Are you scouting for kindergarten programmes for your child but not sure what to look for?
Lucky for you, we've put together a quick guide that takes you over the primary considerations when it comes to kindergarten programmes in Singapore!
These are the factors to keep in mind to make sure that you send your child to a preschool that will not only build a solid foundation for learning but also prepare them for Singapore's competitive formal education.
Read on below!
- Your philosophy on early education
Before anything else, you first have to determine what it is you want for your child.
Do you want a more holistic and flexible approach where children explore and learn what they want at their own pace? Or perhaps you're looking for a more streamlined and rigorous learning approach that prepares them for Singapore's competitive formal education.
Either way, it all comes down to your personal preference as a parent and either is superior to the other, and both come with pros and cons.
- Curriculum
Every kindergarten programme in Singapore follows a certain curriculum. Some of the most common and popular ones are Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia.
Curriculum is all about what the programme teaches children and how it can contribute to their early learning and development. This is why you have to know your own education philosophy and what you want your child to achieve.
As much as academic skills are important, a good kindergarten curriculum should be able to equally target other areas of early childhood education, including social, emotional, and physical skills.
That's primarily why many parents like Blossom Edugroup's comprehensive preschool curriculum, which covers four domains of development, three styles of learning and three tracks of learning. It acknowledges and caters to each child's learning needs and abilities.
- Location
How accessible is the school from either your home or office? Location is an important aspect because you don't want your child feeling moody and grumpy early in the morning!
Having a preschool close to the office would give you the convenience of dropping off and picking up your little one before and after work.
Meanwhile, one that's near your home means you can walk with them every day, giving you both more time to spend with each other.
- Class size
How many young students should a single teacher handle in a class?
ECDA recommends a staff-student ratio of 1:20 for Kindergarten 1 programmes and 1:25 for Kindergarten 2 programmes.
A preschool teacher who handles too many children in one class won't be able to attend to each child's needs properly. A good teacher-student ratio will allow them to spend as much time with each student and closely monitor their progress.
- Community and environment
As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child! It's not just you who will raise your child, it's also their teachers, support staff, and other people within the school's community.
At the end of the day, you're choosing the entire school, not just the teachers.
That being said, it's important that the preschool makes an effort to involve the parents in their child's kindergarten journey as much as possible.
How does the school update parents on their child's experience at school? How do they let them know of new milestones worth celebrating or concerns that need to be addressed?
Ask your kindergarten prospects if they conduct regular parent-teacher meetings or any other events that might help you have a conversation with your child's teachers.
