Our teaching philosophy
We value every child and youth through experiential education, bilingualism , and critical thinking. The environment is the third educator, fostering growth, creativity , and awareness in a learning community open to the world.
Our educational vision is based on the idea of competent, curious, and creative children and young people , capable of learning through experience, interaction, and research. The school environment is the third educator , a place that fosters critical thinking, respect for others, and a desire for discovery. Our teaching approach integrates Italian-English bilingualism, the teaching of Chinese as a third language, and an experiential educational model that develops logical-mathematical, expressive, and socio-emotional skills. We offer a vertical curriculum from early childhood through middle school, supporting each student's growth with innovative tools, an international education , and a community that values sharing and sustainability .
Discover our teaching philosophy in the following points
Our idea of a child and young person is that of a competent and creative individual, possessing the potential to thrive through rich environments, opportunities for expression, and diverse languages.
Indeed, in the right context, every person can reach their full potential.
The role of the school environment is therefore fundamental: the environment in the educational process is the third educator, alongside families and teachers. The environment is the guarantor of children's and young people's right to beauty, their right to order, their right to creativity, their right to investigate, discover, and learn through their bodies, their eyes, their interaction with materials and with their classmates.
Our goal is to educate well-prepared, emotionally balanced children, happy to learn and able to make informed choices.
School is a place of discovery and research. From this perspective, a space divided into sections and classes is insufficient; it limits experiences. A laboratory school is needed, equipped with studios, research and discovery areas, and a variety of complex tools.
The chosen educational model is based on a socio-constructivist approach, in which children and adults are co-constructors of meaning and learning. By growing side by side, among peers and in relationships with adults, and working on the zone of proximal development (i.e., starting from the skills children already possess), knowledge is built together. It is a process of ongoing research, supported by an appropriate environment and trained adults capable of guiding children and young people from experience to the formalization of knowledge and skills.
Our approach adapts to the characteristics of different age groups and accompanies children in nursery and preschool and evolves in primary and lower secondary schools into an experiential teaching model based on research and the development of critical thinking.
The English language accompanies children from the nursery and kindergarten years, during which they are in complete linguistic immersion (100% English language).
Written language and reading skills are developed during the final year of preschool and are further developed throughout primary school, as are text comprehension, analysis, and writing skills.
During middle school, thesealready established skills and abilities; the goal is for children to be able to navigate English texts with confidence and ease, whether scientific/historical or poetic/narrative.
While children are immersed in a 100% English-language environment at nursery and kindergarten, at primary and secondary school the linguistic model becomes one of balanced bilingualism, with teaching taking place 50% in English and 50% in Italian.
The expected level of English at the end of primary school is a certified B1 and at the end of lower secondary school it is a B2 level.
EducatioNest is a Cambridge preparation center that helps students certify their level of language proficiency.
As an Italian private school (i.e. recognized by the Ministry of Education), at EducatioNest the Italian language is developed according to ministerial guidelines, leading students to an excellent and thorough mastery of the language.
The decision to hold lessons 50% in Italian and 50% in English does not detract from overall native language proficiency. The latest INVALSI data (for the 2023/24 school year) showed overall scores in Italian language tests 13 percentage points higher than the national average and 6% higher than those in schools with similar family backgrounds.
Not only because it is the most spoken language in the world, but also because it is a different code both on a graphic level and in terms of linguistic construction, it therefore profoundly stimulates metalinguistic reflection.
Travelling through a different culture implies theamazement of knowledge, the wonder of discovery, the need for comparison and contamination: critical attitudes that young people know very well.
Chinese is not an alphabetic language , and its writing is structured in characters, some of which arise from the evolution of an idea. Formalizing the language thus becomes a process of research and reflection on the evolution of the linguistic code , exposing children to a different linguistic logic and giving rise to new ideas.
It is therefore an exercise in logic and deduction.
The children are prepared to be able, if they wish, to take the Youth Chinese Test administered by the Confucius Institute, level I (80 characters) at the end of primary school and level II (150 characters) at the end of secondary school.
Cultural explorations aren't limited to the Orient!
Throughout the year, children and teens experience and study the most important international holidays and celebrations. Among them: the American Thanksgiving holiday, the Chinese New Year, the Indian festival of Holi, the Japanese cherry blossom festival, etc.
The mathematical brain is an innate ability that is gender-neutral and allows us to categorize the world based on the features we recognize in our environment. It is the tool that allows children, from their earliest days, to learn and make sense of the world around them.
The daily contexts in our nursery and preschool are structured to support children's logical-mathematical thinking . Learning environments encourage work on the concepts of quantity, quality, balance, and size. Constructiveness, order, the use of unstructured materials, and the research questions posed to children help them develop their logical-mathematical skills in an increasingly profound way. During primary and secondary school, mathematical learning is formalized according to Italian ministerial curricula with extensions based on Anglo-Saxon curricula. Computational thinking is developed through the introduction of coding and robotics experiences.
Mathematical and logical-scientific thinking remains the key to reading and understanding the world and the basis for reflection on research and the construction of knowledge in all fields of knowledge.
The results of the INVALSI tests (relating to the 2023/24 school year) showed an overall score in the mathematics tests 10 percentage points higher than the Italian average and 2.3% higher than schools with similar family backgrounds.
The school experience begins in nursery school and continues through middle school, with a focus on educational continuity where the child's image, welcoming attitude, and educational philosophy remain, accompanying students throughout their development.
The opportunity to live in a larger community enables ongoing encounters and exchanges of skills between children of different ages. The school thus becomes an educational community, where learning isn't limited to the adult-child relationship, but finds its ultimate expression in exchanges between peers and others.
Our goal is to educate children who respect themselves and others, who are open to diverse perspectives, to dialogue, and to accept diversity while maintaining their own identity.
Children who respect the environment and are ready to take on the challenges of environmental sustainability.
This happens through daily work to create a respectful community, with clear and defined rules from the bottom up, where children and young people are the first actors in building community agreements and adults act as conflict mediators and positive behavior guides to help young people see the possible paths to create a positive and pleasant community for all.
Our strength is community, respect, the sharing of spaces and values, and participation in building a world of all and for all.
Not only is the learning outcome important, but the process that made the learning possible is also significant.
The process can be made visible through paper and digital documentation, essential tools for making parents, children, and teachers aware of the evolution of the workgroup and the individual, of the process of cognitive development and the construction of meaning and language.
The best outcomes for children are visible in their way of being and relating to others and the world of our children. Educational outcomes are equally important , and can be measured throughout the compulsory school years, where children demonstrate skills and achievements above the national average (see INVALSI data and Cambridge exam results for English and YCT for Chinese).
