How to Choose the Right Pre-School for Your Child

This is probably the first of many important decisions you would have to make for your child. While going to pre-school is not a pre-requisite for admissions to kindergarten, let alone guaranteeing a successful life ahead, the right learning environment and social experience will no doubt provide your child with a critical head start academically and socially over their peers.

One of the most important learning outcomes for a pre-school programme is providing the child with the right academic foundation. This includes linguistic skills (reading, oral and aural), cognitive development, creativity, motor skills, number sense and rudimentary numerical skills. Socially, a good pre-school will also allow him/her to learn to interact with others, to share toys, to work and play in teams/groups. The experience will impart rules and structures of society and what is acceptable and not acceptable in school and in society to your child, critical in fostering emotional development and discipline.

Every child has unique developmental needs and there is certainly no one size fit all solution here. A pre-school that is suitable for your niece may not necessary be suitable for your child. Thus, we have developed a set of criteria that can help you evaluate the different pre-schools out there and select the ideal learning environment for your child.

1) School Leadership and Philosophy: First and foremost, it is critical that you evaluate the school leadership as well as its philosophy. What do we mean by philosophy? For instance, a pre-school that follows the Montessori Philosophy may stress learning through self-guided play while another pre-school may foster discipline and group work. As an enlightened parent, you will need to decide which environment would suit your child better and select one that accords to your values. Do not choose a pre-school strictly on pedigree or reputation if you do not feel comfortable with the vision or philosophy of the school.

Additionally, it is important to evaluate the experience and training of the principal and the teachers. What are their qualifications? Which institutions did they graduate from? How long have they been in the education field? How do the teachers interact with their wards? What is the approach to discipline in the pre-school? Finding answers to these questions during the interviews or site visits can certainly be helpful in making your decision. Visiting the school to see firsthand how the teachers interact with the children and how the children react to the teachers and environment will also give you a good idea whether your child will fit into the environment.

2) Level of Parental Involvement: While the credentials of the school leadership are important, it is also critical to understand how the school will involve parents. Research has shown that the higher the parents’ involvement in their children's education and school, the greater the child's chances of success. A good pre-school should be able to involve parents in a constructive way. For instance, does the pre-school inform you of what the child is learning in classes and provide some follow-on activities to help your child reinforce his/her learnings in school? Ideally, the teachers will also help identify your child’s talents/interests and are able to recommend extra-curricular lessons that can help develop this innate talent, be it in art or music.

3) Ratio of Students-Teachers: Studies indicate that the ideal class size is 1 teacher to 7 - 8 students for younger children in the 1st year of pre-school and 1 teacher to 10 students in their subsequent years to kindergarten. Class size determines the quality of care, interaction and instruction, and it is important that your child can receive ample attention and guidance from the teachers. It is only through such close interaction that the teachers can provide you with insights and progress of your child’s learning. However, class size alone will not determine the quality of your child’s learning experience. Having the same, constant relationship with the teacher is also critical.

4) Turnover rate of Teachers: While the impact of a child losing a teacher depends largely on the level of attachment, teacher turnover remains a serious and complicated issue. It is important for a child to feel safe and secure in a learning environment. Constant changes in a caregiver will not only affect your child emotionally, but also reduce the quality of instruction and learning experience of your child.

5) Quality of Instruction, Materials and Facilities: Last, but not least, it is important that you are comfortable with the quality of the pre-school experience. These could include quality of instruction, interactivity of the materials used and activities offered, safety and precaution that the school takes, nourishment of meals provided etc. For instance, activities and instruction materials should be interesting and varied to continue to engage young learners’ curiosity and motivate them to explore topics covered further. During class, teachers should also inculcate good habits, such as the right way to hold a pencil, good sitting posture, courtesy and treating all with respect and careful handling of common property.

Once you have interviewed the school principal, visited the pre-school and observed how the lessons progressed, you will be able to make the right decision for your child. However, bringing your child to an unfamiliar environment and leaving him/her with unknown care-givers will certainly pose some difficulties. While separation anxiety is a normal and positive part of child development, here are some simple tips for an easy transition:

i) Talk to your child in a positive mood about the upcoming change
ii) Visit the pre-school with your child to familiarise him/her with the new environment
iii) Develop a drop-off and pick-up routine and let your child know if it changes. It is important to plan ahead and do not rush or extend/delay the drop off & pick up
iv) Tell your child your schedule and activities while he or she is at pre-school
v) Always bid your child goodbye in a firm, loving and consistent way

It is important to consider what your child needs, evaluate the programmes and pre-schools available and select the ideal programme that can put him/her on the right track.
The right pre-school programme can provide a head start to long term academic success. It can also promote moral values, good habits, right attitudes, inspiration to learning and lay the path towards a life-long enjoyable learning journey.


By Miss Brenda Yeow and Miss Angeline Tong