students and makes teaching in the classroom a real joy, living up to the school motto that ‘Every Child Matters.’

This setting is important in social and emotional learning, which plays a vital role in the formative phase of childhood. In Key Stage 2, this is closely linked to the development of higher-cognitive faculties, such as critical thinking, working collaboratively and problem solving. Students are guided-learners and teachers are facilitators in this process, with pupils playing an active role in class activities. These skills are practiced through class discussions, peer to peer, mastery learning and in self-assessment tasks. They are also honed through co-operative work, such as jigsaw learning and presentations, where students disseminate their findings to the rest of the class or their group.

Additionally in Years 5 and 6, there is an increased emphasis on independent learning, such as individual research, meeting deadlines and students assuming responsibility for keeping their own work in folders. These help promote self-awareness, self-discipline and organisational skills; all important building blocks that prepare students for the academic demands of secondary education and sitting exams.

A well-rounded education should foster the social and emotional well-being of its learners, whilst developing key skills that underpin academic achievement. The ethos at ISC creates an intimate classroom environment and develops students with an acute sense of social and self-awareness. When that inevitable time comes for them to move on, their experience here will enable them to feel confident in themselves and blossom both socially and academically.

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