Our school aims to further develop internationally minded, curious and empathetic young people who are intrinsically motivated to positively impact their local and global community, creating sustainable change.
The school philosophy is founded on a deep understanding of compassion for one another, community-based learning, relationship building, valuing our unique identity whilst learning the importance of celebrating diversity.
This school guide takes you on a journey of what it means to be part of the AIS learning community and how our educational approach is structured. This school year we will further professionalise our organisation, with a focus on improving education, organisation and communication. Our school development plan 2024-2025 will embrace the need for creativity, social and emotional safety, re-connecting after COVID and prepare our school for the International School Recognition & the Dutch Primary School Inspection.
AIS is steadily growing to meet the demand for international education within Amstelveen & Ouderkerk. In order to maintain a balance between growth, stability and educational quality, our team has developed a school plan which will be closely monitored by our quality care committee (QCC) throughout the school year.
In line with Onderwijsgroep Amstelland’s school group educational strategic plan, AIS aims to continue developing a deeper understanding of what it means to be internationally minded, fostering a curiosity about one another, AIS values building trusting relationships with all twelve Dutch schools in our dynamic organisation. Our parent community play a fundamental role in developing and maintaining these important relationships.
While fostering our global citizenship values at AIS, we embrace the local Dutch community and seek out invitations to participate and experience the Dutch culture celebrating the values of our host country.
Our team looks forward to welcoming you at the AIS family!
1. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE AIS
The AIS philosophy is built upon the understanding of the importance for community. The fundamental role quality relationships play in fostering a healthy thriving learning community. We are curious about one other and unanswered questions which invite for exploration. Our curriculum is designed to challenge every learner to seek understanding which excites them to develop a love for learning to the world around them.
We believe that every member of our community is valuable. Each member of our community has unique talents and skills which require refining and creative expressional freedom. Our action-based research projects inspire children and the adults in our community to take ownership of their learning and empower student voice. At AIS we do not only hear what our children have to say, more importantly; we actively listen.
At AIS we design our classrooms inspired by Reggio Emilia’s philosophy towards love for learning.
All educators are asked to critically evaluate the resources in their classroom, what the purpose is of their resources, how do they add value to learning or do they require innovation, recycling or simply no longer has a purpose? We practise the understanding of “It takes a village to raise a child” on a daily basis. All adults in the school building make an effort to learn the names of student community. No member of our community is unnoticed or undervalued. We strive for collaboration and we all take ownership of our collective responsibility to provide a safe and exciting learning environment for all stakeholders.
Identity and diversity are celebrated whilst learning how to respectfully disagree and bravely express our vulnerabilities. At AIS we understand the importance of developing a global awareness, inviting multiple perspectives despite our difference, developing a growth mindset. We aim to create critical thinkers who play an intricate role in improving the world we live in as global citizens and ambassadors of their own cultures.
2. MISSION, VISION, VALUES
MISSION STATEMENT
Amstelland International School is dedicated to establishing a learning community which empowers student voice, invests in nurturing relationships, fosters compassion for humanity and inspires a shared responsibility of our planet.
SCHOOL VALUES:
Curiosity
VISION STATEMENT
International education which inspires creative thinking, provoking children to become curious and take ownership of their learning.
Community
Agency Relationships
Responsibility
The AIS is a Dutch subsidised international school. This enables us to deliver high quality international education at competitive school fees rates.
The AIS is accountable for high standards to the Inspectorate of the Dutch Ministry of Education, International School Recognition and The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) accreditation standards.
3. CURRICULUM INFORMATION PRIMARY SCHOOL, IPC
All classes have a maximum of 22 students. In order to ensure an optimal learning environment for our students, the profile of class groups at the AIS is guided around the principles of mixed ability levels, social/ emotional and learning diversity requirements, English language ability. The teaching and leadership team will decide on whether or not a particular age level/group will remain together moving into a higher grade or be mixed creating a new community. When mixing class groups AIS follows a very careful and sensitive procedure:
▶ The teacher identifies healthy learning peers & social group for each student
▶ These students are placed together in a Friendship Pod (between 3 to 5 students)
▶ The friendship Pods are then shuffled creating a new combined class community
▶ The new combination of healthy learning peers/ Friendship Pods form a new class list.
Each class has a designated Primary School qualified teacher who is responsible for the individual year group. In Group 1, 2 & 3 we have qualified teachers co-teaching alongside the classroom teacher in their role as teaching assistant.
The year group teachers work collaboratively on planning the curriculum and this ensures that all students have access to the same key concepts and learning assessments. In addition to the Classroom Teacher, there are specialist teachers who deliver Dutch Language and Culture, English Language Acquisition (ELA), and Physical Education (PE). All teachers are involved in the assessment and the progress reports (PLG) of the individual students that they teach. AIS will be elaborating on our ARTS and culture team, integrating skilled ART, Drama, Musci and Robotics specialists.
Groups 1 and 2 have full-time Teaching Assistants to help support the teaching and learning. Group 3 classes have part-time Teaching Assistants, who may also assist other areas of the primary school according to different curricular and student needs. Teaching Assistants help support the diverse learning environment so that the teacher may differentiate to meet the needs of individual students and make optimal use of a multi learning-style approach in daily lessons.
Our student care coordinator meets regularly with the teaching team to continuously evaluate the academic, social and emotional needs of all our students. Any additional learning needs required are provided within the means of a mainstream school according to Dutch law.
The educational team is trained throughout the school year on child protection and student wellbeing. During six designated meetings the whole team collaboratively dialogue about the needs of the children in their class. Sharing best practices is fundamental to improving teaching and learning at AIS. Parents are invited to four designated parent information evenings especially designed to foster awareness of the vulnerability of our children and how to apply positive parenting strategies at home. AIS invites parents to curriculum workshops and social coffee mornings further fostering the sense of community.
AIS has designed a sexual education curriculum which informs children about their bodies, emotions and thoughts. The ongoing changes children experience, positive body image, personal (safe) expression, selfworth, self-esteem and the diversity of family structures, are some of the topics our educational team explore with the students. Parents play an intricate role in the impact our curriculum has on the lives of their children. We believe that parents are the first and most important contact for any child. Parents are empowered to take the lead in translating our school philosophy appropriately, whilst inviting room for their own cultures and religious beliefs at home.
INTERNATIONAL EARLY YEARS CURRICULUM (IEYC)
The IEYC presents a modern and all-encompassing curriculum solution that addresses every aspect of learning pertinent to early years, kindergarten, and pre-school education. The IEYC is the beginning of a child’s learning journey with the International Curriculum, making it the ideal starting point for children moving on to the IPC or other alternative curriculums.
The Journey through the Theme stage informs children of the expected learning and activities within the Learning
Blocks that follow, preparing children for new pathways of learning. This stage allows connections between previous and new learning to be made and/or highlighted, supporting the brain to learn associatively; for the youngest learners, it is also an opportunity to review what has already been experienced and learned.
Ready, Steady
Teachers will use the Journey through the Theme stage as an opportunity to look forward and scaffold children’s thinking and enquiry skills. Teachers will help children to identify which Learning Blocks they believe will provide answers to their Capturing Curiosity questions, and consider and predict how these questions may be investigated within the theme.
Playful Learning Experiences
The Playful Learning Experiences stage has been designed in Learning Blocks. Each provides a central learning focus, within the unit theme, that enables children to learn in a constructive and iterative way. Within each Learning Block, there are specific contextualized activities linked to scaffolding children’s learning through a mini-cycle that supports them as they explore new IEYC Learning Experiences, express their ideas, understanding and thinking, and extend their learning and development.
Explore, Express, and Extend
The Explore, Express, and Extend mini-cycle provides children with opportunities to engage in learning activities that have been holistically designed around the IEYC’s Dimensions of Learning and Development. This mini-cycle recognises learning and development as a process, with children needing time, space and pace to consolidate knowledge, develop skills and increase understanding within the earliest years of life. This Explore, Express and Extend mini-cycle is repeated multiple times within each Learning Block, allowing children to extend their interests and learn holistically as they make links between the different activities. Each Learning Block suggests a possible pathway through linked activities and the IEYC Learning Experiences they provide.
Explore, Express, and Extend cycle gradually passes ownership and direction of the learning to the child; from teacher-scaffolded (Explore) to child-led (Express) and then to child-initiated (Extend).
The Exit Stretch
The Exit Stretch stage of the Process to Facilitate Learning has a number of purposes:
▶ to allow children to repeat, revisit and reflect on their Personal, International and Academic Learning Experiences
▶ to share their learning with peers and teachers
▶ to celebrate the learning that has taken place within the unit of learning, strengthening connections between their learning and the wider world, which may include an invitation to take action.
INTERNATIONAL PRIMARY CURRIULUM (IPC)
The International Primary Curriculum is a curriculum that is being used in over 1000 schools in 90 countries around the world. It was launched in 2000 having been created by a team of leading experts in children’s learning from around the world. The goal of the IPC is for children to focus upon a combination of academic, personal and international learning and through the IPC develop all the skills children will need in order to confidently face the world of tomorrow.
Children learn through a series of IPC units of work. Each unit of work has a theme that today’s children find interesting and relevant. Children learn many of their subjects through this one common theme so that their learning has meaning to them. Linking subjects means that children can make lots of connections with their
learning. The more connections the brain can make, the better a child can learn.
The development of skills is a very big part of the IPC. Learning activities at AIS have been designed so that our children can develop these skills. The IPC is not just ‘topic’ learning. Although the learning is based around a theme, the learning that the children do within that theme has very distinct outcomes to ensure that children are learning exactly what they need to. Nobody can predict the nature of work and life opportunities that will be available for our children in the future. Many of the jobs don’t yet exist!
The IPC focuses on a skills-based approach to prepare our children for the fast-changing world they will be living in. The IPC has been designed for children of all abilities and all learning styles. It encourages learning in groups as well as individual learning.
These IPC phrases are described below.
The IPC Unit: A collection of learning tasks based around a theme which children carry out to meet their learning goals.
IPC Unit Letter: An informative letter sent home at the beginning of each IPC unit. The letter is written by class teachers to inform parents about the learning involved within the next IPC unit and how to help at home.
Entry Point: An activity at the beginning of each IPC unit which provides an exciting introduction to the work that is to follow.
Knowledge Harvest: A specific activity which takes place in the early stages of each unit. This activity provides an opportunity for children to reveal what they already know about the theme they are studying and for their teacher to build on that knowledge.
Subject Learning Goals: These are the goals of achievement for the children’s learning within the IPC subjects. Each Milepost’s subject goals are appropriately levelled for the children’s ages.
Personal Learning Goals: These are the goals which promote and develop the children’s personal qualities
of; Adaptable,Collaborator,Communicator,Empathetic Ethical, Resilient Respectful, Thinker. By their nature, the personal goals are not age specific.
International Goals: These are the goals for children’s learning, development and understanding on Internationalism. For example, knowledge and understanding beyond that related to their own nationality, culture and home country; the ability to develop both a national and an international perspective and the ability to adapt to other education systems.
Learning Tasks: The children’s learning tasks which are delivered with a variety of learning styles in mind; these will include enquiry-based research tasks, recording tasks and international tasks.
Exit Point: A Student-Led Conference carried out at the end of each unit to provide an exciting and stimulating exit to the learning which the children have done. This is a celebratory conference opportunity. Students take parents on a learning journey walk through their achievements and progress in the IPC unit, literacy and numeracy. The classrooms are set up in diverse curriculum areas with provocations, student portfolios and teacher guided questions to support the conversations about the learning achievements.
Learning should be at the core of what every good school does, and the overarching question the IPC asks is ‘How does this improve learning?’ The IPC Learning Goals are so central to the IPC that it’s important to think about the language used when talking to the children, with colleagues and with parents. An IPC teacher talks about what children have learned before they talk about what children have done. The clear, precise Learning Goals give schools, teachers and leaders the chance to do that much more easily. The Learning Goals are organized into 3 distinct but connected sections.
SUBJECT LEARNING GOALS
The clearly defined Learning Goals of the International Curriculum were developed with teachers from our member schools and beyond, with reference to over twenty different national and regional curricula. The Subject Learning Goals cover the Knowledge, Skills and Understanding that children should learn in:
Art
Design, Technology and Innovation
Geography
Health and Well-Being
History
ICT and Computing
Language Arts
Mathematics
Music
PE
Science
PERSONAL LEARNING GOALS
Personal Learning Goals cultivate within us, a set of ways of approaching challenges, and they strongly shape our attitudes and capabilities as thinkers and learners. For this reason, if learners are to flourish and overcome challenges, their dispositional qualities must be a key area of focus for teachers and school leaders. It has been argued that there is a need for increased focus on soft skills as we enter the fourth industrial revolution; with increasing levels of artificial intelligence, equipping learners with skills that artificial intelligence cannot emulate is more important than ever before.
The aim of the Personal Learning Goals are to develop the character of our students and their attitudes towards learning.
The 8 Personal Learning Goals are all things we can be:
Adaptable
Communicator
Collaborator
Empathetic
Ethical
Resilient
Respectful
Thinker
Each Personal Learning Goal has a number of indicators with progression through the mileposts. These are included in the International Curriculum Learning Goals document alongside the Subject and International Learning Goals. Opportunities to experience and practice these specific goals will be built into the learning tasks found within each unit of learning.
INTERNATIONAL GOALS
The International Curriculum is unique in defining International Learning Goals that help learners begin the move towards increasingly sophisticated national,
international, global and intercultural perspectives on the world around them, whilst developing the capacity to take action and make a difference.
The development of an inquisitive mind and a sense of curiosity about the world and its people is essential for international learning. It facilitates the acquisition of investigative skills which helps learners to overcome feelings of bewilderment or uneasiness that they might experience when faced with unfamiliarity. Furthermore, it raises their awareness of the differences between cultures and societies as well as the commonalities that bind humanity together. An understanding of diversity is essential to fostering mutually beneficial collaboration among different nations and peoples, creating a platform for the sharing of learning around the world.
The expectation that learners will take action as a result of their learning is a particularly crucial part of the International Learning. The International Learning Goals encourage thoughtful engagement with local and global issues and combined with the Process to Facilitate Learning, provide opportunity for direct intervention so that children feel empowered to enact meaningful change. Moreover, the goals help to bridge the gap between school and the wider world so that learners can immediately begin applying their newly acquired international Knowledge, Skills and Understanding outside of the classroom.
NUMERACY: WHY DO WE USE NUMICON?
Numbers and maths, in particular, can be difficult for children to understand when expected to do so by means of rote learning. Numicon is a concept based math program designed to teach children how to understand and experience mathematical concepts by mean of hand on learning.
Numicon is a collection of flat plastic shapes with holes in them. Each shape represents a number from one to ten, and each number has its own colour. The mental impact that Numicon has is a kinesthetic one. Due to children being able to be hands-on with numbers, they can see and feel what they are learning and the approach. This multi-sensory experience allows children to maintain the information they have learned.
Numicon is arguably a fantastic example of learning through play. It is a leading primary school product that allows teachers, parents, and guardians to create visual and interactive activities for children to learn maths with. Dealing with complex maths problems can be frustrating but using Numicon aids with children’s understanding. Using a wide variety of resources, it uses bright imagery to help support the understanding of a range of mathematical concepts. It is a highly useful
tool in a classroom situation. Either as a stand-alone product or by integrating it into your own lesson plans and resources, Numicon provides a practical, visual experience for children trying to understand numbers and mathematical operations in a simpler way. A Numicon slate can be used to help children visualise what numbers look like. Seeing numbers beside each other solidifies for children the unique relationship between the digits and aids with seeing patterns. Numicon then provides a method of showing children how numbers work together.
LITERACY
In July 2023, AIS became a fully accredited Cambridge International School. We are now implementing the Cambridge Early Years and Primary English curriculums which empower learners in their application of English and encourage life-long enthusiasm for reading, writing and spoken communication. These curriculums develop communication skills in English that learners can apply in everyday situations and in study. They also equip them with transferrable language skills for interrogating and producing spoken and written texts, and working collaboratively. Together the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills acquired through Cambridge Early Years and Primary English support learners’ overall intellectual, creative, cultural and social development.
The Cambridge Early Years curriculum is a child-centred, play-based programme that helps young learners to develop at their own pace. It encourages them to act independently, make their own choices and discover feelings of self-worth. It helps children develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need for the next stage in their education and supports learners, whatever their level of English when they begin the programme.
Literacy Concepts that are covered are:
Phonetic Awareness
Vocabulary
Story Telling
Comprehension Skills
Fluency
Creative Writing
Through the Cambridge Primary Curriculum, we implement an ‘Active Learning’ pedagogy which involves learners being engaged in their learning rather than passively listening and copying information. Learners take part in a variety of activities that involve thinking hard. The focus is always on the creation of transferrable understanding. Active learning can take place inside the classroom or outside the classroom, and by working individually, in pairs, in small groups or as a whole class. The important thing is that learners are engaged in their own learning and have some responsibility for their progress. Active learning encourages learners to think about their thinking (metacognition) through opportunities to plan, monitor, evaluate and make changes to progress their learning.
Phonics - Letterland:
Letterland is a unique, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling to 3-8 year olds. Its characters make plain black letter shapes and their sounds easy and fun to remember. They give speedy access to all 44 sounds and their major spellings. They create fast, smooth transitions to blending plain letters to read, and segmenting spoken words to spell. Our Letterland curriculum is fully aligned with the Cambridge Early Years and Primary curriculums and adopts a multisensory approach to learning through stories, actions, songs and activities.
Languages
We believe language to be one form of expression, a tool to use when communicating verbally accessing a diversity of languages & dialects. At AIS all languages are equally celebrated and form part of our identity as a rich learning environment, seeking to understanding one another overcoming language barriers.
At AIS Primary, we study two official languages: English and Dutch (Netherlands).
Parents are partners in their children’s learning, we encourage parents to speak their home language (mother tong) at home with their children. It is fundamental that young children grow up with a strong mother tong foundation. Once this foundation is established correctly, a child is able to learn a second, third or even forth language successfully building upon their firmly established mother tong base.
DUTCH LANGUAGE COURSES
The second language taught at AIS is Dutch, this is the language of our host country;
▶ Two official one hour lesson blocks
▶ One hour Dutch culture lessons
▶ Two hours of Gym taught in the Dutch language *(translation in English where and when necessary). AIS has chosen to teach our Gym lesson in Dutch encouraging our students to integrate into the Dutch sporting community making sport clubs/ trainings accessible to our students.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES (ELA)
Any student that studies at our school and whom is not proficient in the English language is exempt from the two officially Dutch lesson per week. These students follow an intensive English language course to fast track their BICS development. Once these children are proficient and confident in using the English language after six months to a year, they then join the Dutch language classes.
ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS
As AIS grows in student numbers, our population and rich diversity of spoken languages expand. Currently AIS has no additional language program, in the school year 2024-2025 AIS will establish additional language classes after school hours. All home languages are celebrate and students are encouraged to think creatively in their mother tong language. Students who require additional language support are invited to express their understanding in their mother tong and translate their thinking as an additional tasks. Parents are partners in their children’s language development and play an intricate role in the translation process. Conceptual understanding of any concept at AIS is freely expressed in the students preferred language and form of communication.
4. ASSESSMENT, REPORTING AND PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Definition of learning
At AIS we believe learning to be an ongoing learning process which develops an attitude of curiosity, nurturing the freedom of creative expression & trust, whilst expanding ones sense of self & building community.
We believe the purpose for assessment at AIS is a dynamic, ongoing process that evaluates the conceptual, creative and compassionate development of the child, guides parents, teachers and informs the curriculum. Parents are partners in their children’s learning, we encourage a no homework policy at AIS. Children are motivated to take ownership of their learning and engage in hands on project based learning activities with their parents at home. Our Action Based Research projects are designed by the teacher and students. Both have agency of the learning process. Parents are invited into this process and encouraged to support their children at home by making a real world connection to the concepts explored at school.
PRIMARY SCHOOL REPORTS
The school year is divided into three terms of:
TERM 1 Autumn
TERM 2 Winter
TERM 3 Spring
1. TERM 1 A settling in report is shared with families that focuses on the student’s Personal Learning Goals (PLG) according to the IPC and evidence of their bassline assessment outcomes (Knowledge Harvest). After each unit, an Exit Point or Student-Led Conference is held where parents can view and celebrate the work of their children.
2. TERM 2 A formal academic report is shared with families that focuses on student’s development according to the IPC learning goals and the evidence of their ongoing formative and summative assessments. After each unit, an Exit Point or Student-Led Conference is held where parents can
view and celebrate the work of their children.
3. TERM 3 A formal academic report is shared with families that focuses on student’s development according to the IPC learning goals and the evidence of their ongoing formative and summative assessments. After each unit, an Exit Point or Student-Led Conference is held where parents can view and celebrate the work of their children.
STANDARDISED TESTING
Standardized testing is a way of assessing children within an age group to see if they are making appropriate developmental progress in relation to a majority of children of their age. It is also a way for our school to monitor the quality, breadth of coverage and balance of the curriculum we are delivering.
As a certified Cambridge International School, we use CEM Assessments as our baseline assessments which are evidence-based evaluations designed for global use, providing actionable insights for schools following international curriculums.
For early years, these assessments are called ASPECT and BASE and use a fun, storybook-style approach, creating one-on-one interactions between students and teachers. They are adaptive and flexible, allowing teachers to start or stop assessments at any time. We administer these assessments twice per year, at the beginning and end of the school year.
For primary years, we use Cambridge Primary Insight (formerly known as INCAS). Every October, students are assessed in these five key developmental areas which research shows are linked to later academic outcomes:
▶ Reading (word recognition, decoding, and comprehension)
▶ Spelling
▶ Mathematics (includes numbers, measures, shape and space, and data handling)
▶ Arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division)
▶ Developed Ability (picture vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning)
The adaptive programming personalizes questions to each student’s ability, ensuring accurate and tailored measurements. The assessments provide objective, research-based measurements of key success factors for learning. By focusing on these critical factors, we gain valuable insights into the strengths and areas of impro-
vement for each student. Moreover, the data generated by CEM Baseline Assessments serves as a powerful tool for comparing and tracking student progress over time and serve as a quality assurance check for our school.
Internal and External Assessment
▶ Internal summative assessment (observations & documentation of active learning) identifies a stage in the learning of students, irrespective of stages reached by other students.
▶ External assessment (Aspect, BASE and Primary Insight) are exams by the Center for Evaluation and Monitoring as part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. These are adaptive, baseline, curriculum independent, digital assessments that are used as a strategy to monitor and improve the success rates of students.
Assessment strategies
▶ Teachers are required to use a variety of interactive learning experiences and diverse engagements opportunities for the students to explore and express their conceptual understanding during a unit of study.
▶ Assessment environments are safe, supportive, and welcoming environments, helping students to develop confidence and a love of learning. Diverse methods to express ones knowledge is available for the students to use.
5. STUDENT SUPPORT
At Amstelland International School we welcome children of all nationalities, beliefs and cultures.
The Amstelland International School believes that the well-being of our students to be the most important aspect of their development and learning. Children are able to thrive academically once their pastoral needs have been cared for. The AIS team prioritise developing a close working relationship with our parent community and a large group of professionals which form our external student support team.
The AIS teaching team will meet with the Director to dialogue about in class observations and possible stage one support required or any child in question. This support will occur in class and be provided by the classroom teacher, teaching assistant or the child will be provided with additional learning materials/ manipulatives to be applied to their learning independently.
Stage two support will include an external agencies involvement in the students individual learning plan/ goals. The personalised learning plan/goals (PLG) will be shared with parents and reviewed every six weeks.
Partner external agencies
1. Student Care Coordinator
2. Speech and language therapist
3. Samenwerkingsverband – Special educational needs
4. Occupational therapist
5. Child phycologist
6. Parent child advisor
7. Kabouterhuis primary school
8. Stichting Ark
9. School doctor
10. Veilig Thuis – Child Services
11. Learning Diversity Teacher
Procedural steps
1. Students educational, personal and medical requirements are stated on their application form
2. Classroom teachers, Teaching assistants, SCC and Director informally observe the students developments
3. Student support meetings occur monthly
4. Stage one support requirements are implemented
5. When necessary, stage two support requirements are implemented in partnership with the students’ parents.
6. Student support requirements and developments are reviewed every six weeks.
6. STUDENT WELL-BEING & SAFEGUARDING
All members of our community are responsible for the well-being and safeguarding of our students. The safety and well-being of the children is the most important factor and all actions planned or taken must ensure that the children are safe and secure at all times. At AIS we consider it our responsibility to safeguard the physical, emotional, social and mental well-being of all individuals within our school community. The Council of Internationals Schools (CIS) & International Primary School (IPC) safeguarding criteria has been implemented into the school policy at AIS.
AIS student well-being & safeguarding (SWS) policy is divided into five sections;
1. Protocol, (step by step guide) of actions & responsibilities required to be followed/taken when encountered with any SWS situation.
2. What consuetudes as a SWS concern.
3. Inhouse and external training to develop awareness and the skills required to identify or take action in a SWS situation.
4. *The identity and dignity of any person who might find themselves in an incident, will always be handled with compassion and discretion according to the GDPR regulations.
5. The contact information of relevant safety officers in the school and external agencies.
7. A SCHOOL DAY AT AIS
School hours for 2024-2025
▶ Drop off and Pick up will occur at the classroom door
▶ Drop off is at 8:20
▶ Late drop off registry is at 8:40
▶ Lessons begin at 8:45
▶ Lessons end at 14:50
▶ Dismissal is at 15:00
▶ Late pick registry is at 15:10
Our Daily Routine
Every morning we warmly welcome your child to enter the reception area at 08:45, kindly we ask they proceed to their classroom where their teacher will have set up the classroom to receive them. School finishes at 15:00 every day of the week except on Wednesday. Wednesday pick up is at 13:00.
Arrangements for the first week of school
ALL Group 0 and 1 children attend school half days (12:00 pick up) during their first week of school.
Healthy Snack & Lunch
Please make sure that your child has a healthy breakfast. This is the most important meal of the day! Kindly we ask you to provide a healthy snack and lunch, to avoid confusion please have the snack and lunch in two clearly labelled, separate containers with the word Snack/Lunch and your child’s name on the container. We promote healthy eating at school, and some ideas for healthy snacks are sliced fruits or vegetables, or cheese and crackers. We are a nut free school, please do not send your child to school with any nuts as many of our children are allergic.
School Bag
Please provide your child with a school bag that is big enough to hold their A4 library folder as well as their lunch and snack box. This should preferably be a backpack that they can carry easily. At AIS we promote independence and encourage children to care for their own personal belongings.
Please remember to send:
A pair of clearly marked gym shoes that can stay at school
• An extra full set of clearly labelled clothes
• Indoor shoes or slippers
•
GYM & other Physical activity sessions
Children are encouraged to develop their self-help skills which promotes independence and builds their selfesteem. Parents are kindly asked to practice tying their shoelaces at home. Please send your children to school with Velcro or zip-up shoes until they are able to tie their shoelaces independently. We ask you to consider the clothing your child is wearing on the days when PE is taught. We recommend all children should wear comfortable gym clothes to school on these days. Please avoid, dresses, skirts and skinny jeans on GYM days. You will receive more information at the beginning of the year regarding the exact schedule. No jewellery should be worn during the PE lessons due to safety reasons.
Children at AIS go out to play in all weather conditions.
Please provide you child with rainboots and a raincoat so that they are able to enjoy playing outdoors in the puddles. Please send your child to school in play clothes, clothing that is allowed to get dirty, messy, full of learning and exploration stains.
Rest time for Gr 0 & 1 children
Every day after lunch the children in Group 0 and 1 will have rest time if they require it. Please send a small, pillow labelled with your child’s nameand small blanket in a plastic bag for your child’s quiet resting time. We suggest that your child has rest/quiet time at home on days that they don’t have school to allow them to get into this routine. During this quiet time, children are expected to rest their bodies without disturbing their friends. You are welcome to send a clearly marked soft comfort toy that can stay at school. These will be kept with the pillows and blankets and will only be allowed during rest time.
8. LEAVE OF Absence
Absences, late arrivals, and after-school pick-up
After-school pick-up, It is important that all children are collected from school on time.
In regard to afternoon pick-up, we would like to make the following requests:
▶ Parents need to ensure that if their child has permission to go home along with an adult other than the child’s parents/guardians, to provide school with a written request and identification of the adult taking responsibility of their child.
▶ If children are to be collected for a play-date, etc. by another student’s parent/guardian after school, the Classroom Teacher needs to be notified via email. Students will not be sent home with the parent or guardian of another student unless the Classroom Teacher has been notified.
We are making these requests in order to ensure that all of our students are supervised at all times during our afternoon exit routine.
After-school Club UniKidz
A variety of after school activities are organised by UniKidz. UniKidz is a dynamic organisation located on campus, they provide workshops, swimming lessons, baking, golf, dance, sewing, languages, art, guitar, and much more. For more information please search: www.UniKidz.nl
LATE ARRIVALS AND SICK LEAVE
Student absences
The AIS closely monitors student attendance on a daily basis, this includes being late for class. The school is legally obliged to report absences to Bureau Leerplicht (Truancy office) of the gemeente where the student is registered. Parents/guardians are responsible for informing the school by email before 8.30 a.m. in case of illness: please email you classroom teacher & info.ais@ogamstelland.nl
Unexpected circumstances
When unexpected circumstances lead to a student being late or absent the school must be informed as soon as possible. The Head of School will decide if the reason provided by the parents is valid.
Late for class and Bureau Halt
If a student has been late four times within four school weeks a warning letter will be sent out to the student and parents/guardians. If the student continues to arrive late for class the school will report the lates to the Truancy office. The school may ask the Truancy officer (Leerplichtambtenaar) for intervention between school, student and parents. The Truancy officer will then invite parents and student for a meeting. Truancy will report students with more than twelve lates in four school weeks to Bureau Halt. Halt is a Dutch organisation with a national network of offices which aims to prevent and combat juvenile crime. Bureau Halt offers a special programme for school absences.
For more information on Truancy and Bureau Halt: https://www.amsterdam.nl/onderwijs-jeugd/leerplicht/ leerplicht-verzuim. https://www.halt.nl/halt-straf/ Information about the Behaviour Policy and detentions can be found in the Student Handbook.
GUIDELINES FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE AND EXTENSIONS OUTSIDE
DESIGNATED SCHOOL VACATION PERIODS
1. Extra leave request
The Dutch Compulsory Education Law (Leerplichtwet) 1969 (LPW 1969) states that a request for a leave of absence must be submitted in writing to the Head of School a minimum of 6-8 weeks in advance.
In accordance with Article 14 (LPW), the school Director can grant requests of leave of absence up to a maximum of ten (10) school days.
Requests for leave of absence exceeding ten (10) days must be submitted to the Truancy Office (Bureau Leerplicht Plus).
The Head of School is legally obliged to report any student who is absent from school without permission to the Truancy Office. Please note: when asking for an extension, written declarations and / or supporting documents are mandatory.
2. Extra Vacation leave request (Article 13a)
Parents of school-age children must adhere to the designated school vacation periods.
The school Director must receive written evidence from the employer that the specific nature of one of the parent’s profession does not make it possible for a joint vacation of two consecutive weeks within the designated school vacation period.
This type of leave can only be granted:
▶ Once per school year.
▶ For a maximum of two consecutive weeks per school year.
▶ Should not fall in the first two weeks of the schoolyear.
3. Exceptional circumstances
Only in cases of absolute emergency is it possible to request leave of absence retrospectively. Written evidence must be submitted within two (2) school days after the period of absence.
The following are examples of exceptional circumstances:
• To comply with legal obligations which can only take place during school hours.
• To attend wedding of blood relative or extended family member - within The Netherlands
• (maximum 2 school days) - outside The Netherlands (maximum of 5 school days).
• Serious life-threatening illness of blood relative or 1st/2nd family member.
• Death of blood relative or 1st/2nd family member.
The following are examples of exceptional circumstances which will not be considered valid:
• Visit of family or friends from other countries or from country of origin.
• Travel arrangements made to take advantage of low season travel discounts.
• Earlier departure or return travel arrangements to avoid peak travel times.
• Activities of associations such as scouting or sports camps. Other children in the family are on different vacation periods.
• Sabbatical leave.
9. COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS/ GUARDIANS AND STUDENTS
Parents are encouraged to read the school news and blog page of the website on a weekly basis. Classroom teachers regularly post events and specific news letters relevant to their classroom on the classroom pages. Parents are kindly asked to contact the classroom teacher via email in the morning and afternoons to indicate any late arrivals, doctors’ appointments and playdates. Please note that AIS will not release a child to any other adult without written permission form the primary care givers.
Privacy regulations prohibit our staff in distribute the email addresses of all the families in a particular class to parents. If you are interested in collecting the email addresses and/or contact information of families in your child’s class we request that you do this in person. This is to respect the individual contact preferences of our AIS community. At AIS we do not encourage group WhatsApp’s. Should a class community wish to create a social media communication platform, we urge you to read and conform to our social media and communication safety policy. AIS has a clear anti-bulling policy which can be found on the website. Parents and students are expected to communicate between one another according to our compassionate communicate agreements.
Coffee Mornings (Parents supporting the AIS)
Events for parents include themed breakfasts, coffee mornings, monthly workshops and in the future we aspire to introducing Dutch cultural outings. On our whole school calendar, parents are invited to attend our monthly coffee mornings and enjoy a relaxing conversation with the leadership team and our parents. Building community and seeking out contact is important to ensure our community remain connected.
Participation council (PC)
The PC operates as a critical friend of the Leadership Team. Its function is to advise the Leadership Team and to ensure that checks and balances are in place when the Leadership Team makes decisions. The PC will discuss, advise and sometimes co-decide on AIS policy matters. It will meet once every six to eight weeks and consists of staff, student and parent representatives.
Staff Council
The Staff Council is made up of teaching and support staff from the Primary School. It functions in an advisory and policy-making capacity. Suggestions concerning regulations and other appropriate matters may be brought to the notice of Staff Council members.
Student Council
The Student Council is made up of student representatives, and functions in an advisory as well as policy-making capacity. Suggestions concerning regulations and other appropriate matters may be brought to the notice of Student Council members. The student council are also the representatives for AIS at conferences and Onderwijsgroep Amstelland student events.
10. ADMISSIONS PROCEDURE
At Amstelland International School we welcome children of all nationalities, beliefs and cultures.
We welcome:
• Children with international parents who will reside in the Netherlands for a limited period, 3-5 years. (Dutch and non-Dutch nationals).
• Children with Dutch parents who have lived abroad or who are planning to move abroad in the next two years.
• Children who have received international education previously and require a transition period into the Dutch school system. (In some cases, we will partner with the Taalschool – Dutch language classes – to ensure a smooth transition for your child).
If you would like to enrol your child(ren) to our school, please visit our website, there you can fill in a registration of interest and review the full admissions procedure.
For Early Years applications before a decision can be made on acceptance, we will invite your child for an Informal Social Play Morning.
If your child attends a pre-school, kindergarten, playgroup or day-care, the Early Years report is required to be completed by their Early Years school/teacher.
For all other Groups we will require at least 2 years school reports (translated into English).
GROUP PLACEMENT
Group placement academic year 2024-2025
All children will be placed into the academic year that corresponds with their date of birth.
11. FINANCIAL MATTERS
SCHOOL FEES
Amstelland International School is recognised by the Dutch Ministry of Education, which enables us to offer a high-quality international education with subsidised school fees. Our school fees are set annually according to Dutch International Primary School guidelines. Enrolment is € 200 admissions fee (non-refundable).
The deposit is € 500. This deposit is refundable when your child leaves the school and if you have fulfilled all the financial obligations. To secure placement within the
school, parents are required to sign and acknowledging their financial obligation towards Amstelland International School in fulfilling the payment of the school fees in full. In order to secure a position within the school for the following school year, parents are required to clear the outstanding balance of the school fees in full before the beginning of the following academic school year.
The chart below shows the tuition amount depending on the month the student starts school at Amstelland International School:
You can visit our website to review the full Policy.
OUR IMAGINATION IS WHERE WE GO WHEN OUR REALITY JUST SIMPLY WON'T DO. IMAGINATION IS WHERE VISION IS BORN, EVERY BIRTH OF A NEW IDEA FORMS OUR NEW REALITY. WHAT ARE YOU IMAGINING?
Jacquelene Da Silva
12. SCHEDULED EVENTS & SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
Amstelland International School calendar 2025-2025
Sunday 01-09-2024
Monday 02-09-2024
Summer holidays
School closed for students
Tuesday 03-09-2024 First day of school for students
