Early Years

Age 3-5

At Tenby Schools Penang, Early Years is where wonder begins. Every moment is crafted to spark curiosity and nurture essential life skills. Learners and their growth come first, supported by positive relationships that remove barriers and empower children to achieve beyond what they imagined. Our purpose-built Early Years Centre combines purposeful play with enriching activities. With a focus on trilingual learning and access to specialist facilities, our youngest learners develop confidence, creativity and a lifelong love for discovery.

A dedicated learning centre where nursery and kindergarten children grow self-confidence
Daily learning in Mandarin, Bahasa Malaysia and English encourages multilingual learners
Enhanced curriculum with byte-ed coding and specialised equipment
Weekly swimming lessons from reception onward to build confidence and essential water safety skills
Extended stay and play available until 5:30 pm for flexibility
Clear pathways for continued education at Tenby International School, aged 5, or Sekolah Sri Tenby’s, aged 7
Competitive fees in a convenient location in Tanjung Bungah

Our curriculum

At Tenby Schools Penang, Early Years learning combines purposeful play, exploration, and structured opportunities to build essential life skills. The International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC) anchors our approach, empowering learners to think critically, grow their confidence and work collaboratively. Every activity connects meaningful experiences with skill-building, developing crucial social and interpersonal skills from an early age.

Physical development

Express themselves
Movement and play help learners develop coordination, express themselves, and make healthy lifestyle choices. Our creative indoor and outdoor spaces support active engagement, building confidence and physical awareness.

Personal, social and emotional development

Learning out loud
Our learning out loud approach is all about making the learning process visible and collaborative. As children openly share their thoughts, questions and feelings, they grow their confidence and empathy. Teachers guide these interactions, helping children build self-awareness, form strong relationships and navigate emotions effectively. In our nurturing environment, children develop the resilience and communication skills to thrive socially and emotionally.

English

Love of reading and writing
Engaging phonics and storytelling foster literacy skills that inspire a lifelong connection with reading and writing. Learners confidently decode words, share ideas, and express themselves creatively. Through discussions, they’ll explore what they've read, deepening their understanding of stories. And when it comes to writing, they apply their phonic knowledge to form simple sentences that reflect their spoken words.

Mathematics

Problem solving
Children develop counting skills from 1 to 20, learning to sequence numbers and identify what comes before or after. By counting forwards and backwards, they solve problems and tackle more advanced concepts like doubling, halving and sharing. We use every day examples to compare size, weight and time, essentially building problem-solving skills in a fun way.

Understanding the world

Exploring connections
Learners discover their place in the world by observing nature, sharing stories, and asking questions. Have you noticed how curious they are about the differences and similarities between people, families, and communities? They enjoy exploring the world around them—observing animals, plants, and objects, and asking why things happen the way they do. From exploring nature to discussing changes they see, learning about the world becomes a fun and engaging adventure!

Literacy

Love of reading and writing
We make sure literacy sparks a love for reading and writing from the very start. Children begin by reading simple sentences in their daily phonics classes, using new skills to decode and pronounce words accurately. Through fun discussions, they explore stories and deepen their understanding of what they’ve read. When it’s time for writing, they build on their phonics to create simple, meaningful sentences.

Arts and design

Explore the arts
Children can find joy in singing, making music and dance. Experimenting with different materials and tools fosters creativity, confidence, and a sense of accomplishment in design and art. They also express their own ideas and feelings through role-play, storytelling, and creative arts. Be prepared for artistic masterpieces coming home for admiration!

A typical day in Early Years

Every day Tenby Schools Penang combines engaging activities and meaningful learning opportunities. While timetables vary across the year groups, here’s an example of what happens between the lessons. Speak to admissions for a school timetable.