Hei Schools Singapore Bishan

HEI PEDAGOGY AND CURRICULUM

HEI Schools is an award-winning international kindergarten from Finland, consistently ranked among the world’s leading education systems. Our pedagogy and curriculum are developed in collaboration with our co-founding partner, the University of Helsinki, and are grounded in the latest research in early childhood education. These approaches have been tested in preschools across Finland, delivering proven and positive outcomes.

At HEI Schools, we support each child’s learning and holistic development by integrating education, upbringing, and care. Education is delivered through intentional pedagogical practices embedded in daily, weekly, and monthly activities. Upbringing focuses on the transmission of cultural values and social skills, while care addresses each child’s social, emotional, and physical well-being.

Inspired by Finnish Early Childhood Education, the HEI Schools concept nurtures children’s curiosity, creativity, active participation, and sense of agency, with play and exploration at its core. Our mission is to be responsive to the needs of every child by creating a safe, supportive environment where all aspects of their daily life are aligned. When children feel secure, they are free to explore, experiment, and learn. At HEI Schools, we foster the joy of learning and embrace the freedom to fail, recognising that growth comes through experience.

Children learn through play, exploration and purposeful learning experiences that evolve as they grow.

At HEI Schools Singapore, play remains an important part of how children learn, while guided activities and increasingly structured learning help build strong foundations in early literacy and numeracy, communication, problem-solving, concentration and independence.

As children move closer to primary school, this balance helps prepare them for more structured learning while continuing to nurture their curiosity, confidence and love of learning.

Learning Beyond the Classroom – Outdoor learning at HEI Schools

At HEI Schools Bishan , nature is an extension of our classroom. Inspired by the Finnish approach to early education, children learn through play, exploration and discovery in environments that nurture curiosity, creativity and wellbeing.

Outdoor learning is a key part of our philosophy. We have beautiful outdoor park  areas, where children engage with nature every day – rain or shine. They observe the changing weather, explore plants and wildlife, build stories, solve problems and develop confidence through real-world experiences.

Through these meaningful interactions with nature, children develop resilience, independence and a deep sense of wonder about the world around them.

At HEI Schools, learning is alive both  indoors and outdoors as we nurture our  children  into curious, creative and active participants of learning.

The Eight Concepts in the HEI Schools Curriculum

We view children as unique individuals with their own ideas, thoughts and needs and we therefore prioritize children’s well being, both physical and emotional, along with building their competencies. We foster their participation and autonomy, teach them how to take care of themselves and others and develop their social-emotional abilities so that they learn the skills for life.

We believe that all aspects of education should involve practices that are lasting and caring for the community. Sustainability encompasses many areas of life, from social practices like incorporating the local culture and teaching children compassion, to ecological considerations like developing children’s relationship with nature and their willingness to actively care for the environment.

At HEI Schools, we strongly believe that teachers matter. We recognize teachers as educators and as experts in their field. The curriculum is only as good as the teacher implementing it, so all teachers should be well-trained in research-based methods and engage in ongoing teacher training and development to deliver quality education. Through our training, teachers become independent, creative professionals confident in their skills and capable of collaborating and building professional communities with other educators.

Children’s learning is not limited to specific activities or the classroom. Rather, every situation and moment is a chance to learn something new! At HEI Schools, teachers are trained to recognize these moments and increase learning opportunities. We also designed the learning spaces based on educational research to foster these moments because the environment also plays an important role in the children’s everyday learning experiences.

Play is the most natural way for children to learn and it’s a prerequisite for their development. During play, children display their overall development, even performing a level above their developmental stage because they are motivated to learn and unafraid to take risks. At HEI Schools, our curriculum and teachers know how to foster play and enrich these important opportunities for further learning.We also value the intrinsic value of play and prioritize free play without adult involvement. We see it as an opportunity for the children to collaborate with each other, explore their surroundings, practice solving problems and practice creativity.

Knowledge is socially constructed, which means that children learn through their relationships with others. Building a sense of community, peer learning and developing meaningful relationships with other children and trusted adults are key elements of the HEI Schools pedagogy. Through these moments, children learn the social-emotional skills necessary to express themselves and effectively interact with others in all types of situations.

Children also learn through guided exploration, and this is achieved by completing projects. “Inquiry-based learning,” is part of our educational approach, and it involves a collaborative effort between children and teachers. Teachers are trained to carefully observe children’s questions, wonderings and interests and to use these clues to guide the learning. Children, in turn, exercise their agency by choosing project themes, asking questions and exploring new subjects together with their teachers.

Lifelong learning begins in the early years, and transversal competencies are a combination of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes, as well as the ability to use such knowledge in different situations. At HEI Schools, we teach children how to apply their current knowledge in new contexts through playful methods, movement, exploration, daily routines and self-expression so that they become confident learners capable of adapting to and transforming any setting.

HEI – 4 LEARNING FRAMEWORKS

Exploring and interacting with the world around them

Exploration and curiosity are key elements of learning. We encourage children to observe, question and understand the world around them while building strong foundations in language, early literacy and mathematics through everyday activities, purposeful play and guided learning.

As children grow, these experiences become increasingly structured, developing the reading, writing and mathematical thinking they need as they prepare for primary school. Children also build their understanding of nature and the world around them through science and environmental education.

LINGUISTIC
SKILLS

MATHEMATICAL
SKILLS

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Understanding the world we live in

We support children in understanding the diversity in their local community, as well as the practices that activate respect for diversity. We support children’s growth as conscious human beings and help them to understand what it means to be an ethically responsible member of society.

CULTURAL CONFIDENCE

ETHICS EDUCATION

Learning forms of expression

We familiarize them with different art forms and their cultural heritage.

We offer children opportunities to express themselves through musical activities, visual arts/crafts and bodily/verbal expression.

LINGUISTIC
SKILLS

CRAFTS & VISUAL EXPRESSION

VERBAL & PHYSICAL EXPRESSION

Practicing a healthy way of living

We focus on building a strong foundation for a healthy way of living which consists of physical activity, nutrition, rest, self-care and care of others. This learning area supports other learning areas and helps children manage their daily life and routines.

SOCIO EMOTIONAL CONFIDENCE

PHYSICAL WELLBEING

A Typical Day at HEI Schools

This is a typical day at HEI Schools. Each day varies according to the curriculum activities. Our days have been designed with thought to have the right balance of lessons and free play, movement and rest, excitement and calmness, group activities and individual time indoors and outdoors.

Collaborative Holistic Support 

Close collaboration with therapists, psychologists, and specialists to ensure continuity of care, learning  and aligned goals for neurodivergent learners.