The Giving Tree International School

The Giving Tree International School is located at House

17, Street 71 in BKK1 (Boeung Keng Kang I), a central residential and expat neighbourhood of Phnom Penh. The school's contact and office details (including opening hours) are listed on its website; BKK1 is well served by taxis and motorbike taxis and is a short drive from central Phnom Penh amenities.

The school offers Early Years programmes starting with accompanied Baby Playgroups (12 months+) and continues through Primary up to Primary 6. The school publishes a grade-level entry guide and operates the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB‑PYP).

The school is an international, mixed‑gender (boys and girls) day school; its enrolment form requests gender and other standard student details. There are no boarding facilities shown on the school website.

The school lists named Learning Assistants and several SEN Assistant roles on its staff pages and includes questions about Additional Educational Needs on its enrolment form, and it publishes an Admissions & Inclusion policy in the school policies section. Families should discuss specific needs with admissions to see available arrangements.

The Giving Tree is an independent international school based in Phnom Penh and does not advertise affiliation to a particular foreign government or national system on its website.

The school site does not list a religious affiliation; its materials describe an IB, child‑centred curriculum without religious designation.

The school office hours are published as 7:30 am–4:00 pm (Monday–Friday); Early Years enrolment materials show both full‑day and half‑day options for young children and the school calendar sets term dates and events. For exact classroom start/finish times and break/lunch arrangements (which can differ by year group) contact admissions.

The school website does not advertise a regular school bus service; third‑party school listings also indicate no school‑provided bus. If you need daily transport, contact the admissions office to confirm current arrangements or local transport options.

The Giving Tree International School delivers an inquiry-led curriculum based on the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) and is an IB-authorized PYP school serving up to Primary 6.
Early Years (12 months–6 years) is play-based (Early Years 1–2 are play-focused; Early Years 3 introduces the IB approach before transition to Grade 1).
Primary (ages 6–12, Primary 1–6) follows the PYP with Units of Inquiry organised around the six transdisciplinary themes and teacher planning from scope-and-sequence documents.
Specialist provision includes Art, Music, Swimming, Makerspace, ICT, STEM, Physical Education and additional language lessons alongside core literacy, mathematics and science learning within the PYP framework.
The school also states a planned expansion to offer the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) from August 2026; Early Years do not lead to an external qualification but Primary students follow the IB PYP curriculum authorised by the IBO.

The Giving Tree says it delivers the IB Primary Years Programme and uses the PYP Learner Profile to encourage personal development, social skills and student responsibility as part of inquiry-based learning. The Primary Programme page states the school seeks to develop students “socially, physically and mentally” and promotes Learner Profile attributes. Early-years activities such as circle time, music and movement are described on the Baby Playgroup page as part of social and motor-skill development. The site also emphasises parental partnership and open communication between parents and teachers as part of students' development. These statements are presented on the school website.

The school's Admissions & Inclusion Policy states TGTIS welcomes students with a variety of abilities and learning needs and can offer Learning Support, but the number of students who can be supported is limited by available resources. The policy says some staff are qualified to support learners with learning disabilities and that the school will work with external Special Needs specialists to create bespoke programmes. It requires parents to submit special-needs documentation (for example IEPs, psychological reports, speech and language reports and teacher recommendations) and reserves the right to request specialist evaluation before admission. The policy also states the school is not a specialist SEN institution and explicitly says it cannot accept students requiring wheelchair access because of the historic nature of its buildings. These points are taken from the school's publicly posted Admissions & Inclusion Policy.

The Admissions & Inclusion Policy describes an optional, fee-based EAL programme run on a pull-out basis for learners whose English ability is restricting progress; the policy states the programme is offered at a stated hourly rate. The policy frames EAL as optional and targetted for learners identified as lacking English and limiting progress in other subjects. The information about the EAL programme and its pull-out structure appears in the school's Admissions & Inclusion documentation. If you'd like, I can extract the exact sentence or the current hourly rate from the document.

The school does not publish a separate mental-health programme page, but the Admissions & Inclusion Policy lists counselling among possible specialist interventions (alongside shadow assistants, speech and language and occupational therapy) that may be used where additional support is agreed. The school's use of the IB PYP and references to personal development and a nurturing environment also indicate wellbeing is part of its educational approach. Beyond those statements, the website does not publish a detailed, standalone mental-health or wellbeing policy. All items above are taken from the school's public pages and policy documents.

1. Learn about the school and book a visit. Read the school's Enrollment Packet pages (programme, grade-level guide and calendar) to confirm the right year level and timetable options before you apply; the site includes a "Book a Tour" function and details on what you will see during a tour. Parents who cannot visit in person are advised to request the Virtual Tour or contact Admissions to arrange a meeting.

2. Check age/grade guidance and decide full-day vs half-day. The school publishes grade-level guidance and the Early Years and Primary age ranges on its programme pages — confirm whether your child should be enrolled as Early Years (12 months–6 years) or Primary (6–12 years) and whether you want the half-day (7:30–11:30) or full-day (7:30–16:00) option. Choosing the correct programme at this stage affects tuition banding and start dates, so review the Grade Level Entry guidance before you complete the application.

3. Complete and submit the Enrolment Form. The school requires a signed Student Enrolment Form that must be returned prior to the student's first day; the form requests passport-style photos, passport or birth certificate details, medical and vaccination information, previous school reports (if applicable), and emergency contacts. Make sure you answer the medical and additional educational needs sections fully and attach supporting documents where requested, because these inform placement and any learning-support planning.

4. Gather and upload / deliver the required documents listed on the Enrollment Checklist. The checklist specifies the documents the school needs to complete enrolment: accomplished enrolment, media release/opt-out, parent policy agreement, emergency contact form, two passport-size photos, the student's birth certificate or passport, vaccination record (if applicable), past school reports (if applicable), and signed pick-up cards; the settled enrolment fee (invoice provided upon payment) is also listed as a requirement. Submit scanned copies or the originals as directed by Admissions — missing items will delay start-date confirmation.

5. Review fees, pay the enrolment/capital items and choose a payment plan. New-student enrolment fee is listed at USD 700 (one-time, payable on acceptance) and a Capital Fee of USD 550 per year is required before a child can start; annual tuition bands are published by programme (Early Years bands and Primary bands) and the school offers full-year, semester and term payment options. The fee schedule also details sibling discounts (10% for 2nd child, 15% for 3rd, 20% for 4th), optional lunch and extracurricular charges, late-payment penalties (5% per month) and refund rules — read the Fee Schedule carefully and keep the invoice reference with payments.

6. Ask about learning support, placement and any assessment needs. The enrolment form asks about additional educational needs and requests past reports where relevant; the Fee Schedule notes that learning-support fees, if required, are calculated on individual need. If your child has an IEP, recent assessments or requires accommodations, submit those reports with the enrolment paperwork and speak to the Head of School or Admissions so placement and support can be arranged ahead of the start date.

7. Finalise acceptance and confirm start-date logistics. Once the school issues an acceptance and invoice, pay the enrolment/capital fees and tuition according to the chosen payment plan and provide any outstanding documents; the school states it may cancel an enrolment if applicable fees or documentation are not completed. Note published due dates for term/semester/annual payments and the school's policy on late enrolment (a 50% reduction for one term's tuition if enrolling later than 50% through a term) so you understand charges if you join mid-term.

8. Confirm day-to-day details and keep contact information current. Before your child's first day, confirm campus (Early Years ‘Discovery' campus vs Primary ‘Eureka' campus), pick-up arrangements and signed pick-up cards; the Enrollment Checklist and the Enrolment Form both emphasise keeping contact and medical details current. If anything changes after enrolment (address, medical, emergency contacts), notify the school in writing as required by the terms on the Enrolment Form.

The school's public materials for 2025–26 do not advertise a formal scholarship programme. The Fee Schedule does list family (sibling) discounts and allows parents experiencing unexpected financial hardship to apply in writing to the Finance office for short-term variation of a payment plan; learning-support fees are charged separately and depend on individual need. If you are seeking fee reductions, bursaries or a bespoke payment arrangement, contact the Finance office or Admissions to ask whether any discretionary assistance is available and what documentation would be required; the Enrollment Packet and Fee Schedule are the primary references for fees, discounts and hardship requests.

The school does not publish a separate public “waitlist policy” page, but the Fee Schedule confirms that if there is a waiting list for a class, places are offered to the first child on that list. That wording indicates the school operates a chronological queue when classes are full, rather than a points-based pool. If you need to join a waitlist or confirm your child's position, contact Admissions directly (the enrolment pages provide the Book a Tour/enquiry links and contacts) to ask to be added and to request written confirmation of your child's position and any time limits.