Early Years · Ages 0–3

The gentlest start.
The strongest foundation.

Warm, expert care for your child's first three years — where being loved comes first, and everything else grows from there.

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Early Years · EYFS Framework

Where your child's journey begins

Safari means journey — and for many of our families, the Early Years are where that journey begins, often with the very first morning a child spends away from home. We hold that trust with enormous care. Our Early Years, for children from birth to three, follow the British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), and give the youngest children a warm, safe and joyful place to grow — and the foundation that everything else in their education, and their life, will be built on.

Young children beginning their journey at Safari International School
Warm, responsive care for young children at Safari International School
Child Development

The most important years of all

More brain development happens in the first three years than at any other time in a person's life — and it is shaped, quite literally, by warm and responsive relationships. Each time a baby babbles, points or reaches out and a caring adult responds, a connection forms in the developing brain. This "serve and return" — meaningful, consistent interaction between a child and the adults who love them — is the foundation of all later learning.

It is why our Early Years are built first on relationships: on knowing each child deeply, responding with warmth, and choosing connection before correction, always. Strong, predictable routines give our youngest children the security they need to feel safe — and a child who feels safe is a child who is free to explore, to bond, and to grow. Here, your child's care and well-being come before anything else, because at this age, nothing matters more.

Curriculum · EYFS

What your child learns in their earliest years

Guided by the EYFS, we focus on what matters most at this age — beginning with social, emotional and personal development, because a secure, confident child learns everything else more easily. We nurture communication and language from the very start, growing vocabulary, speech and the simple joy of being understood, through conversation, storytelling and song. We support physical development, both the big movements of gross motor play and the small, careful work of fine motor skills. And we surround children with rich sensory experiences and hands-on discovery, the way young children are built to learn. Friendships form, social skills grow, and a lifelong love of learning takes root — all through play, and all through love, nurture and care.

Children learning through play at Safari International School Early Years
Small-Group Care

Small groups. Close attention. Always.

You will never find one adult and a large group of little ones at Safari. From the very youngest age, children are cared for in small groups, with adult-to-child ratios well above international standards. For a baby or toddler, that means more comfort when they need it, more conversation to grow their language, more of the warm one-to-one moments that build a young brain — and an adult who notices the instant something is wrong, or the moment they're ready for their next leap. It is the single biggest reason our youngest children settle quickly and feel at home.

Babies
Babies
0 – 1 years
1:3
one adult to every three children

The warmest, most attentive care for the very youngest.

Toddlers
Toddlers
1 – 2 years
1:3
one adult to every three children

Exploration, language and first friendships — in safe, small groups.

Pre-Nursery
Pre-Nursery
2 – 3 years
1:4
one adult to every four children

Growing independence, confidence and a love of learning.

"Before a child can learn, they need to feel completely secure. So we put well-being first: every child is held, comforted and cared for as an individual, every emotion taken seriously, every small triumph celebrated. Whoever your child is, and wherever in the world they have come from, they belong at Safari — and they feel it from their very first day."

Why Group Care Matters

What only other children can give

In Ghana, many of us grew up with a loving nanny at home — and a wonderful nanny gives a child warmth, safety and devoted attention. But there is one thing a loving home, however caring, simply cannot offer: the daily company of other children.

So much of who a young child becomes is learned not from adults, but from other children, and only in a group. It is with other little ones that a child first learns to share and take turns, to notice how another child feels, to comfort a friend, to wait, to lead and to follow, to settle a small disagreement and begin again. Their language grows faster surrounded by other voices. Their confidence grows the moment they discover they can be happy and safe away from home. And friendships — real ones, the first of their whole life — begin.

A devoted nanny can love your child. Only a room full of other children, every single day, can help your child learn to be a friend. That is the quiet gift of an early start at Safari — and it is far easier to give now than to build later.

Children learning together at Safari International School
Our Team

Cared for by people who are both warm and expert

With us, warmth and qualifications are never a trade-off — your child gets both. Every one of our Early Years teachers holds a degree in Early Childhood Education and a Montessori certification, with at least five years' experience in international schools. Every member of staff is First Aid trained, holds a valid medical clearance, and takes part in ongoing professional development — so their practice stays current with the very best in early childhood education. These are people who have chosen to spend their careers with the very young, and it shows in every interaction.

Expert Early Years teachers at Safari International School
Purpose-built Early Years spaces at Safari International School
Our Campuses

Spaces built entirely for the very young

Our purpose-built campuses are designed around small children: spacious, safe rooms for play and discovery; quiet nap rooms; soft-play and one-to-one spaces; and outdoor classrooms and playgrounds made for small children to roam and discover safely. Safari is also the only school in Ghana with its own waterpark and indoor climbing playground — there for Safari families during school hours, in the evenings, and through the holidays.

Enrichment

A world to explore, even at this age

Even our youngest children have far more than a room to explore. As they grow, our enrichment opens up — swimming and movement, music and ballet, sensory art, and gentle early steps into the wider Safari world of sport and discovery. Everything is offered the way it should be at this age: playfully, joyfully, and always at the child's own pace.

Swimming & Movement Music Ballet Sensory Art Outdoor Discovery Storytelling Creative Play
International Community

An international childhood, from day one

From their very first days, your child grows up among more than forty nationalities, in a language-rich environment where different sounds, faces and traditions are simply part of every day. As they approach three and move toward our Primary School, French begins as a second language. An international outlook isn't something we add on later — for a Safari child, it's the only world they've ever known.

International children at Safari International School
Parent Partnership

We do this together

In the early years especially, you and we are a team. We keep a genuine open door, we settle every child gently and at their own pace, and we keep you close to your child's days — the milestones, the firsts, the funny little moments. When you tell us something, we act on it, because no one knows your child better than you, and no one wants the best for them more than we both do.

Parents partnering with Safari International School
School Day

Built around real family life

Family life is busy, so we offer flexible days to fit yours. Whatever your family needs, your child's day stays gentle, predictable and full of care.

Morning Session
Pickup at 1:30 PM

A gentle half-day for the youngest or those just starting out.

Full-Day Programme
Until 3:00 PM

A complete day of care, play and discovery.

Extended Day
Until 5:00 PM

For families who need a little more flexibility.

The Safari Pathway

A start that never has to end

The hardest part of choosing a place for your baby is often what comes after it. At Safari, there is no cliff edge: your child moves seamlessly from Early Years into our Primary School (ages 3–11, Cambridge and the IB Primary Years Programme), and on into our new Secondary School from September 2028. One trusted community, from the very first day onward — so the foundation you build here is one your child never has to leave.

Continue the journey in Primary Years

Our Primary School for ages 3–11 is where children begin the IB Primary Years Programme and Cambridge curriculum — in small groups, with the same warmth, from the same community.

Explore Primary Years Explore Secondary
Visit Us

Come and feel it
for yourself.

The only way to know whether a place is right for your child is to stand inside it. Come and visit — meet the people who would care for your child, see the rooms where they'd play and grow, and picture them here, safe and happy. We would love to welcome you both.

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