English and bilingual kindergarten/primary in ZH
I have read all the posts on EF related to this topic, but haven't found what I need. We moved to CH from Canada in summer due to Covid, and are now trying to navigate the very different educational system here. My kid is 4.5.
I am looking for parents willing to share their experiences with English and/or bilingual kindergartens/primary schools (Although we are in the canton of ZH, I am interested in all kinds of feedback, also from other cantons).
Which kindergarten/primary did you send your native English child to (name/location)?
Was the learning material and pedagogy following the Anglo system? Or the Zurich Lehrplan? Or some mix?
Are the lessons fully immersive (i.e native speakers talking with kids in only their language)?
Were other parents speaking mostly English at home with their kids or a different language?
Do you see advantages/disadvantages in an English team/organization vs. Swiss team/organization that hires English speaking teachers?
Are there schools that provide a mixed approach to various methods (such as Montessori/Reggio/Waldorf/etc.) that are truly child-led and play-based? Which ones?
How do you feel about safety and supervision at kindergarten/Hort crèche? Is it adequate, i.e. what is the ratio between supervisors and children? What are their intervention strategies for bullying (hitting, spitting, kicking, scratching, etc)?
If you have any specific experiences with Kinderhaus Limmat, Cantaleum, Tandem, ZIS, KIBS, PLEASE share, as these are some of the schools we are looking at... It seems people do not review places on the web often, so unbiased reviews are hard to come by.
Thank you very much for your inputs!
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