How many children are in a Kindergarten class?

Classes are kept small. In the youngest years groups are smaller still, usually well under twenty. Exact numbers vary by year group and by intake each year, because places are offered according to demand. The point of keeping groups small is the difference between a child being noticed and a child being managed.

My child does not speak English yet. Can they still join?

Yes. In the early years children are accepted at every level of English, including none at all. Teaching is in English and support comes through the EAL programme, English as an Additional Language, which is a pull-out programme of up to 8 hours a week at no additional cost. Around 40 nationalities are represented at the school, so arriving without English is ordinary here.

What does a day in Kindergarten actually look like?

Children learn through play, conversation, movement and practical activities. They begin building early language and mathematical skills while also learning independence, cooperation and how to take part in a group. Teachers work at the pace of the individual child rather than pushing every child through the same week at the same speed.

Where is the Kindergarten based, and what are the hours?

Kindergarten through Grade 5 is at ul. Dembego 12 in Ursynow, a short walk from the main building at Dembego 18 and close to Kabaty forest and the metro. That building is open from 8:00 to 17:00 and includes after-school care. Full-time classes run from 8:30 to 15:30.

Can we start partway through the school year?

Yes, subject to availability in the relevant group. Because groups are capped, availability genuinely varies by year and by month, so it is worth asking about a specific age group rather than the school in general.

How much does Kindergarten cost?

Current tuition for the Kindergarten year, together with the enrolment fee, discounts for siblings and for continuous enrolment, and what tuition does and does not include, is published in full on the tuition and fees page at ias.edu.pl.

Kindergarten, from four and a half.

Q: From what age can my child start Kindergarten at IAS?

IAS takes children into Kindergarten from the age of four and a half. Placement depends on age at the time of enrolment, alongside language background and previous schooling, so the office will confirm the right group after the admissions interview.

Kindergarten takes children from four and a half to six, in the Early Years School at Dembego 12. Preschool in a school like ours reaches back to three and a half. Groups average about five children to a teacher.

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Kindergarten children holding certificates on stage beside their teacher at the end of year ceremony at International American School of Warsaw — **The Early Years School**ul. Dembego 12

Meet the younger years at IAS

Curiosity, friendship and learning, told through animation.

1 min 18 sec · Animated film in English

Kindergarten and Elementary at IAS

Join the IAS tiger and friends in a short animated story about curiosity, friendship and finding confidence in English.

See how to apply

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An average of 5 children to one teacher◆
From four and a half years old◆
Open 08:00 to 17:00, with after-school care◆
Children accepted at every level of English◆
A purpose-built playground◆
Jolly Phonics in Circle Time◆

A day

How a day is structured.

Circle Time

The daily class meeting. Music, stories and group talk, with the Jolly Phonics method threaded through short activities across the day rather than one long sitting. Nobody is asked to concentrate for longer than they can.

Learning by doing it

Teachers work as facilitators, building hands-on experiences that use all five senses. Language units in English, early mathematics, science, art, music and physical education.

Playtime, and a nap

Both are on the timetable, and both are the point rather than the gap between lessons. The building is open from eight until five, with after-school care, and full-time classes run 08:30 to 15:30.

Kindergarten children at the International American School of Warsaw working together at a craft table — By the time they move up to the main building, they have sung in front of the whole school.

Arriving without English

Children are accepted at every level of English.

In the early years children are accepted at every level of English, including none at all. Teaching is in English, and support comes through EAL, English as an Additional Language, a pull-out programme of up to eight hours a week at no additional cost. Around forty nationalities are represented at the school, so arriving without English is ordinary here rather than a problem to be explained.

How EAL works

From the Head of Elementary School

Beata Bilous.

Mrs Bilous leads the Elementary School, the stage children move into after Kindergarten. She has taught at IAS for three years, with children from the early primary years through Grade 7, so she knows the group before they arrive in Grade 1.

Writing to families at the start of the year, she set out what she wants the Elementary years to feel like:

I want our students to enjoy coming to school, feel that they belong here and be proud to be part of IAS. I believe that children learn best when they feel happy, safe and supported.

Read her full letter
[email protected]

Beata Bilous, Head of Elementary School at the International American School of Warsaw — **Beata Bilous**Head of Elementary School

Group size

Group sizes and placement.

Groups in the youngest years are the smallest in the school, with an average of about five children to a teacher. Exact numbers vary by year group and by intake, because places are offered according to demand. The reason for keeping groups small is not a number on a page. It is the difference between a child being noticed and a child being managed.

Placement follows a child’s age at the time of enrolment, alongside language background, previous schooling and any additional needs. The office confirms the right group after the admissions conversation.

Beyond the classroom

Trips, workshops and celebrations.

OUT

Trips

Ujazdowski Palace, the Ethnography Museum and local theatres for the arts. The Copernicus Centre, gardens and Lazienki Park when a science lesson is better outdoors.

Workshops

Musicians, sing-alongs, dance, ceramics, martial arts and drama, brought in by parents and local specialists so children meet the world without leaving the building.

ALL

Celebrations

Polish and international holidays given equal weight, the Science Fair, a mathematics competition, and Earth Day recycling projects.

The oldest in the small school

The oldest group in the Early Years School.

The KG group are the leaders of the Lower Elementary School, and are treated as such. They model manners and behaviour for the younger children, learn to work in groups and to depend on one another, and build vocabulary, faster reading and stronger writing before they move up to the main building at Dembego 18.

Nearby

Related pages.

Come and look

Visit the Early Years School.

Choosing a kindergarten is really choosing a school for the next fourteen years. Come and meet the teacher who would know your child by name.