FAQs

Nursery - 1 teacher, 2 TLAs

Reception - 1 teacher, 2 TLAs

Year 1 - 1 teacher, 1 TLA

Year 2 - 1 teacher, 1 TLA

All teachers have recognised Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and Teaching and Learning Assistants have a minimum of the Early Childhood Diploma.

• Nursery: eight classes of 20 children
• Reception to Year 2: eight classes of 24 children

Please note that the maximum class size may be exceeded on occasion due to extenuating circumstances at the discretion of the Head of School with the support of the CEO.

At Tanglin, we have high expectations of our children’s behaviour and use lots of positive language to promote behaviour which enables and encourages outstanding learning. 

In Nursery & Reception, the children focus on three classroom promises which help them to develop a sense of what is expected right from the start. In Year 1 & 2, these extend to five promises. 

All year groups have a similar approach to managing behaviour in ensuring that the classroom promises are adhered to. Children gain House Points when displaying positive behaviour. Feedback from teachers will always be specific and explain why a child is receiving a House Point, meaning that children will be able to reflect upon their achievement. In Year 1 and Year 2, classes have a traffic light system. Each day, the children start on a green light to promote a positive start to the day. When the children exhibit good examples of the promises, they move up to silver and gold. House Points are awarded for moving up the traffic lights and when Learner Profile characteristics are displayed. If a child is not demonstrating the expected behaviour, a warning is given, allowing the child a choice to rectify their behaviour and move back up the traffic light. If a child is still not responding, they are given some ‘thinking time’ in another classroom or a quiet spot in the classroom. Year 1 and Year 2 will also have two Star of The Week awards per class given out in the weekly assembly, with the children or class teacher deciding who receives the award based on how the class promises have been upheld and if/how Learner Profile characteristics are displayed. House Points are added to the House team total for Infants. Year 1 and Year 2 children will receive Learner Profile stickers when they show the corresponding character strength, which again will be explicitly shared so that children can articulately share their achievement.  

All children will also use Griff’s Great Choices in school, a conflict resolution tool that helps them to build resilience and independence when solving small problems. 

Co-curricular activities (CCAs) include: 

• One day of activities for Reception 
• Two days of activities for Year 1 and Year 2 

In addition to the above, we also offer Infant Sports and Recreation Clubs two days a week, for example, Tutus@Tanglin, Centre Stage, Beavers, Rainbows, Linguistic programmes, Sports and Activities. For Infant co-curriculum information, click here.

The core focus in the Infant School is the essential English skills; speaking, listening, reading and writing in order to deliver high standards in all other subjects.  

However, all children have Mandarin lessons twice a week and a linguist-in-residence programme operates in Nursery and Reception. The focus is on nurturing a love of language learning and encouraging children to develop confidence when expressing themselves in Mandarin, moving on to reading and writing as they move through Year 1 and Year 2. 

We also offer the following Mother Tongue programme for Infants: 

• French
• Mandarin
• Japanese
• Hindi

Infant children enjoy a range of physical activities using our extensive range of facilities. These include the 25 metre pool, a large playing field, numerous indoor hall spaces, creative play areas, our Forest School provision and an indoor climbing wall. 

We are an accredited member of the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) so that we benchmark ourselves against the very best. 

We are the first school in Asia to achieve the Curiosity Approach Accreditation, and the first school in Asia to be awarded the Basic Skills Agency Quality Mark for EYFS and the Infant School. We have also been awarded the Primary Science Gold Quality Mark. 

Our most recent inspection by British Schools Overseas (BSO) took place in February 2018 and the result was ‘Outstanding’ in all aspects. 

Although our curriculum encompasses elements of the English National Curriculum, it is adapted to reflect the needs and circumstances of our children and our international context, as well as being informed by educational research and best practice from around the world. 

We encourage a close home-school link through: 

• Our open-door policy. Parents are welcome before and after school to speak to staff 
• Individual Seesaw journals to share ongoing learning 
• Extended orientation process for Nursery families and 1 formal report in Term 3 
• Two reports per year for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, in Terms 2 and 3  
• A series of open classroom sessions where children share their learning informally with their parents 
• Formal Parent Teacher Conferences termly