Empathy School Ubud is a nature school that offers emotionally-intelligent, hands-on education for children ages 2-14 with interactive approach. Empathy School International was developed at Harvard, follows the latest research in holistic and evidence-based education. We believe that through exposure to nature, individualized focus, and a strong foundation in social-emotional learning our students will grow to become the compassionate leaders and change-makers of tomorrow. Classes start at 8:30am and run until 3:00pm. Every student is provided organic, plant-based, healthy snacks and lunches.
True leadership is born from empathy. When our children are taught how to use empathy and experience it in every classroom, they are able to resolve conflicts on the playground, regulate their emotional state, find and follow their passions, and become the leaders whom they were born to be. Upon a foundation of Empathy, we help children into compassionate individuals that will build a better world.
Empathy School delivers 300 hours per year of teacher training in order to ensure that students get the highest quality education possible. Philosophy and curriculum are simply not enough. Our Founder, Eric Gonzalez-Payne, has 15 years of experience teaching, training teachers, and leading Education programs. He is dedicated to ensuring that teachers have the support and knowledge they need to give your child the best education possible.
Young people will learn to understand themselves and others and thus will become better able to support themselves, their relationships, and help lead other forward thinking minds in the future
At Empathy, one of our purposes is that our students are learning academics at a deep and holistic level. Every aspect of the school from lesson plans to landscape architecture is based on the science of how students learn.
Ancient wisdom has demonstrated the benefits of learning outdoors and the effect it has on developing children’s mind and bodies while encouraging knowledge and understanding. Ne research finds that outdoor learning is not just fun and novel experience for kids but enhances focus on and on-task behavior.
Find out how we structure our teaching methodology that makes us unique from other early childhood education system.
Individual learning – Classes are not done by age but by ability. All lesson plans are tailored for the student’s unique growth path.
This philosophy, known as full inclusion, represents a commitment to creating schools and classrooms in which all children are educated together without regard to individual needs or disabilities. We believe inclusive classrooms in honor to respond to the many kinds of diversity that children bring to the classroom.
We offer a safe environment by providing empathy. This grants kids the security to be vulnerable and to share their honest questions and thoughts. This also allows us to detect challenges early and help students overcome them and continue to focus on learning.
The studies are clear, the higher the Social Emotional Learning qualities are in a school, the higher the academic and holistic results are. Research shows that strong SEL foundations are highly correlated with higher academic achievement for students
We believe a focus on social, emotional, and mental wellbeing is long overdue as it plays a critical role in student success at school and in life. Research shows that teaching SEL to others can help “develop a deeper and longer-lasting understanding”. It stands to reason that it prompts anyone to reflect on and improve their social-emotional competencies.
We offer a safe environment by providing empathy. This grants kids the security to be vulnerable and to share their honest questions and thoughts. This also allows us to detect challenges early and help students overcome them and continue to focus on learning.
The studies are clear, the higher the Social Emotional Learning qualities are in a school, the higher the academic and holistic results are. Research shows that strong SEL foundations are highly correlated with higher academic achievement for students
Evidence-Based Design (EBD) is beginning to influence building design, maintenance, and improvement decisions. It refers to the use of credible evidence to shape building design, providing the link between academic research and real-life building user benefits. At Empathy School, our Evidence Space is the latest resource for anyone involved in creating, maintaining, and using case studies to give our students the best learning experience. We also work with Harvard Educators to help us to design our EBD.
You learn through “doing,” and so do your kids. We focus on having lessons that impact the real world, from projects that build lasting structures around campus to projects that support recycling and anti-poverty in our local communities. Evidence shows that our Project based learning curriculum leads to much more rapid mastery of academic skills.
It’s the dynamic aspects of nature that enhance the learning experience of our students and instill crucial skills of adaptability.
Our small class size creates an environment to explore and the freedom to be. With average classes of 4 students, we provide differentiated and flexible learning experiences and assessments in response to student need.
Our children are deeply connected to and mindful of the nature around them. Every student becomes aware of how to give empathy to animals and learns plant usage from foraging and eating to Balinese crafts and permaculture methods.
At Empathy School, we understand that some families divide their time across different countries, and we believe children shouldn’t have to sacrifice academic growth or social-emotional development because of this. Our Flexible Schooling for Global Families program accommodates exactly six months on the Empathy School campus in Ubud, followed by six months in your home country. During the half-year on-site, students receive our full, hands-on educational experience—immersing themselves in nature, social-emotional learning, and collaborative projects. When they spend the other six months abroad, our team ensures learning continuity by coordinating personalized assignments, regular check-ins, and clear academic goals, so students stay on track and transition seamlessly when they return to us.
This structured six-month arrangement supports both global exploration and reliable academic progress. While living abroad, students can integrate local culture, language, and traditions into their studies—broadening their perspectives and developing a strong sense of global citizenship. Upon coming back to Empathy School, they reconnect with teachers and peers who closely follow their progress, reinforcing familiar routines and continuing their personalized learning journey. This way, children benefit from the best of both worlds: a stable, supportive academic community in Ubud and meaningful cultural experiences in their home country.
Interested in This Option?
If you’d like more information about our six-month flexible schooling plan and how we can customize it for your family, please reach out to our admissions team. We’re committed to guiding your child to flourish—both here at Empathy School and wherever your journeys take you.
While playing in nature, children are invited to handle, touch, smell, explore, and modify natural features with their entire body. These informal, child-initiated, embodied learning experiences can make important contributions to children’s emotional, cognitive, social, and physical development. outdoor learning is concerned with activities in natural areas outside the school’s premises such as field trips, outdoor adventure activities, forest schools, school gardens, and nature education programs.
A recurrent finding of research on the benefits of formal types of outdoor learning is that it raises enthusiasm, and increases vitality and motivation for learning. In addition, outdoor learning can reduce behavioral and concentration problems, particularly among children with difficult or mixed temperaments and children that are uninspired in the traditional classroom. Other demonstrated advantages of outdoor learning include improved academic achievement, observational capability, and reasoning skills, enhanced self-esteem, independence and feelings of responsibility, improved interpersonal skills, cooperation and social cohesion, and multi-disciplinary learning across subjects.
Our school is 6100+m2. The facilities support learning activities; school grounds, magic forest, enchanted forest, swimming pool, outbound, classroom, fairy playground, permaculture maze, castle, animal sanctuary, mud pit, and surrounded by rice fields around the school.
