What is holistic education?
True to its name, holistic education places an emphasis on the whole growth of a learner instead of emphasizing only specific parts of the human experience. Holistic education is concerned with developing a person’s intellectual, emotional, social, physical, artistic, creative and spiritual potential.
BSS aims to create “whole” individuals who are well-balanced in their outlook on life and their personal understanding of themselves in relation to the world.
How is it done?
- Emphasize learning by doing and provide hands-on projects and opportunities
- Design integrated curriculum focused on thematic units
- Help our students learn to develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills
- Provide regular opportunities for group work and the development of social skills
- Facilitate understanding and action as the goals of learning as opposed to rote knowledge
- Emphasize collaboration and cooperation rather than competition
- Educate for social responsibility and tolerance to the difference
- Integrate community service and service learning projects in the daily curriculum
- De-emphasize the use of textbooks in favour of varied learning resources
- Create life-long learners
- Assess by evaluation of children’s projects, goals and learning experiences
- Help students respect and tune in to others, feel special and happy
BSS Personal development
Personal Development is an integral part of the education at BSS, as we not only teach academic subjects but prepare our students to be successful in life.
It is a whole-school approach that engages the entire community (school leaders, staff, learners, teachers, and families).
Every day, during the morning assembly, the students have an opportunity to share how they feel and what they are passionate about as the plan for the day is laid out. Once a week, there is a general assembly where a speaker chooses a significant topic related to SMSC, IB Sustainable Goals, Virtues or British Values and asks the students to look inward and find those traits within.
At the heart of our school beat the BSS Keys to Success. They are mental resources or dispositions that successful people employ. Using and reflecting on them helps develop well-rounded, driven young people.
Our students also have scheduled Y.E.T./Youth Effectiveness Training/sessions. During this time, they enhance their communication skills, learn how to understand their emotions and solve conflicts so that everyone wins.
Project-Based Learning and the regular Houses Competitions are the time to reflect on development, understand one's strengths and be a team player.
Our mission is to help develop successful young people, equip them with the skills needed, and shape them to be curious, compassionate and creative.
The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils
All BSO schools undergo regular inspections from the British Ministry of Education, to prove that they cover specific standards. One of them is SMSC- Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development of the pupils.
During our last inspection, BSS proved that: “As they move through the school, pupils develop their understanding through the taught curriculum, planned Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHEE) lessons, the Youth Effectiveness Programme (YET), circle time, themed assemblies linked to the school’s values and the informal curriculum.
The school actively promotes tolerance and respect for human differences. This is embedded in the culture and ethos of the school. Feedback from parents over discussions about more sensitive topics has overall, been supportive of the school’s approach. Fundamental British values are instilled both explicitly and implicitly. Pupils are provided with a broad general knowledge of the responsibilities of citizenship in Bulgaria, the UK and internationally through the topics they study.”
