Young learners will have the chance to chart their own educational course as part of a new class at Mount Saint Agnes Academy.

The school’s Early Learning Programme is a play-based programme that invites children to choose topics of study based on their interests.

The children play an active role in their learning, participating in sensory-based projects and exploring a variety of materials within the classroom.

Kristina Amaro, programme teacher, said: “Documentation is central to our work. The classroom becomes a gallery of the children’s products and there is documentation next to each piece that describes the process involved in producing the work. We can then use the products as a form of assessment for the students.”

The school said that while many preschool programmes focus on what children produce, the Early Learning Programme focuses on the process as the participants solve problems and explore concepts. The focus on interaction and engagement transitions into the kindergarten programme.

“Using the Reggio Emilia approach, we put emphasis on the ‘languages’ of children,” Susana Pimentel, a kindergarten teacher, said. “Some language is verbal, but there are many other forms of expression. Sometimes the students will use clay, paint, water, buttons — there’s no limit to their creativity.

“We have to be flexible enough to tailor our teaching to each individual child. We assess all the children when they start to see what they need — where are they in relation to their grade level?

“Then we match concepts with their topics of interest and give them the freedom to partake in different activities in between their one-on-one sessions with us.”

Registration for the Early Learning Programme is now open. For information, visit www.msa.bm.