Don’t waste your brain! The CIS approach to give your child a head start in learning.

Every child has a great capacity to learn when exposed to effective and relevant learning strategies. At a CIS Group School it is important to adapt brain and learning research in building the classroom programs.

We have developed and registered StartSmart4kids (r) which enables us to indentify educational meaningful differences between individual children and ensure that we provide equal opportunities for their academic success. We have a trained consultant in psychology working with us. CIS Group’s approach of adapting Montessori and traditional learning with brain development techniques and games will give your child an educational advantage.

We aim to stimulate:-
* Better concentration
* More attention to detail and orientation
* Quicker problem solving
* Improve creative thinking for reasoning abilities
* Enhance efficiency
* Pattern recognition
* Simple mental arithmetic

We aim to achieve this through simple “brain” games and the ability to absorb detail. We view the brain in 5 sections for – efficiency, attention, memory, flexibility and problem solving.

Intelligence: Our test takes into account primary abilities: *Verbal Comprehension - ability to understand what words mean *Numerical - ability to handle numbers and simple calculations.

*Spatial - ability to recognise form i.e. Shapes, angles
*Perceptual - ability to see quickly/observe differences in pictures
*Memory - ability to remember and retrieve verbal information
*Reasoning - ability to discover ways to finish problems e.g.2 4 6 ?
*Word fluency - ability to think of words quickly


Strategies for all of the above are significant in enhancing cognitive development. We also find that children accererate their learning with music augmenting learning.
By setting words and sentences, that are being introduced in the classroom, to music speeds up retention of the words by young children.
Current brain studies show us the important role of teachers in facilitating an early stimulating and cognitive environment for children.

To achieve this we have incorporated different layers into the classroom - sensory, cultural and problem layers that stimulate the brain’s neutral networks under the watchful eyes of our teachers. As each child is unique in his particular combination of intelligences we, at cis work with each child to develop his/her cognitive profile and to allow each child to excercise that. Our evaluations allow our teachers to focus in lessons on individual children to ensure they fulfill their full potential at the critical pre-6 year old first stage of learning. CIS's customised programs for each year group encourage the children to use both sides of their brain so they will learn quicker, retain more knowledge and reach their full potential.   So using CIS StartSmartforkids (r) your child will Stay Ahead.

“Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of 1000 miles must begin with a single step.” Lao tzu


Our way is fun, interesting and stimulating.

The use of inter-active activities, music and word games coupled with our UK reading and writing phonics and word recognition program are all part of the CIS approach to giving your child a head start on the educational ladder.

"The foundation for a learning journey through life."

Key Differences between Montessori, Traditional and the Cambridge International Schools StartSmart4kids (r) approach to Education:-

Montessori: based on helping the natural development of the human being.
Traditional: based on the transfer of a fixed stock of knowledge.
CIS StartSmart4kids: Both.
 
Montessori: Children follow their own individual interest in deciding what to learn.
Traditional - children learn accordingly to a set curriculum which is the same for everyone.
CIS  StartSmart4kids: The children learn at their own pace and style, but we help each child to be stimulated to follow our customised curriculum.

Montessori - children teach themselves using materials specially prepared for the purpose.
Traditional - children are taught everything by the teacher.
CIS  StartSmart4kids: We adopt a 'hands-on' approach, but leave the children 'to discover' for themselves.

Montessori - understanding comes through the manipulation of materials and the promotion of children's ability to find things out for themselves.
Traditional - learning is based on the memorisation of facts and is limited to what is given.
CIS StartSmart4kids: We create the environment for each child to excel with activities that will enhance their emotional, regulatory and social development as well as increase their maths and language skills through structured teaching.