Programme

We offer a full-time online schooling programme for children ages 4 to 8. Students are matched with an experienced Master Teacher and class sizes are capped at 6 students. Our curriculum is grounded in international academic standards and personalised for each student’s needs.

How it works

A school day at bina features a variety of activities to keep students engaged and focused. We strike a balance between calm, focused sessions and active, lively activities. Learning activities typically fall into one of four categories:

Live classes

that are teacher-led

Hands-on activities

during lessons

Digital learning experiences

during lessons

Self-guided activities

during independent time

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What do bina kiddos learn about?

We’ve crafted an international curriculum that pulls from a variety of standards from around the world– perfect for kiddos growing up in a global society. Our curriculum is grounded in UK standards with elements of the US Common Core, International Baccalaureate (IB PYP) and the Australian curriculum woven in.

At bina, we cover a wide range of academic subjects, including literacy, numeracy, and technical sciences. We also emphasise social emotional learning (SEL), meaning that we explicitly teach and model social and emotional skills.

We ground our students’ learning in biome-themed units. For example, if the theme of their current biome unit is “Marine,” much of their learning across all subjects will be directly related to the animals, plants, and cultures that call the ocean their home.

How does bina keep track of students’ progress?

At bina, our students are continually assessed (think projects, games, reflections, and conversations). Constant observation of students is made possible because of such small class sizes– meaning that our teachers have clear insight into each student’s progress.

Teachers can give timely and specific feedback, which increases our students’ involvement in their own learning process. We use that feedback to customise our students’ learning experience (and we call that precision education).

Learn more

The School Day

Our kiddos follow a similar routine each day. From numeracy to literacy, they cover a wide range of topics through short, focused learning sessions. Their day includes frequent breaks and an hour-long lunch break so that they’re able to step away from their devices (we also include lots of movement and hands-on activities during their learning sessions).

Want to get a sense of what a day in the life of a bina student looks like? We’ve got you covered– check out our interactive timeline!

9.00 - 9.20
SEL
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Students engage in a morning meeting and learn or practice social emotional skills to be used throughout the day.
9.20 - 9.40
Reading
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Students read for pleasure and share with each other what they have read, supporting a love of reading.
9.45 - 10.05
Phonics skills
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Students learn explicit phonics skills based on their individual level of progress– this could involve recognising letter sounds or exploring spelling patterns.
10.10 - 10.30
Phonics consolidation
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Students use the explicit skills they have learnt and use these skills independently (with support from a teaching assistant on hand if needed). This could range from finding items around the house that begin with the letter sound practiced to playing a game that assesses their phonics understanding.
10.40 - 11.00
Numeracy skills
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Students learn explicit numeracy skills based on their individual level of progress– this could involve learning to count to 10, or understanding how to use column strategy to solve multi-digit addition and subtraction problems. We endeavor to make the learning in numeracy connected to the biome topic wherever possible.
11.05 - 11.25
Numeracy consolidation
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Students take the explicit skills learnt in numeracy and consolidate with independent activities. This could involve activities such as trying to jump across a room in exactly 10 jumps, solving mathematical puzzles, or working toward the mathematical components of the topic’s project.

11.35 - 11.55
Literacy skills
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Students learn explicit reading and writing skills based on their individual level of progress. This session is always closely tied to the biome topic / unit of learning and explores concepts such as writing genres, understanding author perspective, and delving into how texts are formed.
12 - 12.20
Literacy consolidation
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Students take the explicit skills they have learnt and apply it through topic driven, purposeful activities. This could involve activities such as finding items around the house that rhyme or drafting their own narrative stories.
12.20 - 1.20
Lunch
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1.20 - 1.40
Topic
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Students are taught skills of Art, Social Sciences, and Technical Sciences to explore the focus topic or unit. Our units are themed through biomes and students explore specific projects within these broad themes.
1.45 - 2.05
Topic consolidation
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Students apply what they’re learning in all subjects to their project (with a teaching assistant on hand if needed). An example could be using what they have learnt about the process of testing materials to test others they think could be useful for their needs. This session is all about working toward the completion of their topic project.
2.05 - 2.30
Playground
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Students have a chance to interact with one another in a game-oriented manner. This is supervised and guided by a teaching assistant and is largely guided by students’ wants and interests.

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Our Teachers

Our Master Teachers all have a postgraduate degree and at least five years of experience as educators. With only 6 students each, our teachers are able to develop genuine connections with their students, intentionally getting to know them as individuals.

Students will typically also be matched with a Teacher Assistant, who will support them with independent learning activities during breakout sessions.

Meet our teachers

The school year

We run our school year on a quarterly system. Between each quarter, students have a 2-3 week break. Currently, we are accepting students at eight points during the school year: at the beginning and middle of each quarter.

We structure our students’ learning around a new biome-themed unit each quarter. Students virtually explore a biome and its inhabitants, making connections across all academic subjects along the way.

Term 1

Quickly and efficiently build the materials you need to support your inbound marketing strategy. Drag and drop building blocks including testimonials, forms, calls-to-action, and more.

Term 2

Sprocket Rocket lets you transform your rapid prototype into a beautiful design by adjusting every aspect to fit brand standards.

Term 3

Collaborate seamlessly across devices from wherever you may be – whether you’re in the office, on the go, or making last-minute changes before your next meeting.

From start-to-finish, the design and strategy team provide all of the guidance and expertise necessary to build a high-conversion website.

Term 4

Select from a collection of modules and quickly populate and draft website and landing pages right to HubSpot.

FAQs

Just in case you missed anything.

Here are a few frequently asked questions about our programme.

Do I need to be in the same room as my child while they are in class?

We aim to focus on student interaction during our lessons, and our Master Teachers are fully prepared to lead all learning activities, discussions, crafts, and games without parental guidance. However, we know that sometimes it’ll be necessary for you to pop in and give your child some support. Check out this article for more information about parental involvement during lessons at bina.

Will teachers meet my child’s academic needs?

Small class sizes means that teachers are able to truly understand their students’ needs. We have built a feedback loop through continual, informal assessment, which gives teachers the information they need about their students’ academic progress. In turn, we’re able to customise lessons so that they target exactly what our students need to practice.

Read this article to learn more about how we offer our students precisely the education they need.

Will my child be required to take standardized tests or assessments?

Standardised testing that is anxiety inducing and unnecessarily stressful is completely against bina’s philosophy. While understanding where students sit in their learning is important and there are times where slightly more formalised styles of testing do take place, it is always done 1:1 with a child in a more comfortable and relaxed setting.

Check out this article to learn more about how we assess our students using micro-credentials

How will teachers communicate progress with me?

We provide progress reports twice a year as an official way to provide feedback to parents and students. Throughout the quarter, you are also able to check in on your child’s progress at any time by logging in to the different platforms we use. You are also welcome to arrange a meeting with your child’s teacher. We also set meetings at the end of each quarter with your child’s teacher to discuss your child’s progress.

PROGRAMME

a new way to learn