Sanjay Ghodawat International School, India

'We have been using the Cambridge Early Years curriculum since 2021 and it fits beautifully with our vision,' says Mrs Sasmita Mohanty. ‘When we reviewed the Cambridge Early Years curriculum, we saw the different skills that it offered learners and we were excited to provide the curriculum to our learners so that they would be equipped with these skills from a very young age.

'We could see that the curriculum had been designed after plenty of research and taking into consideration the curious minds of learners.' 

Child-centred play-based learning

The emphasis that Cambridge Early Years puts on play-based learning is a key factor in the successful impact of the programme, believes Mrs Mohanty.

'Children no longer adopt the rote learning or memorised learning method. The teaching and learning is delivered through individual activities, group activities, teacher-led activities, child-led activities and peer learning.'

The types of play include learning through play with objects or materials, physical play, pretend play, symbolic play and games. 

‘Learning has become so much fun for the learners,’ she says.

Developing the Cambridge learner attributes

Since introducing the programme, the school has found that its young learners are more confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged.

'The learners have developed good communication skills and they are able to express themselves without hesitation, so they can speak confidently in front of large audiences,' Mrs Mohanty says.

'Previously, we noticed the learners’ observation skills were not developed. Their critical thinking and problem-solving skills were also not developed. Now, after following the Cambridge Early Years curriculum, the learners are showing tremendous interest in learning at an early age.

'We have also found that the learners are much more responsible, able to think on their own and to develop the habit of reading.

'The holistic curriculum has enabled the learners to develop social, emotional and cognitive skills. It has encouraged enquiry-based learning, developing knowledge and skills and a growing understanding of concepts and the world around the young learners.

'It helps learners to develop at their own pace, make their own choices and build feelings of competence and self-worth.’

Support for schools from Cambridge

'We were the second or third school in the whole of the state of Maharashtra to adopt the Cambridge Early Years programme and Cambridge has supported us very well,’ says Mrs Mohanty.

'When we got the affiliation, it was during the Covid-19 pandemic and we had Cambridge virtual training for our Centre Head and all the Early Years teachers. Cambridge has also provided our teachers with substantial support through the School Support Hub.'

Building on success – new centre planned

‘We have successfully completed three years of our Cambridge Early Years journey at SGIS in Kolhapur and we haven’t faced any problems in conducting the baseline assessments for the learners,’ says Mrs Mohanty.

'Looking at the success story in Kolhapur, we have established a Cambridge Pathway school in Belgaum, Karnataka and we will start the Cambridge Early Years programme there in 2024, offering the programme to 250 learners.'

Learners are prepared for the future

Mrs Mohanty believes the way in which the Cambridge Early Years curriculum creates a positive attitude towards learning helps to ignite a lifelong love of learning in children. ‘This further supports learners in doing better in their future course of education’, she says.

'The Cambridge Early Years programme has definitely helped the learners prepare for their next journey in pursuing a more formal Cambridge education. From our own experience, we have observed that the learners who have completed the Cambridge Early Years programme at SGIS and moved on to Cambridge Primary are confident, innovative and raring to go.

‘They perform well in different subjects, as well as being independent individuals and good decision-makers.'