20 April

  • For this Week
  • Primary School K2–Y2 Transition Visits
  • Lunch & Meetings
  • Staff Meeting (Tuesday)
  • Looking Ahead – Staff Meeting (Next Tuesday)
  • Committee of Teachers – Key Updates
  • New HR System – Workday
  • Photo & Video Guidelines – Key Reminders
  • Staff Calendar

Morning all, we have a busy week ahead. I appreciate everyone’s support, especially with the added meetings and transitions.

I came across this short TED Talk this weekend: Why kids need to take more risks? and it really connects with our ongoing work around play, particularly the idea of low affordance vs high affordance play. This strongly connects with our play-based approach and the importance of unstructured play in developing thinking and independence. I'll share it with parents. 
For This Week
Monday: Bradbury School Counsellor - Cathy Tong visits (11am)
Tuesday: Staff Lunch Meeting (OI Sharing)
Thursday: EA Meeting @ 12:30 (Continuums)
Friday: Book‑Inspired Dress‑Up Day
Primary School K2–Y2 Transition Visits
  • Tuesday: BHS
  • Thursday & Friday: QBS

Thank you for supporting these important transition opportunities for our children.

A Quick Note on Lunch & Meetings

Just a warm reminder that lunch runs until 12:30.

At times, we may need colleagues to:

  • Join additional short meetings, or
  • Use this window for preparation before the afternoon children arrive

There are several short meetings scheduled across this week, so please help one another with time and coverage where needed. Your flexibility is much appreciated.

Staff Meeting (Tuesday)

We will focus on reflection and Observable Impact (OI) sharing.

Please bring:

  • An impact story
  • An artefact/documentation showing student learning and progress
Looking Ahead – Staff Meeting (Next Tuesday)

Jaap Marsman (Adviser for Safeguarding & Child Protection) will lead a session on: Navigating Challenging Conversations with Parents

This will include practical strategies for conversations related to:

  • Child protection
  • Learning diversity
  • Accidents/incidents

Drawing on Motivational Interviewing for Working with Children and Families, this session should be very practical and relevant for all.

Committee of Teachers – Key Updates

Following the last meeting, here’s a quick summary:

  • ESF Hub:
    Toddle 2.0 will transition from a static to a dynamic homepage, allowing users to customise tiles     relevant to their specific roles.

Security remains a priority; Toddle is now ISO certified for AI, using a closed, anonymised system to protect student data.


  • Standardised assessment:
    Josh Blue (Head of Education) presented current primary assessment data (BASE, Primary Insight, ISA), confirming that ESF students continue to perform significantly higher than global and Asia-Pacific averages.


  • Curriculum Builder:
    Alexey Popov demonstrated the Math Curriculum Builder, a tool that maps the student learning journey from Phase 0 (Kindergarten) to Phase 5 (Post-Primary). The tool will include "Guaranteed Minimum" (Minimax): A core feature that ensures essential conceptual understandings are mastered by the overwhelming majority of a class before moving forward, promoting educational equity.
    While currently focused on Mathematics, development has begun for Language, with     Science and Design to follow.

New HR System – Workday

Workday will replace Oracle, with a planned go‑live on 20 May 2026.

  • One unified platform for HR processes (managing people data, absence, compensation, and recruitment)
  • Employee and manager self‑service
  • Mandatory virtual roadshows: 12–14 May

More details to follow.

Photo & Video Guidelines – Key Reminders

A few important safeguarding points:

  • Ensure parental consent is in place
  • Use ESF devices where possible (or transfer/delete within 24 hours)
  • No posting student images on personal social media (incl. LinkedIn)
  • External providers must not photograph children. If images are needed, providers may repost from our official social media channels.
  • All visitors/photographers must be supervised and clearly identified

  • ESF comms will issue spectator guidance for school events: regarding personal photography, social media sharing,and privacy settings.

When taking photos:

  • Ensure children are appropriately dressed
  • Be mindful in more sensitive contexts (e.g. swimwear)
  • Use images that positively reflect learning
  • Regularly delete stored images

Thank you for your continued care in keeping all children safe.

Upcoming Dates
Please check our internal calendar below. We might forget to remind everyone of odd dates. We will continue to add events as soon as they're confirmed. Here's the full 2025/26 Calendar.

Thank you!