Welcome Ellie Fulton

Foundation Stage 2 Teacher

Welcome to our new Foundation Stage 2 teacher Eleanor Fulton. Ellie, as she prefers to be called, is coming to us from the snowy climes of Kazakhstan, but originally hails from Lancashire in the UK.

“A few years ago, when I went on a course m and et someone who worked in the Early Years here at Bangkok Patana. We really clicked and shared a similar philosophy on education. From him, I knew what the Early Years program was like. Even on the website, you can see that the programme here is child-centered and holistic – and the opportunities beyond the classroom were such a draw. The Foundation Stage building is amazing! Knowing that the team are up to date with their educational research was so important to me. The whole system is built on child-centered research which is developmentally appropriate. I could see that I could grow professionally here.”

“Now that I am here, I have to say that the team is amazing and also the positive feeling I get from the team and the school. During my interview, the leadership really made me feel that they wanted to know about me and how I would fit in. It really is living up to its name in regards to the things in place for learning and the staff in school. They are so enthusiastic and friendly. My team has a great knowledge of early years education. I feel like I have come into somewhere that is a safe environment to grow in a positive way and be able to have meaningful conversations about learning. The collaboration and systems in place with the team makes it all feel very enabling for professional growth and teaching and learning. I can see that through the things offered in the school, like the community programme, that the children being well-rounded is very important.”

Going International

“I trained in Blackpool, which is quite a deprived area. It was a really good thing for me as a teacher because it made me realise the impact you can have on children as they grow. I learned different ways of teaching and engaging students. I struggled with the pressure on teachers to implement practices that were not as child-centered as I felt was needed. That’s when I knew I needed to go international. So, from there I worked in a great early years environment at an international school in Pattaya. I then moved to Kazakhstan and enjoyed working there but knew my heart belonged in South East Asia.”

“I am very into ‘in the-moment planning’ and inquiry-based learning, so if a child wants to lead their learning somewhere else, I am very happy to change my plans. I am able to switch and pull-out excellent learning through their interests, what they want to learn and their ideas. Then, they end up building academic skills in a meaningful way. A lot of my teaching career has been trying to introduce good early years practice into Key Stage 1. Early Years practice is my passion because the idea behind play-based and next step learning is based on the individual child and how they can develop, rather than what we think they should do.”

For Fun

“I like to try new things, exploring – food, travelling, sport. I am quite a get up and go person. However, I do try to make sure I have days where I relax.”

“I am a sporty person. When I was younger, I was on an ice-skating team. I play football regularly, and am an avid skier. I once played rugby and played one game at county level when I was 15. My mum was an international school teacher so I started living internationally in Cambodia when I was 16. Luckily my family still live all over the world so I get to holiday in many different places.”