Our philosophy

La Casa della Ghianda believes that every child has a right to the best education possible, it is our aim to provide that to each child in our school. We use a spiral curriculum approach, meaning that reinforcement is given to each child’s existing abilities, experience and knowledge. Learning is not something that takes place just once, but rather a series of lessons and processes that slowly build upon knowledge and create a firm understanding of each new concept. English is taught from the age of 25 months continuously, allowing the child to take step-by-step progression towards learning and gaining a solid base in the language.

All teachers at the school believe in the importance of play and experience learning, therefore each class is organised as an inviting, stimulating and safe environment to learn. Areas for play, relaxation and carpet time are organised in each class taking away the formalities of learning and replacing them with a cosy and secure environment to explore.
The school has a policy of talking to children and setting clear guidelines rather than raised voices and disciplining. If a child is displaying difficult behaviour there is a reason for it and it is the teacher’s role to find out the reason and help the child control his/her behaviour.

To support children’s learning in English and to make it more exciting and rewarding for the child, we use games and activities as much as possible, allowing the child to learn through play and having fun. To enable the children to be actively involved in their learning takes away frustration (which can cause behavioural conflicts) and replaces it with a sense of achievement, supporting a growth in confidence and self-esteem in each child. Building confidence, self-esteem and a positive relationship with learning is the main aim at La Casa della Ghianda. We believe that it is vital that a child’s first experience with learning is a positive one. We allow the child to develop at his/her own pace. During the first 2 years of our programme the child is in an environment of socialisation and exploration, with only a few structured moments of the day. By Reception class the child’s day has more structure but each teacher still uses games, activities and creativity to capture the child’s interest and allow him/her to physically experience the learning. Throughout each child’s school experience at La Casa della Ghianda play, exploration and discussion will be the key motivators to his/her learning.

What is a curriculum?

A curriculum is a definition of what is to be learned (Ross, A 2000) A curriculum is an inter-related set of plans and experiences … which is open to critical scrutiny and capable of effective translation into practice … (it) consists of all those activities designed or encouraged within its organisational framework to promote the intellectual, personal, social and physical development of its pupils. It includes not only the formal programme of lessons, but also the informal programme of so called ‘extra curricula’ activities, as well as those features which produce the school’s ethos, such as the quality of relationships, the concern for equality of opportunity, the values exemplified in the way the school sets about its task and the way in which it is organised and managed. Teaching and learning styles strongly influence the curriculum and in practice they cannot be separated from it. Since pupils learn from all these things, it needs to be ensured that all are consistant in supporting the school’s intentions. (Marsh, 1997, Stenhouse, 1975 & DES, 1985)

How is this applied at Casa della Ghianda?

The term curriculum for Casa della Ghianda means all of the above. It is a tool for teachers to coordinate a programme of learning to the children. This tool must incorporate the ‘seen’ and ‘hidden’ curriculum, in the sense that learning takes place not only in lessons, but also in the holistic environment of the school. The school’s responsibility is to educate each child on an emotional, social, responsible and academic level, taking into account foremost the individual needs and background of that child. Learning is valued from both inside and outside of the classroom, this learning is then ‘assessed’ in formative terms from the teacher, assessing the individual progress each child has made, in the context of their own prior knowledge, experience and personal development within a subject/topic area.
The Casa della Ghianda approach is based on a cross-curricular ideal, which involves the integration of learning through projects involving knowledge/research and experiencing of geography, history, science, literacy, ICT and art. Knowledge is empowered by learning that is meaningful to the child. The quality and relevance of the curriculum is of utter most importance, in contrast to quantity. Each class teacher is expected, as part of the Casa della Ghianda teaching team, to implement cross-curricular learning within their monthly timetable, connecting lessons through structured project work.
In line with International Schooling Policy, Casa della Ghianda believes that no child should be left behind or labelled according to their specific learning needs or learning style.
We are a student centred school and we provide a comprehensive curriculum to meet the individual needs of each student, meaning that after an individual assessment of each child’s learning capacity has been attained we aim to re-negotiate our learning objectives in line with each child’s needs. Time and attention are shared between the lessons and the reflections and analyses of the children’s reactions to them. Class teachers modulate their teaching approaches according to the different personalities and abilities of the children.