Zhang Qian

zhqcindy@163.com

A NEW international kindergarten, adopting the U.K.’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) system of preschool education, is expected to open in Shenzhen this September.

The kindergarten, named Qiaoxiang International Kindergarten, will be the first British-style kindy in Shenzhen, said Lin Yucheng, CEO of Prosen International Education Group, at a media conference Saturday. The kindergarten is one of the British-style education institutions belonging to the Prince William Preschool in the Donghai area of Futian District.

Located in the Qiaoxiang area of Futian, the kindergarten expects to enroll around 80 kids as its first batch of students this coming fall, said Lin. All of the kids will be taught and nursed by both foreign and Chinese teachers.

Fabiana Drew, a senior educational inspector from the U.K., attended Saturday’s media conference to explain the core values and advantages of the EYFS system. Drew is also the kindergarten’s director of studies.

Drew said that one of the key values of the EYFS system is the positive relationship between instructors and parents because such relationships could help both the kindergarten and the families to better focus on the kids’ whole-person development.

“Parents are the first and foremost educators for their children,” said Drew, “so we will keep close relationships with our children’s parents and their family education.”

Another merit mentioned by Drew was that the kindergarten is keen on recruiting only qualified teachers with rich experience interacting with young children and the institution pledged to provide constant training to its teachers on the EYFS system.

A resident named Lei Cheng took his 3-year-old son to attend the media conference Saturday. He said that he knew that the U.K. was famous for its higher education, as many Chinese choose to go there to study, but the British-style of preschool education was something new for him.

“It’s very interesting to learn about more types of kindergartens in the city because we are looking for a better kindergarten for my son,” said Lei, whose child is about to enter kindergarten in September.

“I like the idea that they will keep the class sizes small so that kids can get more attention,” said Lei.

The kindergarten is currently undergoing interview stage with parents who are interested.

“We believe that parents’ involvement and their motivation for their children’s education are key to the adjustment to education,” said Xu Min, the kindergarten’s executive principal.

Xu also explained that special courses, including a forest education course, royal etiquette course and British English drama course, will be imbedded in the kindergarten’s curriculum.