HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Rainbow International School Uganda (RISU’s), one of the biggest players in the country’s education system, has unveiled an Early Years Center for young learners.
The center, which is located in Bugolobi at the outskirts of Kampala, gives children a quality international start to life. The center, which admits children between 2-4 years, sits at an expansive area, and offers a conducive learning environment for toddlers.
“Our aim is to inculcate an international mindset in the children. We pass onto them soft skills to enable them to get on with other people,” said Richard Mottram, the head of the Primary Section at RISU.
He says since he has worked in the UK and in Uganda in the capacity of headteacher, the standard the learners get at the center is the same as in the UK.
“I can compare the standards at RISU to those in the UK. I’ve got to benchmark my experience in the UK, and bring it to bear in Uganda. So the children here are at the same standard as they would if they went to a UK school,” he said in an interview last week.
He said they use the English early years’ curriculum, which enables them to attain UK standards.
“This is about learning through investigation and inquiry and play. We teach these children to be imaginative, to be thoughtful about what they do, and to enjoy learning. We don’t want them to be put off by learning because they think it’s boring,” said Mottram.
He said if they start that when they’re two years old, and they think learning is exciting, that carries all the way through. “Because some children find writing boring, we use the UK methods. We stick to the drawing club, which is a philosophy which comes from an educator called Greg Bottrill” he said, adding that this method focuses on story-telling and imagination.
The Early Years Center Pupils attending class recently
Children hear a story every day, and it’s fun and exciting. “When they move away, they use their imagination to either represent the story or to retell the story. Through this we teach them math and writing, but they don’t know they’re doing that. They think they’re having fun and playing, but we’re actually teaching them at the same time.”
He said when they held an open day in June 2024, the turn up was overwhelming.
“We received one parent, a former RISU student, who paid fees for his child for the academic year 2025 to 2026, a year in advance. He has a one-year-old child who will start classes in August 2025,” he said.
WORLD CLASS FACILITIES
The early year’s center boasts of world class facilities that blend with both natural and conducive learning environments.
“We have rooms for learning and a room for sleeping, because they’re little children. We have a big garden with play equipment, with huge trees, a sandpit, a water area, mud kitchen and lots of room to run around,” said Mottram.
He said they also have a medical room, bathrooms, toilets near every room, and a play area where the children can play with water, going through drain pipes and pouring and they love that.
“There is also a mud kitchen where the children can pretend to be cooking near the sandpit, computer and television room. Our compound is big enough for them to play parachute games, hide and seek, duck, duck, goose,” among others.
He said at the end of the academic year, we’ll have Sports Day where they will compete in football, races, among other things.
RISU’s Early Years Center blends well with their prestigious campus located at Kabalagala off Ggaba Road, in Nanganda-Lukuli, where they offer a diverse enrichment and extra-curricular programme of activities, including sports, performances, debating, dance, crafts, and school trips.
