Orchlon International School and Kindergarten Complex (OIS) is a Kindergarten to Grade 12 co-educational school in Mongolia with close to 2000 students. In 2008, Orchlon became the first school in Mongolia to offer the Cambridge Pathway from age 5 to 19.
In May 2023, Orchlon became the first school in East Asia to introduce Cambridge Early Years. Batmunkh Dashdeleg, Principal and Founder, and Anar Bayarsaikhan, Chief Education Officer, explain why.
'The Cambridge Early Years programme was a natural fit for OIS and its learning community,’ says Principal Batmunkh. ‘Our school philosophy is to guide students so they can thrive in this fast-changing and challenging world, and our experience with implementing Cambridge curriculum since 2008 has shown us that Cambridge programmes develop strong learners at all levels. That is why we wanted to bring Cambridge Early Years into our preschool which has 230 learners aged 4 to 5.'
Why Cambridge Early Years?
The curriculum progression and flow were part of the school’s decision to introduce Cambridge Early Years, says Principal Batmunkh. 'We saw Cambridge Early Years as a way to improve the preparation for the next stages of schooling.' OIS is unique in that it offers a dual curriculum to its students, teaching the Cambridge curriculum alongside the national Mongolian curriculum. Principal Batmunkh saw that the flexibility offered by Cambridge Early Years would serve students well.
'After evaluating the Cambridge Early Years programme, we believed that this programme would provide an excellent foundation for our students and enable them to successfully continue their education in primary, middle and high schools, particularly in the medium of English along with their Mongolian national curriculum,' she explains.
Stepping stones to development
Early years education is a critical part of building up the confidence of learners, both in the present and for the future, says Anar Bayarsaikhan, Chief Education Officer.
'The period from birth to age five is a critical phase of rapid brain development and we capitalise on this window of opportunity to empower our learners,' she says.
'By providing a strong foundation during these formative years, we equip our learners with the essential skills and confidence to seamlessly transition to more advanced levels of education and thrive in their future pursuits.'
Creating lifelong learners
Orchlon’s goal in offering Cambridge Early Years is not simply to provide excellent early education for the now, but also to build an educational structure that will serve its students in the long term.
Anar continues: ‘We aspire for our children to attain a robust foundation of knowledge that will serve them throughout their lives. The Cambridge programme is renowned for its comprehensive, holistic and play-based approach, enabling young learners to engage with education in a playful and immersive manner.'
It was this multi-faceted approach that drew the OIS leadership team and board to using the programme and training its teachers and staff. Administrative staff and teachers alike feel confident that this transition will provide their preschool students with content knowledge, social and emotional development and the language skills they need to become lifelong learners.
Introducing the programme
The school introduced the Cambridge Early Years programme to teachers and parents at the end of the 2022/23 academic year. This allowed the school community to prepare for the official start of the new programme in September 2023. By July 2023, all 12 of the preschool teaching staff had completed the Cambridge Early Years introduction course.
Head Manager of Preschool, Ms Enkhzaya Enkhbayar, also became one of the first Early Years programme leaders by completing the Cambridge Professional Development Qualification. OIS has been a Cambridge Professional Development Centre since 2017.
'This active engagement has enriched the experiences of both our teachers and learners,' says Anar. ‘We also had an online meeting and face-to-face meetings with Cambridge’s East Asia Head of Strategic Partnership and the Senior Area Manager. These interactions have been invaluable, providing us with constructive feedback and guidance on programme implementation.'
The school’s management team also supported teachers by offering free English courses to help prepare for first teaching, and providing a second round of after-work English language support and training.
Facilitating the integration of Cambridge Early Years
As the preschool teaching team, parents and students adjust to the Cambridge Early Years curriculum from 2023, OIS is working to integrate it with their previously used Montessori and national curriculums.
Principal Batmunkh says: 'Our educators have seamlessly integrated our national, Montessori and Cambridge Early Years curricula, utilising resources like the Cambridge School Support Hub and Cambridge Go site to enhance their teaching.'
The school continues to look to the future, planning for how further training, development of resources and practice can encourage a full embrace of Cambridge Early Years. It hopes to become a template from which other schools in Mongolia can learn.
'Looking ahead, we envision continued collaboration and support from Cambridge to enhance our implementation of the programme,' says Principal Batmunkh.
