Bilingual nursery in Zurich | Tandem IMS

About the job

At Tandem IMS Nursery in Zurich, children from 6 months to 4 years learn through play, exploration, and care.

Our bilingual, enquiry-based approach helps even our youngest pupils develop language, curiosity, and confidence in a loving, family-like environment.

Located at Campus Zürich, our Nursery provides bright, safe spaces designed for the youngest learners.

Each room is thoughtfully equipped for sensory play, creativity, rest, and outdoor discovery.

The focus for our youngest children is on creating a secure, caring environment that supports every area of early development from language, cognitive growth, social-emotional skills, and motor coordination.

Teachers follow our enquiry-based learning philosophy:

Our youngest groups focus on sensory exploration, first words, songs, and movement.

Each child has a key teacher who provides stability and ensures smooth daily routines.

In Pre-School, children expand their world: they begin to compare sounds and words across languages, recognise letters through UK phonics, explore numbers, and participate in project-based enquiry.

This stage builds the foundation for our bilingual Kindergarten.

Our Early Years curriculum is built around each child’s individual rhythm and curiosity.

We offer a caring, holistic environment where children learn through their senses while meeting key developmental milestones.

In the Early Years, learning goals include:

In the Pre-School, goals include:

Regular parent–teacher conferences set new goals and ensure continuity between home and school.

A Naturally Bilingual Environment

Every group has both English- and German-speaking teachers.

Children hear and use both languages every day in songs, play, storytelling, and conversation.

Through these natural interactions, they begin to understand, compare, and use words from both languages long before formal reading or writing begins.

From around six months old, our youngest children are introduced to Baby Sign Language, an approach that empowers them to express needs, feelings, and discoveries long before they can speak.

Used consistently by our TinyTalk-trained teachers, simple hand gestures help babies communicate and feel understood.

As children move into Pre-School, signing remains part of daily songs and stories, supporting vocabulary growth in both English and German and paving the way for literacy.

In the Pre-School, children begin to explore letters and sounds through the UK-based phonics programme “Alphablocks.”

This playful approach invites children to experiment with language, connect sounds to letters, and recognise words.

They also begin to notice how the same idea or object might sound different in English and German, deepening their linguistic awareness.

Snack time

Free choice centres, Structured centres, Outdoor play

Lunch time

Outdoor time is part of every day, whether in our secure play area or during walks by the lake and local parks.

Learn about the benefits of sign language for babies.

Find out more about our After School Clubs and Holiday Camps.

Get all the information you need regarding tuition fees.

Parents spend the first days in the group with their child. Together we build trust, extending time gradually until the child feels secure to stay for a full day.

Pre-School children often settle more quickly. We adapt the rhythm to each family, starting with half days if needed.

Yes, in a playful, age-appropriate way. Early Years focus on pre-literacy (listening, stories, signs) and pre-numeracy (sorting, patterns). Pre-School introduces the BBC Alphablocks phonics programme and early number games.

Every day, in all seasons. We also plan at least two Forest Mornings per month and spend entire days outdoors in spring and summer.

This process is guided by the child’s readiness and in close cooperation with parents. Teachers provide gentle encouragement and consistent routines.

Our daughter Milla started in Kindergarten 1 and finished in grade 6. We are so thankful to all the teachers, management and administration for the great work they do with the children. Tandem IMS offers a friendly environment and the warmth of a family. Milla had a lot of fun but she also learned a lot. She is not only academically strong in English and German and advanced in French but she developed as an individual who loves and respects people, who is independent and confident, who is free to express her opinion, who knows how to organize her daily life and work under pressure. As she said in her graduation speech: «Here in Tandem I had the best time of my life! I am looking forward to the future because I know I am well prepared for the next step of my life.»