Early Years
My name is Jodie Harvey and I am truly delighted to introduce myself as Assistant Head for Early Years at Regent’s International School, Bangkok. I completed my BEd Primary and Early Years Education at Queen’s University Belfast in 2015. Following this, I then moved to Liverpool where I was employed at a challenging yet highly rewarding primary school as a Reception teacher for four years. It was during this point in my career that I fell in love with Early Years, and this quickly became my educational passion. I experienced such an incredible feeling of fulfilment in supporting children at this formative age and I felt privileged being a fundamental part of their development, both academically and personally. Providing opportunities for children to reach their academic and personal goals through play, exploration and fun became my main goal as a teacher, a goal which remains central to my practice.
In 2019 I made the move to Bangkok to continue my own journey of developing a more holistic, play based learning experience for children and to empower both colleagues and parents to embrace this approach. I was part of a smaller International School in Bangkok for four years, three of which I was privileged to lead the Early Years department. Through dedication, teamwork and enthusiasm my team and I transformed the Early Years department into a place where children were independent, making excellent progress and, most importantly, happy.
I am so excited to join the Regent’s team this year. My main role will be to help support, nurture and inspire all those within our Rama 9 and Langsuan Early Years family. I aim to build upon all of the wonderful things that make Regent’s so special, most importantly the strong sense of community and family support that is so fundamental to developing our young people.
Being a part of the Langsuan campus particularly sparked my excitement about this new role. I cannot wait to build on its excellent progress so far by extending my Early Years leadership; to build links between academic, emotional and intellectual curiosity within Early Years and beyond. Upon visiting the campus this year, I felt an instant connection and surge of inspiration in the form of many ideas which I can’t wait to share with you all! It was wonderful having the opportunity to meet with some of the parents during the March coffee morning. It was clear how special this campus is, with genuine care at its core, a quality which resonates throughout Regent’s.
Giving your little ones the space and independence that they need to grow can be both rewarding and challenging. Please know that I am here to help, to offer support and comfort wherever possible and in whatever way I can.
I very much look forward to connecting with you all in the coming days and weeks and can’t wait to join you on a journey to bring out the best in our children. Thank you once again and I look forward to an exciting and successful year ahead.
- From Ireland, part of a big family. Ireland is very close to my heart
- Graduated with BEd Primary Education in 2015
- Employed as a Reception teacher for 4 years in a primary school in Liverpool
- Moved to Thailand in 2019
- Employed at Heathfield International School as a Nursery teacher and Head of Early Years for 4 Years
- 2023 – moved to Regent’s
- University Student Teacher Mentor
- Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) Mentor
- Currently completing my National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL) qualification
- Genuine care at the core of everything I do
- Committed to building strong relationships with parents, staff and students to ensure everyone is happy, safe and thriving
- Particular love of everything creative. I love art and music and enjoy taking part in these activities outside of school as well as promoting a love of these areas within school
We believe creative learning is key to a child’s healthy development and therefore place emphasis on teaching through active play. Children learn by playing and exploring, being active and through creative and critical thinking, both indoors and outside.
All teachers in Early Years are native English speakers and every class has an additional Teaching Assistant. We follow the English Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS). Our learning community provides a strong start in education, to facilitate the transition into Primary School. We observe each child’s progress and work hard to ensure that all children will have made language, literacy and personal development by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
The Regent’s Early Years is divided into three age groups: Pre-nursery, Nursery and Reception. The learning is designed around three prime areas: Communication and language, Physical development, personal, social and emotional development, as well as four specific skills areas: Literacy, Mathematics, understanding the world, expressive arts and design.