Bilingual Nursery in Zollikon | Tandem IMS

About the job

At Tandem IMS Nursery Zollikon, children aged 6 months to 4 years learn and grow in a loving, secure, and bilingual setting.

Our approach combines warmth and structure with curiosity and discovery, helping children build confidence, creativity, and early communication skills.

Located at Campus Zollikon, our nursery is nestled in calm surroundings in the village center.

Each classroom is bright and thoughtfully designed with age-appropriate toys, creative areas, and cosy resting spaces perfect for young explorers.

Our priority is to create a safe and nurturing environment that supports every area of early development from language, cognitive growth, social-emotional learning, to motor skills.

Our educators follow the enquiry-based learning philosophy, where:

Our youngest children develop through sensory play, songs, and movement.

Each child has a key teacher who provides stability, reassurance, and a predictable daily rhythm.

In Pre-School, children begin to explore letters and numbers, compare sounds across languages, and participate in themed enquiry projects.This stage builds independence, curiosity, and prepares them for our bilingual Kindergarten in Zurich.

The Early Years curriculum is designed around the needs and rhythms of each child.

We provide a caring, structured environment where curiosity and confidence grow naturally.

In Early Years, we focus on:

In Pre-School, we focus on:

Regular parent–teacher conferences ensure smooth communication and alignment between home and school.

Every group is guided by both English- and German-speaking teachers.

Children are immersed in both languages every day through songs, storytelling, play, and conversation.

This natural exposure helps them understand, compare, and use both languages long before formal reading or writing begins.

From around six months old, our youngest children begin learning Baby Sign Language. This is a method that helps them express needs, feelings, and observations before they can speak.

Our TinyTalk-trained teachers use hand signs to express simple concepts such as milk, water, banana, or sleep, always paired with spoken words.

In Pre-School, signing continues through songs and stories, supporting vocabulary in both English and German and preparing children for early literacy.

In Pre-School, children are introduced to letters and sounds through the UK-based Phonics programme “Alphablocks.”

This playful approach encourages them to experiment with language, link sounds to letters, and recognise simple words.

Children also start noticing how English and German sound different, building their awareness of language patterns.

Lunch time

Sleep time

Group time begins

Activities and outdoor play

Lunch time

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.

Yes! Children are natural language learners. Even if they already speak one or two languages at home, they absorb new languages easily through play and interaction. At Tandem IMS, they process and use English and German at their own pace.

Before your child starts, the lead teacher will contact parents to arrange a meeting. Together, you’ll discuss routines, habits, and an individual settling-in plan. The process is flexible and tailored to each child’s comfort level.

Yes. Morning and afternoon snacks, lunch, wipes, nappies, and creams are all included. Parents are welcome to bring their own preferred products if desired.

Christmas/New Year.

During other school holiday weeks, we offer holiday care with extended hours.

No, Kindergarten is not located in Zollikon – but our Tandem School Bus conveniently takes children to our Kindergarten in Zurich-Seefeld in the morning and brings them back in the afternoon, with several stops along the lake.

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.»