Start Your Child’s Education Off The Right Way At Verbier International School, Located In Verbier, The Heart Of The French Swiss Alps.

Nursery School Years & Forest School

For the youngest children in the school we offer a rich and varied curriculum, with many more opportunities than most schools for children to explore and enjoy the wonderful nature around us here in the mountains.

your child will love the foundation year activities

Class A at VIS covers the ages 3-5, this is FS1 and FS2 in the English education system. A keystone of all the learning that we provide for these children is forest school. Here we enable children to progress their learning and development through leading their own explorations in woodlands or wild spaces. Our children engage with the natural world using all of their senses, exploring the environment and developing a deep respect for nature.

Forest School

We use a secluded and peaceful setting close to Verbier where we have constructed a circular “couvert” using only natural materials for group activities and stories. We are able to use a huge area of surrounding woodland for our activities, with the couvert at the centre. Under supervision and guidance from our highly trained and qualified practitioners children are free to explore the forest and nature, playing games and completing challenges. We follow a child-centred approach, letting the children choose between adult led activities and discover their own learning opportunities.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

VIS Children love the freedom and chances to explore and learn that forest school brings. Forest school is not the same as bushcraft, horticulture or outdoor education, and it is not bringing Maths and English activities outside of the classroom. What it offers children at VIS is a chance to connect with nature, develop confidence, social skills and decide their own learning journeys! We find that after just a few sessions of forest school, our children’s engagement, communication, confidence and social skills in class really improves.

Our aims at this age are to develop a lifelong love of learning and discovery, with a strong connection to the natural world. We promote and further children’s holistic development, fostering resilient, confident, creative and independent learners.

The foundation is laid in Class A with the deep learning in forest school, which we continue through the school at least once a week for learners up to 8 years old, UK Year 4.