Event FAQ: Discover your child's potential with international education in Singapore

What is your school philosophy or vision? How are they applied in the classroom and school community?

[Lisamarie]: EtonHouse was inspired by our founder’s experience as a parent in the UK in the 80s. She realised her daughter enjoyed going to school in the UK, where the children were learning through play, and the teachers respected children. She decided to start her own school in 1995 when she couldn’t find something similar in Singapore. Her dream was to build a school where children learn through fun and exploration and look forward to attending school every day.

We believe children learn best when they are interested in what they are learning, so we make learning engaging for them through an inquiry-based approach. Our child-centred learning focuses on empowering children to become independent and self-motivated learners, critical thinkers and problem-solvers, bolstering their confidence to use their skills to make a difference in the future. 

EtonHouse prides ourselves on being an inclusive school where every child is respected, and their uniqueness celebrated. Because of our boutique campuses and rich student-teacher ratio, each child receives a highly personalised education that helps them grow and flourish in their own right. Every teacher knows every child, and this strong relationship provides children with a safe, nurturing learning environment. At EtonHouse, we grow as a family. 

We have a strong commitment to nurturing bilingual students. We offer different tracks in bilingual education from pre-school to high school so that children continue building their Mandarin proficiency throughout school. Those who want to develop strong language proficiency can opt for the 100% Mandarin Immersion Programme in Pre-School or the Bilingual Immersion Programme in Primary. Students can continue taking Mandarin as a subject for IGCSE and IB Diploma. 

[Mark]: We aspire to be leaders in providing world-class quality and affordable education to all students with an emphasis on values, collaboration, creativity and service to others. How we will achieve this vision?

• Thoughtfully Priced Fees: We are committed to offering international families in Singapore with a moderate fee structure. This ensures that our doors are open to every student who dreams of a world-class educational experience without compromise.
• Internationally Recognised Curricula: We have adopted the IB PYP, Cambridge, IGCSE and IB-DP curricula. These inquiry-based programmes nurture creativity, curiosity and the spirit of collaboration in students. They form the pillars of our objective of providing a future-proof education.
• Extensive School Facilities: We believe quality education is incomplete without co-scholastic learning. Our students benefit from varied co-curricular activities, well-appointed sports and arts facilities,  and an expansive library, all of which build different facets of their personalities.
• Focus on Core Values: We consider kindness and respect for diversity as our core values. Our multicultural student and teacher communities benefit from each other’s varied experiences both in the classroom and through special initiatives.
• Service to Society: We foster the idea of connectedness and encourage our students to give back to society for the well-being of our world. Through community service activities, our learners recognise the positive impact they can make both during and after their schooling years.

What type of student are you looking for? How does your idea of a model student align with your school vision or philosophy?

[Lisamarie]: EtonHouse is an inclusive school where we respect every child and celebrate their uniqueness. We don't believe in a cookie-cutter approach nor trying to fit students into the same mould of what an ideal model student should be. Our personalised approach seeks to bring out the best in every child by working with each student on their learning goals and aspirations. Ensuring they are well-supported to achieve not just academic success in IGCSE, IB Diploma and beyond, but grow into confident and competent individuals with a lifelong love for learning. 

[Mark]: One World International School is an educational facility that welcomes students of all nationalities. Parents find that our school is the right fit for their child because they recognise our commitment to excellence, and they believe in the power of our positive learning environment.

What are your teachers’ qualifications and what professional development opportunities are available to them? 

[Lisamarie]: Our objective is to deliver a solid inquiry-based programme with accountability for academics and the overall well-being of our children. This can only be delivered by exceptional teachers. We handpick teachers from diverse backgrounds, who are strong in delivering academic curricula in an international setting, and dedicated to caring for our students' holistic well-being. Lifelong learning is of great importance in our community. Supported by our in-house pedagogy team, all our teachers undergo PD and training regularly to ensure they continue to deliver high-quality education to our students.

[Mark]: Our teachers come from all over the world and we are proud of the diversity of our teaching staff. We have teachers from Australia, Canada, China, India, Ireland, Philippines, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Srilanka, United Kingdom and United States of America to name a few places. Our teachers are also a reflection of our diverse student body. All our teachers have degrees / higher degrees and teaching certifications from well established higher education institutions.

We also look for teachers who are dynamic, enthusiastic, caring, internationally minded and lifelong learners. We expect our staff to be totally committed to doing their very best in the interests of all our students and our school.

Our teaching staff is complemented by teacher assistants who support student learning throughout the curriculum. A full-time qualified Nurse is available to provide medical care for students when required.

Our Head of School is originally from the UK but has been in Asia for almost 20 years. All our teachers in Primary School are PYP IBO accredited and our Secondary Teachers are authorised to teach CIE IGCSEs and the IB DP.

How do you measure a student’s achievement and progress?

[Lisamarie]: Assessments are an integral part of teaching and learning. All students are regularly assessed to help make learning experiences meaningful and relevant. Regular formative assessments are used as a reflective tool by students and teachers to help scaffold learning and enable students to take ownership of their learning. Assessments are done during class time as part of regular teaching and learning. A range of strategies and tools are used to gather information about students' learning. These may include but are not limited to regular observations, documentation and analyses of learning journeys through discussions, projects and/or other classroom work, written tests, portfolios etc. 

At EtonHouse, our curriculum and learning outcomes are aligned with the UK National Curriculum. It is important to remember that students are on their own individual learning journeys. Whilst a curriculum map may contain a learning outcome that the teachers aim to explore with students over that year, each student is different and needs support and challenge that is individualised to where they are at that point in time. Some students may not be at that point, while others may be ready for more complex work. Each learning outcome can be explored at various levels, from simple to increasingly complex.

What is your approach to dealing with discipline? How do you deal with behaviour issues?

[Lisamarie]: From a Pastoral perspective, we consider behaviour issues as a form of communication. They are usually a surface-level manifestation of underlying issues. As a school, we strive to create an open and nurturing space to understand the reasons for the behaviour, seek ways to guide student behaviour with understanding and compassion, and offer strategies to help them better communicate their emotional needs.

The way we “see” children directly impacts the power of our words. These interactions and expectations of children help shape and define who they are and how they communicate confidently with others. At EtonHouse, we believe and see children as capable, curious individuals who deserve to be respected. When we steer towards talking “to” rather than “at” children, we are building on their sense of value as an important person. This would help their emotional growth mindset and the determination to take positive control of their daily life experiences becomevery achievable for them. 

Punishment for the sake of punishment is ineffective and does not support students to understand and make better choices around their behaviour in the future. Behaviour should be intrinsically motivated. Towards building this approach on behaviour guidance, EtonHouse advocates for respectful parenting, having published books, resources, webinars and workshops to support the understanding and practice of this approach. You can access our materials at parenting.etonhouse.edu.sg.

[Mark]: We take bullying very seriously at OWIS and have an Anti-bullying policy to assist students and parents. Our internal policies for staff members require administrators, teachers and staff members to remain vigilant and to recognise the signs of bullying among students. They actively work to prevent and resolve instances of bullying. This requires them to understand the signs of an isolated incident versus chronic bullying. If a report of bullying is made, all staff members treat it seriously and investigate it properly.

Kindness is one of our core values and we believe that by focussing on kindness, we create a positive culture in school where behavioural problems are minimised. We encourage students to be kind to each other and respect all members of our school community.

As part of our efforts to create a kind and positive culture at OWIS, we have developed several initiatives to support and encourage kindness, empathy and good behaviour. This includes Our Kindness Leaders programme, our Student Kindness Council, our behaviour agreements with students and our Pastoral care programme for secondary students.

How do you deal with a child who isn’t meeting academic expectations or who has gaps in his or her knowledge?

[Lisamaried]: Instead of using the word ‘deal’, we much prefer to use the word ‘support’ as the word ‘deal’ suggests the child has a problem. 

At EtonHouse, we follow a strengths-based approach where students are encouraged and supported to develop their academic skills at the pace that is right for them and takes into account their individual learning styles. The personalised approach to teaching and learning in our schools has been built around supporting all students to achieve their full potential.

For students with barriers to learning or who may not be meeting age-related academic expectations, we would always seek to understand the barriers for that individual and develop a plan to support them. This might include, but is not limited to, specific individual interventions for Maths and Literacy, or small group interventions to pre-teach vocab or review new concepts. 

Students might also benefit from support to develop their independence and organisational skills. Again this might be individual or small group/paired support. An Individual Education Plan (IEP) might be developed in collaboration with the parents, teachers and students themselves to help focus on goals and share strategies to support learning.