School life is organised around a number of cardinal principles:
Active teaching
Using themes which the children have shown an interest in, the teachers organise activities designed to develop the potential of each child in areas such as social communication, emotional development, physical and intellectual skills. Each class has its own educational programme, drawn up in line with to the instructions of the French Ministry of Education, and a variety of educational material and toys, adapted to the children’s ages and interests, which enable them to experiment and discover things for themselves, an indispensable aspect of pre-school learning.
Tolerance
In a warm and friendly but not permissive atmosphere, each child can learn at his or her own pace, acquiring knowledge and understanding which will allow him to approach abstract thinking.
Parent-teacher relationship
Parents and teachers hold regular meetings in keeping with the school’s tradition of communication and social life which have always formed a part of the school policy. A newsletter , “Le Petit Journal”, published every two months, keeps parents in touch with events at school.
A non-profit-making organisation
The school’s garden setting, low teacher-pupil ratio, multicultural make-up and lively social life set it apart from other pre-schools.
The United Nations Pre-School is this way because it is what the parents want. The school actually belongs to the parents; it is a non-profit organisation as enshrined in a law passed in 1901. Parents automatically become members of this association when enrolling their child. The association’s sole aim is the welfare and happiness of the children.
School democracy
Every year, the Annual General Assembly of the parents elects an Administrative Council made up of ten or so people. This Council in turn elects an Executive Board and a President. The head teacher has authority in the everyday running of the school.
The Council works closely with the staff at regular meetings to decide upon and put into practice the major directions that the school is to work towards. The school is under the control of the “Protection Maternelle Infantile” (PMI), a department of the French Ministry of Health, and receives an annual budget subsidy from the government.
