What is the purpose of pre-entry assessment procedures?

The key aims of our pre-entry assessment processes are:

What is the pre-entry assessment procedure for entry to Pre-Nursery and Nursery classes (for children aged 2-3 years)? What skills do you assess? Will my child’s level of English proficiency be assessed?

Families should visit the Assessment Centre or school campus for around an hour; WIST staff will observe and interact with your child in a friendly and informal way, enabling them to assess their level of personal, social and emotional development and their communication skills (in mother tongue or English).

What is the pre-entry assessment procedure for entry to Reception and Primary classes (for children aged 5-11 years)? What skills do you assess? Will my child’s level of English proficiency be assessed?

Families should visit the Assessment Centre or school campus for around two hours. This longer process reflects the need, at this age, to assess not only personal and emotional readiness but also literacy skills (in English or mother tongue), mathematics ability and English-language proficiency.

The observation and assessment procedure is comprised of a friendly and informal interview as well as observation and age-appropriate testing. Our Admissions Officers are qualified and experienced and will do their utmost to ensure that the process is friendly, positive and non-threatening while also producing the feedback that we require.  English language level determines whether the child is a candidate for entry to the Mainstream or Accelerated English classes
For an explanation of the purpose of Mainstream and Accelerated English classes, see the answer to the question: How will the school respond to the educational needs of children with different levels of English proficiency? but is not, in itself, a barrier to entering the school.

Please call or visit the Assessment Centre or School if you have further questions about required English levels.

Can my child enter the school if they don’t speak or write English?

For Preschool (ages 2-4)

A knowledge of English is not a requirement for Preschool entrants to Pre-Nursery, and Nursery.  However, this will affect class placement if your child is four or older on 1st September, since they will only be eligible to enter the Reception Mainstream class if they have a grounding in EnglishFor an explanation of the purpose of Mainstream and Accelerated English classes, see the answer to the Curriculum FAQ:How will the school respond to the educational needs of children with different levels of English proficiency?.

For Primary School (ages 5-11)

Mainstream (MS) classes Reception and Years 1-6 (for ages 5-11) study an adapted English national curriculum at a native or near-native level and, as such, entrants require a good grounding in English.

Accelerated English (AE) classes accept children with positive academic potential but who may have little or no knowledge of English, although requirements vary dependent on the age of the children; for example, candidates for entry to the older Primary AE classes, Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, are required to have good communication and literacy skills in their mother tongue as well as a positive grounding in Mathematics.  

The school aims for the vast majority of children to graduate from Accelerated English to Mainstream within 1.5 – 2 years; we will carefully monitor progress and class numbers to make this a reality.

The Admissions Team can provide further information about entry requirements for all classes if you call or visit the school or Assessment Centre.

Who administers the assessments? How do they ensure that children feel positive about the process?

For Preschool (ages 2-4)

Pre-entry assessment is overseen either by Admissions Officers at our Assessment Centre or by TeachersFor information about the profile of our Teachers, please see the Parent FAQ response to:
Who are WIST’s teaching staff?
Are they native English-speakers?
What qualifications do they hold?
in their classes.

For Primary School (ages 5-11)

Our Admissions Officers are professionals with a background in teaching and childcare; both they and the Teachers who oversee assessment processes are highly sensitive to children’s emotional as well as educational needs.  Testing processes are age-appropriate in all cases and involve a blend of informal observation and interaction as well as a friendly interview and some tests for Reception and Primary-age children (ages 5-11).  These conversations and written exercises are completed in English or mother tongue dependent on the needs of the child.

Can my child enter the school if they have special educational, behavioural, emotional and / or physical needs?

We make judgements about special educational, behavioural, emotional and physical needs on a case by case basis, looking to be positive but also realistic about the child’s prospects for fully accessing our school’s curriculum.

There will be a small minority of cases where a child has a learning, emotional, behavioural or physical needs that would prevent them from accessing the curriculum; in such cases it would not be responsible to admit the child and we will advise parents to seek a school environment specifically tailored to these needs.

It is impossible to be categorical in our response to this question, since all children are unique individuals with different strengths, needs and learning potentials.