The European Schools are official educational establishments controlled jointly by the governments of the Member States of the European Union. In all these countries they are legally regarded as public institutions.

The mission of the European Schools is to provide a multilingual and multicultural education for nursery, primary and secondary level pupils.

Early Education is designed to:

• Prepare children for a happy, healthy, responsible, and successful life;
• Develop children’s personality and abilities;
• Support children’s learning potential;
• Build up respect for others and the environment;
• Respect and appreciate children’s own cultural and social identity, its values and those of others;
• Promote a European spirit.

Early Education is a fundamental part of life long education and learning and its central role is to support children’s growth into ethical and responsible members of society. Teaching and learning in the early years supports and monitors children’s physical and psychological wellbeing, including social, cognitive and emotional development and helps to prevent any difficulties that may arise by creating the best possible learning opportunities.

Teaching and learning in the early years is holistic and different areas of development are not separated. In this document as well as in daily school life children, their experiences and actions are central.

It is important to strengthen children’s healthy sense of self-esteem with the aid of positive learning experiences and to provide opportunities for diverse interaction with other people. Children’s world of experiences shall be enriched and they should be assisted as they seek to find new areas of interest.

The children aged four and five are often taught in mix​ed groups.

More information on the website of the OSGES.