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A top-notch education opens doors for our children, but what if they can’t step outside of their sheltered environment into the real world? A great academic portfolio alone won’t help them to navigate the challenges of real life, which is why Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) places so much emphasis on preparing their students for the world beyond school, even starting as young as the age of three.
Children develop resilience, independence and confidence through explicit teaching as well as through inquiry and play, indoors and outdoors.
Emma Kiely, Assistant Head of DUCKS (Dulwich College Kindergarten School), shares how the DUCKS programme helps kids from three to seven develop their independence and resilience. “Ensuring that our children are happy, healthy and prepared for the world starts right from the first day in Nursery. We give children the foundations for the rest of their learning and how they will interact with the world, and it is vital that we teach them to listen to and trust themselves as well as help them to learn how and when to ask for help."
In DUCKS, the school values are embedded in everything. Characters help the children to understand the values so that they can begin to demonstrate and use them in all areas of their lives.
Kiely continues, “There are many things we do in DUCKS to prepare our children, explicitly and implicitly. Our Values are embedded in everything we do, and we celebrate the children demonstrating our values frequently throughout the school day through verbal praise, values stickers and certificates. The children know our values so well, they can recognise and discuss them, even starting from Nursery.
“Next, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are woven through our Units of Investigation. These units build on key concepts of identity, expression, exploration, organisation and sustainability across DUCKS. Parents are often surprised how even our youngest children demonstrate so much independence."
Annual DUCKS Sports Day
The journey to real-world preparedness continues in DCB’s Junior School, where students learn key values-based skills and connect with their own class community. Mindful Morning sessions take place four times a week and support students to find their own ways to look after their own mental health and wellbeing. “Activities include reflective tasks such as journaling or mindfulness activities, as well as using the time to have class community circles about the importance of strengthening friendships and supporting each other,” reveals Junior School’s Assistant Head Teacher, in charge of Student Support Services, Sean Simkins.
Mr Simkins with students during a Mindful Morning session
Mindful Morning circles
During a Parent Academy, parents took part in a circle time to discuss their child’s wellbeing
In alignment with DCB’s mission to “Live Worldwise”, teachers explore learning through an inquiry approach, following the children’s interests which fosters curiosity about the world, develops the children’s own ideas and hypotheses, and builds key skills such as active problem solving. “In order to consolidate this beyond the classroom, it has been vital to have parental involvement, and we have been able to achieve this through enhanced collaboration at our Parent Academies,” says Mr Simkins. “These have been workshops aimed at aligning our parents with the school’s approach to mindfulness and wellbeing and it has been lovely to see so many participating and working together.”
Mindful Morning session about Making Friends
Understanding the importance of Pink Week
As Senior School Deputy Head Teacher (Wellbeing) & Whole College Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mr Kevin Rossall has a lot to offer on the topic of real-world preparedness for students.
Junior School Wellbeing Champions training organised by Senior School Wellbeing Prefects
“At DCB, we integrate safeguarding practices into a holistic and bespoke set of curricula to address students’ needs in a well-rounded manner. This ranges from whole college efforts such as the “Online Safety” programmes that focus on empowering students to safely engage in digital spaces in an age-appropriate way to the “Speak Out and Stay Safe” program, which emphasizes understanding and advocating safe boundaries and recognizing unsafe situations.
“We also promote wellbeing through our Student Wellbeing Framework, which is a 25-factor framework (below) that is audited by staff and students together annually, which gives us our action plan for the year ahead. This then encourages students to work in partnership with the school and lead change with empathy and resilience. By providing students with leadership opportunities and real-world problem-solving tasks, we help them develop both the skills and the mindset necessary for life beyond school.”
Organisers of this year’s Pink Week, to raise funds for Wheels for Life charity
Ms Kiely sums up, “Through all of these aspects we hope that our children will be confident in themselves, listen to their feelings and consider the feelings of others as they grow and move through the college and interact with the wider community.”
Read more about wellbeing at Dulwich College Beijing by clicking on the Read More at the bottom of the page.
Images: Courtesy of Dulwich College Beijing
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